Captured ship: Diamant or Diamond of Martinique (master Jean De Puy or Dupeaux)....

Captured ship: Diamant or Diamond of Martinique (master Jean De Puy or Dupeaux).

History: a French merchant ship (120 tons) bound from Martinique to Bordeaux, laden with sugar, cocoa; taken on 20/30 October 1696 in latitude 43°30'N by HMS Falkland (Robert Hancock commanding), who intended to take the ship into Bermuda, but bad weather forced them into New Providence, Bahamas. The case was sent into the High Court of Admiralty after complaints about the procedure initiated by Nicholas Trott, Governor of the Bahamas.

Documents:-

For detailed descriptions of the ship's papers from the Diamant, see HCA 32/1867/18A, HCA 32/1867/18B, HCA 32/1867/18C, HCA 32/1867/18D, HCA 32/1867/18E, HCA 32/1867/18F, HCA 32/1867/18G.

Court Papers:

• [CP 1-CP 3]: copies of papers from the Vice Admiralty Court held at New Providence, Bahamas, including an order in council establishing the court, depositions, minutes of proceedings and an indenture, in which the Governor granted the ship to James Dunbar, a Lieutenant on HMS Falkland;
• [CP 4-CP 5]: two affidavits taken before the Council of New Hampshire, alleging irregularities in the court process at the Bahamas, complaining that Trott and Dunbar forbade any other inhabitants from bidding at the prize auction and the then bought the ship and cargo themselves;
• [CP 6-CP 7]: wrapper for the court papers and docket for the ship's papers.

Ship's Papers numbered SP 1-SP 272, mixed ship's papers and mail-in-transit from Martinique:

• SP 1-SP 210: many commercial, personal and official letters from French inhabitants of Martinique to men and women at Bordeaux, St Malo, Bordeaux, La Rochelle, Nantes, Montpellier, Marseille, Moyencours, Noaillan, Charron, Paris, Marans and Tours; they cover subjects such as plantation society, slavery, trading sugar, banking, insurance, mutinies, sickness, death, debts, privateering/freebooting, marriage, love and family, ship's papers include cargo lists, bills of lading, bills of exchange, receipts and a muster roll;
• SP 211-SP 272: all bills of lading.

[Decision: ship and cargo condemned, 30 June 1698]