Freshening breeze

Ya smell that mateys?
That be the smell of Caribbean rum, Spanish sailcloth, and new-world silver. The wind tells ye it be time to go a-hunting some Spanish treasure galleons...

NorCal Pirate Fest

I'm off to the Pirate Fest in Vallejo this weekend. Me? I'm no stinking pirate! Why, the foul curs are rightly strung up by their leashes and set to rot in cages. Tho, I have been known to hunt them for fun and profit. I'm a maritime man of business I am, a merchant, a trader. I happen to specialize in trading powder and shot for ships and their cargo, but I assure you, I do it all legal like. I do have a license to hunt the enemy, and exact reprisal for wrongs they done me, and mine. And me friends. And their kin. Sometimes too, ye see, I have to act in self defense. And out there, on the open sea where there's nary a soul to come to your defense, and no law to call upon but wat ye brung in your own armory, ye may have to defend yourself a little, shall we say, pre-emptive like.

And those what have done successful trade on voyage, oft times are in a bit of a hurry to lighten their load and sail out with the next tide. I like to provide a needed service to those who needs move their cargo with speed, delicacy and discretion, and theys few indeed who can facilitate the trade better than I. After all, what everybody needs is for the right goodes to reach those in need of 'em, eh? Nobody needs to bide their time sitting on a fat cargo moldering in the hold, whether its iron, leather, sugar or gold. Trade is what its all about, not storage. As I always say, money is a medium of trade, so it aint money unless its changin' hands. if'n you're just gonna leave it lie in the hold, its just ballast, and that you can pick up free on any rocky beach.

Pursers Gigs – works in progress:

These are some notes on gigs I am preparing. Some are gigs we already do, some may not work out, we will just have to try them and see.

1. Pressgang Pass Gig

Summary: The purser issues passes exempting the holder from naval impressment to those who take part in the cannon loading drill gig and other gigs at the Captains discretion.

Location: aboard ship

Props: passes, pen and ink

2. Export License Gig

Summary: The purser and Captain negotiate to obtain a license for export of a prohibited goode from a notable who has been granted one.

Location: Either at the Dauntless or the notable’s guild yard, or both.

Props: License, money, pen and ink

Variant: the purser wagers free shipping of the goodes against the license in a game of skill such as 9 men’s morris.

3. Shippe’s Deed Gig

Summary: Purser and captain go before the Admiralty or the Queen and obtain signature on Deed to a prize shippe, and any export license needed for the goodes aboard.

Location: Queen’s court or Admiralty

Props: deed, License, pen and ink

4. Widow’s Gig

Summary: The widow and her supporters come to the ship to collect the belongings and pay of a lost crewman.

Location: Dauntless

Props: Belongings in a bundle, pay, pursers accounts to sign, a notice letter to the widow if used.

Variant: The widow may not be distraught but liberated if she was a poor young bride of a salty old dog.

5. Goodes Delivery Gig

Summary: Purser and crewmen deliver barrels of goodes to a merchant, and/or fetch supplies from the merchant and bring them to the ship. An example is taking a barrel or two of root to the root beer vendor, and making a big deal of returning with a barrel of drink.

Location: Shire, starting at ship, ending with a flourish at a merchant, and returning the same.

Props: Barrels, maybe money bag.

6. Customs Officer Gig (Searcher, Customer, Crown’s Agent)

Summary: The purser does business with the Customer.

Location: Dauntless

Props: Barrel, money bag.

Variant 1: Customer is hard nosed and is trying to extort extra dutie

Variant 2: Amenable Customer is convinced to “cook” the books on a large wine shipment to show more loss than reality to lower duties.

Variant 3: Amenable Customer is bribed to not reboard and search the Dauntless after lading at the customs house. This allows us to load undutied goods in the estruary.

7. Prize Auction Gig

Summary: We hold an auction to sell prize goodes. Goodes could be a shipp or could be furniture and equipement from a prize shipp.

Location: Harbor near Dauntless

Props: Sale notice poster, sale items, barrel and gavel for auction activity, sale accounts.

8. Passage Gig

Summary: A townie seeks to book passage to another port, foreign or domestic.

Location: Anywhere

Props: None

Variants - Townie indicates which way they want the gig to go based on which opening they pick:

Variant 1: “Purser, you wouldn’t happen to be going to…” leads to “No, but I may know someone who is…”

Variant 2: “Purser, I wish to go to/book a passage to …” leads to booking negotiations.

9. Shipment Gig

Summary: A party wishes to ship goodes to another port on the Dauntless and enters talks with the purser.

Location: Anywhere

Props: None

Issues to consider. What cargo, where to, is export prohibited so it needs a license (wheat, leather, many foodstuffs), do you have one? Are you trying to sell the cargo to me, or just ship? Do you have a factor (agent) who needs passage? Do you need a factor (hire me).

10. Watch-Change Gig

Summary: The watch changes at 8 bells and old watch goes off, new watch on. There are supplies and duties for the new watch.

Location: Dauntless

Props: some form of supplies, beer rations, etc.

11. Supply Gig

Summary: master of a trade on board balances accounts with the purser.

Location: Dauntless

Props: pursers accounts, account sheet for the master, supply sample per variant

Variants: Cook – victuals; carpenter – lumber, tar, pitch, oakum; gunner – powder and shot; boatswain – rope; sailmaster – canvas; etc.

12. Prize Distribution Gig

Summary: The crew recieves their due shares of a privateering venture after the sale of the prizes.

Location: Dauntless

Props: money bags, account books

Illicit Business: accounting for smuggling

Illicit Business: accounting for smuggling in mid-sixteenth-century Bristol. - Notes from Evan T. Jones paper (Economic History Review, LIV, 1: 2001)

Jones’ contention, well argued in the paper, is that almost all smuggling in Bristol was of the “prohibited goods” (controlled substances) which had high tariffs and required expensive licenses to export. There was therefore a significant economic incentive to smuggle these rather than ship them legally, whereas the goods with moderate tariffs were not worth the risk and effort. He finds indications this was equally true in other parts of England as well, but demonstrating that is outside the scope of the paper. I learned some vocabulary, typical goods, typical pricing for a few goods, licenses, duties and bribes. I also learned how some of the smuggling “frauds” ran and what paperwork I need to have to perform reenactment of various dealings.

Some common goods:

• Wine, Iron, Lead, Cloth, Wheat, Hides, Calfskin (dozen = 1 hide for license)

Some common rates:

Hides: (prohibited export)

• 40-50 s per dicker; tax 4s / dicker; license could be 60% cost or 25-30s/dicker
• 1540 price 44s/d license 13s 4d/dicker

Grain (wheat) (prohibited export)

• 1541 prices 8s/ quarter; license 5s/q tariff 2s/q a 100 quarter wheat license cost L25

Export profitability for grain rose after mid-century as continental prices outstripped UK prices. Bribery of customs officials: bribes tended to run about 5% of the tarrif rate. Customs duties seemed to average 3-5% for most goods, except the prohibited ones.

Vocabulary:
Crown agent, Customs Searcher, Customer
Cocket – receipt for customs duties paid
Charter party – shipping contract
Corn – refers to barley corn, not maize
Dicker – 10 hide count for leather cargo
Frauds – smuggling and associated falsifications*
Quarter – unit of measure for grain (8 bushels, wheat weighs about 60#)
Prohibited or banned export – requires a license
Export license – granted for favors to the crown, transferable.
Montith – amounteth: the amount or sum
Owith- owed
Wey – 6 quarters (grain)

*One fraud example from the paper centers around prohibited exports and ran like this: Smythe bought a wheat export license for 100 quarters of wheat, and laded 100 quarters through the customs house. He also bribed the customs searchers not to check his ship again after the customs house. He also laded hides, another prohibited export, without license, plus an additional 400 or so quarters of wheat at an anchorage up the river a bit. So, he had wheat and license and duties paid on the customs books so the customs agents looked like they were doing their job, but pocketed license fees and duties on the hides and 80% of the wheat.

It was apparently not uncommon for the well-connected, ship-owning merchants to have relationships with suppliers who would be willing to load cargo from boats at unapproved anchorages to avoid the customs house. You basically had to be in control of a ship to arrange this because there was no way to have an enforceable charter party (shipping contract) for the illegal activity. You also had to have a trusted “relationship” with the customers to arrange that your ship would not be boarded and searched later, as that was the standard operating procedure for verifying duties and licenses.

Tall Tales Under the Tall Sails

Much to the delight of my story-telling heart, we had a story time Saturday. This drew a nice crowd of kids, especially for an unpublicized event. Three tales entertained, nay, entranced the youngsters on deck. Keeping twenty little ones in line may have been like herding cats for the purser but our lovely pied piper had just the tune for this herd of bilge rats. I so hope we can continue this delightful time at fairs future. I want to join in the fun as well, telling seafaring tales of swashbuckling daring-do, but it may take a while to develop the purser's material.

Big C and the Big Sword!

Big C (The pursers eldest child) seems to have found an unexpected niche slinging a sword among the ship's marines. Showing both enthusiasm and aptitude for learning, Big C had great fun with rapier in hand and is quite ready for daily practice with Dad. The marines can be sure they have a new young recruit here!

Unimprest - Free Pass Against the Press Gang

These are to certify all whom it may concern that the bearer, (bearer's name) , is employed as a mariner-recruit in port at Cain’s Crossing to the good shippe Dauntless sailing under Letter of Marque in service of the Queen. You are therefore to let this person pass quietly to and again between the said port village and his own habitation, during the space of four days from the date hereof, without otherways imprest. Dated this 9th of May, Year of our Lord 1594

Attested, Purser of the Dauntless,

Ewan MacGowan