Correspondence, 1799 October-1800 April Digital

Contains copies of letters from Thomas Coffin Amory, dated October 1799 to April 1800, to merchants including Ebenezer Stocker, Martin Maden, and James Stewart & Co., regarding trade of fish, cocoa, cochineal, and sugar, as well as particulars of his business relationship with Thomas Handasyd Perkins, insurance, and ventures of Perkins' ships Franklin, Massachusetts, and Thomas Russell. Letters to Stocker discuss voyages to Havana, Batavia, Veracruz, Mexico, Moscow, and London. He also writes about hiring a captain for the schooner William who is familiar with Cadiz Bay and "knows how to run through the blockaded fleet in the night," referencing the British Royal Navy blockade of the Spanish port; and about information on French privateers at Havana. Amory references steps taken to protect his cargo on West Indies voyages; he tells Stocker that Spanish consul Don Juan Stoughton came to his home and gave him a certificate intended to be "properly secreted" on a vessel commanded by Captain Walsh. Amory wrote to Stocker on December 14, 1799, with news that the ship Trio was sailing under convoy to Havana with the USS Norfolk, which was freighting provisions to other American naval vessels there, and the involvement of Boston Navy Agent Stephen Higginson and Captain Edward Preble.