Matthew Buckle (1718-84)
Matthew Buckle (1718-84), was one of the most distinguished naval officers of the 18th century, and was in continuous command of fighting ships for nineteen years from 1744. He entered the navy in 1731 at the age of 13, and was one of five members of the Buckle family ultimately to rise to Flag Rank. His career is unfolded in a series of Log Books which survives for the period 1731-62 (excluding the years 1743-44), and in his Letter and Order Books for 1744-48 (Buckle Mss 96-103, 105-106), as well as a series of miscellaneous papers relating to the naval engagements in which he participated. (Buckle Mss 107-110, 201-213).
With the transatlantic slave trade in full swing during the mid 18th-century, Britain and France clashed over trade (in enslaved people) and settlement on the west coast of Africa, and Captain Buckle commanded several vessels in the protection of British interests.
He undertook a notable commission in 1751-1752 to the coast of modern day Ghana (then known as the Gold Coast) where his purpose was ‘the Protection and Security of the Trade of His Majesty’s Subjects in those parts’. In his orders from the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty
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