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PhD Forum briefing note: Geography and trade; Commerce and law

2012-12-14T18:22:51Z

Richardblakemore:

'''PhD Forum briefing note: Geography and trade; Commerce and law'''

'''Editorial history'''

04/12/12: CSG, created page
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'''Purpose of page'''

This draft page is a briefing note for the planned PhD Forum online discussion of geography and trade, and commerce and law

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__TOC__
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==Suggested links==

[[PhD Forum|PhD Forum]]

[[PhD Forum briefing note: Material culture and language|PhD Forum briefing note: Material culture and language]]
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==Introduction==
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===Purpose and process of the forum session===

The purpose of the forum on geography and trade, and commerce and the law, is for PhD Forum members to explore the potential of HCA materials, as exemplified by HCA 13/71.

Forum members are asked to think how HCA materials might assist them directly in their studies, and more generally how they might assist scholars in exploring issues related to these topics.

The online session, which will take place on XXXX, will be facilitated by [http://history.psu.edu/directory/pjh206 Phillip Hnatovich] (Pennsylvania State University) and [http://humanities.exeter.ac.uk/history/staff/blakemore/other/ Richard Blakemore] (University of Exeter). The role of the facilitator is to structure the session, and to pose a series of questions to forum members. All participating members are encouraged to speak, and at the end of the forum the facilitators will ask each member to make some summary remarks.

Notes will be taken of the meeting and posted to the PhD Forum page after the session. Forum members are encouraged to expand and and correct these notes as they see fit.
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===The questions: Geography and trade===

(1) What types of geographical knowledge are contained in HCA materials?

(2) What can be learned about trade in and with specific regions?

(3) What data in HCA materials might contribute to a micro-model of English trade in the 1650s?

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===The questions: Commercial and legal practice===

(1) What can be learned about commercial practices and behaviours from HCA materials?

(2) What can be learned about legal practices and behaviours from HCA materials?
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==The dataset==

Some preliminary analysis has been done of a subset of the complete HCA 13/71 deposition data, examining signatures and markes used to approve depositions as recorded by the High Court of Admiralty clerks or proctors. The same subdata set can be used to exampine the geographical locations of persons deposing before the court, and to explore some basic patterns of location.

See: [https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AoNoOr05QRMtdHAyNmxuVnNmYkJ3Q0ZiNEQ0R0V2S3c#gid=1 Deposition Literacy analysis, 04/12/12]

The characteristics of the subset of data are as follows:

Depositions by country of location (alphabetical)

Barbados = 1
Denmark = 2
England = 436
France = 32
Germania = 2
Hansa Ports = 10 (Danzig: 2; Hamburg: 6; Lubeck: 2)
Ireland = 3 (Dublin: 1; Wexford: 1; Londonderry: 1)
New England = 1
Norway = 2
Pommerland = 1
Scotland = 3
United Provinces = 26

'''TOTAL = 520'''

Depositions by country of location (rank)

England = 436
France = 32
United Provinces = 26
Hansa Ports = 10 (Danzig: 2; Hamburg: 6; Lubeck: 2)
Scotland = 3
Ireland = 3 (Dublin: 1; Wexford: 1; Londonderry: 1)
Germania = 2
Norway = 2
Pommerland = 1
New England = 1
Barbados = 1

'''TOTAL = 520'''
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Depositions of persons located in England (alphabetical)

Bristol = 5
Cornwall = 2
County of Durham = 2
County of Lincoln = 1
County of Southampton = 5
Devon = 11
Dorset = 6
Essex = 11
Hampshire = 2
Isle of Wight = 3
Kent = 17
London = 155
Middlesex = 115
Norfolk = 4
Northumberland = 2
Suffolk = 16
Surrey = 63
Yorkshire = 1

'''TOTAL = 421'''
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Depositions of persons located in England (rank & grouping)

London = 155

Middlesex = 115
Surrey = 63
SUB TOTAL = 178

London + Middlesex + Surrey = 333

Kent = 17
Essex = 11
SUB TOTAL = 28

London + Middlesex + Surrey + Kent + Essex = 361

Devon = 11
Dorset = 6
Bristol = 5
Cornwall = 2
SUB TOTAL = 24

County of Southampton = 5
Hampshire = 2
Isle of Wight = 3
SUB TOTAL = 10

Suffolk = 16
Norfolk = 4
SUB TOTAL = 20

County of Durham = 2
Yorkshire = 1
Northumberland = 2
SUB TOTAL = 5

County of Lincoln = 1

'''TOTAL = 421'''
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Depositions of Londoners and surrounds

London parishes
- Aldermanburie, London = 2 (2x occupation unspecified)
- Allhallowes Barking, London = 4 (Winecooper; Servant/apprentice to a ship chandler; 2 x Mariner)
- Saint Andrews Wardrobe = 1 (Doctor in physicke)
- Saint Bennett Fimck = 1 (Notary publique)
- Saint Bottolphe without Allgate = 6 (2x Mariner; 2x Merchant taylor; Mariner; Waterman; Cooper)
- Saint Bottolphe Billingsgate, London = 2 (Merchant; Servant/apprentice to Salter)
- Saint Buttolphes without Bishopsgate, London = 2 (Armourer; Servant/apprentice to a Merchant)
- Saint Catherine near the Stocks = 1 (Grocer)
- Saint Dunstans in the East = 1 (Merchant)
- Saint Dunstans in the West = 1 (Mariner)
- Saint Edmonds Lombard Street = 1 (Master Mariner)
- Saint James Rotherhithe = 1 (Barber Chryugeon)
- Saint Katherine near the Tower of London = 4 (4x Mariner)
- Saint Mary Magdalens, London = 1 (Grocer)
- Saint Margaret Fishstreete, London = 1 (Cooper)
- Saint Martin Axe = 1 (Mariner)
- Saint Martin in the Vintry = 1 (Chirugion)
- Saint Mary at Hill, London = 4 (Merchant; Vintner; Salter; Scrivener)
- Saint Mary Colechurch = 1 (Grocer)
- Saint Mary Woolchurch = 1 (Merchant)
- Saint Maudlins Milkstreete = 1 (Secretary to Prize Commission)
- Saint Michael Bassishaw = 1 (Clothworker)
- Saint Michael Cornhill = 2 (Scrivener; Surgeon)
- Saint Michaels Crooked Lane = 1 (Servant/apprentice to fishmonger)
- Saint Nicholas Olaves = 1 (Chirugion)
- Saint Olaves, Southwarke, Surrey = 1 (Lighterman, 2x Waterman)
- Saint Pancras Soperlane, London = 2 (Merchant; Copperas man)
- Saint Stephens Wallbrooke = 1 (Merchant)
- Saint Thomas Apostle = 2 (2x Merchant)
- Saint Thomas Shoreditch = 1 (Mariner)
- Tower Libertie = 2 (Late servant to a compasse maker; Servant/apprentice to a sail maker)

- Saint Mary Matsellon alias Whitechappell, Middlesex = 5 (5x Mariner)
- Stepney, Middlesex = 1 (Mariner)

* Limehouse = 4 (4x Mariner)
* Shadwell = 8 (Anchor smith; 2x Carpenter; Master mariner, 4x Mariner)
* Wapping = 10 (1x Carpenter; Brewers servant; Mariner(Gunner); 3x Marine; Mariner (Cheife Mate); Mariner (Boatswaine); Deale merchant; Labourer)
SUBTOTAL = 22

- Saint Mary Magdalen Bermondsey in Southwarke, Surrey = 15 (XXXX)
- Saint Olave Southwarke, Surrex = 9 (8x Mariner; 1x Brewers clerk)

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==Geography and trade==
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===Types of geographical knowledge===

* '''Different commercial practices of merchants of different nations?'''

- Those deposed are largely English merchants and mariners

- The best represented non-English deponents in HCA 13/71 are Dutch and French mariners and merchants, though the balance is likely to vary between HCA volumes, partly driven by which nations were at war with whom.

- Some impression can be formed of foreign merchant practices in London, especially those of Portuguese and Spanish merchants, with a surprising number of such deponents, who are less visible in other sources such as hearth tax records, and who are hard to find in Chancery cases. See [[Portuguese merchants in London|Portuguese merchants in London]] and [[Spanish merchants in London|Spanish merchants in London]].

- Considerable detail is available on commercial practices in certain ports. In HCA 13/71, for example, there is detail on customs and working practices at the ports of Cyprus and Zant<ref>[http://marinelives-transcript.org/scripto/?p=4&scripto_action=transcribe&scripto_doc_id=212&scripto_doc_page_id=205 HCA f.52v]</ref>

- Physical descriptions are available for some ports, concentrating on associated navigational difficulties. For example, the problems of the fast flowing waters at Porto. The fifty year old Southwark mariner, James Manfeild, testified that:

"''The Port of Porto Port in Portugall is a barrd port, and by reason of the barr and alsoe by reason a great fresh doth usually come downe the Port and the Port is very narrowe and rockie on the one side and sandie on the other, it is very dangerous to put thereinto, and the same is not to bee entered but about three quarters flood, and that with a great fresh gale of winde to stemme the fresh, in soe much that noe shipps (as this deponent hath heard by divers seamen who frequented that Port) doe goe in thither without assistance of a pylott belonging to that place or to some other Port neere thereabout and well acquainted with the sayd Port''"<ref>[http://marinelives-transcript.org/scripto/scripto/?scripto_action=transcribe&scripto_doc_id=911&scripto_doc_page_id=1122 HCA 13/71 f.503r: Case: Cowse against Jiggles; Deposition: 4. James Manfeild of Saint Olaves in Southwarke Mariner aged fifty yeares; Date: 27/02/1656 (1657]</ref>

* '''Making visible the cross-links, rather than hubs and spokes?'''

- Browsing the Ship List for HCA 13/71 in Google Docs, though only partially complete, highlights a number of cross-links between regional ports, and between unexpected regions and national ports. See Column N of [https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AoNoOr05QRMtdHAyNmxuVnNmYkJ3Q0ZiNEQ0R0V2S3c#gid=5 HCA 13/71 Ship List] for the routes of specific ships recorded in relevant cases and depositions. Commodities carried by those ships on those routes are specified (if known) in Column M.

- Several textiles related cases show these cross-links. For example, the export of serges from the provincial port of Colchester in the county of Essex to Rotterdam.<ref>[http://marinelives-transcript.org/scripto/scripto/?scripto_action=transcribe&scripto_doc_id=681&scripto_doc_page_id=488 HCA 13/71 f.158r]</ref>

- In the case of Newcastle coals, HCA 13/71 reveals that there was a cross-North sea trade in sea coal from Newcastle to Holland, in the ship the Catherine. This was a ship owned by Henry Baldero, William Harris, and John Shephard, and originally purchased in Holland.<ref>[http://marinelives-transcript.org/scripto/scripto/?scripto_action=transcribe&scripto_doc_id=687&scripto_doc_page_id=590 HCA 13/71 f.210v]</ref>

- The south-western ports English are well known to have had links with Spain, but it it is interesting to see a planned voyage from Falmouth to Barcelona, then Majorca, and back to Falmouth, converted (with objections by a number of the crew) into a voyage from Falmouth to the West Indies and then to Genoa, before returning to Falmouth.<ref>[http://marinelives-transcript.org/scripto/?p=4&scripto_action=transcribe&scripto_doc_id=58&scripto_doc_page_id=134 HCA 13/71 f.27r]</ref> It is also interesting to see triangular trade between south-western English ports, Newfoundland and Spain, with the Plymouth based ship, the wonderfully named Noahs Ark, taking Newfoundland fish to Malaga, but seized by the French before it could return to Plymouth.<ref>[http://marinelives-transcript.org/scripto/scripto/?scripto_action=transcribe&scripto_doc_id=687&scripto_doc_page_id=588 HCA 13/71 f.209v]</ref>

- Trading links are also visible between provincial English ports and various French ports. For example, the Lilly of Bristol, trading between Bristol and Marseilles, with an outward cargo of pilchards and stockings.<ref>[http://marinelives-transcript.org/scripto/?p=4&scripto_action=transcribe&scripto_doc_id=687&scripto_doc_page_id=611 HCA 13/71 f.221r]</ref> The Prosperous of Southampton appears in a voyage via Falmouth to Bordeaux and back to Southampton.<ref>[http://marinelives-transcript.org/scripto/?p=4&scripto_action=transcribe&scripto_doc_id=687&scripto_doc_page_id=699 HCA 13/71 f.245r]</ref>

* '''Mapping London?'''

Clearly there is the potential to map the HCA 13/71 data. The data set is large by the standards of many prosopographical historical studies, but still small in terms of statistical rigour. Ideally the HCA 13/71 data set would be combined with additional set sets from other HCA volumes, and indeed data from other sources.

Mapping could be used in an electronic edition as a user friendly means of accessing data, and/or as a tool for hypothesis generation, and/or as a means of demonstrating statistically significant clusters and densities of specific variables in the data.

Simple inspection of the subset of data referred to at the beginning of this briefing note ([[PhD Forum briefing note: Geography and trade%3B Commerce and law#head-2927c2118889b9c64cc4a609bc306740eb7d8496|The dataset]]) suggests a number of patterns which would be worth exploring. In the case of data for London and its environs:

- High concentration of mariners and shore based suppliers in the parish of Stepney in Middlesex (Limehouse, Wapping, Wapping Wall, Shadwell) and in the parish of Saint Olaves in Southwarke in Surrey)

- Possibly some occupational/social status concentrations of mariners and marine suppliers within specific settlements and parishes in mariner dominated areas

- Some presence of mariners in the eastern and Thames shoreline parishes of the City of London, such as Saint Bottolphe without Allgate, and Allhallowes Barking.

- Scattering of merchants across the City of London, with a slight weighting towards the eastern parishes. However, many merchants giving testimony in HCA 13/71 are identified simply as merchants of London. It is possible that some cross-referencing to hearth tax data for 1666 could suggest the possible parish locations of these merchants. Preliminary linkage work suggests that it may be possible to link a portion of the merchant witnesses to subsequent PRC will and hearth tax data. It would be interesting to compare merchant witness distribution with geographical analyses of London merchants done other scholars.<ref>[See Perry Gauci, XXXX (XXXX, XXXX)]</ref>

- There is an opportunity to compare HCA 13/71 occupational distribution of merchants and mariners with distributional data for London, Middlesex, Surrey and Kent hearth tax data for identifiable merchants and mariners and PRC inventory data for identifiable merchants and mariners. For a sampling of these data see the following links. These data were generated for a different purpose, but contain large numbers of merchants, and a reasonable number of mariners, typically ship's captains: [[MRP: Heath tax: Middlesex|Heath tax: Middlesex]], [[MRP: Hearth tax: Kent %26 Surrey|Hearth tax: Kent & Surrey]], [[MRP: Hearth tax: LondonHearth|tax: London]]. For a sampling of PRC inventory data (again generated for a different purpose), see [[MRP: Inventories|Inventories]]

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===Trade in and with specific geographies===

- HCA 13/71 is rich in cases involving the Mediterranean, including the Zant and Morea currant trade, trade with the Turkish port of Scanderoone, trading with the Barbary coast, and trading with Spain (especially the ports of Saint Lucar/Cadiz, Malaga and Barcelona). Genoa is a frequent port of call, and, to a lesser extent (surprisingly), the Tuscan port of Legorno. No individual depositions or cases in HCA 13/71 involving the Mediterranean give a deep geographical insight, but pieced together, and combined with other sources, there is the potential to enrich understanding of trade in certain geographies.

Detail, Carte du bassin méditerranéen, de l'Asie mineure etc., le Brun, 1714

[[File:BOOK_PAGE_DETAIL_Le_Brun_C_Bassin_Med_Voy_au_Levt_Bef_P1_1714_BNF_DL_CSG_130112_copy.PNG|thumbnail|700px|none]]

- Using HCA 13/71, the area with the greatest potential in the Mediterranean for such a treatment is probably Zant and the Morea. See [[MRP: Zante#head-70440046a3dc2e079f23ee1c57dfa76669b732aa|commercial context on Zant]].

- References to trade with the Barbary Coast (North Africa) are relatively few, but have the value of jolting preconceptions about trading links, and highlight coastal trading and cross Mediterranean trading to add value, as opposed to simple "out and back" trades. The planned route of the Fortune of London demonstrates cross-Mediterranean trading, with Barbary bought goods being traded out in Spain before returning to London. The planned route was from London to Sally on the Barbary coast with "gunnes, or fowling peices, iron, tobaććo lead bales of Cloath and other goods." At Sally "a good part of the Cloath, Lead and Iron was sold, to be payd some in waxe, and some (as he heard) in gold." Then on to Santa Cruz and "there disposed of the sayd gunnes and all the other goods the sayd Tobacco onely excepted." At Santa Cruz, planning to return to Sally to pick up the proceeds of the goods from London, Thomas Braining, the captain "tooke in about forty Jewes and Moores and severall quantities of merchandizes belonging to them, all to be transported to Sally aforesayd upon freight." Uproar amongst the Jews and Moors followed when contrary winds led Braining to put into a different port. Finally, Braining had planned to go then from Sally to Cadiz "to sell some of her Barbary merchandize which she had on board."<ref>[http://marinelives-transcript.org/scripto/scripto/?scripto_action=transcribe&scripto_doc_id=363&scripto_doc_page_id=437 HCA 13/71 f.131r]</ref>

- Another geography which stands out in HCA 13/71 (in terms of the number of cases in which it appears) is that of the Canary Islands. There may be some research potential to explore this trade, in combination with other sources, such as the letters of the London merchant John Page.<ref>[http://www.british-history.ac.uk/source.aspx?pubid=564 G. F. Steckley (ed.), Letters of John Page (London, 1984), viewed 04/12/12]</ref> Some detail is available on the practices of Spanish port officials and on commodities shipped out to the Canaries.

- The single geography which stands out in HCA 13/71 as one where the volume offers some really novel insights is that of Greenland. By combining the case of ''Batson and others con Gosling and others'' (1656 and 1657) with further cases involving Batson in another HCA volume, a good picture can be built up of the operations and risk taking of an English whaling ship operating in the waters of Spitzbergen. There is the potential to explore the social and economic structure and network of an English whaling ship, using the crew list, and the Court supplied details of a large number of deponents who were on the ''Owners Adventure'' and the ''Greyhound.'' How far this could be taken remains to be seen. For further information, see [[C17th Arctic whaling|C17th Arctic whaling]].

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===Micro-model of English trade===

Could the data generated from the transcription of HCA 13/71 be used in any meaningful way, whether statistically valid or not, to model aspects of English trade in the mid-C17th.

It all depends of course as to what the research question is, but the answer is probably a qualified yes.

At the level of the enterprise, defined as a ship, there is clearly the potential to model aspects of shipping economics, using rules of thumb derived from analysis of the whole HCA 13/71 dataset. The partial data collected in the [https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AoNoOr05QRMtdHAyNmxuVnNmYkJ3Q0ZiNEQ0R0V2S3c#gid=5 HCA 13/71 Ship List] contains a first shot at gathering and exploring relevant data. Columns F, G, and H capture data, where it exists in HCA 13/71, for ship burthen (in tonnes), deck number, and crew number. These data, when completed, and ideally combined with other HCA data for different years, and compared with data from other sources, could be used to explore crew to burthen ratios, and be input into a bottom-up model of ship economics. Such a model would need to include data and variables for capital costs, operating costs, revenue, and capacity utlisation. See [[Ship economics|Ship economics]] for some further exploration of the availability of such data within HCA 13/71.

Why might one want to model ship economics? It is the experience of this author working in modern commercial enterprises that the discipline of a model soon exposes spurious assumptions, and focuses the mind on a few key variables and sensitivities, which have the power to significantly change economic returns.

Thinking through the quantitative impact of (by modern standards) extraordinarily long dwell times at ports to assemble a cargo, and to load it, and then later to unload it, is an interesting exercise. There are a number of cases in HCA 13/71 protesting delays in ships returning, for whatever reason, and claiming damages in terms of additional wages, victualls and ship charter costs. But potent too in terms of delays in arriving at a port and delays in departing from a port is the impact this can have on the ability to make up a cargo or to sell the cargo at a good price when eventually arriving at the intended destination. The case of ''Ewer against Watts'' centred on high amounts of dead freight incurred on the home voyage of the ship the William from Virginia to London as the result, allegedly, of Phillip Ewer, the ship's captain, delaying his departure from England long after his previously announced departure.<ref>[http://marinelives-transcript.org/scripto/scripto/?scripto_action=transcribe&scripto_doc_id=911&scripto_doc_page_id=1194 HCA 13/71 f.537v]</ref> This resulted in tobacco planters by the end of March breaking their commitments to using his ship, and shipping their tobacco out on other ships.

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===Resources on geography and trade===

'''Geographies of trade'''

[[Bound for Barbary|Bound for Barbary]]
[[English coastal trading|English coastal trading]]

'''Types of trade'''

[[Currants and raisins trade|Currants and raisins trade]]
[[Oranges and lemons trade|Oranges and lemons trade]]
[[Slave trade|Slave trade]]
[[Slavery without redemption|Slavery without redemption]]
[[Textile trade|Textile trade]]

'''Statehood of merchants'''

[[Dutch merchants in London and elsewhere|Dutch merchants in London and elsewhere]]
[[Jewish merchants|Jewish merchants]]
[[Portuguese merchants in London|Portuguese merchants in London]]
[[Spanish merchants in London|Spanish merchants in London]]
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==Commercial and legal practice==
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===Commercial practices and behaviours===

HCA documents have considerable research potential for academics interested in establishing the nature of mid-C17th commercial infrastructure and working practices in London and on the Thames estuary, and to a lesser extent in a range of European, Caribbean and and North American ports.

The HCA 13 series is a good series from which to start such looking at shore based infrastructure and working practices, since it contains a fair number of cases involving shore based suppliers to ships, and cases which link specific ladings of commodities to specific wharves and keys. In HCA 13/71, for example, shore based suppliers in London, Middlesex and Surrey include victuallers (brewers, butchers, grocers), anchor smiths, coopers, deale merchants, mast makers, packers, porters, rope merchants, sail makers, ship chandlers, steevedores. watermen, and wharfingers. For examples of the types of insight available for shore trades featured in HCA 13/71 see [[Port Trades|Port Trades]].

Cases provide useful detail on neglected areas of historiography, including Thames docks and wharves, Thames shipyards, and local Thames river traffic involved in loading and unloading larger ships, and transporting goods by river and coastal waters over short distances. Using these data is likely to involve significant work of synthesis, and will require inspection of a broader selection of HCA documentation across years and HCA documentation types, and of totally different series and document types, such as records of involving Chancery, probate, hearth tax, merchant letters, and State papers. See: [[Thames docks and wharves|Thames docks and wharves]]; [[Thames lighters|Thames lighters]]; [[Thames shipyards in 1650s|Thames shipyards in 1650s]]

A slightly different approach which focuses on material handling, independent of whether it involves goods onboard a ship or at a wharf or port, also yields some interesting research material. For example, the descriptions of steeving a ship load of cotton wool at Cyprus by various deponents in a case concerning the Thomas Bonadventure enable a detailed reconstruction of such a process, and emphasise the labour intensity of cargo handling.<ref>[http://marinelives-transcript.org/scripto/scripto/?scripto_action=transcribe&scripto_doc_id=58&scripto_doc_page_id=128 HCA 13/71 f.24r]; [http://marinelives-transcript.org/scripto/scripto/?scripto_action=transcribe&scripto_doc_id=58&scripto_doc_page_id=158 HCA 13/71 f.33v]</ref> For an overview of areas of materials handling illuminated in HCA 13/71 see [[Materials handling|Materials handling]].

An interesting research strategy, which could make good use of materials, would be to take a specific commodity and to look at its supply chain from original source through packaging, shipping, unlading, reshipping, reunlading, and transit to wholesaler or retail.

Specific commodities which might be both interesting and possible to explore would be timber, iron, and tobacco.

When the electronic searchable edition of HCA 13/71 is complete, it will be possible to search for all references to specific commodities, and to see which ships specific commodities were carried on, and to which destinations they were sent. Sampling of tobacco related cases in HCA 13/71 shows tobacco being laded at Virginia, but also at the Bermudas, and transported to London, in the King of Poland<ref>[http://marinelives-transcript.org/scripto/scripto/?scripto_action=transcribe&scripto_doc_id=687&scripto_doc_page_id=707 HCA 13/71 249r]</ref> but also from Virginia directly to the Canary Islands and to Spain. In HCA 13/71 tobacco is also reshipped from London to a variety of locations, including the Canary Islands, Spain and Aleppo.<ref>[See [http://marinelives-transcript.org/scripto/?p=4&scripto_action=transcribe&scripto_doc_id=687&scripto_doc_page_id=701 Travers against Burridge and others, HCA 13/71 249r], for shipment of tobacco and pipestaves from London to Teneriff on the Martin]</ref> See [[Virginia tobacco trade in the 1650s|Virginia tobacco trade in the 1650s]]

Timber appears in HCA 13/71 typically in the form of deals, spars and balkes being transported from various Baltic ports, such as Berghen and Quinsborough, and bound for London. There are also some references to the import of dye woods from Brazil via English owned ships imployed by the Portuguese Brazil company.

There is the potential to combine HCA material with Chancery, PRC and ADM series sources to map out the acquisition of timber for commercial and naval uses. For example, the detailed 1678 posthumous inventory of Thomas Gaskins' Thames side timber yard, much of the timber being probably of Baltic origin.<ref>[[MRP: C5/485/75 Inventory of M:r Thomas Gaskins yard ff. 1-7|C5/485/75 Inventory of M:r Thomas Gaskins yard ff. 1-7]]</ref> Or a Chancery suit concerning the non-delivery of timber.<ref>[[MRP: C10/160/47 f. 1|C10/160/47 f.1]]</ref> The suit was brought by Edward Gavile, a woodmonger of St Clements Danes, Middlesex, against the estate of the deceased Ryder, alleging Ryder's failure to deliver up a parcel of wood which had been contracted for. As with other micro-historical approaches, a combination of determined, insistent, imaginative digital searching plus some luck is required to make connections and build a synthetic picture. But the data, when you find them, are exciting. For example, a Chancery record reveals timber trading merchants desperate to acquire timber in Norway to bring to post-1666 London, devastated by fire.

Iron appears in HCA 13/71 in the form of bars, and processed metal. In HCA 13/71 iron was acquired both in the Baltic region and from Northern Spain. In the case of Spain, iron was acquired at San Sebastians in return for a cargo of corn transported from Southampton in the Seaflower.<ref>[http://marinelives-transcript.org/scripto/?p=4&scripto_action=transcribe&scripto_doc_id=743&scripto_doc_page_id=791 HCA 13/71 f.287r]</ref> Iron was transported to Guinney to be exchanged for slaves, as was copper.<ref>[http://marinelives-transcript.org/scripto/scripto/?scripto_action=transcribe&scripto_doc_id=363&scripto_doc_page_id=452 HCA 13/71 f.140v]</ref>

HCA material has considerable potential to be used to identify working practices on board ship. Mariner depositions cover all roles and offices on board ship, ranging from "common mariner" or "common seaman" to boatswaine, gunner, master's mate, midshipman, quartermaster through to "master and commander." The working practices most frequently detailed in HCA 13/71 concern materials handling (steeving, hoisting, packing, lading) and dealing with emergencies at sea (reducing sail cover, cutting down masts, pumping the bilges, repairing damaged timbers). There is also some navigational detail, and mention of navigational instrumentation and differing judgements about the best navigational course and the exact location of the ship. See [[Navigation|Navigation]]. A significant sub-group of HCA 13/71 cases concern mishaps of ships when under the direction of a pilot, and provide detail of pilots' responsibilities and pilot conflicts with ships' masters.<ref>See [http://marinelives-transcript.org/scripto/?p=4&scripto_action=transcribe&scripto_doc_id=180&scripto_doc_page_id=189 HCA 13/71 f.47v]</ref>

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===Legal practices and behaviours===

HCA materials may offer some insights into legal practices and behaviours.

They appear richest as a source to advance understanding of the use of law and the courts within a commercial dispute, and are relatively free of complex legal issues or legal argument. Richard Blakemore reports that the legal argument of the Court has not been preserved.

Many of the basic legal concepts referred to in the Admiralty Court are commercial rather than marine, such as the law of contract and the validity of record keeping. Other concepts are specific to marine situations, such as bills of lading and charter parties. See [[Commercial law|Commercial law]] and [[Marine law|Marine law]].

The High Court of Admiralty legal process can be discerned within HCA 13/71, but the volume does not contain the complete set of documents relevant to a single case. Interrogatories, if they have survived, as recorded in a separate volume, as are the findings of the court, as are supporting materials which are cited in HCA 13/71 as schedules and annexes. See [[Introduction to the High Court of Admiralty|Introduction to the High Court of Admiralty]] and [[High Court of Admiralty process|High Court of Admiralty process]]
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====Admiralty Court legal practice and process====

=====Overview of court procedure=====

The High Court of Admiralty appears to have sat both at the abandoned church of St Margaret’s Hill in Southwark, where Samuel Pepys attended a sitting [http://www.pepysdiary.com/archive/1663/03/17/], and at Doctors' Commons [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doctors%27_Commons], near St Paul’s Cathedral, along with other civil law courts.<ref>George F. Steckley, ‘Bottomry bonds in the seventeenth-century admiralty court’, The American Journal of Legal History, 45 (2001), p. 258</ref> The court had both a criminal and an ‘instance’(civil) jurisdiction: as HCA 13/71 is part of the instance records, that procedure will be explained here, but the criminal branch of the court functioned differently. Using civil law meant that the admiralty court followed a similar procedure to the church courts which, in the early modern period, held jurisdiction over issues like marriage, adultery, and defamation. Historians have written more about these courts than the admiralty court itself.<ref>see Ralph Houlbrooke, Church courts and the people during the English reformation, 1520-1570 (Oxford, 1979); Martin Ingram, Church courts, sex and marriage in England, 1570-1640 (Cambridge, 1987); Anne Tarver, Church court records: an introduction for local and family historians (Chichester, 1995)</ref>

A lawsuit began when a plaintiff or plaintiffs paid for a '''citation''' or '''indictment''', which was intended to make the defendant appear and answer. In the admiralty court suits could be actions ''in personam'' (directed against a person or persons) or ''in rem'' (directed against a certain ship, goods, or other things), and could be pleaded collectively by a number of plaintiffs against a number of defendants. This was advantageous for mariners as it allowed them to share the costs of a prosecution; the ability to plead ''in rem'' also provided security, because it would prevent the defendant sailing off in the ‘attached’ (accused) ship, or ensured that the goods would be used to pay off wages or debts.

If the defendant wished to fight the case, then the plaintiff(s) drew up a '''libel''' outlining their ‘cause’, their side of the story. To this the defendant(s) would provide a '''personal answer''', usually denying either the whole libel or certain parts of it: those parts which the defendant(s) denied were recorded as the '''allegations'''. Both plaintiff(s) and defendant(s) could then add questions for their opponents’ witnesses, offering a rudimentary form of cross-examination usually attempting to discredit these witnesses (a common question was whether the witness stood to gain from the outcome of the lawsuit). These questions were known as '''interrogatories'''.

Both sides then named witnesses who were summoned to court. Witness testimonies were not heard in full court; witnesses were examined before a judge, at least theoretically in private, certainly under oath, and their responses to the allegations and interrogatories were written down by court clerks. It does not seem that these were verbatim: the clerks recorded statements in the third person, and often in formulaic legal phrasing. These depositions were collected over weeks, even months. This was also advantageous for maritime law, as witnesses may have been at sea and so unable to appear personally for some time.

Once all of the depositions were collected, the proctors presented their case before the judge. Both plaintiff(s) and defendant(s) would have been assisted throughout the lawsuit by their proctors, who helped them to prepare their legal documents and appeared in court on their behalf, and with the witnesses. The final stage of lawsuits was the '''informations''', where proctors would argue upon the evidence and points of law but, unfortunately, these were largely unrecorded. The judge would then pass sentence: the admiralty court used summary justice, and there was no jury. Although sentences were recorded, the reasons behind them were not.

Not all lawsuits followed this procedure in a straightforward fashion, sometimes returning to the stages of libels and allegations after initial testimony had been taken. Litigants who lost their case could appeal to the High Court of Delegates, although this was less common for litigants in the admiralty court than in church courts.<ref>on this court, see G. I. O. Duncan, The high court of delegates (Cambridge, 1971)</ref>
They might also make use of the rivalry between common and civil law to get a common law court, such as the King’s Bench, to issue a '''prohibition''' upon a certain case, on the basis that it fell within common law, not admiralty, jurisdiction. In theory, this should move the case from the admiralty court to a common law court, but as the jurisdiction was debated, it often led to more argument and not to the resolution of a case.

George Steckley has produced a series of detailed articles about the admiralty court. His research has shown that the court’s business expanded rapidly from the 1570s until the early seventeenth century, peaking in the 1630s-50s, and then declining after the Restoration.<ref>George F. Steckley, ‘Instance cases at admiralty in 1657: a court “packed up with sutors”’, The Journal of Legal History, 7 (1986), pp. 68-83, and idem, ‘Litigious mariners: wage cases in the seventeenth-century admiralty court’, Historical Journal, 42 (1999), pp. 315-45</ref>
He calculated that cases involving sailors’ wages lasted, on average, for about three months, while freight cases involving merchants lasted around a year. He also found that an average wage case cost almost £8, around six months’ wages for a ‘common’ mariner, which makes clear why it was so helpful for plaintiffs to pursue a collective suit.<ref>Steckley, ‘Litigious mariners’, p. 319</ref> However, only a very small number of cases proceeded to the final stages: in 1657, although the total number of warrants issued by the court was 834, only 52 resulted in decrees of sentence. A further 44 were noted as being settled out of court after some activity in court, and many more must have been resolved through arbitration.<ref>Steckley, ‘Instance cases’, pp. 69-70</ref> This was not unusual for civil law. Christopher Brooks has shown that, from the thirteenth to the twentieth century, less than 10 per cent of lawsuits recorded in civil law courts in England have proceeded to trial before a judge.<ref>Christopher W. Brooks, ‘Litigation and society in England, 1200-1996’, in idem, Lawyers, litigation and English society since 1450 (London, 1998), p. 64</ref> Litigation in the court, then, was only one of the dispute-resolution strategies available to early modern merchants and mariners, and was used alongside others.

See also [[High Court of Admiralty process|High Court of Admiralty process]]

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===Commercial infrastructure===

'''Thames wharves and keys'''

HCA 13 and other HCA data can be combined with probate data for PRC wills and inventories for individuals identifed as wharfingers, warehousemen, and other trades linked to specific wharves and keys. HCA data can also be linked to A2A searches of county and municipal archives for court cases involving specific wharves and keys, and redevelopment plans and maps for named wharves and keys.

See: [[Thames docks and wharves|Thames docks and wharves]]

'''Thames shipyards'''

HCA 13/71 contains some data on Thames shipyards. See: [[Thames shipyards in 1650s|Thames shipyards in 1650s]]

One case provides detail of John Pett's Deptford shipyard.<ref>[http://marinelives-transcript.org/scripto/?p=4&scripto_action=transcribe&scripto_doc_id=687&scripto_doc_page_id=605 HCA 13/71 f.219r Case: Pett against the Ruth and Maurice Tompson and others; Deposition: 1. Edward Tompson of Shadwell in the County of Middlesex Mariner, aged 49 yeeres; Date: 10/05/1656]</ref> More generally there are a good number of depositions by shipwrights, though typically testifying to repairs on specific ships, or of travel on specific ships as crew members, rather than providing contextual detail on dock infrastructure.

It is possible that other volumes in the HCA 13 series will provide more detail on Thames shipyards.

One case in HCA 13/71 provides detail on ship building activity in Normandy. See: XXXX

Frequent mention is made in HCA 13/71 of the purchase by English merchants of foreign ships, frequently of Dutch origin, though typically without details of their building or the specific ship yard from whence they came. See: XXXX

'''Thames river traffic'''
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===Resources on commerce and law===

'''Commercial infrastructure and associated behaviours'''

[[Customs and excise|Customs and excise]]
[[Materials handling|Materials handling]]
[[Thames docks and wharves|Thames docks and wharves]]
[[Thames lighters|Thames lighters]]
[[Thames shipyards in 1650s|Thames shipyards in 1650s]]
[[The Exchange in the City of London|The Exchange in the City of London]]
[[Port trades|Port trades]]
[[Ports|Ports]]

'''Commercial behaviour'''

[[Discipline|Discipline]]
[[Injury and death|Injury and death]]
[[Maritime incompetence|Maritime incompetence]]
[[Masquerade|Masquerade]]
[[Navigation|Navigation]]
[[Privateering and piracy|Privateering and piracy]]

'''Commercial economics'''

[[Seamens' wages|Seamens' wages]]
[[Seasonality|Seasonality]]
[[Ship economics|Ship economics]]

'''Law'''

[[Commercial law|Commercial law]]
[[High Court of Admiralty process|High Court of Admiralty process]]
[[Marine law|Marine law]]
[[Merchants accounts|Merchants accounts]]
----
[[Comments]]

Introduction to the High Court of Admiralty

2012-12-05T21:13:06Z

Richardblakemore: Brief elaboration on jurisdiction of the court

'''Introduction to the High Court of Admiralty'''

'''Editorial history'''

11/08/12: CSG, created page
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'''Purpose of this page & instructions for use'''

This page provides an introduction to the C17th High Court of Admiralty in London, to the structure and look and feel of the Court's documents, and to palaeographical aspects which are commonly seen in the Court's records

This page is best viewed on full screen. You can zoom in or out if you wish to view digital images in larger or smaller format. Most digital images are in thumbnail format, and when the image is double clicked, the current window will display the image in its original, larger size. By use of the right mouse button "open in new window" option, the main page can be kept open whilst allowing you to inspect the larger image in a separate window

Most digital images are followed by a link to a page containing a model transcription. These model transcription pages reproduce the digital image, provide a model transcription, and provide palaeographical tips to reading the image

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__TOC__
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==What was the High Court of Admiralty?==

* '''When was the Court established?'''

- The High Court of Admiralty was established in the 1320 to deal primarily with questions of piracy or spoil

Illustration: Document wrapper addressed to M:r David Budd, proctor for his Highnes in y:e Admyralty Court, HCA 15/6 Box Two, ca. 1658

[[File:EXTRACT_Wrapper_Proctor_HCA_156_BoxTwo_P1110614_130812.jpg|thumbnail|400px|none]]
[Model Transcription]

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* '''What was its jurisdiction?'''

- The purpose of the admiralty court was to provide swift, summary judgements for litigants and witnesses who were involved in shipping or trade, and so might not be in the country regularly or for a long time
- Jurisdiction over any crimes or disputes occurring 'super altum mare' (upon the high seas). Over time its jurisdiction developed to cover prize and civil jurisdiction in such matters as salvage and collision
- Actions could be taken against ships and goods as well as against persons, and suits could be started collectively (so, for instance, a whole crew could start one action together, whereas in common law they would have to start separate suits: this divided the costs and made the court cheaper)
- After the restoration (of the monarchy) in 1660, the civil business of the court divided, with an instance court and a prize court
- Throughout the seventeenth century, common and civil law disputed for jurisdiction over many maritime issues, and eventually, in the later seventeenth century, the jurisdiction of the admiralty court was greatly restricted

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* '''Who were the judges?'''

- The judges were doctors of civil law, who had studied at either Oxford or Cambridge
- Specific judges in the Admiralty Court include:
-- "y:e Right Worll Leolini Jenkins d:r of lawes Judge of y:e High Court of Admiralty" (HCA 13/76 Part One f.5r))<ref>[[MRP: HCA 13/76 Part One#head-210c60ca24ea3cb4a18c095a75aa352bd319bb8b|HCA 13/76 Part One f.5r, Case: The Orange tree and XXXX: Deposition: Andreas Barton, midshipman, & John Ennet, John Carter, John Rice marriners, of the Crowne ffrigott Date: August 23rd, 1666]]</ref>
- Their legal training differed from that of lawyers practising the common law, who were admitted to Inns of Court in Holborn
- The judges of the High Court of Admiralty held court sessions at Doctors Commons, which before the London fire of 1666 was located in the parish of St Paul Bennetts wharf

Extract from Map of Baynard Castle Ward in Strype, 1720, showing Doctors Commons where the High Court of Admiralty met

[[File:EXTRACT_Baynard_Castle_Ward_DoctorsCommons_Strype_1720_HROnline_150812.JPG|thumbnail|500px|none]]

Text extract: Obligation compelling George Walters to appear at Doctors Commons before the Judges of the High Court of Admiralty, March 2nd, 1656

"The Condition of This Obligacon is such That If the
Above bounden George Walters shall be and Appeare before
The Lord Protector of The Commonwealth of England x:r
the Judges of the high Court of Admyralty of England
At the Commons hall wthin y:e Doctors Commons Scituate in
The parish of Sainct Benedict neare Pauls Wharfe London
The Tenth day After the date hereof if it be Court day
or Else The next Court followinge At The usuall houres
for hearinge of Causes, To Answer unto Thomas Skinner
in A Cause Civill & Marine, And shall not departe from
-thence, without Leave, And Licence of the Court That
Then this obligacon to be void & of non Effect
Otherwayes to stand in full force power & vertue"<ref>[[MRP: HCA 15/6 Box One#head-1e5c06e0ee35e2d3bff5e343e3a9cf1c4f9308cf|HCA 15/6: Item: Bond George Walters, of the Middle Temple, London Esq:r and Thomas Walker of Camberwell, Surrey: Date: March 2nd 1656 (57) no f.]]</ref>

- Several other types of legal official and lawyer attended the sessions of the High Court of Admiralty. These included proctors, public notaries, clerks, and legal counsel for the parties concerned

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* '''Who were the protagonists in legal disputes?'''

'''Plaintiffs:''' XXXX

'''Defendants:''' XXXX

'''Witnesses:''' XXXX

'''Legal counsel:''' XXXX

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==What do the records of the Admiralty Court look like?==
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===Leather bindings===

* Most of the HCA record series consist of paper manuscript pages, which have been collated into volumes and been stitched into large leather bindings. Pages are usually, but not always, in chronological order. Presumably errors in chronology occured during the collation process. Most of the bindings from the period 1650-1669 are original.

Illustration: Front leather cover of bound volume, HCA 13/68, 1653/54

[[File:EXTRACT_HCA_1368_Leather_Cover_P1090915_130812.JPG|thumbnail|300px]]

* The record series [[MRP: HCA 15/6 Box One|HCA 15/6]] is an exception, and consists of loose, boxed documents. A greater variety of handwriting is to be found in these documents, since many are the products of non-legal hands, and since the document types are very diverse. They include bills of lading, bonds, charter parties, financial accounts of voyages, inventories, letters, and petitions.

Illustration: HCA 15/6, second of two boxes of loose documents

[[File:EXTRACT_Open_Box_HCA_156_BoxTwo_130812.jpg|thumbnail|400px|none]]
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===Double page spreads===

Illustration: Open volume showing left and right hand pages, HCA 13/73 f. 14v & f. 15r

[[File:EXTRACT_HCA_1373_f14v_f15r_Double_Page_P1110299_130812.JPG|thumbnail|900px|none]]
[[HCA 13/73 f.14v & f.15r double page| Model transcription]]

* Typical volumes have text on both sides of paper pages

* Folio numbers (if available) are to be found on the top right hand side of the right hand page. These right hand pages are described as "recto"

* Left hand pages do not bear folio numbers, and are described as "verso"

* Folio numbers may have been written by the court clerk at the time of collating the individual sheets into the bound leather volume, in which case they will be in ink. Or they may have been added at a later stage, also in ink, or in block printing. If block printed, they will have been added by an archivist. Occasionally there is a discrepancy of one or more sequential numbers between the original foliation and subsequent archival foliation. If so, you should note the two different folio numbers on your transcription, making clear which is in ink and which is block printed

* Margins typically left by clerks on the left hand side of both left and right hand pages

* The "gutter" is the area of the page at the centre, where the pages are bound together. The most far right text on left hand (verso) pages is sometimes hard to discern in large bound volumes, since it is not good archival practice to permit the unbinding of volumes to permit clearer photography

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===Page layout===
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====Typical single leaf layout====

First page in volume, HCA 13/68 f. 1r

[[File:EXTRACT_HCA_1368_f1r_130812.JPG|thumbnail|500px|none]]
[[HCA 13/68 f.1r full page| Model transcription]]

* Text covers the bulk of the page, but with discernible blocks

* Margin available on left (of both recto and verso pages) for additional notes

* Verso pages are sometimes hard to read in digital images due to the curve of the page in the gutter. If, when you are transcribing a verso page, you can't read the text at the far right of the page, whether a letter, a partial word, or words, then tell your team facilitator. They will shout loudly and will get the project leader, Jo Pugh, or another willing volunteer, up to the map and large manuscript reading room at the National Archives in Kew to photograph another image, or failing that, to peer into the gutter and to email you their take on the "impossible to discern" letters, word, or words

* Case summary details top left

* Date of the court session (here it was the 22nd of September 1659, but written as

''The 22:th day of September 1659''

* Modern block printed folio number in top right hand corner (here it is folio one, and should be described when transcribing as f. 1r (folio one recto; recto = right, or front)

* Brief statement as to nature of the legal record (here it is an examination)

''Examined upon an Allon on the behalfe of
the sayd Keepers of the Liberty of the Liberty of England by
Authority of Parliament''

* Witness name, place of abode, and estimated age at top of main text

''Mark Harrison of Wapping in
the County of Midds Mariner aged
seven and twenty yeares or thereabouts
a witnes sworne and examined deposeth and
saith as followeth. vizt''

* Abbreviation in left hand margin "Ren:dt" (contraction for latin word, XXX = XXX)

* Number in left hand margin stating which number witness in the specific legal case (here this is the first witness)

* Main body of text (here consisting of thirty seven lines, divided into four paragraphs)

* Paragraphs in main body of text introduced with the phrase "To the first(second/third/fourth) arle of the sayd allon this deponent saith and deposeth that..."

* First word of next page at bottom right hand side of page, below end of main text
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====Numbered paragraphs====

Illustration: HCA 23/19 no folio no, recto

[[File:FULLPAGE_HCA_2319_Numbered_List_Interrogatories_NoFolno_Recto_P1100693_150812.JPG|thumbnail|500px|none]]
[Model Transcription]

* First page of a series of questions to be posed in court (interrogatories)

* Page is headed with the latin word "Interrogatoria"

* The first five questions are listed on this page, and each of the questions is numbered in the left hand margin

* The first question, after the number one, starts with the latin word "Inprimis" (= In the first place)

* The subsequent four questions, from two to five, start to the right of their respective marginal numbers with the legal/latin phrase "Item Interr quilet Testis", followed by a series of related questions

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====Page part: Summary case details====

Illustration: Clayme of Domingo Centurione, HCA 13/68 f.305v

[[File:SNIPPET_Clayme_Domingo_Centurione_HCA_1368_P1110236_f305v.JPG|thumbnail|700px|none]]
[Model Transcription]
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====Page part: Fuller case details====

Illustration: Parliament vs. the Golden Starr, HCA 13/68 f.1r

[[File:SNIPPET_Parliament_agt_Golden_Starr_Layout_Startcase_HCA_1368_f1r.JPG|thumbnail|700px|none]]
[[HCA 13/68 f.1r Excerpt| Model Transcription]]
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====Page part: Page bottom====

Illustration: XXXX, HCA 13/68 f.164v

[[File:SNIPPET_Page_Bottom_Runover_HCA1368_f164v_120812.JPG|thumbnail|700px|none]]
[Model Transcription]
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===Handwriting===
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====Very clear cursive hand====

Illustration: XXXX

[[File:SNIPPET_Handwriting_Sample_Very_Clear_Italic_HCA_1368_f164v_120812.JPG|thumbnail|700px|none]]
[[Model Transcription|Model Transcription]]
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====Very clear formal cursive hand====

Illustration: XXXX

[[File:EXTRACT_P1110563.JPG|thumbnail|700px|none]]
[http://www.marinelives.wikispot.org/Challenge_7#head-3a774868dac58e9183c8e44a7657d7b84229ad49 Model Transcription]
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====Flowing cursive hand====

Illustration: XXXX

[[File:EXTRACT_P1120107.JPG|thumbnail|700px|none]]
[Model Transcription]
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====Mixed printed text and non-legal hand====

Illustration: Bill of lading, dated Dec. 20th, 1655, HCA 15/6 Box Two, no folio no.

[[File:EXTRACT_Bill_Of_Lading_HCA_156_BoxTwo_P1110625_130812.jpg|thumbnail|700px|none]]
[http://www.marinelives.wikispot.org/Challenge_2#head-3a774868dac58e9183c8e44a7657d7b84229ad49 Model Transcription]
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===Marginalia===
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====Text marginalia: Block of text====

Illustration: Block of text at 90 degrees in LH margin of RH page, HCA 13/73 f. 301r: XXXX

[[File:EXTRACT_HCA_1373_f301r_P1110412_130812.JPG|thumbnail|500px|none]]
[Model Transcription]

* Short phrases are often found in the margin of depositions

* Occasionally, larger blocks of text can appear in the margin of HCA documents

* Here there is a block of text with ten lines at a ninety degree angle to the main text
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====Text marginalia: Abbreviation====

Illustration: Text abbreviation in LH margin at start of an examination on an allegation, Xth March 1658/59, HCA 13/73 f. 52r

[[File:EXTRACT_HCA_1373_f52r_P1110306_130812_SmallVer.JPG|thumbnail|700px|none]]
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====Merchants marks====

Example: Merchants Marks in LH margin, HCA 13/68 f. 304r

To see the whole page in high definition from which the extract below is taken, [download here]

[[File:SNIPPET_HCA_1368_MerchantsMarks_P1110234_f304.JPG|thumbnail|400px|none]]

* Can you make out the letters in the Merchants marks?

* Several of them combine or overlap letters to produce stylised initials

* Merchants marks are frequently found on bills of lading, and HCA documents often refer to specific types and quantities of goods laden on ships, "as marked in the margent"

* The merchants marks are from a deposition by XXX made on XXXX. They refer to the merchants XXXX, XXXX, and XXXX.
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===Deletions and interpolations===
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====Line through text====

Illustration: From deposition of George Dethwick, merchant of London, aged thirty yeeres or thereabouts, dated Jan. 24th 1658/59, HCA 13/73, no folio no.

[[File:EXTRACT_Crossing_Out_And_Merct_Mark_HCA_1373_P1110882_130812.jpg|thumbnail|900px|none]]
[Model Transcription]

* Can you read the words which have been crossed through?

* When transcribing this block of text, you should reproduce the crossed out words, but mark them as crossed out

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[ADD EXAMPLE OF INTERPOLATIONS]
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====Signatures====

- Signatures can be wonderfully flamboyant
- A surprising number of common seamen were sufficiently literate to sign their names

Illustration: Signatures of John Shorter, XXXX, and William Warren, HCA 13/129, no folio no., recto

[[File:EXTRACT_HCA_13129_P1110007_130812.JPG|thumbnail|400px|none]]

* These three signatures show very different styles

* The signators are John Shorter, XXXX, and William Warren

* Note the unusual "r" at the end of Shorter, which looks rather like an "x"

* Note the shortening of William to W:m

* Note the pronounced flourish on the "J" of John, and the lengthy downward sloping lines on the "m" and "n" of William Warren

* John Shorter (b.?, d. ca. 1688) and William Warren were both London merchants and known to be in partnership in the timber trade between Norway and other countries in the "Eastlands" and London. The Eastlands was a geographical term used in the mid-C17th to refer to a number of cities, coasts and countries which broadly, but not exactly, match what we now term the Baltic area. John Shorter was later knighted and served as Lord Mayor of London. William Warren was also later knighted. Shorter and Warren were major naval contractors, dealing frequently with Samuel Pepys

* You can read a rough unedited transcription of a deposition made by Sir William Warren in 1667 regarding the ''Sampson'', formerly known as the ''Johannes''. The ship belonged to Hans Matson of Croskrey in Norway "in the Dominions of the King of Denmarke." The dispute concerned the seizure of the ship, which had been allegedly dispatched by Matson carrying deales (a type of timber). Warren had written to Matson in late 1666 on behalf of himself and Shorter saying that there was "great occasion for deales" since "the greatest part of London is burnt." [[MRP: HCA 13/76 Part Two#head-660b6a2095784312e1009ee81142f243cd3c65b5|(HCA 13/76 f.201r-f.202r: 20th May 1667)]]

- For a useful guide to unfamiliar mid-C17th geographical terms and language when you are transcribing HCA documents, try our online [[Geographical and Place Terms| Geographical and Place Term dictionary]]
----

Illustration: The marke of Henrick Williamson, September 26th, 1653, HCA 13/68, f.4, 

[[File:EXTRACT_HCA_XXXX_f_Marke_Of_Henrick_Williamson_130812.jpg|thumbnail|400px|none]]

* The marke of Henrick Williamson appears between Henrick's first and second names

* Markes (or marks) can vary hugely. Some are the first letter of the individual's name. Others are simple drawings, or geometrical shapes. What does Henrick's marke remind you of?

* Henrick Williamson was a forty year old "common mariner", from Skadam, Holland. He was on the ship the ''Hart'' of Skadam, owned by several Skadam inhabitants, and carrying one hundred and eighty tonnes of pickled herrings. The ship had been seized by ships of the Commonwealth

* He was deposed in the case of Keepers of the Liberty of England ag:t the ship the ''Heart'' of Skadam

"''The same day

Examined upon the sayd Interies

HERRICK WILLIAMSON of Skadam in Holland Mariner
aged fourty yeares or thereabouts a witnes sworne
and examined deposeth and saith as followeth.

To y:e first Interrie This deponent saith he was one of the Common Mariners
of the sayd shipp the Harts Companie, and was on board her att the tyme
of seizure by the shipps of this Commonwealth, And saith the sayd shipp
the ''Hart'' began her outward voyage from Skadam in Holland, and there
was to have ended her voyage, and so would have done had she not beene
intercepted. and saith the Master of the sayd shipp Peter ffreize and all the
shipps Companie were of Skadam aforesaid and subiects of the States of the
united provinces, which he knoweth being an Inhabitant of Skadam
and one of the sayd shipps Companie as aforesayd. And otherwise cannot depose.''"

(HCA 13/68, f.4r)

----
===Punctuation===

'''This section is a temporary section. It will be rewritten with input from Dr Charlene Eska, our palaeography advisor. She is an assistant professor of English at Virginia Tech, who specialises in linguistics and the editing of early Irish legal codes'''

====Sample One: acute accents, dots before and after numbers====

Illustration: Extract One from HCA 13/68 f.138v

[[File:EXTRACT_HCA_1368_P1110172_f138v_150812.JPG|thumbnail|900px|none]]
[[HCA 13/68 f.138v Excerpt| Model Transcription]]

* Note use of acute accents on some, but not all, lower case "a" letters at start of words

e.g. "á prisoner aboard the vice Admirall of the Dutch Shipps" (line 4)

e.g. "he cánnot depose (line7) [Transcribed using character code 00E1 from Latin-1 supplement]

* Note use of acute accent on a "c"

e.g. "'''c'''ome safe out of y:e Port of Trapany" (line 5)

[QUESTION: no character available in standard latin symbols for an acute on a c, so how enter this when transcribing? NOTE: bold in example has been added to highlight letter to Dr Charlene Eska]

* Note inconsistent use of dots before and after ordinal numbers (first, second, third...)

e.g. "To the • 19:th • he saith he he cánnot depose" (line7)

[QUESTION: is it correct to transcribe the dots as middle dots, rather than full stops (character code 00B7 from Latin-1 supplement, rather than character code 002E Basic Latin)?]

but, e.g. "To the 18:th he saith the sayd seizure and losse" (line 1)

* Note commas can have hooks to bottom right, rather than bottom left, and can float below a line, so could be confused with an acute accent, or some other mark, over a letter on the line

The commas don't differ significantly in length and angle with the sloping line like dot over the "i" of "Vice Admirall" (line 4) and the acute accent over "cannot deposte" (line 6)

e.g. "Last being Saturday, and upon the Monday" (line 3) The comma could be mistaken for a high acute accent above the "e" of "the Vice Admirall"
----
====Sample Two: inconsistent use of dots before and after numbers, breves, semi-colons====

Illustration: Extract Two from HCA 13/68 f.138v

[[File:EXTRACT_TWO_HCA_1368_f138v_P1110172_150812.JPG|thumbnail|900px|none]]
[[HCA 13/68 f.138r Excerpt| Model Transcription]]

* Inconsistent use of double dots around an ordinal number (see example one above for double dots)

e.g. "To the 20:th . he saith the" (line 1)

[QUESTION ONE: Should this single dot be transcribed as a full stop (character code 002E Basic Latin), since it appears to be on the line, rather than above the line. But in the double dot example above, optically the dots appear to be in the middle of the line and have been transcribed using middle dots (character code 00B7 from Latin-1 supplement)]

* Use of breves above small letter "a"

e.g. "he saith the arlăte shipp the ''Harry Bonadventure''" (line 1)

[QUESTION ONE: Has the transcriber correctly identified the mark above the second "a" or "arlate" as a breve (ă)? Is it correct to use the character code 0103 Latin Extended-A to transcribe this letter?]

[QUESTION TWO: How should transcriber show the long horizontal line from above the "r" of "arlăte" through to above the "e" of "arlăte"? My understanding is that this is a mark used by the clerk writing the word to show he has used a contraction.]

* Semi-colons and dots

e.g. "300 tonnes and upwards; and had 41 • gunnes" (line 2)

[QUESTION: The semi-colon is well formed and legible, but should the dot between "41" and "gunnes" be transcribed as a middle dot (character code 00B7 from Latin-1 supplement) rather than a full stop (character code 002E Basic Latin). It appears to be a middle dot]

* Potential confusion of dots and acutes in italic hands

e.g. "was well equipped and f'''i'''tted"

[QUESTION: The mark above the "i" of "fitted" looks like a right sloping line, although contextually the transcriber can presume it is a dot, if the convention is adopted that "i" never has an acute accent. But this contradicts the current ''Draft of MarineLives Editorial Method/Directions for Transcribers, dated 13th August 2012'' which states "Transcribe the marks as you see them"; NOTE: bold in example has been added to highlight letter to Dr Charlene Eska]

* Double upward & rightward sloping lines in italic hand (line 10)

e.g. "his owne a'''cc'''ompt"

[QUESTION: What are the marks above the two "c"'s? How should they be transcribed? Are they indicating use of a contraction by the clerk, or do they modify the sound of the letter. Presumably the word is the mid-C17th spelling of "account"? NOTE: Bold in example has been added to highlight letters to Dr Charlene Eska]

----
====Sample Three: colons, end of paragraph markings====

Illustration: Extract from HCA 23/19 no folio no. recto, XXX

[[File:EXTRACT_HCA_2319_Interrogatories_Nofolionorecto_PP1100693_150812.JPG|thumbnail|900px|none]]
[[HCA 23/19 No fol no. Interrogatories Excerpt| Model Transcription]]

* Note clear use of colon dividing end of English question, separating the question from the concluding latin phrase

No use of a question mark in this case, although question marks are used elsewhere in mid-C17th HCA documents

e.g. "Lighter by imployment of her: Et fiat ut supra/." (LINE 6)

* Note also in the same example above that the paragraph formed by the entire interrogratory numbered three is ended with an upward sloping right hand leaning line followed by a full stop

This combination of a sloping line and full stop was frequently used by clerks at the end of paragraphs, and is different from a horizontal line of varying lengths, at the right hand side of a page, which was frequently used by clerks to fill empty space.

- variants of the "/." include "./.", and ":/:"

[QUESTION: Should transcribers be encouraged to reproduce exactly what they see? I believe so, and this is currently the policy expressed in ''Draft of MarineLives Editorial Method/Directions for Transcribers, dated 13th August 2012'']

* Note the use of upper case letters in contracted forms of words

e.g. "and whither the witnes were p^r^sent at the (line 10)

[QUESTION: How should use of superscript (and subscript letters, though none detected to date) be transcribed? They usually occur in contractions (as in "p^r^sent" for "present"), however, presumably "y^e^" is not a contraction, though it is unclear whether clerks did not consistently write the "e" of "y^e^" in superscript, and sometimes wrote "ye". Superscripts are not directly addressed in the current ''Draft of MarineLives Editorial Method/Directions for Transcribers, dated 13th August 2012'', though there is a discussion in the current draft regarding use of 'thorn'. I am not in agreement with the recommendation of the current draft Editorial Method/Directions that "y" should be transcribed as "th", and would like to discuss this]
----
====Comments & Issues====

* C17th use of question marks?

* C17th approach to capitalisation within sentence structures?

- were capitals used at the start of questions? Consistently? Inconsistently?
----
===Spacing===
----
====Large areas of empty space on a page====

Illustration: HCA 23/9 no folio no. verso, XXXX

[[File:EXTRACT_HCA_2319_Mainlyblankpage_Nofolionoverso_P1100850_150812.JPG|thumbnail|400px|none]]
[Model Transcription]

[QUESTION: How should a transcriber address reproducing page layout? Should it be in the form of transcriber notes about the layout of the page, or should it be a direct attempt to reproduce the location of text and text blocks on a page, both vertically and horizontally? How should a transcriber address noting or reproducing areas of blank manuscript? For example, text only occupying the top one third of a page, or a solitary number or title appearing in an otherwise blank manuscript page?]
----
====Horizontal and vertical lines====

* '''Vertical lines and line like shapes'''

Illustration: Vertical tie linking text block on left of page to text block further to right, HCA 13/68 f.1r

[[File:SNIPPET_SMALL_Parlt_agt_Golden_Starr_Vertical_Tie_HCA1368_f1r_150812.JPG|thumbnail|400px|none]]

- Is this line called a tie or a ligature in editorial terminology?

* Example: 1. Parliament vs. the Golden Starr, HCA 13/68 f.1r, showing a clear medium length vertical line "summing" horizontal lines together as a text block)

e.g. See above: Illustration: Schedule, HCA 13/128, no folio, recto, 1657 (multiple short vertical lines which "sum" lines in one column together against a single cost or price in an additional column

e.g. See above: Illustration: Clayme of Domingo Centurione, HCA 13/68 f.305v (unclear short off-vertical slanting line)

* '''Horizontal lines and line like shapes'''

- Lines used as vertical space dividers

Illustration: Merchants marks separated in margin by horizontal lines, HCA 13/68 f.304r

[[File:SNIPPET_SMALL_HCA_1368_MerhtsMarks_Horizt_Dividers_P1110234_f304_150812.JPG|thumbnail 300]]

* Example: Merchants Marks in LH margin, HCA 13/68 f. 304r, showing the use of medium length horizontal lines as dividers between picture objects on page)

- Lines used as horizontal space fillers

e.g. See above: Illustration: Schedule, HCA 13/128, no folio, recto, 1657 (wiggly horizontal lines as space fillers)

----
===Money & specie===

Schedule mentioned in the answers, HCA 13/128 no fol. no., verso

[[File:EXTRACT_HAC128_Nofolno_Verso_GreenlandMoney_P1110030_150812_copy.JPG|thumbnail|800px|none]]
[[HCA 13/128 Schedule Mariners Wages Extract| Model Transcription]]

* This case concerns common seamen sueing the master of their former ship for payment of their wages

* The schedule from which the above excerpt is taken is annexed to the bottom of answers made by witnesses

* The remaining wages allegedly due are listed net of cash payments made to the seamen before the voyage commenced and payments in kind for clothes

e.g. Henry Freeman's agreed wages for the voyage were twelve pounds sterling. Three pounds were paid out in advance in money, and a further four shillings and ten pence of value was received in clothes. The net amount due in wages is therefore eight pounds fifteen shillings and two pence, which is the amount listed in the right hand column as 8^li^ • 15 - 2

- Note that the abbreviation "li" above the 8 stands for "libra", or "pound"

* English currency: Pounds, shillings, pence
* Common non-English currencies: dollars; gilders; livres; peeces of eight; ryalls;
* Specie: barrs; gold; sylver;

See: [[Currency and Specie|Currency and Specie]]
See: [[Abbreviations|Abbreviations]]
----
===Weights and measures===

Extract from second schedule, August 24th, 1655, HCA 13/128 no fol. no., recto

[[File:EXTRACT_HCA_13128_Nofolno_Recto_Wines_Weights_Measures_P1110063_150812_copy.JPG|thumbnail|800px|none]]
[[HCA 13/128 Second Schedule Wine Costs Extract| Model Transcription]]

* This extract is from a second schedule annexed to answers made in a case in the Admiralty Court in 1655. It lists the cost price of a set of goods laden on a ship, the value of the goods being contested in the court

* Inconsistent use of singular and plural terms for weights (e.g. "tonn" and "tonns" in lines 1 & 6)

* Unusal letter form for "s" in "7 Tonns" (line 4)

* Inconsistent orthography (e.g. "p tonn" (end line 3) and "pton" (end line 5)

* Use of abbreviations for measures (e.g. "hogg^d^" for hoggshead (hogshead))

* Use of colons to divide numerals in statements of pounds, shillings and pence, but inconsistent, and sometimes use single stop in same monetary statement

- e.g. "4:^li^ 3.^s^ 4^d^ p tonn" (line 3)

- e.g. "5:^li^ 17:^s^ 2.^d^" (line 5)

* Can you make out line 4? Is that a comma or a "1" after "7 Tonns"? What does the hogshead contain, and at what price? (note that the price runs over into line 5)

- Lines 4 and 5 read:

"7 Tonns 1 hogg^d^ of Clarett att 84li
5.p the Tonn all in Ster. 5:^li^ 17:^s^ 2.^d^ pton"

Note the ambiguity as to whether "li" and "s" are positioned before or after the colons

* Can you make out the last two words in line 8?

- they read "Conicack wines"

- Note the two different letter forms for "c" used by the clerk, one for "claret" and another for "coniack"

See: [[Weights and Measures|Weights and Measures]]
See: [[Abbreviations|Abbreviations]]

* Common, but less familiar, weights and measures: hogshead; kintall/quintall; last; parcel(l); pipe; quarter; roll; yard
----
===Fractions===

[DEVELOP THIS SECTION]

----
===Numbers===
----
====Cardinal====

[DEVELOP THIS SECTION]

* 1, 2, 3
* One, two, three
----
====Ordinal====

[DEVELOP THIS SECTION]

* (first, second, third, fourth...)

* mid-C17th usage is to use "th" even when we would use "st" and "nd" when expressing ordinal number in arabic numerals rather than words

- so first, second, third, fourth, fifth...twenty second
- but 1^th^, 2^th^, 3^th^, 4^th^, 5^th^,...22^th^,

----
==Types of records==

* '''Why were records kept?'''

* '''Who kept the records?'''
----
===Allegations===

* '''What is an allegation?'''

----
* '''An example: XXXX'''
----
===Answers===

* '''What is an answer?'''

----
* '''An example: XXXX'''
----
===Examinations===

* '''What is an examination?'''

----
* '''An example: XXXX'''
----
===Interrogatories===

* '''What is an interrogatory?'''

- An Interrogatory is a pre-prepared list of questions to be put to deponents by the proctors of the High Court of Admiralty
- An interrogatory consists of numbered questions which are primarily English, though often introduced with Latin phrases
- Such interrogatories can be found in bound leather volumes in the HCA 23 record series, for example [[MRP: HCA 23/19|HCA 23/19]] (1658-1664)

Illustration: Loose foldover front leather cover with clasp, HCA 23/19 (1658-1664)

[[File:EXTRACT_HCA_1319_Leather_Cover_P1100661_130812.JPG|thumbnail|400px|none]]
----
* '''Example from HCA 23/19'''

- Example: Introduction & first question from Interrogatories in behalf of John Absolun<ref>[[MRP: HCA 23/19#head-9cd692828281e0a65e826cf23b496a15ae3ffd71-2|HCA 23/19: Document Number: 6: Case: XXXX: Date: XXXX: P1100666 no f., verso]]</ref>

''Interrogatoryes on the behalfe of John Absolon
to be administered to whatever prdsed wutnesses
produced or to bee produced on the behalfe of
Nicholas Payne as followeth,''

''1 Imprimis Interrogot:r quilet testis to what shippe hee belonged
and how hee commeth to be a witnes in this cause whether
hee doth not well know that the Shipp the ''Swanne'' of
which the said Absolon was master commeing from New-
castle upon or about the seaventeenth of may last 1660
about 10 or 11 of the clock in the morneing sett saile
from or neare Newcastle with her ladeing of coales
and whether the shippe the ''Prospous'' (sic) of Bright Hampton
did not follow next after the ''Swanne'' and y:t they turned
about the bill poynt, Whether the ''Prospous'' had not
the greater wynd & did becalme the ''Swanne'' & whether
the Maste or some other of the Company of the ''Swanne''
did not call out to the company of the ''Prosperous'' to
loare (sic) theire top sailes or else they would come
foule of them, & whether some of y:e ''Prosperous'' did not
heare & make answeare that they would warrant that
they would bee foule of them or to that effect, or what
did they say, And let each bee asked joyntly sewally
and of each particular,''

Illustration: Text on recto, no text on verso, fastened by tie in top LH corner, HCA 23/19, unfoliated (1658-1664)

[[File:EXTRACT_HCA_2319_Double_Page_P1100662_130812.JPG|thumbnail|400px|none]]

----
'''Further single question examples from HCA 23/19'''

"4. Itmm: interr. When had the Claymers or the wittnesse first
Notice that the shippe ''Nativity'' was stayed neere ffalmouth..."<ref>[[MRP: HCA 23/19#head-0c331dd828a801e085979220116931867c7fc1ec|HCA 23/19: Document Number: 4: Case: XXXX: Date: XXXX]]</ref>

"1 Imprimis Interrogot:r quilet testis to what shippe hee belonged
and how hee commeth to be a witnes in this cause..."<ref>[[MRP: HCA 23/19#head-9cd692828281e0a65e826cf23b496a15ae3ffd71|HCA 23/19: Document Number: 6: Case: XXXX: Date: XXXX]]</ref>
-----
===Schedules===

* '''What is a schedule?'''

- Schedules of information are occasionally referred to in individual answers or in individual examinations
- These schedules are only rarely included in the volume which contains the answers or examinations, despite reference to the documents being "annexed"
- Occasionally, schedules can be found in boxes of loose documents (usually unfoliated), such as [[MRP: HCA 15/6 Box One|HCA 15/6 Box One]] 1654-1657, and [[MRP: HCA 15/6 Box Two|HCA 15/6 Box Two]] 1654-1657

Illustration: Schedule, HCA 13/128, no folio, recto, 1657

[[File:EXTRACT_HCA_13128_P1110063_Nofol_Recto_140812.JPG|thumbnail|400px|none]]
[Model Transcription]

* This schedule is from HCA 13/128, a volume which covers 1658 to 1662

* The HCA 13/128 series is one of a number of volumes for the 1650-1669 period which are described as answers to bills of complaint (HCA 13/123 - HCA 13/130)

* The schedule lists XXXXX

----
Schedules can also be in languages other than English

''one of y:e ffrigatts Company y:e ''ffrancis'' the aclate Captaine W:m
?Brustowe Commander went on board and seized or stopped the shipp
''S:t Ignatius'' aclate in Yarmouth Roade within the Isle of Wight, And saith
that under a little parcell of tobacco in a private place of y:e great Cabbin of y:e ''S:t
Ignatius'' this deponent found the three schedules or ffrench lres
aclate N:o 6. 7. 8 and breaking them open found them to bee ffrench
but could not understand them, and some two dayes after such his
finding of y:e said lres this depo:t gave them to y:e said Captaine
W:m Burstow Commander of y:e said ''ffrancis'' ffrigatt, And saith this
deponent is well assured that y:e said three lres annexed are the
same which he found in the Ignatius as aforesd''

(HCA 13/76 Part Two f.203r))

----
==Language and procedures==

* English, with a little latin

----
* What latin will you find, and how can you read it?

[[Common Latin Phrases|Common Latin Phrases]]
----
* English legal and commercial language

[[Legal & Commercial Terms|Legal & Commercial Terms]]
----
==Tracing stories through the Admiralty Court records==

* As you and your team start to transcribe consecutive pages, narratives will emerge, of individuals and of families; of ships' companies and of ships themselves

* These narratives may emerge within a single page, or over a series of pages within one answer or examination.

* But a good number will emerge only after a large number of sequential answers or examinations have been transcribed, often with chronological gaps and interspersed with answers or examinations on completely different cases. In many cases this was probably due to the lack of availability of all witnesses on a particular day or consecutive days, due to seamen and mariners being overseas

* One example of a larger narrative to emerge from transcriptions done at the preparatory stage of the MarineLives project is that of Daniel Skinner the elder and his sons. Daniel Skinner the elder was a Dover merchant, as were two of his sons. A further son, Albertus Skinner, was a London merchant.

* If you would like to read more about Daniel Skinner, take a look at the [[Daniel Skinner case study|Daniel Skinner case study]]. This case study synthesises a complex narrative from multiple depositions. Indeed there are probably more relevant depositions in the volume, but time has precluded surveying the entire volume. In the case study you can look at the unedited transcriptions of these depositions. The volume in question is HCA 13/69, and is for the year 1654

* This case study provides a good example of what can be done to link and enrich a transcription.

- The relevant Admiralty Court claim is the "clayme of Daniel Skinner the Elder, Daniel Skinner the younger & Thomas Skinner"

- Two depositions have been taken as the starting point to link and enrich the transcription - the deposition of John Ashurst the younger, of St Andrew Undershaft, merchant, and the deposition of Albertus Skinner, S:t George Buttolphe Lane, merchant.

- Online and offline primary and secondary sources have been used to dig deep into the identities of the individuals and places mentioned, and to look at family and commercial connections

- Manuscript sources have included wills, and Chancery Court records

- Online printed sources have included calendars of Treasury books, of State Papers, of the East India Company, and of the House of Lords and House of Commons journals. They have also included online books of printed primary sources, such as parish registers, and online printed editions of C17th letters, such as the correspondence of Samuel Pepys

- These sources have been accessed physically at the National Archives, Kew, and online via the National Archives Discovery tool, British History Online, Internet Archive, and Google Book

* But all this is icing on the cake. Our starting point on the Marine Lives project is to become familiar with the High Court of Admiralty records and to produce a top quality, accurate, consistent transcription of the words on the page. This will be our focus in training at our kickoff session on August 20th 2012, and for our week of facilitator supported training in the week of September 3rd 2012. It will also be our focus for at least the first eight weeks of the project, as we proceed through September and October and become more comfortable with our transcription skills, and each facilitator supported team begins to develop a corpus of transcribed material
----
==What records of the Admiralty Court are at the National Archives?==

* '''What records are in Kew?'''

- The National Archives at Kew contains the extensive records of the High Court of Admiralty from as early as 1536 until 1859
- An index of the mid-C17th High Court of Admiralty record series has been prepared for the project team. See [[MRP: Admiralty court cases#head-477dc9e842aa925631b73ea14fb574ea8b58c987|TNA index, 1650-1669]]
----
* '''How did they get there?'''

----
* '''How can you see them?'''

- The records of the High Court of Admiralty can be viewed in the Large Manuscripts and Maps Room on the second floor of the National Archives at Kew
- You will need a reader's ticket, which can be obtained on the day of your visit. You will need to take two valid pieces of identification with you - one with a recent photograph of you, and the other with your home address and of a recent date. See [http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/visit/readers-ticket.htm Obtaining a Reader's ticket]
- HCA manuscripts can be ordered at any terminal in the Large Manuscripts and Maps Room, and may take between thirty and sixty minutes to be produced from storage
- The National Archives are closed on Sundays and Mondays, but are open Tuesday through Saturday, with late opening on Tuesday and Thursday. See [http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/visit/times.htm TNA Opening Times]
----
==Sample transcriptions, 1650-1669==

You can get an overview of the different document series within the HCA classification by looking at [[MRP: Admiralty court cases|Overview of HCA material, 1650-1669]]

Once you have done some palaeography training, and want to take a look at some whole HCA manuscript pages, you can see a set of digital images of untranscribed pages from the HCA 13/68 volume: [[MRP: HCA 13/68 Part One#head-5d73b3f5c84f497ba1dfc37cf59ea973700b689f|HCA 13/68: Sample images: untranscribed]]

* If you feel ready, or simply inquisitive, why not take a shot at transcribing one of these pages?

* Your team facilitator is there to support you, including helping you with your palaeographical questions, so why not share your questions and your practice work with them, and with your fellow project associates? No one gets it right first time, or even on a second or third attempt. There are always words and phrases which will elude you, but which fresh eyes may be able to help you with them

* You may also want to take a shot at transcribing some other HCA 13/68 manuscript pages for which there is a first cut unedited transcription, and compare your attempt with the first cut unedited version: [[MRP: HCA 13/68 Part One#head-8a80ea9b1e7ed11bccce7226a8b8d7fc7c9b2dd2|HCA 13/68: Sample images: draft transcriptions available]]

* Can you improve on what has been done? Can you fill in blanks, or resolve any queries the earlier transcriber has flagged up? Why don't you add your comments to the bottom of the earlier transcription and discuss similarities and differences with your team facilitator and fellow project associates
----
==Historiography==

[DEVELOP THIS SECTION]
----
==Suggested reading==

Appleby, John C. (ed.), ''A Calendar of material relating to Ireland from the High Court of Admiralty Examinations, 1536-1641'' (Irish Manuscripts Commission, 1992)

Murphy, Elaine (ed.), ''A calendar of material relating to Ireland from the High Court of Admiralty, 1641-1660'' (Irish Manuscripts Commission, Dublin, 2011)

[http://www.archive.org/stream/doctorscommonsa00senigoog#page/n7/mode/2up Senior, W., Doctors Commons and the old court of admiralty (London, 1922)]
- Internet Archive online edition

Shilton, Dorothy O. and Richard Holworthy, ''High Court of Admiralty Examinations, 1637-1638'' (London, 1932)

Snell, Steven L., ''Courts of admiralty and the common law: origins of the American experiment in concurrent jurisdiction'' (Carolina Academic Press, 2007)

[http://www.historycooperative.org/journals/lhr/21.1/steckley.html Steckley, George F., 'Collisions, Prohibitions, and the Admiralty Court in Seventeenth-Century London,' ''Law and History Review'', Spring 2003], viewed 10 Nov. 2011

Steckley, George F., 'Instance cases at admiralty in 1657: A court "packed up with sutors"', ''The Journal of Legal History'', vol. 7, issue 1, 1986, pp. 68-83

Online Training Activities

2012-12-05T21:07:04Z

Richardblakemore: ditto

'''Online Training Activities'''

'''Editorial history.'''

''Created by JW 28/08/12''

-----
__TOC__

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==Introduction==

This section is to help you develop the skills and knowledge to effectively transcribe the High Court Admiralty material (HCA). To enable you to do this you will need to have

* Some background knowledge of the HCA

* knowledge of Palaeography in the 17th century

* Knowledge of the terms and phrases used in the 17th century

When you have completed these tasks you will need to get used to using the Transcription and Editorial policy and Transcript, the program we will be using in the project. Whilst this may appear daunting at first glance, the ethos of the project is collaborative and therefore we hope that by sharing our problems and solutions we will all be more productive.

Colin has created a section on [[Introduction to the High Court of Admiralty|Introduction to the High Court of Admiralty]] and if you have not already looked at it, I would suggest you do that now. You do not need to have a go at transcribing the documents on there as some of them are quite difficult, but the notes will give you an idea of what the material we will be transcribing is about. If you have time to do a little more reading I would suggest reading [http://www.historycooperative.org/journals/lhr/21.1/steckley.html]. If you have a lot of spare time Colin has provided many [[Useful articles and secondary materials|Useful articles and secondary materials]] for you to work through.

The documents that we will be transcribing are the statements from witnesses and as such many of them do tend to follow a pattern, with similar phrases appearing at the beginning and end of paragraphs. This should help to make our task easier when we get to grips with the writing. There are often references to a wide range of european cities and countries and some of the mariners names are dutch in origin.
----
==Task 1 Getting Started==
'''Getting Started'''
To get started go to look at [[Challenge 2|Challenge 2]] and [[Challenge 4|Challenge 4]]. You might want to print them off. Rather than transcribing the whole document see what words you can pick out and how are they different to the way we would write them today. Look at how the letters are formed, when consonants are doubled, which letters that we would use today have been substituted by other letters? You may want to check your own ideas with the model transcription provided. Here is a summary of what you may have found together with a sample alphabet from the period [[Introduction to Palaeography|Introduction to Palaeography]]Colin has also started to compile an alphabet using the documents from the HCA here is a link to it [[Alphabets, Numbers and Dates|Alphabets, Numbers and Dates]]
----

===Background Information===

As many of you will be aware, prior to 1752 Britain used the Julian Calendar which means that among other things the year started in March. It was only after we adopted the Gregorian calendar that the year was changed to start on January the first. However many other countries adopted the Gregorian calendar in 1582/3 and some countries only adopted it in the 20th century. For more information on this see [http://www.searchforancestors.com/utility/gregorian.html]. You may see refecences to the new and old calendar in the transcriptions.

==Task 2 Abbreviations==
'''Abbreviations'''
In addition to the spelling and the way letters are formed you will also find that some words are abbreviated here are some examples
Allon – abbreviation for allegation
Arle – abbreviation of article
Arlate - abbreviation of articulate, meaning mentioned in the articles, "onely one of the fowre English ships arlate" (HCA 13/19)
Depo:t - abbreviation for deponent (the person who is making the legal statement, or deposition, in the High Court of Admiralty)
psons - persons, par & per are often abbreviated to p (e.g. pishes instead of parishes; psuade instead of persuaded)

When transcribing abbreviated words we want you to put the letters that have been missed out in brackets e.g. p[er]sons.

Here is an example of a text with an abbreviation can you transcribe it? What is the word that has been abbreviated? [[Very clear cursive hand|Very clear cursive hand]]. When you have transcribed it check your answer with the model answer provided. You can post your attempts here [[Attempts page|Attempts page]]
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==Task 2b)==
Here is another example of an extract with an abbreviated word transcribe it and then check your answer against the model transcription. You can post your attempts here [[Attempts page|Attempts page]]

[[File:Extrat of P1110094.PNG|thumbnail|1000px|none]]

Model Transcription for [[extract of p1110094|extract of p1110094]]

You will find more examples of abbreviations in the dictionary provided [[abbreviations|abbreviations]]

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==Task 3 Tricky letters and uses==
'''Tricky letters and uses'''
As you will have noticed many letters were formed differently here are some examples of some of the more difficult ones to work out.

H or h

[[File:horiginal.PNG|thumbnail|600px|none]]

[[File:h.PNG|thumbnail|900px|none]]
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===Example 3b===
'''You will have noticed from the above example that C is also a tricky letter (in my view possibly the trickiest). Here are four examples of the letter C all formed differently.'''

[[File:county.PNG|thumbnail|300px|left|county]]

[[File:capt.PNG|thumbnail|400px|none|Capt mills was comannder]]

[[File:charterparty.PNG|thumbnail|300px|Charterparty]]

===Example 3c===
'''R or r can also trip you up to start with.'''

[[File:r.PNG|thumbnail|400px|left|Examples of the letter r]]

[[File:R examples.PNG|thumbnail|700px|none|Examples of the letter r in manuscripts]]

===Example 3d===

'''The letters o, a and e can be difficult to distinguish, again here are some examples from the text.'''

[[File:examplesoae.PNG|thumbnail|600px|left|Examples of e, O and a]]

[[File:england.PNG|thumbnail|400px|left|Example of a capital E in England]]

===Task 3e Transcribing a longer section===

'''Transcribe the following section of manuscript''' This is a longer section that includes the above examples, you may also find that a colon is used to replace letters occasionally. The section includes the names of the following ships.
''Golden Starr, Morning Starr, Advantage frigot, Water hound Mayflower.''
The word ''commonwealth'' is also used.

You may need to look back at some of the previous sections to help you transcribe it. You can post your attempts here [[Attempts page|Attempts page]]

[[File:section1.PNG|thumbnail|1000px|left|Section one]]

'''Here is the model answer [["Section 1 model answer"]] - what mark out of 10 would you give yourself?'''
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==Task 4 Latin==

There may be some latin phrases used in some documents. Here is an example of a paragraph with a latin phrase at the beginning and end of the paragraph, can you transcribe the paragraph? You can post your attempts here [[Attempts page|Attempts page]] Here are some other [[common latin phrases|common latin phrases]] that you might come across

[[Extract with latin|Extract with latin]] Check your transcription with the [[HCA 23/19 no fol no. Interrogatories Excerpt|HCA 23/19 no fol no. Interrogatories Excerpt]] model answer.

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==Task 5 Money and measurements==

The currency used is that of Pre decimalisation pounds, shillings and pence, money is often mentioned in connection with the wages of the sailors. An example is [[Challenge 3|Challenge 3]]

There is a wide variety of measurements used in connection with cargo. This extract demonstrates how money might be displayed within a document and gives some measurements used [[Example of weights and measures|Example of weights and measures]]. More examples are given in the [[Weights and measures|Weights and measures]] dictionaries.
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==Task 6 Layout and common phrases==
The documents tend to follow a common layout. There will be short summary of the case with the names of some of the people involved.

[[File:start.PNG|thumbnail|500px|none]]

On the right hand side of this document you can see the date at the top, and underneath it says

''........
Mark Harrison of wapping in
the country of middlx mariner aged
seven and twenty yeares or there abouts
a witnes sworne and examined deponeth and
saith as followeth. vizt''

These words are used to introduce most of the cases, not necessarily in the same order.

---------

The rest of the page may in alot of cases be giving answers to various ''articles'' or ''arles or interries''. It may look like this

[[File:snppit2.PNG|thumbnail|700px|left]]

''To the first Article of the said Allegation hee saith, that hee this deponent
hath well knowine the arlate Jacob Sheàfe of Boston in new England
and Henry Ashurst of london marchante for about three yeares last
past during all which time they the said Sheafe and Ashurst
have and hold correspondence together in the way of''

==Task 7 using Transcript==

In the documents that you are transcribing, there are, as there are in most handwritten documents words that have been added in, comments in margins as well as marks that we do not use in English today. To help accommodate these problems, we have come up with a transcription policy which we want you to follow. This is the policy [[MarineLives Transcription & Editorial Policy: Draft four|MarineLives Transcription & Editorial Policy: Draft four]]. To help you do this the the program uses buttons for you to use when transcribing. Below are some screen shots of the software. For the first two weeks we would like you to focus on the transcribing and using the basic formatting buttons and special characters.

[[File:website1.PNG|thumbnail|900px|none]]

[[File:website2.PNG|thumbnail|900px|none]]

[[File:website3.PNG|thumbnail|1000px|none]]

===The Header button===

When you start to transcribe the first thing you will do is press the header button, this will bring up a standard set of code that needs to be completed. Below is an example of the header format and a completed version. We will not expect you to complete the summary until after you have transcribed the page, the essential parts to complete are the folio or HCA reference, picture number, name and status. You are now ready to start transcribing. Don't forget that his is only a brief introduction and you will come across many unfamiliar words, using the [[terms and Dictionaries|terms and Dictionaries]] and each other will help us get it right. Before you go onto task 7 and transcribing a document, you might want to read through one which has already been transcribed, to help "get your eyes in to 17th century mode". (http://marinelives-transcript.org/scripto/scripto/?scripto_action=transcribe&scripto_doc_id=363&scripto_doc_page_id=407)

[[File:header.PNG|thumbnail|800px|none]]

===Technical Difficulties===

Some people have found viewing the documents difficult, remember you can have the viewing window on full screen, and may be able to have a separate window open beside it with the typing box open, depending on your computer. See the screen shots below. Alternatively if you have a spare monitor you can connect it to your computer and have two screens, one with the document on full screen and one with the typing box open. If people have found any other ways of reading the documents let us know.

[[File:technical.png|thumbnail|500px|left]] [[File:teacnical2.jpg|thumbnail|500px|none]]

==Task 8 A Final Test==

If you would now like to have ago at transcribing a page and have not been allocated one, email me at jillwlcx@gmail.com and I select an easy page for you to have ago at. Below are some examples of how letters and words are formed in many of the easy pages. You will find more help at the Transcription Notes for [[Easy|Easy]] pages. Here is a transcription of another page written in an easy hand it might help to read it first http://marinelives-transcript.org/scripto/scripto/?scripto_action=transcribe&scripto_doc_id=800&scripto_doc_page_id=262

These pages involve a Clement Harbie and a ship called cesar traveling from Zant. Other people discussed are Thomas Oliver and William Ffowkes.

[[File:th.PNG|thumbnail|400 "the first letter stands for th - the word is thousands]]

[[File:the.PNG|thumbnail|300px|th = the 21th]]

[[File:harvey.PNG|thumbnail|300px|h for harbie]]

[[File:petrao.PNG|thumbnail|300px|Petrao]]

[[File:save.PNG|thumbnail|300px|save]]

[[File:interr.PNG|thumbnail|400px|none|I for Interrogate]]

[[File:worth.PNG|thumbnail|500px|none|Watch out for the long lead in stokes that can confuse you, this word starts with a W = worth]]

[[File:ceasr.PNG|thumbnail|500px|none|Cesar the name of a ship]]

[[File:fudge.PNG|thumbnail|500px|none|ffudge the name of a person]]

==HELP==
If you would like to practice your Paleography some more here are links to other pages on the web that you might find useful [[General Palaeography Resources|General Palaeography Resources]]
==FQA==
1. '''Should I correct the spellings in documents where it is spelt differently to the way would spell it today?''' No, do not correct spellings transcribe the words as they are spelt in the manuscript, even if that is different within the same document e.g. said may be spelt sayd or said.

2. '''What should I do about punctuation?''' They did not punctuate documents in the way we do today, so do not add in full stops or commas if you think they are missing. But do transcribe any dots or dashes as they appear in the manuscript.

3. '''How do I use the buttons to mark up work?''' You highlight the text you wish to mark and then press the relevant button. e.g. if there is some text inserted you transcribe it in the place where the insert arrow is and then highlight it and press the insert button which will put some brackets around it. Similarly if you transcribe text that has been crossed out, highlight it and then press the strike button. Below is an example of text and how it has been transcribed.

[[File:buttons2.PNG|thumbnail|600px|none]] [[File:buttonstranscribed.PNG|thumbnail|600px|none]]

4. '''How do I indicate a wide margin or text in a margin?''' To indicate text in a margin you transcribe it and then highlight it and press the margin button - a box will come up and you indicate which margin it is in (left, right or middle).

Common Latin Phrases

2012-12-05T21:04:58Z

Richardblakemore: As far as I know the interpretations I have added are correct!

'''Common Latin phrases'''

'''Editorial history'''

08/08/12: WT, created page
08/08/12: WT, copied content across from bron.wikispot.org from page XXX
----
'''Purpose of this page'''

This page provides a dictionary of common latin phrases taken from mid-C17th High Court of Admiralty documents. For additional help this link is useful if you scroll down it has a list of latin words, it is based on Medieval latin. [ http://archives.nd.edu/latgramm.htm]

MarineLives project members are encouraged to add to the terms listed and to add short illustrative snippets from sample transcriptions available at [[MRP: Admiralty court cases|Admiralty Court Cases]]. The appropriate HCA reference, together with folio number, if available, should be noted in brackets after the snippet.

'''We have some classically trained project team members, including David Pashley, who studied classics at Cambridge. They may react with horror at Colin Greenstreet's school boy latin below. He last studied latin in the 3rd form of secondary school in 1972. A great opportunity for the younger project associates who have studied or are studying Latin to add to the Latin pharases below and to correct any obvious mistranscriptions by Colin (who is basically a decent palaeographer, but who recognises he has his limits)'''

----
__TOC__
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===Suggested links===

See [[Abbreviations|Abbreviations]]
See [[Alphabet of ships|Alphabet of ships]]
See [[Commodities|Commodities]]
See [[Currency and Specie|Currency and Specie]]
See [[Geographical and Place Terms|Geographical and Place Terms]]
See [[Legal & Commercial Terms|Legal & Commercial Terms]]
See [[Marine Terms|Marine Terms]]
See [[Weights and Measures|Weights and Measures]]
----
===Index===
----

----

====A====

'''Aclate'''
'''Ad Interria'''
'''Ad Interrogatoria'''
'''Ad predeporta'''
'''Ad ult dicit'''
'''Allegate''' ("the said shipp the ''Lady frigot'' with her lading allegate" (HCA 13/73))
'''Annex''' ("Ad 3:nd et 4:nd arles et schedule annex deponit et dictit" (HCA 13/64 f.22v))
'''Arlate''' (abbreviation of 'articulate', as in 'aforesaid' or 'mentioned in the articles', 'the ship articulate')
'''Arlum'''
'''At interr con:ny di:ny at de gXXX'''
----
====B====

'''Bona fide'''
----
====C====

'''Caudet''' ("Et alr caudet" (HCA 13/64 f.22r))
----
====D====

'''Deponit''' ("deponit et dictit" (HCA 13/64 f.23r)) (a stock phrase meaning 'deposes and says' - sometimes appears in English equivalent, 'saieth and deposeth')
'''Dicit'''
----
====E====

'''Et alr nescit''' (Et alias[?] nescit - 'and otherwise does not know')
'''Et alr nescit deponere''' ('and otherwise does not know [what] to depose')
'''Et alr referendo'''
'''Et fiat ut supra'''
'''Et interr ut supra'''
'''Et interrogotur con:m div:m et du quolet'''
'''Examinat''' ("this Examinat")
'''Examinatus'''
----
====I====

'''Infrascripts''' ("Et alr. salus infrascripts nescit deponXX" (HCA 13/64 f.22v))
'''Imp:rm interroget:r'''
'''the lre interrte'''
'''Interria''' ("Idem ad Interria" (HCA 13/64 f.22v))
'''Interries'''
'''Interrogatoria''' ("INTERROGATORIA ministrata et ministrand ex parte et p partem William Browne testibus omnibus et singulis ex parte Edward Webb pductis sen pducendis sequuntur")
'''Item Inter quilibi'''
'''Item Interroget:r quilet'''
----
====K====

----
====M====

'''Mercator''' (= merchant)
----
====N====

'''Nauta''' (= sailor)
----
====P====

'''P:rdeposita''' ("Ad ultims predeposta" (HCA 13/64 f. 22v))
'''Prima''' ("Ad prima interria deponit" (HCA 13/64 f.27r))
'''Productus''' ("productus et iuratus" (HCA 13/64 f. 23r))
----
====Q====

'''Quad'''
----
====R====

'''Rendet'''
'''Rendent''' ("this Rendent", abbreviation of 'Respondent')
----
====S====

'''Secundum''' ("Ad prima et secondum acle dicta allagacione deponit dictit" (HCA 13/64 f.22r))
'''Super allagaconne'''
'''Supra allegacon'''
----
====T====

'''Testibus''' ("Testibus omnibus et singulis ex parte et p partem")
----
====U====

'''Ultims''' ("Ad ultims predeposta" (HCA 13/64 f.22v))

====V====

"Vizt'' ("viz" in modern English) = videlicet = namely ("as followeth vizt" in HCA 13/73 f.230r P1130619)

PhD Forum

2012-11-19T14:34:56Z

Richardblakemore: Comment added.

'''PhD Forum'''

'''Editorial history'''

23/08/12: CSG, created page
----
'''Purpose of this page'''

This page is entry point into the MarineLives online Project Manual, and is a resource for the members of our newly launched PhD Forum, as well as existing project members
----
__TOC__
----
==Suggested links==

[[Project Goals|Project Goals]]
[[Colin's Page|Colin's Page]]

[[Online Training Activities|Online Training Activities]]
[[Introduction to the High Court of Admiralty|Introduction to the High Court of Admiralty]]

[[MarineLives Transcription & Editorial Policy: Draft Five|MarineLives Transcription & Editorial Policy: Draft Five]]
[[Semantic markup policy: Version One|Semantic markup policy: Version One]]

[[Terms and Dictionaries|Terms and Dictionaries]]

-[[Geographical and Place Terms|Geographical and Place Terms]]
-[[Marine Terms|Marine Terms]]
-[[Commodities|Commodities]]

[[C17th Arctic whaling|C17th Arctic whaling]]
[[Virginia tobacco trade in the 1650s|Virginia tobacco trade in the 1650s]]

[[Useful articles and secondary materials|Useful articles and secondary materials]]

[[Creating a wiki Page|Creating a wiki Page]]
[[Searching the Wiki|Searching the Wiki]]
[[Editing a Wiki Page|Editing a Wiki Page]]
[[Inserting and Editing Text|Inserting and Editing Text]]
[[Cropping and Inserting images|Cropping and Inserting images]]

[[Special:AllPages|Full wiki index]]

[http://marinelives-transcript.org/scripto MarineLives TRANSCRIPT]
[http://marinelives-theshippingnews.org/blog/ The Shipping News]
[http://marinelives.org MarineLives website]

----
==PhD Forum members and convenors==

'''Richard Blakemore''' (University of Exeter)

[http://humanities.exeter.ac.uk/history/staff/blakemore/other/ Profile]

Research subject: Social history of early modern seafarers, particularly during the seventeenth century. Also interested in questions of vocational identity and authority, popular religion and popular politics in the early modern period, the development of maritime trade, and the history of navigation.

Recently submitted Ph.D. dissertation is a study of London seafarers, maritime tradesmen, and their families during the British civil wars, exploring how, and to what extent, their actions in and experiences of the 1640s were shaped by a shared occupational identity, based upon the cultural stereotype of the ‘seaman’, and what impact the civil wars had upon them as a community

'''Dr Janet Few''' (PhD, University of Exeter)

Research subject: C17th and marine history

'''John Gallagher''' (University of Cambridge)

[http://www.hist.cam.ac.uk/directory/jg545@cam.ac.uk Profile]

Research subject: Interested in histories of language and communication, and in asking how members of different linguistic communities made themselves understood amid the linguistic ferment of the early modern period. My work is interdisciplinary, bringing approaches from linguistics and from the social sciences to bear on historical sources.

PhD dissertation (in progress) provisionally titled 'The linguistic encounters of English speakers in the early modern world, c. 1483-1730'

'''Jamie LeAnne Hager Goodall''' (Ohio State University)

[http://www.blogger.com/profile/13211731164476304107 Profile]

Research subject: Piracy in the C16th and C17th

'''Dr Liam Haydon''' (University of Manchester)

Research subject: Links between commercial and literary production; Milton

'''Philip Hnatkovich''' (Pennsylvania State University)

[http://history.psu.edu/directory/pjh206 Profile]

Research subject: Social history of maritime communities in early modern England and France, with particular interests in maritime industry, production of scientific and technical marine knowledge, and alien communities.

Ph.D. dissertation (in progress) on the multinational system of maritime trade, religious activism, and migration among English and French Channel ports during the Tudor-Stuart era, and its impact on early English colonial projects in the Americas.

'''Elin Jones''' (Queen Marys, University of London)

[http://www.geog.qmul.ac.uk/staff/jonese.html Profile]

Research subject: Masculinities and Material Culture in the Royal Navy, 1758-1815

'''Sue Jones''' (Birkbeck College, University of London)

Research subject: Research into early modern literature about pirates, looking in particular at utopian ideas, space and mobility

'''Jennifer Oliver''' (University of Oxford)

[http://www.sjc.ox.ac.uk/375-2949/Fallaize-Fund-Graduate-Scholarship.html Profile]

Research subject: Ships of state and authorship: exploring national and authorial identity in sixteenth-century France

'''Katherine Parker''' (University of Pittsburgh)

[http://www.history.pitt.edu/graduate/parkerbiopage_000.php Profile]

Research subject: Creation of geographic knowledge about the Pacific in the eighteenth century, centred on the Royal Navy exploratory expeditions

'''Margaret Schotte''' (University of Princeton)

[http://www.princeton.edu/histgrads/profiles/mschotte/ Profile]

Research subject: Comparative study of navigational instruction between the late C16th and end of the C18th

'''Steven Schrum''' (University of Washington, Saint Louis)

[http://history.artsci.wustl.edu/steve_schrum Profile]

Research subject: Regulation and the Economic Development of England and the Dutch Republic in the 1690s

'''Laura Seymour''' (Birkbeck College, University of London)

Research subject: Research deals with the way in which material spaces can contain and convey information, focussing in particular on gesture. See [http://marinelives-theshippingnews.org/blog/2012/09/25/hungry-work/ Hungry Work], an article on the Marine Live's project blog - The Shipping News.

'''Royline Williams-Fontenelle''' (University of Oklahoma, Norman)

[http://cas.ou.edu/royline-n-williams-fontenelle Profile]

Research subject: Studying how to address the history of West Indian slavery and Technology as co-evolved institutions on the island of Antigua

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==Draft PhD Forum schedule of activities==

W/C 12/11/12

'''Thursday, November 15th'''

* Welcome email to new PhD Forum members

* Assigned Username and Passwords to new PhD Forum members

* Creation of Mediawiki accounts for new PhD Forum members, enabling full access to marineLives-Transcript/SCRIPTO

* Access granted to MarineLives Page Log and Planner for new PhD Forum members

----
'''Friday, November 16th'''

* Creation of an [https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AoNoOr05QRMtdHAyNmxuVnNmYkJ3Q0ZiNEQ0R0V2S3c#gid=1 Occupational analysis worksheet], which is behind the [https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AoNoOr05QRMtdHAyNmxuVnNmYkJ3Q0ZiNEQ0R0V2S3c#gid=0 Page Log] in the online Google Doc Page Log and Planner. PhD Forum members and associates have access to both documents - any problems, please get in touch with colin.greenstreet@gmail.com. The worksheet is a first cut of an occupational and status analysis, and contains occupational, age, and location data for a subset of HCA 13/71 witnesses. Comments, analytical suggestions, and comparative data are welcomed
----
==Nascent articles==

PhD Forum members are invited to look at the MarineLives project exploration of C17th Arctic whaling, taking '''Batson and others con Gosling and others''' (1656 and 1657) as the starting point.

An article is being developed by several team members looking at the social structure of one of the whaling ships mentioned in this case, and the network of commercial and financial contacts supporting it. The project team is at the early stage of exploring the potential for something similar on the Virginia tobacco trade in the 1650s.

PhD Forum members are encouraged to contribute to either of these topics, and to explore the growing corpus of HCA 13/71 transcriptions for themes which might be suitable for further articles. All contributions will be acknowledged.

[[C17th Arctic whaling|C17th Arctic whaling]]
[[Virginia tobacco trade in the 1650s|Virginia tobacco trade in the 1650s]]

----
==Themes==

The following topics are currently being explored by the MarineLives project team in parallel with transcription work.

Each link will take you to a page which will introduce a topic and list a set of potential references in HCA 13/71, giving the title of the case and deposition, as well as a reference number. Electronic links are being added which will take you directly to the relevant transcription and manuscript image in MarineLives-Transcript/Scripto.

You are invited to explore these themes and to add your own comments and references as you browse HCA 13/71 online. You are also welcome to add your suggestions as to other relevant primary and secondary material, with the focus being on the 1650s.

[[Bound for Barbary|Bound for Barbary]]
[[English coastal trading|English coastal trading]]
[[Dutch merchants in London and elsewhere|Dutch merchants in London and elsewhere]]
[[Female involvement in marine activities|Female involvement in marine activities]]
[[Injury and death|Injury and death]]
[[Jewish merchants|Jewish merchants]]
[[Maritime incompetence|Maritime incompetence]]
[[Masquerade|Masquerade]]
[[Materials handling|Materials handling]]
[[Navigation|Navigation]]
[[Ports|Ports]]
[[Portuguese merchants in London|Portuguese merchants in London]]
[[Port trades|Port trades]]
[[Seamens' wages|Seamens' wages]]
[[Slavery without redemption|Slavery without redemption]]
[[Spanish merchants in London|Spanish merchants in London]]
[[Thames docks and wharves|Thames docks and wharves]]
[[Thames lighters|Thames lighters]]
[[Thames shipyards in 1650s|Thames shipyards in 1650s]]
[[The Exchange in the City of London|The Exchange in the City of London]]
[[Violence|Violence]]

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[[Comments]]
------
''2012-11-16 07:07:31'' [[nbsp]] Welcome to John Gallagher, University of Cambridge, who is joining the MarineLives PhD Forum. John is a PhD student at Emmanuel College Cambridge, with research interests in language and communication in the Early Modern world --[[Users/ColinGreenstreet|Users/ColinGreenstreet]]
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''2012-11-16 10:45:05'' [[nbsp]] Check out some rough cut occupational and status analysis for the first 65 folios of HCA 13/71. In ff.1r-63v twice as many mariners as merchants deposed as witnesses. See [[Semantic Markup General#head-6b1c2b90f79fe9d577cc32dab2c70c27dc5cd43f|Occupational and social status analysis of witnesses in HCA 13/71]]

You can look also look at the age data and occupation data for the different occupation and status groups

A full analysis to follow within the next couple of days --[[Users/ColinGreenstreet|Users/ColinGreenstreet]]
------
''2012-11-16 16:39:35'' [[nbsp]] There is now an [https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AoNoOr05QRMtdHAyNmxuVnNmYkJ3Q0ZiNEQ0R0V2S3c#gid=1 Occupational analysis worksheet], which is behind the [https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/ccc?key=0AoNoOr05QRMtdHAyNmxuVnNmYkJ3Q0ZiNEQ0R0V2S3c#gid=0 Page Log] in the online Google Doc Page Log and Planner you all have access to.

You might want to check out the latest version of this occupational analysis sheet. Data are in for f.1r to f.154v (so about 22% of total). There is double counting, which I will strip out by consolidiating individuals and allowing multiple columns to code for status, occupation, and job title. Nevertheless, I am surprised at how old some of the mariners are, and not just the captains, masters and commanders of ships.

The literacy analysis is very incomplete, since I have only currently captured signature vs marke for a relatively small number of the depositions, and someone will have to go back to all the images/transcriptions at the appropriate folio (we know where each deposition finishes, so it is not all 674 folios, and capture all the data onto the Page Log sheet.

Nevethless there is a high degree of basic literacy, with a mixture of English mariners (often provincially based), marine tradesmen and suppliers (shipwrights, coopers, butchers, watermen, labourers, and some non-English mariners really having to leave their mark.

'''You can explore the raw data yourself in the online Page Log. Use the Column J filter in the Page Log to look at signatures and markes, and the Columns K to M filters to look at occupation.'''

'''You can explore the sample of analysed data by using column filters for surname (Colimn B), age (Column C), literacy (Column D), occupation and/or status description (Column E), and five levels of location (street and building level, if available: Column G; parish level, if available: Column H; village, town or city: Column I; county or province: Column J; country: Column K). The raw data from which this is coded is reproduced in Column L). The underlying images for any case can be accessed through the URLs for the appropriate deposition in the Page Log.'''

Does anyone know of comparative data that exist for C16th, C17th and C18th by occupational group with a marine flavour, inclduing port trades? We will later be able to look at basic literacy rates for captains/masters/commanders vs other officers vs non-officers --[[Users/ColinGreenstreet|Users/ColinGreenstreet]]
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''2012-11-17 13:55:26'' [[nbsp]] Verbal and physical violence are a feature of a fair number of depositions. But it is rare for a ship to be lost as a result. But this was the allegation made by the gunner of the Fortune, who observed:

"the sayd Braining the Master without any provocation given him fell in furious manner upon the Boatswayn of the sayd shipp and with a stick or Cudgell knockt him on the head and wounded him very sore, to the endangereing of his life so as he became unable to give any assistance when the shipp was in danger"

See the new theme [[Violence|Violence]] and add your own contributions and comments. --[[Users/ColinGreenstreet|Users/ColinGreenstreet]]
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''2012-11-19 14:34:55'' [[nbsp]] I don't know if this is the best place to post this - it links to occupational and social status, I couldn't find a comment option there (showing the extent of my computer expertise...) but I can offer some comparative comments from my own research.

Vincent Patarino, in an article on 'religious shipboard culture', published in Fury, ed., The social history of English seamen (2012) (http://www.boydellandbrewer.com/store/viewItem.asp?idProduct=13786) has some figures across the seventeenth century, sampled from five files (HCA 1/9, 1/101, 13/64, 13/97 and 12/142), showing 37% of sailors and 63% of officers signing in 1603-30s, 93.6% of officers and 76.2% of sailors in 1650s-70s. In my own research, I have figures from the 1640s (HCA 13/56-61), pertaining only to London seafarers. 62-79% of these mariners, 87-94% of commanding officers, and 64-76% of other officers were signing their names (these represent the range of percentages from individual volumes). Literacy in London was probably higher than average, given the figures in David Cressy, Literacy and the social order (1980).

On age, I too was surprised to see how old a number of seafarers were, but I suspect this reflects the tendency for older and more experienced seafarers and officers to appear as deponents. From the same volumes, for London seafarers, only 40 per cent of deponents were under thirty; but over half of the sample were officers of some kind. This compares with a survey of London seafarers from 1629 in the state papers (SP 16/135, fos 111r-27v), in which only one third were officers and 56 per cent of all in the survey were under thirty. Unsurprisingly, the HCA are not a perfect census, although it does seem they are not actually that far out.

I think this raises two interesting points - firstly, how useful the HCA papers are for recovering details about early modern seafarers; and secondly, how careful we have to be about legal sources and whether they are truly representative. --[[Users/richardblakemore|Users/richardblakemore]]