John Earle
Hanging in the eastern ground floor corridor of Liverpool Town Hall is the portrait of John Earle (1674-1749), artist unknown. The plaque currently in place (pictured below) describes him as “a descendant of a very famous old Lancashire family living near Warrington. By 1703 he was a person of considerable influence in Liverpool and was made a member of the Town Council. In 1707 (sic) he was elected Mayor of Liverpool and witnessed the laying of the foundations of the Blue Coat Hospital.”
I think something more appropriate would read as follows:
“The Earle Family were heavily involved in slavery over four generations, as slave ship owners, captains, plantation landlords and purveyors of slave-produced goods. John Earle was responsible for financing one of the first legal slave ships to leave Liverpool, the ‘Union’, in 1699. By 1700, he was trading in a range of commodities including: wine, tobacco, sugar and iron goods, whilst also investing in another two slaving voyages that year, firmly establishing the family interest in slaving that would continue for over a century. Along with many other slavers, John used some of his wealth for the founding of the Blue Coat Hospital. In 1709, he was elected Mayor of Liverpool”
