No 52. Captured ship: Providence of Falmouth, otherwise Providence of Amsterdam,...

No 52.

Captured ship: Providence of Falmouth, otherwise Providence of Amsterdam, or Little Providence (master Richard Jones, otherwise Ricardo Juane of Amsterdam; prize master Bastiaen Fransen Elinck of Flushing, otherwise Bastyaen Eelinck).

History: an English merchant ship (30-40 tons, 6 prize crew and 4 prisoners when retaken), bound from Malaga to Topsham, laden with raisins for for the owner, Bryan Rogers of Falmouth; taken about 8 pm on 4/14 December 1673 about 4-6 leagues off the Lizard by the 10-gun Dutch privateer frigate Vogel Grip [Vogel Grijp: Griffin] of Middelburg (Martyn Claessen of Flushing, otherwise Maerten Claesen, commanding) and sent for the first port in the Dutch Republic they could reach; retaken about 9-10 am on 6/16 December 1673 about 8 leagues off Lands End, by HMS Dartmouth (Edward Pinn commanding), and brought into Plymouth on 8/18 December.

In the event of meeting any Dutch warships, (especially privateers), another set of papers had been prepared by the English owners, colouring the cargo (also the lading of the previous outbound voyage to Malaga), purporting that the ship and cargo belonged to John Rombouth of Amsterdam, and that the ship was now bound for Ostend. The master also instructed the crew to say this to the Dutch captors, which they did. The master and crew also threw overboard English letters and papers a short time before capture by the Dutch, which they acknowledged to the captors.

Allegation, 20 January 1673/1674 [in Pinn v The Little Providence and Bryan Rogers of Falmouth (4pp).

Rogers usually trades from Falmouth to Cadiz, Malaga and several other ports in Spain and elsewhere. At Falmouth in September 1673 Rogers laded in ship Providence, master Richard Jones, English pilchards on his own account for Cadiz or Malaga to be disposed of by George Tompson, his servant (who went supercargo), with advice of John Eckhoffe of Malaga, his agent there. Arrived at Malaga in October 1673, sold cargo and with proceeds bought raisins for delivery to Topsham.

Because the seas were 'very much infested' by Dutch privateers and warships, to preserve the ship and goods Rogers procured several false Dutch papers at Falmouth for the 2 voyages: a bill of sale for the ship Providence to John Rombooth of Amsterdam; a letter from [illegible] to Eckhoffe of Malaga making out the pilchards as belonging to Rombooth, with a bill of lading; a letter from Rombooth to Jones, 15 June 1673. These Dutch papers were written by Jones ('who understood and could write Dutch very well') at the initial dictation in English by Rogers. The papers for the homeward cargo were made by Tompson and Eckhoffe making out that the ship was bound to Ostend, cargo consigned to Jaques Govert. Ship and lading are in fact entirely owned by Bryan Rogers, except 1/4 of the lading by John Maine of Exeter and 1/3 of the ship by Robert Williams of Falmouth. [See HCA 32/1951/25 for these.]

Exhibits, prodcued by Rogers before Henry Webb, mayor of Plymouth, on 12 December 1673:-

• 1/ original certificate [affidavit] of insurance by Bryan Rogers, 12 December 1673;
• 2/ bill of lading for raisins to Tompson. Tompson (at Malaga) wrote to Rogers on 28 October and 14 November 1673, sending several copies;
• 3/ copy of these 2 letters:
• 4/ one of original letters [undated here] of Tompson to Rogers:
• 5/ original invoice for raisins.

See also HCA 32/1951/25.