Difference between revisions of "Textile trade"

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Textile trade

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Colchester serges traded to the United Provinces

Colchester serges seized en route to Rotterdam

William Lowe, the thirty-eight year old Master of the ketch the Coronation testified regarding the seizure of Colchester serges from his ship by a private man of war, a galliot hoy, on his way to Rotterdam. He provided estimated values for the parcels of white and brown serges seized, and suggested that by reason of the scarcity of such goods due to war, they might have commanded significantly higher prices than those estimated.

• "8. To the second Article of the sayd allegation This deponent saith, That soone after the lading

9. of the sayd searges the sayd vessell the Coronation also the ffortune
10. did sett sayle with the sayd goods towards the Port of Rotterdam, and
11. in her course thither she was mett withall and sett upon by a Galliot
12. hoy being a private Man of Warr of Dover under the Command of
13. Dirick Hendrix alias Swayne neere unto the Maze about the beginning
14. of March 1653. aforesayd and the sayd Hendrix with some of his
15. Company did come on board the sayd Ketch, and this deponent being present
16. they seized and tooke in their possessions and perused the Cocketts and
17. other dispatches that concerned the sayd searges and notwithstanding that they
18. did see by the sayd Cocketts and other writings, that the sayd searges did
19. belong to the sayd John Furley and John Page of Colchester aforesaid,
20. yet the sayd Hendrix did take and carry away out of the sayd Ketch
21. the sayd twenty peices of mixed serges which were made up in two
22. packes belonging to the sayd John Farley Jun; and the sayd ten
23. pieces of white serges which were made up allso in two other packs
24. belonging to the sayd John Page, and did ćarry away the same and
25. dispose them at his owne will and pleasure. All which this deponent
26. knoweth to be true being then Master of the sayd Ketch and an eye
27. witnesse of the sayd premisses. And otherwise he cannot depose.
28. To the third ˹and fourth˺ articles of the said allegation This deponent saith that by the experience
29. he hath of Colchester serges and the usuall prices they yield in
30. Holland where he hath often tymes sold such serges, he doth verily
31. believe that the sayd twenty pieces of mixed serges were att the
32. tyme of their lading with the Customes and other dutyes discharged
33. ˹to be sold in Holland˺ worth eighty pounds sterling or thereabouts, and the sayd ten
34. pieces of white serges which the Customes and other dutyes worth
35. the sume of seventy pounds sterling or thereabouts and that the sayd
36. twenty and ten peices would then have yeilded the sayd respective prices
37. or neere thereabouts att Rotterdam and otherwise he ćannot depose
38. saving that he saith that the sayd serges had they not bene so seized by the
39. said Hendrix had in and would in all probability have arrived in safety
40. att Rotterdam and saving that he saith It is very probable that by
41. reason of the scarcity of English serges att that tyme in Holland (the
42. trade being interrupted by the warr) such goods would and might have
43. yeilded there a farr greater summe than this deponent hath predeposed
44. of...."

- HCA 13/71 f.158r Case: John Furley iunior and John Page against Richard Jacobs Edward Godwin and Henry Tiddeman; Deposition: 1. William Lowe of Colchester in the County of Essex Mariner Master of the ketch Coronation, aged thirty eight yeares; Date: 26/04/1656. Transcribed by Janet Few.^[1]

Price of serges in Colchester at time of their attempted export to Rotterdam

The Colchester Customs collector, James Vickers, gave detailed testimony as to the going rate for serges at the time of Page and ffurley's attempted export of mixed serges to Rotterdam.

• "24. To the third article hee saith he cannot depose for that hee saw not

25. the sayd peices, nor knoweth the qualities thereof, but saith that
26. the usuall rate of mixed serges of twelve pounds weight per
27. peice is about three pounds ten shillings the first penny.
28. and white serges are usually sold the first penny att betwixt
29. four pounds and five pounds per peice. And much after
30. that rate serges of that nature were sold for att Colchester the
31. first penny about the latter end of the yeare 1653. All which
32. this deponent hath observed being Collector for the Customes
33. there as aforesayd. And otherwise he cannot depose
34. To the 4th article he saith he hath credibly heard that att that tyme such
35. serges might have bene sold att Roterdam to very good
36. proffitt. And otherwise he cannot depose."

- HCA 13/71 f.160v Case: On the behalfe of the sayd Mary Dell against the shipp the Three Sisters; Deposition: 2. John Vickers of Colchester in the County of Essex merchant and Collector of the Customs there, aged forty one yeares; Date: 28/04/1656. Transcribed by Colin Greenstreet.^[2]

Possible resources

John Vickers: Mayor of Colchester (1655) ('Complete List of Colchester mayors', Charles E. Benham, Colchester worthies. a biographical index of Colchester (London & Colchester, 1892), p. 64 (http://archive.org/stream/colchesterworthi00benh#page/64/mode/2up)

French watered tabbies shipped from Haver de Grace in France to Cadiz in Spain by Jewish merchants of Amsterdam

The thirty-eight year old London merchant Christofer Boone was the London correspondent for two Amsterdam Jewish merchants, Andrew and Christofer Munez. The Munez merchants had shipped expensive mohaire cloth of gold and silver from haver de Grace in France to Cadiz in Spain in the hare in the ffeild. As Jews they did not have freedom to trade in Spain, and so had shipped the goods under the alias of Meyenbergh, calling themselves Robert and Henry Meyenberg (alt. Meyenburgh). The ship, which was a Dutch ship of Middleborow, had been seized by ships of the Commonwealth and brought first to Portsmouth and then to London.

Christofer Boone's link with the Andrew and Christofer Munez may have come from his own extensive involvement in the Spanish trade, having worked in Seville as a factor for Thomas Boone in the late 1640s, and continuing to be active in Seville and Spain in the 1650s and 1660s, with his own factor resident in Spain. Acting for the Munez merchants, Boone had secured the restoration of the Munez' goods. The use of an alias and the religion of the owners of the cloth was no barrier in the Admiralty Court to the Judges ordering restoration of the goods to the merchants. Indeed, in his deposition, Christopher Boone was upfront about the use of an alias, stating that:

46. ..............Andrew and Christofer Munez of Amsterdam this deponents
47. correspondents sent over to London to this deponent to claime seaven
48. thirtie severall peeces and packs of goods for them as laden aboard the
49. said shipp to be transported to the barr of Cadiz or Saint lucars for the
50. account of Robert and henry Meyerbergh, whereas the said goods belonged GUTTER
51. them

"1. them the said Andrew and Christofer Munez, and that the names of the
2. said Robert and henry Meyenberg were only used for them, because the said
3. Andrew and Christofer were of the Jewish Profession of Religion and
4. therefore not free to trade in Spaine." (HCA 13/71 ff.219v, 220r)

However, when Boone sent his servant (and relation) Daniel Boone to receive the restored goods, Daniel Boone reported back (and deposed) that one bale of cloth was missing and the other bales had been opened and pieces removed.

Christofer Boone claimed in his deposition that the missing cloths, totalling twelve out of a total invoiced twenty six, were worth two hundred and sixty pounds sterling.

Below is Christofer Boone's full deposition:

• "36. The twelveth of May 1656.

37. <margin value="Left">On the behalfe of the foresaid Meyenbergh}
38. alias Andrew and Chr Muniez, touching}
39. goods embeazald out of the hare in the ffeild.}</margin>
40. Christofer Boone of London
41. Merchant, aged 38 yeeres or
42. thereabouts sworne and exámined.
43. <margin value="Left">Rp. 4.</margin>
44. To the first, second and third Interrogatories hee saith and deposeth that
45. after the seizure and bringing the shipp the hare in the ffeild into this
46. Commonwealth, Andrew and Christofer Munez of Amsterdam this deponents
47. correspondents sent over to London to this deponent to claime seaven and
48. thirtie severall peeces and packs of goods for them as laden aboard the
49. said shipp to be transported to the barr of Cadiz or Saint lucars for the
50. account of Robert and henry Meyerbergh, whereas the said goods belonged GUTTER
51. <margin value="Bottom right, under main body of text, as lead to next page">XXXX GUTTER</margin>

• "1. them the said Andrew and Christofer Munez, and that the names of the

2. said Robert and henry Meyenberg were only used for them, because the said
3. Andrew and Christofer were of the Jewish Profession of Religion and
4. therefore not free to trade in Spaine. And saith they sent him over
5. the bills of lading and Invoices for the same received from ffrance, And
6. saith that accordingly this deponent claimed them in this Court and
7. upon sufficient proofe made for the same, had a sentence for the restitution
8. thereof; and when hee came to have them restored by the Prize Officers
9. hee found one of the cases, numbred 1. and marked as in the margent
10.
11. [MARKE IN MARGIN IS AN M, WITH A SMALL DIAMOND ABOVE IT, CONNECTED TO THE M BY A SQUIGGLY LINE]
12.
13. to be wholly lacking and lost, and found six more of the same markes,
14. numbred .2 .3 .4 .5 .6 .7 to be have bin broken open and severall of the goods
15. taken thereout, being gold and silver mohair, otherwise french material
16. tabbie of gold and silver. And saith that the said Invoice mentions
17. the said seaven packs ˹cases or packs˺ to containe 26 peeces of the said goods, but in the
18. said six packs which were found (and which this deponent had) there were
19. only fourteene peeces contained, soe that there were and are
20. twelve peeces of the said goods quite want wanting and lost; and
21. further saith that the said twelve peeces after the rate of the Invoice
22. and their proportion of charges expended were worth and amount unto
23.two hundred and sixtie pounds sterling or thereabouts; And lastly hee saith
24. hee hath used all possible diligence to finde out and discover the
25. said twelve peeces of goods, but can by noe meanes finde them out
26. soe that they were and are utterly lost and never recovered nor recoverable
27. upon the said claime.
28. ChrisBoone SIGNATURE, RH SIDE
29. Repeated before Doctor G.c [Godolphin]"

- HCA 13/71 ff.219v, 220r Case: On the behalfe of the foresaid Meyenberg alias Andrew and Chr Munez, touching goods embeazled out of the hare in the ffeild ; Deposition: 4. Christofer Boone of London Merchant, aged 38 yeeres (Signature of "ChrisBoone" at end of deposition); Date: 12/05/1656. Transcribed by Colin Greenstreet.^[3]

Norwich stuffs traded to Spain and the Canaries

Twenty-five year old London merchant, Elias Watson, testified as to the great loss and damage suffered by XXXX Cowse, "especially in the Aurellas Cheynies and ffloranides Schedulate being (in all forty peeces of Norwich stuffs)." These goods were to have been sold at Saint Lucar in Spain, but were instead transported to Palma in the Canaries, where, according to Watson, the agents of Cowse were forced to pay multiple unnecessary customs duties. Moreover, due to the outbreak of war between England and Spain, Watson claimed that Watson was unable to recover the money for the goods when he sold them in Palma.

• "1. therefore is fully convinced in conscience that the sayd Cowse

2. by the sayd Keene his delivery of the sayd goods Schedulate at Saint
3. Lucar and not bringing them to Palma (according as by bill of
4. ladeing it appeared to this deponent hee was bound to doe) hath suffered
5. great losse and dammage especially in the Aurellas
6. Cheynies and ffloranides Schedulate being (in all forty peeces of Norwich
7. stuffs) which by reason they could not bee sold at Saint Lucars were
8. afterwards transported for Palma, and the sayd Cowse his Agents
9. being forced to pay three, (if not fower) severall Customes for the
10. sayd stuffes, beside severall other charges, (this deponent him selfe
11. paying one of the sayd Customes in the Island of Palma and Mr
12. John Lasby an other of Cowse his Correspondents an other Customes
13. for the sayd stuffs in the Island of Teneriff, beside the customes paid
14. at Saint Lucar for them) and hee knoweth that the sayd Cowse by the sayd
15. stuffes being landed at Saint Lucar and afterwards of necessitie being transported
16. to Palma did suffer ˹other˺ losse and dammage alsoe for that after this
17. deponent had sold a part of them at Palma hee this deponent by
18. reason of the Imbargo upon Englishmens estates occasioned by
19. the warrs betwixt England and Spaine (which broke out before hee this
20. deponent could dispose of the sayd stuffes) could never recover any thing
21. for them of those hee had sold them to, for that the
22. sayd Cowse was of this deponents knowledge damnified in the
23. sale of the sayd stuffes only, at the least fifty pounds sterling by
24. the meanes aforesayd but what his further dammage was hee
25. this deponent cannot estimate And further to this article hee
26. cannot depose./"

- HCA 13/71 f.508r Case: Cowse against Keene; Deposition: 9. Elias Watson of the parish of Saint Mary Woolchurch London Merchant aged 25 yeares; Date: Probably 10/03/1656 ("Same day"). Transcribed by Colin Greenstreet.^[4]

Taunton serges sold in Saint Lucar

Add quote:

"X. ............................................................forty peeces of Norwich
X. stuffes (being the forty peeces arlate) which stuffes this deponent sent
X. thense to teneriff in the shipp the Paragon, and alsoe of all the fflaxe
X. fower peeces of black bayes five peeces of Taunton serges and nyne
X. peeces of broad Cheynies left alsoe by the sayd Keene at Saint Lucar
X. with this deponent which flaye bayes sreges and Cheynies this
X. deponent by his sayd Account did signifie to the sayd Cowse that hee
X. could not sell them at Saint Lucar and soe was forced to leave them
X. there with one Michaell Perry to bee disposed of for Account of the sayd
X. Cowse"

1. ↑ HCA 13/71 f.158r
2. ↑ HCA 13/71 f.160v
3. ↑ HCA 13/71 f.219v; HCA 13/71 f.220r
4. ↑ HCA 13/71 f.508r
5. ↑ HCA 13/71 f.575r