T H E ACTS AND ORDINANCE S T H E E A S T L A ND C OM P A NY T H E AC T S A ND ORD INA N CE S THE EASTLAND COMPANY E DITE D F OR T H E ROYAL HIS TORIC AL SOCIE T Y FROM TH E ORIGINAL MUNIME NTS OF THE GIL D OF M ERCHANT ADVE NTURE RS OF YORK M AUD SELL ERS ORM E L Y OF N WN O L E AM B RIDGE F R E H AM C L G E , C L ONDON OF FICE S OF T H E ROYAL HIST ORICAL SOCIET Y 3 OL D S R S ' INN WK E JEANT CHANCERY LANE , ) . P R E F A C E M Y c r ia l Dr kin most o d thanks are due to . Cunningham for his d M r ness in reading the manuscript of the Introduction ; to . Hubert H a ll e M r O nh eirfi M i ss or ensen , Professor Ske t, . ppe , and J g of n s d t . Copenhagen Univer ity , for help a sugges ions I em a lso much indebte d to the Governor of the Gild of Merchant Adventurers of York for pla c ing the manuscripts of the l M r di8 osa to . Society at my p , and especially Alfred Procter , the h is w t s Secretary , for un earied courtesy in facili ating my acce s to all the Records in his care . 1 1 M a 0 . y 0, 9 6 C O N T E N T S INT ROD UC T ION P A G E T h e - E astland Company of York : T h e Ch a rter Chi ef E x ports a nd Imports Geograph ical L imits Candidates eligi ble Offi cers of th e Company Governors a nd D eputies in L ondon P rovincial D eputies a nd Courts ’ T h C m i h s n e o peny 5 legal r g t a d pow ers . Relations o f E a stlend M erch ants a nd M erc h a nt Adventurers Records of th e A cts a nd Ordi nances of th e E astland Company Regul a tions of its Courts D tie of th e Offi cers : S c t T a s s i st t u s e re ary , re urer, A s an s T h e Arms of th e Comp a ny E lection a nd treatment of offi cia ls Regul ations for Apprenti ces ’ Rules affecting masters of th e Comp a ny s shi p s XXV C entral C ourt a nd Court beyond seas Righ t of appeal Assistants for special servi ce Comparison of M ercha nt Adventurers a nd E astland M erch ants T h eir occasional joint ectl on x x xi ii Shared offi ci a l s xx xiv M any merchants members of both Companies xxxv ’ E astland Company favoured by roya lty xxxvu I a nd C h I. Charter renew ed by James . arles D a ntzi c as an outport : di ffi culti es thence encountered C e I a nd th e C i harl s . ompan es E ffects of th e Civil Wa r Subsidy demanded by P oland from E astland M erch a nts T rouble with Denmark ’ Cromw ell s treatment of th e Company viii THE EASTLAND COMPANY OF YORK INT ROD U C T ION (conti nued) P A GE C onfi rma ti on Ch t h of ar er by C arles II . Diffi culti es in 1673 D ecay of th e E estl a nd Company Gradua l decrease of trade D etail s of exports a nd imports Sale pri ces of E astland products Complaints against E astland Company T h eir defence Causes of decay of trade T h e establishment of P rovi nci a l Courts Success of north ern Residences L o ca l Courts a nd th eir w ork S trong P uritan feeling of th e C ompany ’ York s j ealousy of H ull T h e E astland M erch ants in New castle ’ York s jealousy of L eeds S truggle betw een coast tow ns a nd L ondon Grievances of provinci al Courts N t l f L ondon or hern jea ousy o . D ispute betw een th e York a nd L ondon Courts E nd of th e dispute Oth er di ffi culti es T h e fi na l dispute AC T S AND ORD INANC E S OF T H E E AS T L AND C OM P ANY L ist of th e Acts D etails of th e v a ri ous Acts E XT RAC T S F ROM T H E C OU RT B OOK OF T H E YORK E AS T L AND C OM P ANY AP P E ND IX 1 f H IV . Charter o enry ’ 2 t f E st d M e ch t E i b th . Char er o a lan r an s [Queen l za e s] i i i t I. 21 ul 1 b t 3 . P ti J J 622 roclama on of ames ( y , )proh ng Eas l a nd Commodi ties except those traded by F reemen of that Company 1 2 i th e 4 . P c ti of C I. 7 M c 6 9 w ro lama on harles ( ar h , )rene ng former P roclamation of 1622 A f P i un il be lf th e E t a d C 5. ct o r vy C o c on ha of as l n ompany 5 J ( une, th 6 A t b t e Ch i ti th e 4 of D k a nd th e . greemen e w en r s an enmar L ords a nd C ommon s of th e K ingdom of E ngla nd INTROD U C TION T he Cha rter THE Eastland M erchants were a body of traders somewhat similar in their organisation and commercial enterprises to the Merchant a t w Adventurers , but no time approaching ithin measurable distance of their formidable rivals , in bulk of trade or political importance . tw o d Geographically , the Companies occasionally overlappe ; ’ but speaking broadly the Eastland M erchant s sphe re of activity ’ l was the Baltic , the Adventurer s the North Sea . In 1656 the Eastland M erchants claimed to have been the t t con pioneers of trade to the Bal ic , and to have raded there 2 tinuousl e r's y for three hundred y a . 3 i st Ch te Tench , in his treatise published at the end of the seventeenth F r ar r. f century , gives an account of the e forts of Henry IV . to advance the interests of his subjects trading to the East parts ; and refers to the Charter granted to the Eastland M erchants allow ing them many great privileges and immunities as early as from a . Apart this Charter , a warrant Which had close connec Warrant to me" Of L ynn tion With the Company w a s issued by Henry IV . This document W. E . L in e ba ch T h e nte a ni tion of th e M e ch a nt d entu e g l , I rn l Orga za r A v r rs f n ’ o R x i . 1 2 . a nd H i st. S oc . T ra ns . v 90 E gl , . 2 — S ta te P a ers Counci of St te Ja n. 4 1 655 6 . cxxi ii . 1 6 i bid . p l a , , ; Dec . 1 7 1659 . 41 . , , ccv 3 m fi r d b h o e no ssi sta nts a nd l N. ench Rea so s h u b o e e t e e ow T , n ly y G v r r A F l sh ip of E estla nd M erch a nts agai nst th e giving of a general liberty to a ll persons ’ h i h n es wh ith e th e e w a tsoeve to x o t n s Woo e M a nu a ctu se it. r E p r E gl ll f r r y pl a , Br M u . 12 1 s 7 , g. 6 ’ m i 1 . 141 R me s F eedera to . ii . 5 1 see be ow y r , v p ( l , pp THE EAST LAND COM P ANY OF YORK E empowers the men of Lynn , later an outpost of the astland Fellowship , to choose an Alderman to supervise the trade to 1 E Denmark and Norway . dward IV . also safeguarded their rights 2 in the Trea ty of Utrecht. To what extent the Eastland trade w a s organi sed prior to the E diffi ult Charter of lizabeth is c to determine . l They carried on an export trade in cloth with north - east E a nd e urope , an import trade of considerable cons quence , alike fla x political and commercial , in corn , hemp , , timber , and saltpetre , fi ft enth during the e century .