William Butterworth. 1823. Three Years Adventures, of a Minor. Leeds: Edward Baines.
The 15-year-old son of a Leeds engraver (not Schroeder!) runs away on the slaver Hudibras, crosses the Middle Passage with slaves, and has extraordinary experiences with other trading ships in the Caribbean and on the United States’ Atlantic seaboard, mixing with enslaved and free blacks, sailors and soldiers of various nations, alligators and Indians. A brilliant story, brilliantly told, bur rarely mentioned, for reasons hard to fathom. Get it: All sources.- 21 May 1785: Aged 15, William Butterworth of Leeds runs away to sea and joins a slaver
- 6 November 1786: William Butterworth of Leeds witnesses the “grand pageant” celebrating the demise in July of Duke Ephraim, Efik king of Old Calabar
- 26 February 1787: William Butterworth of Leeds arrives at Grenada (West Indies) from Calabar (West Africa) on the Hudibras (Liverpool) with the survivors of a cargo of 360 slaves
- 11 July 1787: Advertisement for The Commercial and Mathematical Academy, Hull
- 13 August 1788: Emigrating from Grenada to England, the parrots of William Butterworth of Leeds survive a Caribbean hurricane
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