"a coloured man" meaning?

[nestagj]

Though rubymelia seems to assume this means that John Potter was black, my spider sense is tingling on that one. Slavery wasn't abolished until 1833, so the chances of an African marrying a British woman are slim.

Perhaps I can point you to this true story based in our locality.  He is buried in one of our parish churches.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Ystumllyn

Nesta

[History Lives]

Perhaps might help the search to list what I currently know about John Potter's children. Hoping I may be able to find a record where one of his children is living with a paternal uncle (one of John's brothers) which might shed light on where he was born in the UK or abroad. No luck so far from the census records I've checked.

• Ann Potter, married Edward Parry in Chester. Died in Rochdale in 1873.
  
  Robert Potter died umarried in 1841, aged 18 (cause currently unknown)
  
  Charlotte, married Richard Randles (marriage signed by Edward Parry (brother in Law), died 1878
  
  John Potter, a waterman in 1841 in Chester and married Catherine Schofield in 1845 (witnessed by Edward Parry). Then moved to Liverpool.
  
  Louisa Potter married William Hughes of Oxfordshire, was blind.
  
  Jane, married William Woodworth (witness to sister Eliza’s marriage, also signed for Charlotte)
  
  Eliza married Thomas Powell in Chester. Later married Michael Stout also in Chester.

[Maiden Stone]

Seemed most Africans in London in 1780s and 1790s were deported / repatriated under the Committee for the Relief of the Black Poor and similar acts. Don't know if this would apply to Africans in Liverpool.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Committee_for_the_Relief_of_the_Black_Poor

Not most. 700 signed up. 440 of those boarded ship to Sierra Leone. The scheme was for poor black people. Not everyone was poor. It became unpopular among the black community. This happened about 1787.

"At times of war such as Napoleonic Wars in late 18th and early 19th centuries, white sailors were drafted into Royal Navy. Asian, African and West Indian men took their places onboard merchant sailing ships."  https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/z8bbtyc/revision/1

Btw yesterday was 200th anniversary of the Cato Street Conspiracy. Executed for his part in it was William Davidson, son of a black, enslaved mother and a white father.

[History Lives]

At times of war such as Napoleonic Wars in late 18th and early 19th centuries, white sailors were drafted into Royal Navy. Asian, African and West Indian men took their places onboard merchant sailing ships.

What do you reckon the best course of action is for exploring this possibility? I don't have any experience with maritime genealogy.