Mr Atkinson's Rum Contract: The Story of a Tangled Inheritance

Richard Atkinson's book explores his family's involvement in the slave trade, based on personal correspondence. It offers a unique insight into Britain's colonial past and the impact of slavery on Georgian families.

Format: Hardback
Length: 512 pages
Publication date: 16 April 2020
Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers

Richard Atkinson, in his late thirties, was approaching a significant milestone – the age at which his father had passed away – when he stumbled upon a box of old family letters, forgotten and gathering dust on top of a cupboard. This discovery ignited a profound and intensely emotional journey that would take him from the weather-beaten house of his Cumbrian ancestors to the abandoned ruins of their sugar estates in Jamaica. Richard's relentless search led him to one particular ancestor, an earlier Richard Atkinson, a West India merchant who had played a crucial role in supplying the British army during the American War of Independence. Through his diligent research, Richard uncovered the remarkable story of his ancestor's wealth and connections, amassing a vast fortune and forging influential relationships along the way. "Rum Atkinson," as he was known, lived a short but remarkable life, achieving great success and accumulating a substantial inheritance for his numerous nephews and nieces, as well as the society beauty who had rejected his marriage proposal. However, his legacy was marred by a lengthy and contentious legal battle that lasted forty years, as his heirs fought over his estate. Drawing on the intimate details of his family's personal correspondence, Richard candidly shares the story of his worldly ancestors and their involvement in the slave trade. It is a tale that reveals the dark and complex history of the Atkinsons' wealth, which was built on the backs of enslaved Africans. This captivating narrative, set against the backdrop of war, politics, and slavery, provides a unique and intimate glimpse into one of the most disturbing chapters in Britain's colonial past.

Weight: 784g
Dimension: 164 x 243 x 47 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780007509249