Foreign Office: Consulate, Flushing, Netherlands: General Correspondence and Letter...

FO 956

1786-1919

This series contains records of the British consulate in Zeeland, the Netherlands. Comprises mainly files relating to cases handled by the Vice Consul. Several case files are in Dutch, and a few in French. There is also some administrative correspondence and miscellaneous documents, which include some papers apparently extracted from the series of case files. In addition, there are three out-letter books of correspondence on individual case files, correspondence and out-letter books dealing with consular activities in respect of trade and shipping and the protection of British subjects.

Public Record(s)

Dutch, English and French

190 files and volumes

Topics

International

Trade and commerce

Europe and Russia

Nationality

These archives of the Zeeland Vice Consulate were deposited with the Netherlands Rijksarchief in 1948, but were subsequently returned to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

The British Vice Consulate in Zeeland began in 1839 and existed until 1940, with a period from 1914 to 1918 as a Consulate because of increased workload. The Vice Consul in Zeeland was under the superintendence of the Consul in Rotterdam, the latter function being exercised during practically the whole of this period by members of the Turing family.

The first Vice Consul, responsible for the ports of Middelburg, Campvere, Brouwershaven, Zierikzee and Flushing, was H D L Ellinckhuysen, who resided at Middelburg until 1855 when he moved to Flushing: he was succeeded at Flushing in 1871 by P L de Bruyne and in 1908 by P de D Bruyne. Ellinckhuysen was agent for several English insurance companies and Turing was his superior for insurance as well as consular business.

The principal duties of the Vice Consul in Zeeland were concerned with trade and shipping, particularly the noting of marine protests and the carrying out of surveys of vessels damaged or wrecked by running on to sandbanks in the Scheldt estuary. His duties also included the protection of British subjects, which gradually became the more important function as means of navigation and pilotage improved.