Captured ship: St Jacob otherwise St Iago , St Jago , St Jacques or Sint Jacob of...

Captured ship: St Jacob otherwise St Iago, St Jago, St Jacques or Sint Jacob of Bruges (master Peter Omers, Peter Aumerts otherwise Pedro Aumaers, Pieter Huinaers).

History: a Flemish (Southern Netherlands) merchant ship (frigate, estimated 60-100 tons/50 lasts (40 lasts), 3 guns, 12-13 men, 4-5 passengers; bought at Ostend about 11 months earlier, but also said to have been a former French prize bought at Corunna; 6 gun ports cut at Bilbao about February 1673 and the ship armed), bound from Puerto de Santa Maria and Cadiz to Ostend, laden with wine and West India hides; forced by bad weather and leaks into Falmouth in mid-November 1673 and there seized on 10/20 November 1673 (the date of the last entry in the journal), when the ship was in the mouth of the Channel at 49°N, about 7 Dutch miles WNW of Ushant.

Documents:- interrogatories; 6 sets of examinations: (total 9) in 3 sets at Falmouth, 15, 17 and 24 November 1673; copy of previous combined; (8) examinations at Falmouth 10 February 1673/4; (4) examinations at Falmouth, 8 December 1673;

4 ship's papers & notebook, numbered 1-5. The numbering here follows this scheme:

Court Papers, numbered CP 1-7:-

• [CP 1]: special interrogatories;
• [CP 2]: two examinations taken at Falmouth, 15 November 1673;
• [CP 3]: examination at Falmouth, 17 November 1673;
• [CP 4]: six examinations at Falmouth, 24 November 1673;
• [CP 5]: a copy of the above 3 sets of (total nine) examinations combined;
• [CP 6]: eight examinations at Falmouth, 10 February 1673/4;
• [CP 7]: four examinations at Falmouth, 8 December 1673.

Ships Papers, numbered SP 1-7:-

• SP 1: Bruges seabrief in Dutch, 6 October 1672;
• SP 2-SP 4: papers in Spanish;
• SP 5: journal, in Flemish, 18-29 July and 18 October-20 November 1673);
• SP6-7: printed sailing notices (one dated only 20 May) for the ship for Bilbao and San Sebastian, in Flemish and French.

Extra information:-

• Ordered to be sold 19 December 1673, but restored March 1673/4. See IND 1/ 9012 f.42v.
• Owners Justo de Smidt (otherwise Uster de Smith), Guilliame Busschop (otherwise Abraham Bishopp), and Peter Omers the master;
• During one of the ship's previous passages, from Bilbao to Cadiz, was chased ashore by a Turkish or Sallee ship but was refloated and repaired at Corunna.
• About 5 years before, Omers had commanded a Flemish or Spanish privateer.