Catalogue description Captured ship: Die Hoffnung (master Rieweert Frerecks, owner Nicolas Gottlieb Luetkens)....

Captured ship: Die Hoffnung (master Rieweert Frerecks, owner Nicolas Gottlieb Luetkens).

Documents:-

Bundle 17, numbered 17/A-17/J. These are court selections of the business archive of Nicolas Gottlieb Lütkens or Luetkens, removed by the court from his original arrangement by sender, for use as exhibits [the remaining letters are in HCA 30/234-236]. Each set was separately numbered by the court with an abstract and translation of the letters.

17 Bundle A: Letters from Cornelius de Meyere:-

• A. Court paper: abstract of 20 letters in Bundle A;
• A1. 6 April 1744;
• A2. 20 April 1744 (i and ii);
• A3. 27 April 1744 (i and ii);
• A4. 30 April 1744;
• A5. 25 June 1744 (i and ii);
• A6. 9 July 1744 (a and b);
• A7. Account of men and provisions for the Hoffnung from Hertzer & van Bobartt, dated 26 Dec 1744;
• A8. Direction as to insurance of 3 ships;
• A9. 5 April 1745;
• A10. 8 April 1745: the proceedings in the HCA against the Hamburg ship Franciscus (master Christian Lourentzen) are going very badly;
• A11. 12 April 1745;
• A12. 19 April 1745;
• A13. 13 May 1745;
• A14. 17 May 1745;
• A15. 10 June 1745 (a and b);
• A16. 17 and 21 June 1745;
• A17. 20 June 1745;
• A18. 22 June 1745;
• A19. 15 July 1745;
• A20. 19 July 1745.

17 Bundle B: Letters from Anthony Luetkens in London:-

• B. Court paper: abstract of 12 letters;
• B1. 16 April 1744;
• B2. 7 May 1744 (i and ii);
• B3. 8 May 1744;
• B4. 21 May 1744 (i and ii);
• B5. 18 June 1744;
• B6. 21 June 1744;
• B7. 25 June 1744;
• B8. 5 July 1744;
• B9. 12 July 1744;
• B10. 27 Sept 1744;
• B11. 23 April 1745;
• B12. Account of sugar claimed from a ship captured by the English.

17 Bundle C: Bills of lading etc of N G Luetkens, all annotated by the court:-

• C1. Bill of lading for sugars on the Post van Hamburg, Paatz master, Brest 19 May 1745, annotated 'Here he takes the Captain's receipt for the goods to make 'em sure to be his but in the connoissement makes use of his brother's made burger of Hamburg for the purpose to protect them. He himself not having ever been a bourger of Hamburg';
• C2. Instructions in Luetken's hand, annotated 'gives Mr Schultz directions how to make out the connoissements and load the goods and that all the connoissements as well for me as for Mr Ocks must be made in the name of Francis Jourdain';
• C3. Connaissement: formal list of cargo and shippers on the Hamburg's Bourse, Jan Nagell master, 2 Nov 1744;
• C4. Connaissement: formal list of cargo and shippers on the La Liberté, Joachim Hoogtop master, 4 Nov 1744.

17 Bundle D: Papers about the ship, N G Luetkens and Rieweert Frerecks:-

• D. Abstract of 7 papers;
• D1. Letter of recommendation for Luetkens, dated 23 July 1743;
• D2a and D2b. Interlocutory decrees of the Admiralty Court of Vannes, about two English prizes sold to Hertzer Van Bobartt and Anthony Luetkens;
• D3. Letter from Van Bobartt to Frerecks, 30 October 1744;
• D4. Manifest of sugars loaded on the Hoffnung at St Malo, 13 May 1745;
• D5. Letter from Frerecks to Nicolas Luetkens, 20 May 1745;
• D6. Manifests of sugars, coffee, butter, vinegar etc loaded on the Hoop / Hoffnung at Brest, [April 1745];
• D7. Ship's accounts by Frerecks.

17 Bundle E: Letters from Ochs:-

• E. Abstract of 2 letters;
• E1. 5 July 1745 about insuring the sugars, and not to forget the name of the ship;
• E2. 26 July 1745 about the sugars.

17 Bundle F: Letters from Hertzer Van Bobartt, about sugar trading voyages conducted by Frerecks:-

• F. Abstract of 7 letters;
• F1. 4 Jan 1745;
• F2. 8 Jan 1745;
• F3. 24 May 1745;
• F4. 31 May 1745;
• F5. 28 June 1745;
• F6. 5 July 1745;
• F7. 9July 1745.

17 Bundle G: Letters from Ochs and Schweighausen at Nantes to N G Luetkens at Hamburg:-

• G. Sundry letters etc (on the back of a note in French);
• G1 26 Nov 1743;
• G2 7 Jan 1744;
• G3-G21: miscellanea.

17 Bundle H: Letters from Luttman & Van Bobartt at Nantes and St Malo:-

• H. Abstract iand translation of 9 letters;
• H1. 17 Dec 1744;
• H2. 4 March 1745 complaining of English action against German merchants buying English prizes from the French;
• H3. 13 April 1745;
• H4. 4 May 1745 request insurance of 19,000 [livres?] for their cargo;
• H5. 27 May 1745;
• H6. 30 May 1745;
• H7. 11 June 1745;
• H8. 8 June 1745;
• H9. 2 July 1745.

17 Bundle I: Letters from Joachim Kahler at Hamburg:-

• I. Abstract of 3 letters;
• I1. 17 Aug1744, it is dangerous running risks;
• I2. 4 June 1745, buy more sugar and ships, if to be had good and cheap;
• I3. 11 June 1745.

17 Bundle J: Letters from Bethmann & Imbert at Bordeaux, reporting details of privateers and prizes at San Sebastian:-

• J. Abstract of 3 letters;
• J1. 7 Dec 1743;
• J2. 10 Dec 1743;
• J3. 4 Feb 1744.

Bundle 18. Letters from Luetkens' captains, kept by him in order of sender:

• 1-6a. Cornelissen, 29 May 1744-6 July 1745;
• 7-9. Frerecks, 28 April 1745-16 May 1745;
• 10-20b. Giessel, 24 Aug 1744-29 July 1745;
• 21-28. Hoogtop, 2 July 1742-12 Aug1745;
• 29. Lootens, 26 February 1743;
• 30-36a. Nagell, 11 April 1743-18 May 1745, including a doctor's bill;
• 37-49. Noordstern, 31 March-18 Aug 1744;
• 50-57. Paatz, 8 Sept 1742-21 May 1745;
• 58. Rueter, 15 Nov 1744;
• 59. Takes, 17 June 1745;
• 60-68. Tegeler, 21 Nov 1744-1 July 1745.

See HCA 30/232 and 234 for more Lütkens business papers, HCA 30/660 for a volume of Rieweert Frerecks' journals, and HCA 32/115/4 for more letters and the main collection of ship's papers and court process etc

Lucas Haasis, The Power of Persuasion. Becoming a Merchant in the 18th Century (2022); Haasis, 'Papier, das nötigt und Zeit, die drängt übereilt. Zur Materialität und Zeitlichkeit von Briefpraxis im 18. Jahrhundert und ihrer Handhabe', pp. 310-324 in Brendecke, Arndt (ed.): Praktiken der Frühen Neuzeit, (2015); Haasis, Noch bleibt mir ein Augenblick Zeit um mich mit Euch zu unterhalten, pp. 87-114 in Freist, Dagmar (ed.) Diskurse-Körper-Artefakte (2015)