Perils of the sea
Panel 5
The Napoleonic wars of the late 18th and early 19th century caused trade and economic disruption in Britain. The Continental blockade banned British ships from European ports, then neutral ships were ordered by Britain to visit British ports first before trading elsewhere, while America closed its burgeoning ports to foreign vessels. Seizures by British and French ships were a common threat to merchants who found themselves pawns in the battle for control.
Thomas, Henry, and John Ripley inherited a sum of £100 each upon the death of their stepfather. They set up business together and John went out to live in the West Indies as part of the partnership to oversee the brothers trade there. The end of the war in 1815 brought a recession as demand for items such as uniforms dropped while production continued. Consequently, the Ripley brothers were declared bankrupt in 1817. By the 1820s the economic climate was much improved, and the brothers invested in ships and began trading successfully with Calcutta, the West Indies and North and South America. So successful were the brothers that they were able to procure the lease on the desirable AS.
Julia Ripley accompanied her husband Thomas on his voyages to East Asia where he hoped to outmanoeuvre the dominance of the East India Company’s dominance in China. Julia’s diary offers significant insight into British travel and trade during this period and highlights the social etiquette expected among the wealthy British abroad. Julia’s tame leopard may not have been as unusual as the headlines suggest. In the mid-19th century exotic pet ownership and shops became common. The exotic animal business used imperial trading networks whilst providing domestic Liverpudlian and British audiences with glimpses of exhibits from colonial possessions.
Fig 5.1 Julian donated hers and her late husband’s money to establish the Ripley’s School, 1864 (The Illustrated London News, 1864, Vol 45,July-Dec: 465)
Link: Chetham’s Library Collection: Belle Vue Zoological Gardens https://library.chethams.com/collections/101-treasures-of-chethams/belle-vue/
References
Hutchinson, J.M & Hutchinson, M.F. (2012) Voyages with a Merchant Prince Secrets of the Ripley Diary. J.M & M.F. Hutchinson.
O’Rourke, K. H. (2007). War and Welfare: Britain, France, and the United States 1807-14. Oxford Economic Papers, 59, i8–i30.
Scott, A. (2020) The ‘Missing Link’ Between Science and Show Business: Exhibiting Gorillas and Chimpanzees in Victorian Liverpool. Journal of Victorian Culture, 25(1), 1–20.