Jeff Morris wrote:
>
> While researching the history of Wortley Top Forge, I have come across notes
> made in the mid-18th century by the Ironomaster John Cockshutt, concerning
> the bill of 1750 for the removal of importation duties on American iron.
>
> In which he states that the American ironmasters have an unfair advantage in
> terms of production costs through the use of slave labour, was this the case?
> Although not wishing to offend anyone over a potentially sensitive subject,
> I was also wondering how the purchase cost plus the cost of food and any
> other expenses related to a slave, compared with the wages paid to an
> ironworker in Great Britain.
>
 
Jeff,
 
You may be able to find some useful information in a book called 'Bond
of Iron - Master and Slave at Buffalo Forge', by Charles B. Dew
(W.W.Norton &Co. NY 1994) This is about an ironworks in Virginia.
 
I only just started it, so I can't give you any more information at
present.
 
Fran