Background
Her father was an entrepreneur who had travelled from Liverpool to the Los Islands, her mother was an African slave.
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Betsy Heard
Edit ProfileEducation
Heard studied commerce and European culture in England.
Career
Upon completing her education, she returned to West Africa and she set up her trading post on the Bereira river in the mid-eighteenth century. By 1794, she had developed a monopoly in slave trade in the area and owned the main wharf in Bereira, several trading ships, and a warehouse. This success was in part due to the Islamic jihad in Futa Jallon as the Islamic people encouraged business and trading in their land.
Making her known as the unofficial queen of the river until the end of the century.
Her wealth and political influence also earned her a reputation in diplomacy when she was asked to mediate a dispute between local groups and the Sierra Leone Company. Her diplomacy is also credited in saving the region from war between 1800 and 1807.
She had a familiar relationship with Augustine Heard of Heard & Company that dealt in the California opium trade. She ended up opposing the slave trade.
