Thomas Daniel

Thomas Daniel (16 September 17626 April 1854) was a slave owner and sugar merchant in Bristol who was known as the "King of Bristol" and later in life "Father of Bristol" because of his omnipotence in corporate affairs for over 50 years. Across the Americas he owned plantations worked by enslaved Africans and people of African descent. He was a partner in Bristol businesses and owned ships linked directly to the slave economy. The extent of his family's company Thomas Daniel & Sons in Bristol and Thomas Daniel & Co. in London (founded by his father) slave ownership was such that when slavery was abolished in 1834 the British Government awarded them one of the largest compensation awards in the UK for the ownership of 4,967 enslaved people. There is no evidence that he was involved in buying or transporting people in Africa to sell as slaves in the Americas. Daniel provided mortgages for plantation owners. Between 1823 and 1843 he and his brother headed the list of British merchants who were the major creditors for estates that passed through the chancery courts in Barbados. During that time they extended £62,694 in credit (the total amount of mortgages extended during this period in Barbados was valued at £256,981).