Difference between revisions of "Tools: Three Silver Ships"

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The three silver ships

Editorial history

Created 28/06/2015 by CSG

Background

Three large ships (The Salvador, the Sampson and the Saint George) of supposedly Lubeck and Hamburg build and ownership were captured by the English in 1652 with highly valuable cargos of bullion. The ships were on their way from Cadiz with bullion from the Spanish West Indies going northwards. It was disputed in court as to whether the ships were bound legally for the Spanish Netherlands, or illegally for Amsterdam.

The case was endowed with political as well as commercial weight - the Protectorate was keen to have the bullion declared lawfull prize, but the Spanish government contested this. The many and varied court depositions and other English Admiralty (and English State Paper) records give very granular and highly colourful accounts of Seville and Cadiz, Hamburg and Lubeck, the Spanish Netherlands, the by-ways between the Spanish Netherlands and Amsterdam by which bullion could be smuggled overland and by canal, and the River Thames, where the ships and sailors were held following seizure. Thomas Violet, a rather dodgy goldsmith, was involved as an agitator on benhalf of the protectorate, and published a pamphlet pleading for reimbursement of his efforts, which supplements the HCA material on the MarineLives wiki.

Timeline

Please enter below all events relating to the Admiralty court case of three Silver ships. Be as specific as possible in terms of day, month, and year.

Please note whether the dates you enter are New or Old style (typically non-English witnesses will use New Style dates, and English witnesses will use Old style dates. In the 1650s the same day in New style was ten days ahead in terms of date compared with Old style.^[1]

1646

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1647

Month unspecified: The ship the Salvadore was built at Hamburg^[2]

1648

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1649

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1650

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1651

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1652

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1653

Possibly early 1653: Petition of Juan de lossa Barrona, a Spaniard born in Segovia, Spain, regarding the seizure of his goods in the ship the Saint George of Hamburg (master: John Martin), leading to he himself being detained in London hoping that the ship with her lading would be released "to finish her voyage to Ostend". The ship not being released, the petitioners business affairs pressed for him to depart to Flanders.^[3]

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1654

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1655

April 3rd: Petition to the English Admiralty Court judges of Christian Cloppenburgh, master of the ship the Sampson, on behalf of himself and the rest of the owners of the ship. States his ship has been detained for more than two years depending on a suit in the Admiralty Court about proving her to be prize and that a sentence had recently been passed by the Court setting the ship and her freight free. However, Thomas Violet had put in information that some silver had been purloyned or embeazled, and that under this pretence the ship had been further detained. Asked the Court that his ship be speedily discharged to save him and it from utter ruin.^[4]

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1656

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1657

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1658

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1659

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Witness list

Please add witness details and linked references in alphabetical order of witness.

William Astell of the parish of Allhallows Barking London Chirurgeon aged 60 yeares^[5]
Antonio Fernandez Caravashall of London Merchant aged 54 yeares^[6]
Christian Cloppenburgh of hamborough Mariner aged 43. yeares^[7]
Christian Cloppenburgh of Hamborough Mariner Master of the shipp the Salvadore aged 44 yeares^[8]
Antonio Estevan de Balderas of Limma in the West Indies merchant aged 38 yeares^[9]
Carsten Franck of Lubeck Shipwright aged 32. yeares^[10]
Abraham Johnson of the precinct of Saint Catherins neere the Tower of London Sailemaker aged 35 yeares^[11]
Magdalena Hendricks the wife of Abraham Johnson living in the Minories neere London aged thirty two yeares^[12]
William Pembridge of the Parrish of Saint Magnus London Habberdasher aged 42 yeares^[13]
Stephen Puckle of Eastsmithfeild neere London Merchant aged fifty nine yeares^[14]
Hance Ramke of Hamborough Mariner aged 40 yeares^[15]
Henry Slegar of hamborough Saylor aged 23. yeares^[16]

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Primary source material other than depositions

Item: Petition of Christian Cloppenburgh: Date: April 3rd 1655^[17]

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Cast of Characters

Please add key characters in the affair of the silver ships, together with short referenced profiles of the characters.

Christian Cloppenburgh

Master of the ship the Salvadore. Aged forty-four in June 1655.^[18]

Antonio Estevan de Balderas

Spanish merchant, resident in Lima in the Spanish West Indies.^[19]

Jaspar Lorenzo

Spanish merchant claiming to have lost three cerons of cutchineele in the ship the Salvadore.^[20]

Ferdinando Nunez

Spanish merchant.^[21]

Ships

Please create profile of ships named in the case of the three silver ships.

Golden Sunn

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Mercurius

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Saint George

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Salvadore

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Sampson

1. ↑ Add reference
2. ↑ HCA 13/70 f.387v
3. ↑ HCA 15/6 Box 2 no fol.
4. ↑ HCA 15/6 Box 2 no fol.
5. ↑ HCA 13/70 f.712v
6. ↑ HCA 13/70 f.714v
7. ↑ HCA 13/70 f.142v
8. ↑ HCA 13/70 f.387v
9. ↑ HCA 13/68 f.175r
10. ↑ HCA 13/70 f.140v
11. ↑ HCA 13/70 f.709r
12. ↑ HCA 13/70 f.720r
13. ↑ HCA 13/70 f.713r
14. ↑ HCA 13/70 f.717v
15. ↑ HCA 13/70 f.734v
16. ↑ HCA 13/70 f.141v
17. ↑ HCA 15/6 Box 2 no fol.
18. ↑ HCA 13/70 f.387v
19. ↑ HCA 13/68 f.175r
20. ↑ HCA 13/70 f.387v
21. ↑ HCA 13/70 f.387v