Description
Original Letter Signed by the five Commissioners of the Board of Trade and Plantations, to Charles Spencer, 3rd Earl of Sunderland, Secretary of State, requesting (following a Petition from Sir William Hodges) that the Queen issues a Pass to the Marquis de Preu and his son, “with their Families and about forty Chests, Trunks and Bundles of Cloaths &c.”, who have “bought the Government of Cartagena In America” and wish to sail there from Cadiz. 2 pp. 12 x 7 inches, in fine condition, with an integral blank leaf tipped on to a card mount. Whitehall, 14 April 1709. This handsome letter is signed by Lord Stamford [Thomas Grey, second Earl of Stamford, 1654-1720, president of the board], Sir Philip Meadows, R.Monckton, Charles Turner, and J.Pulteney. Sir Philip Meadows (1626-1718) had a distinguished career as a diplomat, representing Cromwell in international treaty negotiations. Meadows was the author of several works, including Observations concerning the Dominion and Sovereignty of the Seas (1689). Although little commercial value would accrue to England on this voyage, the Committee nevertheless recommend that a Pass be issued, believing that “the said Marquis, when at Cartagena, will be a Friend to Her Majesty’s Subjects in their Carrying on a Trade from Jamaica to Cartagena, and other parts on that Coast; the great Advantage whereof We need not mention.”