In 1807, the ship Anne Marie was captured by the British Navy while sailing from the Faroe Islands to Denmark. Five packages and two hundred letters were confiscated from the ship and survived, still sealed, in the Prize Papers. What’s inside? Read below to find out. /1
The first package contained a beautiful women’s red knitted jumper. Its stitches are minute and not immediately visible, with the red and navy fabrics being wool and white perhaps cotton. The design is similar to examples worn as part of Faroese national dress today. /3
Thanks to Margretha Nónklett, Erling Isholm and Anna Knutsson for offering their expertise, which allowed us to understand this unique collection. The fantastic pictures and video above were taken by
@maria_kardamoon
and the packages were first discovered by Gustav Ängeby. /10
Two hundred letters from the Anne Marie have also been unsealed, all sent from the Faroes to elsewhere in Scandinavia. Written in Danish, they cover the Islands’ economy, the inhabitants’ personal lives and many other subjects, even the functioning of the Lutheran Church. /8
Packet two contained four pairs of white knitted stockings, made for women. This is unusual, as most stockings exported from the Faroes to Denmark were made for men as part of army uniforms. Remarkably, the Anne Marie had 49,000 pairs of men’s stockings aboard when captured. /5
A letter accompanying this jumper tells us that it was sent from the wife of a carpenter at Tórshavn to the fiancée of one Mr Ladsen of Copenhagen. It was intended as a thank you gift for pudding rice that the had previously been sent to the carpenter’s wife. /4
One enclosed a bundle of paper rix dollars and coins, all issued in Denmark, perhaps sent to pay a debt. Paper money was adopted early in Scandinavia compared with the rest of Europe and it took decades to convince people that paper could serve as a form of currency. /9
Opening two-hundred-year-old packages is a delicate operation. Our
@Prize_Papers
project conservator Marina Casagrande was able to carefully unseal the packages. They were later opened in the presence of Margretha Nónklett and Erling Isholm, two experts from the Faroe Islands. /2
All the materials featured come from the Prize Papers, which survive at the
@UkNatArchives
and will be digitised by the Prize Papers Project
@adw_goe
@Akademienunion
. Keep a look out this year for when we make all of these materials available online:
Given this arrangement, it is not surprising that a third package contained barley. It was being sent back to Denmark, with an accompanying letter explaining that it was partly eaten by worms during shipping. The barley was thus poof of a prior shipment’s poor quality. /7
An important commercial context: trade to the Faroes was monopolised by the Danish crown, which shipped grain largely in exchange for knitted goods. The Anne Marie carried much of the Islands’ exports for 1807 and its capture delivered the profits to the British instead. /6
These letters come from La Diligente, a French frigate captured by the privateer Leviathan en route from Bayonne to Havana in 1745. The ship carried 70 letters intended for recipients in the Caribbean and they offer insights into the lives of ordinary people there in the 1740s 🧵
Today we have launched our first batch of Spanish Prize Papers online. Materials from and relating to 130 Spanish ships taken by the British in the 1740s are now in our portal. We had the honour of welcoming the Spanish Ambassador
@EmbSpainUK
@UkNatArchives
to our launch event.
"The Prize Papers" have finally been unveiled, producing tremendous interest for the Spanish and British media. Thanks to these documents that were seized from Spanish ships by Great Britain between 1652-1815, we will learn more about our history and heritage.
John Davies, captain of the ship O Vaz de Lisboa, owned several notebooks, which he used for calculations, practising Portuguese and even writing songs. The notebooks are now available in the portal, serving as witnesses of a Portuguese ship condemned as a Spanish Prize. /1
On 19 June 1743, the Spanish galleon Nuestra Señora de Covadonga was captured off Samar by HMS Centurion, while sailing from Acapulco to Manila. One of only four Pacific galleons ever captured, the papers of the Covadonga are now in the Prize Papers Portal. Some examples 👇. /1
The Nuestra Señora de los Remedios, also known as La Ninfa, was a Spanish merchant ship that covered the route between Cádiz and Veracruz in 1747. It carried goods, passengers and letters to Havana, Veracruz, Buenos Aires, and other destinations in the Spanish Americas. (1/6)
Imagine being the first person to open a letter written 250 years ago but which never reached its recipient. What might you find? This is the part of the daily work of our conservators
@UkNatArchives
. Read the fascinating blog post by Camilla Camus-Doughan
The documents of La Ninfa show some of the realities of transatlantic migration in the Spanish Empire during the eighteenth century. The ship carried various migrants, some of whom were wealthy and well-connected, while others had more humble origins. (1/12)
The Nuestra Señora de los Remedios, also known as La Ninfa, was a Spanish merchant ship that covered the route between Cádiz and Veracruz in 1747. It carried goods, passengers and letters to Havana, Veracruz, Buenos Aires, and other destinations in the Spanish Americas. (1/6)
In 1748, the Santa Catharina, bound from Basra to Bengal, was captured, carrying documents in Armenian, Persian and Ottoman Turkish that are partly kept
@britishlibrary
& partly
@UkNatArchives
today. Last week, we visited the British Library to view these fascinating records.
You live in 18th century Suriname? You need a new hat&dress from Europe, but you don't think your brother in Amsterdam can pick out the right shade of blue for you? Give him clear directions!
#EverydayStories
#PrizePapers
The second release of Prize Papers material from the War of the Austrian Succession (1740-48) is now online in our Portal. The newly published papers come from six neutral ships captured by the British on suspicion of collaborating with the enemy /1
Around 600 letters and papers from the ship Franciscus of Hamburg are now online in the Prize Papers Portal. From shipboard musicians to Irish immigrants and Spanish Dominican Nuns, these records bring lesser-known people of the 18th century to life. A highlights thread. /1
Where would you hide a chest on a ship if you didn't want the English to find it? The merchant Luetkens decided that ‘under the cargo in the hold’ of his ship 'Hoffnung' was the perfect spot. Read
@LHaasis
' case study to find out if he was right. /1
This letter, taken from the ship La Diligent in 1745, is from Jannote Roustant to her wayward husband, Jean, a cook in Martinique. It describes the poverty that she and her children have faced since he abandoned them, leaving her ‘reduced in such an extreme manner’. /1
The
#PrizePapersPortal
is online in a beta-version. The
#PrizePapers
are a unique treasure trove documenting lives around the globe in the time of the European Expansion, Colonialism & Resistance. Today, we are starting to crack open this
#treasuretrove
at
Privateering took place on a global scale during Europe’s 18th century wars and was a huge industry. The papers of a Dutch ship Juffrouw Elizabeth Galley, now online in the Prize Papers Portal, show the cunning that privateering required and its often unexpected consequences. /1
Ahem!
May we have your attention please?
Because we would like to present ...
A PRIZE PAPERS LION!
Over 200 years old. Still looking absolutely fabulous.
#PrizePapers
#roar
In the 1740s, a French Captain sent these West African beads to his wife. But who made them?
#twitterstorians
, if you know anything about this form of craftsmanship, we would love to hear about it!
A love letter from María Clara de Aialde in San Sebastian to her husband Sebastián de Monoa in Puerto Cabello, from 1745. She signed with a drawing of a heart pierced with arrows and a declaration of love: “Tuya siempre que te quiere y te ama”: Always yours who loves you ❤️ /1
Prize Papers for the French ship L'Amphitrion are now live on the Portal. This merchant ship (150 tons, 24 men), owned by two Bordeaux merchants, traded regularly between the French colony of Martinique and Bordeaux, transporting plantation goods such as sugar and coffee. /1
When Sad Sailors Sailed the Seas (and expertly guilt-tripped their families):
"My very dear sister (...) every day, all the people on our ship get a letter, big and small, they all get one, it is only me who does not receive one"
😬
We are expanding the circle of our international partners to include one of the most renowned research and database projects in the world. We are happy to announce that the
@prize_papers
and
@slavevoyages
databases will be linked in future. Read more:
Are you interested in mariners' letters? Sailors, captains, life at sea, maritime labour or simply how people wrote letters while defying the sea? Join us for our online workshop on 14-15 July, 2-6 pm, online, organized with
@Marinelivesorg
Register: /1
From 8-10 September, the German Historical Institute London
@ghilondon
is hosting the conference "Things on the Move. Materiality of Objects in Global & Imperial Trajectories, 1700-1900" in collaboration with the
@Prize_Papers
Project at the GHIL. Program:
Now online: papers from the British ship John & Constant, which was taken in 1745 near Ushant by two British privateers, called the Old Noll of Liverpool and the Dragon of Bristol. Wait. What? You read that correctly. British privateers took a British merchant ship. A thread /1
Are you interested in songs that were sung on French ships during the 17th & 18th century?
Due to popular demand, you can now watch & listen to the recording of the
#PrizePapers
Lunch Talk given by Éva Guillorel (Université Rennes 2) on 12 December here:
Dear Prize Papers aficionado/a/*/s, we will be digitizing the collection & making it available online piece by piece-the first images will be ready for you some time in 2019. We promise to work fast, & to keep you updated!
The Prize Papers Talks are back! The Online Lecture Series of the Prize Papers Project. We are happy to invite you to join us during our first talk by Guillaume Calafat
@g_calafat
on Monday, 4 December, 3-4 pm CET. Info, programme and registration:
In 1748, the Santa Catharina, bound from Basra to Bengal, was captured, carrying documents in Armenian, Persian and Ottoman Turkish. Some are now housed at
@britishlibrary
& the rest at
@UkNatArchives
. Join us Monday as we discuss these unique documents:
Next Monday - next Lunch Talk! Next week, our dear former colleague Annika Raapke
@mouseemperor
@uniGoettingen
will give us insights into “Unorthodox Purchases. Women of Colour and the 18th Century French Caribbean Pacotille Trade”. Join us! Monday, 1pm (CET). Contact
@LHaasis
What is the first thing you should pack for your sea voyage? The Court Ladies Sticking Plaister, of course! Sticks so fast, the Hands or Face may be washed without the least Inconvenience to the Part affected! (The plaster is still in the wrapper).
#PrizePapers
Today is the day! From 8-10 September, the
@ghilondon
is hosting the conference "Things on the move. Materiality of Objects in Global & Imperial Trajectories, 1700-1900" in collaboration with the
@Prize_Papers
Project
#ThingsontheMove
Programme:
TODAY, THESE TWO HAVE FINALLY MADE IT OFFICIAL! Our own
@LHaasis
has submitted his PhD Thesis on
#PrizePapers
merchant and
@hamburg_de
Senator Nicolaus Gottlieb Luetkens! We are SO proud of him!
Today, the team had the honour of entering several bills of lading for a Michel Foucault into the database. Our staff treated them with professional detachment. Nobody was overly excited, and nobody mentioned time-travel. Nobody. Like, absolutely not.
One of the enslavers featured in the recent
@nytimes
report was Jean-Joseph Laborde (1724-1794), whose descendants received the largest payout. Many of his papers are held
@UkNatArchives
in
@Prize_Papers
and they shed light on the thousands of people he enslaved 🧵
Boredom seems to be fairly common these days.
But how bored are you really?
Are you as bored as Captain Lavernet?!
Check out his excellent bird doodles below-and if yours are better, send us a picture, or send us your favourite historical doodles!
#PrizePapers
#Akademienprogramm
In the current debate, the connection between European wealth, money and Slavery may sometimes be presented as somewhat abstract and indirect.
Just look at this Bill of Exchange, made out in 1794, enabling the payment of 1000 guilder (in Amsterdam) for an enslaved woman.
In 1689, a woman named Margaret, who lived in St Malo, told her brother in Ireland: "I intended to send you a new hatt, but I am advised to the contrary, untill better times". 😕
@Oj_finn
#PrizePapers
Imagine you are invited to King George's birthday party. You found the perfect outfit! But then! All your garments are stolen! Bad luck for Bavarian Count von Haslang, lots of luck for research student Justin Schröder who wrote his BA thesis about it:
We are pleased to announce the extension of our
@Prize_Papers
photography exhibition "Captured. The Materiality of Prize Papers" on display
@ghilondon
until 23 December. If you haven't seen it yet, visit 17 Bloomsbury Square, London WC1A 2NJ, weekdays 9.30am - 5pm.
Yesterday, our very own
@FrankMarquardt_
passed his viva with distinction. He wrote his PhD thesis on Moravians in colonial dynamics, supervised by Prof.
@dagmar_freist
and Prof. Gisela Mettele. The book is due for publication next year. We are very proud of him!
#sillyhatday
Are you interested in songs sung on French ships in the 17th and 18th centuries? Join us during our 5th
#PrizePapers
#LunchTalk
by Éva Guillorel (Université Rennes 2), on Monday, 12 December, 1-2 pm CET. Registration:
This week we hosted a Spanish delegation from
@CeuElcano
@Museo_Naval
to discuss potential avenues of cooperation with the
@Prize_Papers
Project
@UkNatArchives
and at the University of Oldenburg. We are thankful for the fruitful discussions and look forward to the next steps
Ayer mantuvimos nuestra primera reunión del año con
@Museo_Naval
para dar forma a nuestra colaboración con
@Prize_Papers
. Objetivo: crear una red de investigadores en torno a la documentación de los Archivos de la
@Armada_esp
y de
@UkNatArchives
#twitterstorians
, take a good look at these playing cards which our own
@Oj_finn
has unearthed... if you want to know how they were used, the last document may help you
#PrizePapers
The Concordia is the gift that keeps on giving, even judging by
#PrizePapers
standards - containing, for example, the following works of art & the 'chocolate' shopping list of the ship's cook.
@LHaasis
can talk about the Concordia for 2 days without even drawing breath...
H is for heart. ♥️
This Jack of Hearts playing card was among papers seized from a ship called the Concordia, captured in 1758.
@UKNatArchives
📂 HCA 32/176F
#ArchiveZ
@Prize_Papers
This week, the Prize Papers team met in Berlin for the Academies' Day, a major collective event of the eight Academies of Sciences united in the
@Akademienunion
. During this event, the academies showcased their research work & invited the public to engage in meaningful dialogue.
Prize Papers in Primary School? Of course! Currently, pupils of a 3rd grade class at the Paul-Maar-School in Oldenburg are testing teaching material developed by
@DrBakenhus
@UniOldenburg
The children are excited!
ℹ️
📸
The prize appeals also cover the transatlantic slave trade. The American ship New Adventure carried 97 enslaved people from Gorée, Senegal to Havana in 1798. It was captured by a British privateer en route and the enslaved people carried to the Bahamas, to be sold as prize /1
May 1793; Revolutions in St Domingue & in France. Claudine Goa sends her mother, the free black Citoyenne Julie Chatelard in St. Domingue, a letter from Bordeaux with some money, 3 pairs of boots, and the love of her baby daughter Aurore.
#InternationalWomensDay
#womenshistory
What details are in a prize appeal? Below are typical papers, in this case relating to the St Jean de Lone, a French Première République ship, bound from Pondicherry->L'Orient in 1793, carrying pepper, sugar and dyewood. It was intercepted by British privateers en route /1
Until we all get a clean👇BILL OF HEALTH👇again, the
#PrizePapers
project has gone into full home office mode, with all of us working separately, but as quickly as possible so that you can enjoy the first batch of documents soon!
#akademienprogramm
We are back! On Monday, we will welcome Hilde Neus
@NeusHilde
(University of Suriname) for the Prize Papers Talks. Hilde will talk about "Susanna du Plessis; Myth or Monster. A cruel Plantation Mistress in Suriname." Register here:
Prize appeals are fantastic sources for the lives of sailors and for seafaring during the Age of Revolutions. Below is a translated muster roll from the Portuguese ship Urbano, which was captured by the British in 1814 off Sierra Leone. It gives many details about the crew👇 /1
Today, as part of the exciting opera event, we open our brand-new exhibition "The Prize Papers in 10 Photographs", now on display on the first floor of
@UkNatArchives
curated in collaboration with TNA Events & Exhibitions. Visit us on-site or online:
We are delighted to announce we are hosting a special, one-off performance of opera music from the 18th century on March 16th, 2023!
Book your tickets:
A pattern, cut out of used paper to allow the production of shoes for a faraway, and now long-forgotten, foot. Lots of these are waiting for us in the
#PrizePapers
On Monday, we welcome
@GabyRobilliard
for the Prize Papers Talks. Paper: Sailors and Their Things: Material culture of ship life in the eighteenth century.
3pm CET (2pm GMT, 9am EST). Register:
We are happy to announce the return of the
@Prize_Papers
Lunch Talks – our online lecture series – on November 14. We are looking forward to nine sessions full of insights & discussions about the
#PrizePapers
& much more! Full programme & registration:
A plea for help from
#twitterstorians
: I am working out where this misplaced document belongs, which I believe to be a ship's pass c.1790. It is ripped and the important information is in Kannada. Is anyone proficient in the language able to give me a rough idea of what it says?
Two personal letters by French sailors, taken from the ship John & Constant. The first (below) is from M. Lefevre to Marie-Anne Hotée in Brest, in which he memorably writes ‘like a gunner sets fire to his cannon, I want to set fire to your love’. Spicy. /1
Yesterday evening, we went to the Oldenburg Christmas market to say thank you to our fabulous research students – the backbone of the project and the future of Prize Papers research. Who else thinks these brilliant students deserve a lot of likes?
Another exciting conference is behind us. "Early Modern Maritime Data & Global Economic History". Many thanks for the invitation to Catia Antunes
@UniLeiden
& Maria Fusaro
@UniofExeter
& for assembling such a wonderful group of international speakers. Important plans were made!
When soldiers were transferred to other regiments, identification was important.
#PrizePapers
records state that Germain Jacques, 26, height 5ft 2 thumbs, had an oval face, a long, pointed nose, medium-sized mouth, cleft chin, brown hair &eyebrows,& a black beard.
#EverydayPeople
World premiere! As part of our exhibition "Captured" & in collaboration with
@letterlocking
&
@ghilondon
, we are hosting an online event on 28 Oct. at 3pm on the Sjælland Letters, a letter collection
@UkNatArchives
showing unique letterlocking techniques
Thread:
25 years of cooperation with Nelson Mandela University - a success story
The University of Oldenburg
@UniOldenburg
has been cooperating with Nelson Mandela University in Gqeberha, South Africa, since 1998.
[1]
Join us on Tuesday, November 7 for the opening of our new exhibition "The Prize Papers & Transatlantic Slavery. On Exploitation, Human Suffering & Injustice" in Berlin, Berlin-Brandenburg Academy of Sciences and Humanities, Gendarmenmarkt
#Akademientag2023
@Akademienunion
Peter Fox, Ladies and Gentlemen, wearing at present a flaxen periwig. Very plausable in company, a great gambler, and seldom without a ball of dyce in his pockett...watch out for his black quick nimble eye!!
Uncatalogued, filthy High Court of Admiralty records from 1624. Perched atop is a collection of cargo manifests for French and Spanish ships involved in Caribbean trade. 95% of the materials
@UkNatArchives
covering European colonialism and overseas exchange have never been used.
56 of the letters were in Spanish, sent by men and women in
#SanSebasti
án,
#Pasaia
,
#Azpeitia
and
#Hernani
. The majority were addressed to sailors of the Real Compañía Guipuzcoana de Caracas in Venezuela, a
#Basque
trading company.
Greetings, twitter friends! May we interest you in the ship L' Océan, captured for you out of a sea of prizes by our own
@Oj_finn
? Over the next few weeks, you'll hear more about her, beginning with her auction by the candle in 1742.
Service tweet: if you're looking to transport something by carriage from Falmouth to Exeter or from Exeter to London, here is a handy overview of the prices in March 1744.
Thank you to everyone who attended the opera event & the opening of the
@Prize_Papers
exhibition, which is now on display
@UkNatArchives
! We thank Natalie Brown in particular for her hospitality & all the guests for their great interest & lively discussions – a wonderful evening!
Today, as part of the exciting opera event, we open our brand-new exhibition "The Prize Papers in 10 Photographs", now on display on the first floor of
@UkNatArchives
curated in collaboration with TNA Events & Exhibitions. Visit us on-site or online:
Today, we are opening the photography exhibition “Captured. The Materiality of the Prize Papers” presenting the work of
@maria_kardamoon
@ghilondon
. On display 12 September - 4 November. Learn more about the exhibition & the HCA objects
@UkNatArchives
:
Today is the day! From 8-10 September, the
@ghilondon
is hosting the conference "Things on the move. Materiality of Objects in Global & Imperial Trajectories, 1700-1900" in collaboration with the
@Prize_Papers
Project
#ThingsontheMove
Programme: