| Activity | Baptised in 1679, Morice took over his father’s business as a merchant at approximately 18 years of age, and for three decades was involved in trade with Holland, Africa, the Caribbean, and British North America. This included extensive trading of enslaved people, of which more details are given below. He married Judith Sandes (died 1720) in 1704, and Catherine Hale (died 1743) in 1722.
As well as his involvement in trade as a merchant, Morice was a Member of Parliament for Newport, Cornwall from 1713-1722. He was a close ally in Parliament of Sir Robert Walpole, and joined with Walpole to vote against the repeal of the Occasional Conformity and Schism Acts, 1719.
From the early 18th century, Morice was heavily involved in the transatlantic slave trade, and is recognised as “one of London’s leading slave traders at a time when the city was Britain’s largest slaving port.” He had campaigned to prevent the Royal African Company in regaining its monopoly over the transatlantic slave trade following the 1698 decision by parliament to open up the trade to everyone. In 1708 and 1726 when the Board of Trade made enquiries into transatlantic slave trade, he offered a series of criticisms regarding the Royal African Company, and argued on behalf of the independent traders like himself. In 1726, Morice's seven ships accounted for 9.4% of London's slave trade capacity, which made him one of the largest of the city's 49 ship-owners. Over 22,000 enslaved people were transported on Morice’s ships, with over 3,500 subsequently killed during the middle passage. In 1729, more than 150 enslaved people died on-board during a single journey, which was a mortality rate of 46%.
Humphrey Morice served as a Director of the Bank from 1716-1731, as Deputy Governor from 1725-27, and as Governor from 1727-29. He died in 1731 whilst still a director of the Bank of England. Following his death, Morice was found to have defrauded the Bank by more than £29,000. He had made use of many fictitious bills of exchange to convince his business partners of his credit. He was also found to have abused funds of which he was a trustee. Litigation involving Morice's widow helped to delay the settlement, which was not finally achieved until 43 years after his death, and his estate ultimately proved insufficient to satisfy his creditors. It is because of this legal battle that personal papers belonging to Morice, including his personal diaries as a slaver trader, came to be in the possession of the Bank of England as they were seized as part of the investigation at the time. |