Juan Motte

Juan Motte

Juan Motte
Person	Juan Motte
Title
First name	Juan
Middle name(s)
Last name	Motte
Suffix
Spouse of
Widow of
Occupation	Merchant
Secondary shorebased occupation
Mariner occupation
Associated with ship(s)
Training	Not apprentice
Is apprentice of
Was apprentice of
Had apprentice(s)
Citizen	Unknown
Literacy	Signature
Has opening text	Juan Motte
Has signoff text	Juan Motte
Signoff image	(Invalid transcription image)
Language skills	German language, Spanish language
Has interpreter
Birth street
Birth parish
Birth town	Hamburg
Birth county
Birth province
Birth country	Germania
Res street
Res parish
Res town	Seville
Res county
Res province
Res country	Spain
Birth year	1624
Marriage year
Death year
Probate date
First deposition age	30
Primary sources
Act book start page(s)
Personal answer start page(s)
Allegation start page(s)
Interrogatories page(s)
Deposition start page(s)	HCA 13/68 f.295v Annotate
Chancery start page(s)
Letter start page(s)
Miscellaneous start page(s)
Act book date(s)
Personal answer date(s)
Allegation date(s)
Interrogatories date(s)
Deposition date(s)	Dec 2 1653
How complete is this biography?
Has infobox completed	Yes
Has synthesis completed	No
Has HCA evidence completed	No
Has source comment completed	No
Ship classification
Type of ship	N/A
Silver Ship litigation in 1650s
Role in Silver Ship litigation	Deponent

Biographical synthesis

Juan Motte (b. ca. 1624, Hamburg; d. ?). Merchant.

Resident in 1653 in Seville in Spain. Born in Hamburg. Family of Walloonian origin, moving to Hamburg and Stade via Cologne.

Former servant and cashier to Hamburg merchant Arnold Woulters, when Woulters was living in Seville. A cousin german of Arnold Woulters.

Juan Motte is to be distinguished from a John La Motte, living in Cadiz in 1653, who is identified as a native of Bruges in Flanders. La Motte was a factor, together with Gerard Ryper, of Antwerp merchant John Smeesters.

Kellenbenz (1954) states of the "De Motte" family that "Der Wallone David Motte stammte aus Moucron. Sein Emigrantenweg führte ihn zunächst nach Köln: dort wurde er 1589 in die Église Walonne aufgenommen. Später siedelte er nach Hamburg über, 1596 wird er als Ancien der auf Hamburg und Stade sich verteilenden wallonischen Gemeinde erwähnt." Kellenbenz details David Motte's innvolvement in Iberian trade. He identifies a David Motte der jüngere who warried Johanna de Schot ca. 1618, but died shortly afterwards. The younger David Mott had two brothers, Pieter and Abraham Motte, and a brother-in-law, Hermann Crop, who was also involved in Iberian trade.

Kellenbenz (1954) states that Johanna de Schoott, the wife of David Motte, was the sister of Anthony de Schott and Leonard de Schott, who were sons of Hans de Schott. Kellenbenz states that the family "De Schott" came from Antwerpen, linking Hans de Schott in an undefined way to "Johan Schot, Bruder des Franz Schot, Wolltuchhändlers in Antwerpen" and implies that Hans de Schott came from Antwerpen to Hamburg. "Als Hans de Schot nach Hamburg kam, muß er schon mit Catharina Anselmo verheiratet gewesen sein. 1596 wird sein Name zum erstenmal erwähnt." Kellenbenz cites evidence of de Schot's involvement in Iberian trade, including his links "mit dem Kreis Anselmo". According to Kellenbenz Hans de Schott moved later to Stade, and remarried there in 1620 to Adriane Pels, shortly before his death.

Kellenbenz notes the strong Iberian business of the brothers Anthony and Leonard de Schott in the early 1620s, citing data from the Hamburg bank. However, their firm failed "als kurz vor 1630 das Unternehmen von Anthony und Leonard de Schot zusammengebrochen war und sich ein kaiserliches Moratorium bemühten. erklärten sie, daß sie vor dem Konkurs viele Jahren nach Spanien und Portugal "große Nehotien" gehabt und dem spanischen König mit vielen Schiffen "große Zufuhr von allerhand ammunition getan" hätten.

Kellenbenz concludes that the De Schott brothers were supplying arms to Spain in support of its war with the United Provinces, which had broken out again in 1621. However, piracy had caused great losses ao that they "endlich von der Borsa sich absentieren und mit ihren Creditoren in einen Accord eintreten müssen". Prior to bankruptcy, the de Schott brothers had had to supend payments in 1627.

A number of other Hamburg firms engaged in Iberian trade appear to have failed at the same time. Kellenbenz had access to the "Konkursakten", and states, from inspection of these documents, that "de Schot nicht nur die südlichen Niederlande, sondern auch England mit iberischen Importwaren belieferten." Kellenbenz cites as his source Reichskammergericht documents, which presumably contain the Konkursakten.

A Reichskammergericht case (1620-1637, 1644-1657) was brought by the "Erben des Walter de Hertoghe und des Abraham Boots, curatores bonorum der Brüder Anton und Leonhard de Schott in Hamburg". The defendants were "Ulrich, Carl, Cäcilie und Elisabeth Lippoldt (Lupolt) in Hamburg", "David Motte (der Jüngere), für sich und seine Mutter Johanna de Schott", and the merchant Jacques Budier, "sämtlich als Erben beziehungsweise Rechtsnachfolger des Ulrich Lippoldt (der Ältere) und anderer Gläubiger der Brüder de Schott in Hamburg und Amsterdam."

The case included a dispute about the priority of the demands of the defendants "aus einer Vormundschaftsverwaltung, um die Anfechtung eines Vergleichs unter den Gläubigern der 1627 fallierten Brüder de Schott und um die Haftung des Walter de Hertoghe, des Abraham Boots und des Antonio Saraiva Coronel als curatores bonorum der Falliten de Schott wegen einer angeblichen Schadlosversprechung für die Gläubiger bei Übernahme der Fallitmasse."

The accompanying documentation includes "Testamente von 1620 und 1622 des Johann de Schott in Stade; Testament von 1625 des Ulrich Lippoldt, Kaufmann in Hamburg; Vergleich über die Befriedigung der Forderungen der Gläubiger sowie die vorausgehenden Verhandlungen 1627-1628; Vertrag von 1628 der Hamburger Kaufleute Bartholomäus und Wilhelm Engelbrecht mit Leonhard de Schott über die Befriedigung von Gläubiger-Forderungen; Kaiserliches Moratorium von 1629 für die Bezahlung der Schulden der Brüder de Schott; Schuldverschreibungen, Quittungen, Geschäftsbriefe, Bilanzen, Schuldaufstellungen und Vollmachten zur Erwirkung eines Arrests aus der Zeit 1627-1630; Verpflichtung von 1629 der curatores bonorum der Falliten de Schott, die Gläubiger bei Verpfändung ihres Hab und Guts zufriedenzustellen sowie zahlreiche ähnliche Verpflichtungserklärungen anderer curatores bonorum aus der Zeit 1620-1628"

Evidence from High Court of Admiralty

Thirty year old Juan Motte deposed on December 3rd 1654 in the High Court of Admiralty. He was examined on an allegation on behalf of Hamburg merchant Arnold Woulters in "The clayme of Arnold Woulters of Hamburgh for his sylver laden in the shipp the Angell Michael whereof John Low is master taken by Captaine John Bonner and Companie in the Marmaduke frigot, whereof the sayd John Bonner is captaine".

Juan Motte stated that "Arnold Woulters was and is an Hamburgher borne and for such commonly accounted this deponent himselfe being a native of the same place And further saith that the sayd Arnold Woulters in the sayd moneth of November 1652 and att the tyme of the lading of the sayd sylver and money respectively as aforesaid and for six yeares before or thereabouts was and is an inhabitant of Hamburgh. and that for about 11 yeares next before he lived in Sevilia in Spayne as a merchant stranger this deponent being his servant and cashier for the greatest part of the sayd 11 yeares. And that the producent for about 6 or 7 yeares last past hath bene and is burgher of Hamburgh, and for all his tyme hath bene and is a subiect of the free State of Hamburgh"; interestingly Juan Motte was the cousin german of Arnold Woulters, saying "he is by birth an Hamburgher and an Inhabitant of Sevilia in Spaine. and is the producents [Arnold Woulter] cousin german"