Report & Manifest of the Brig Jason, from Port-de-Paix, Saint Domingue, Owned by Dutilh & Wachsmuth, Signed by Captain David Ross

[Haitian Revolution] [Philadelphia-Haitian Trade] [Dutilh & Wachsmuth] David Ross

Edité par [s.i.], Philadelphia, 1792

A propos de cet article

Philadelphia: 1792-93. Single folded sheet (41.5 x 33.5cm); report in manuscript, verso filled nearly to completion, recto a quarter filled. Signed by Captain David Ross and two other parties; docket dated 1793 signed by Inspector Jeremiah Simmons. Stock exceedingly brittle with shallow chipping, long closed tears along folds with old archival mending, age-toning and light soiling as well as contemporary wax seal remnants. Overall a Very Good and legible survival. Cargo report executed in manuscript and dated November 9th, 1792 listing materials shipped from Port-de-Paix, Saint-Domingue [modern day Haiti] to Philadelphia for the firm Dutilh & Wachsmuth. The date places this report in the early days of the Haitian Revolution following the August 1791 enslaved peoples' revolt. The island was a vital source of commercial interests to Philadelphia, and the burgeoning revolution was at the forefront of everyone's mind, making this voyage and the survival of associated documents all the more significant. Dun cites one contemporary account, "'No business is going on here,' one letter told, 'as every one is taken up with meetings, committees, and arming themselves.'" (Dun, p. 484). Goods delivered include wine, sugar, and coffee and were delivered to Dutilh and a handful of others, including Captain Ross himself who received a hogshead of molasses. Ross eventually rose to the rank of Continental Navy Lieutenant during the Quasi-War with France and is remembered for commanding the privateer Belvedere, guiding her back to Dover after an engagement with a French brig "leaving Belvedere with 50 round shot in her hull and her sails and rigging further shredded." References: James Alexander Dun, "What Avenues of Commerce, Will You, Americans, Not Explore! Commercial Philadelphia's Vantage onto the Early Haitian Revolution." The William and Mary Quarterly, July 2005, Third Series, Vol. 62, No. 3, pp. 473-504 See also the Destroyer History Foundation website.

N° de réf. du vendeur 31794

Détails bibliographiques

• Titre: Report & Manifest of the Brig Jason, from Port-de-Paix, Saint Domingue, Owned by Dutilh & Wachsmuth, Signed by Captain David Ross
• Éditeur: [s.i.], Philadelphia
• Date de parution: 1792
• État de l'article: Very Good
• Catalogues du vendeur:
  • Nautical & Maritime
  • Latin America / Latin American Authors
  • 18th Century
  • Manuscripts and Autographs
  • Pennsylvania