THE JOURNAL OF THE JAMESTOWN Carter C. Hudgins REDISCOVERY CENTER “Old World Industries and New World Hope: The VOL. 2 JAN. 2004 Industrial Role of Scrap Copper at Jamestown” Available from https://www.historicjamestowne.org Old World Industries and New World Hope: The Industrial Role of Scrap Copper at Jamestown Carter C. Hudgins 1. Introduction Jamestown scholars have long believed that during the first ten years of the Virginia Colony (1607-1617), settlers attempted to elude starvation by trading European copper with local Powhatans in exchange for foodstuffs. Contem- porary reports, such as those written by John Smith, docu- Figure 1. A sample of scrap waste selected from copper found at ment this bartering, and recent archaeological discoveries Jamestown. of over 7,000 pieces of scrap sheet copper within James Fort seem to substantiate the existence of this commerce (Figure 2. Jamestown’s Scrap Copper 1). Although much of this waste metal was undoubtedly Examinations of the scrap copper found in Jamestown associated with the exchange of goods between the English Rediscovery’s five largest Fort-Period features—Pit 1, Pit 3, and Powhatans, this study suggests that significant amounts Structure 165, SE Bulwark Trench, and Feature JR 731— of Jamestown’s scrap copper were also related to contempo- reveal that a significant percentage of the copper bears manu- rary English copper industries and an anticipation of met- facturing evidence that can be credited to coppersmithing allurgical resources in the New World. industries in England. Several examples of copper that pos- th During the late 16 century, the Society of Mines Royal sess the markings of English industry are shown in Figures and the Society of Minerals and Battery Works were formed 2, 3 and 4, and relate to the making of copper wire, buckles to mine English metals, produce copper-alloy products, and and kettles respectively. These examples were only partially promote English metallurgical self-sufficiency. Many share- constructed, having been discarded during production. The holders of these metals companies financially invested in wire in Figure 2 is the byproduct of the wire drawing pro- the Virginia Company and, because of restricted supplies in cess. The buckle in Figure 3, lacking any sign of wear, is England, might have promoted metallurgical endeavors at missing a fourth hole that would have been crucial in fas- Jamestown through the supply of both artisans and English tening it to a belt or strap. Why these examples were dis- copper scrap. This analysis first discusses physical charac- carded from the coppersmith’s bench is unknown. Many teristics of Jamestown’s scrap copper in an attempt to dem- straps, rims, and rivets from the construction of copper kettles onstrate how some of the copper found at James Fort strongly are also present in the Jamestown assemblage. The support resembles scrap from English industry. Studies of copper straps in Figure 4 appear to have had rivet holes punched waste are then coupled with metallurgical remains recently through their edges and, therefore, would have been useless uncovered at Jamestown in an attempt to illustrate a pos- to the coppersmith. sible industrial function of copper within the colony. Additional reflections of English industry are off-cuts left Jamestown’s archaeological evidence is ultimately viewed over from punching and cutting items out of sheet copper. against a background of documentary sources that reveal Figure 5 depicts an off-cut found at Jamestown, which was industrial and biographical ties between the Virginia Com- formed from the construction of inexpensive sheet copper pany and English copper companies. These connections buckles. The hypothetical outline of the produced buckles likely contributed to various metallurgical pursuits in Vir- can be seen on either side in Figure 6. ginia. Overall, this study endeavors to enhance understand- Much of Jamestown’s scrap copper does not possess such ing of the industrial nature of Jamestown’s copper and show definitive evidence related to the manufacturing of particu- how the activities of the Virginia Company were influenced lar products; however, characteristic geometrical shapes can by the pursuits of English manufacturing. be attributed to contemporary artifacts. Instances of this iv-1 THE JOURNAL OF THE JAMESTOWN Carter C. Hudgins REDISCOVERY CENTER “Old World Industries and New World Hope: The VOL. 2 JAN. 2004 Industrial Role of Scrap Copper at Jamestown” Available from https://www.historicjamestowne.org are scrap copper off-cuts that point and higher tensile strength maintain a concave angle (Fig- than copper. Consequently, brass ure 7). These could be off-cuts is more malleable than copper as related to the production of cir- well as better suited for creating cast cular domestic products such as objects such as cannons, cauldrons, copper strainers, kettles, bowls, and bells. Until the late 16th cen- pans, or lanterns. Production tury European brass was chiefly centers for these items would not produced in what are now Belgium Figure 2. Drawn wire waste. have likely been present in early and the Rhineland region because colonial Virginia. As a result, it is evident that a signifi- of a nearby supply of zinc-yielding calamine stone (Donald cant amount of Jamestown’s copper came from established 1961:180; Tylecote 1976:96). It was not until the end of the workshops, undermining the notion that all of the copper mid-1500s that a source of calamine stone was discovered was transported to the New World in the form of raw sheets locally in England. This source in Somerset had a high lead of copper. content, a limited supply, and problematic legal issues that emerged soon after discovery (Tylecote 1976:96). These fac- tors left English investors and metallurgists yearning for ad- 3. Copper waste and ditional supplies of zinc in order to make native English brass. As a result, Virginia adventurers had ample reason to hope metallurgical remains for the New-World discovery of calamine stone or another There is ample metallurgical evidence of copper-alloy ore containing zinc. It would have led to a mass production processing within the archaeological confines of James Fort. of brass in England, the profitability of which could have Numerous triangular Hessian-type crucibles have been rivaled the discovery of gold in an American colony. found and one example contains copper residue (Figure Archaeological evidence indicates that experimentation 8). Further evidence of working copper at James Fort can with copper alloys did occur within James Fort and the pro- be seen through the discov- duction of brass might have been the anticipated result. For eries of copper slag and those living at James Fort, producing brass through the ce- melted copper masses. In mentation process would have been fairly easy once a source fact, one uniquely shaped of zinc was found. The zinc ore would have first needed to piece of melted waste fits be crushed and then heated in a closed crucible with pieces perfectly into the round of copper and crushed charcoal. After the proper tempera- bottom of a contemporary ture had been reached (1,083º C), zinc vapor would diffuse Hessian crucible (Figure 9). into the copper and form brass (Tylecote 1976:96). Al- Although not found in the though demanding high heat, such an elementary process Figure 3. Partially made buckle. same context, the connec- would have been relatively simple to perform in Virginia. tion between these two artifacts, along with the crucible containing interior copper residue, reveals the working and testing of copper alloys within James Fort. Processing copper alloys is not clearly represented in the first-hand accounts of early Jamestown, and these finds accordingly lead to new questions concerning the motiva- tions of those involved in the Jamestown venture. What were the James Fort metallurgists trying to make or de- velop with copper? Was this copper from England or Vir- ginia? Did copper experimentation within James Fort have anything to do with the surplus scrap copper found on site and in many of the same contexts? One line of inquiry that addresses these questions concerns possible English attempts at discovering lesser-known minerals in the New World. At the beginning of the 17th century, one of the most highly desired metals in Europe was brass. Brass consists of an alloy of zinc and copper that has a lower melting Figure 4. Kettle support straps. iv-2 THE JOURNAL OF THE JAMESTOWN Carter C. Hudgins REDISCOVERY CENTER “Old World Industries and New World Hope: The VOL. 2 JAN. 2004 Industrial Role of Scrap Copper at Jamestown” Available from https://www.historicjamestowne.org Queen Elizabeth I’s Secretary of State William Cecil ini- tiated the formation of England’s copper industries by re- cruiting the interest of the German merchant house Haug & Company to help develop England’s mines. Twenty- two English and German shareholders bought into the So- ciety of Mines Royal. By 1567, several copper mines were opened, and a smelting headquarters had been erected at Keswick (Donald 1961:105). At the same time, William Humfrey, assay master of the English mint, and Christo- pher Schutz, manager of the zinc mining company of St. Annenberg in Saxony, established the Society of Mineral and Battery Works in the hopes of producing native En- glish brass and manufacturing brass and copper battery wares (Donald 1961).1 Because the company expected to carry out little mining other than that of calamine stone, it antici- pated using the raw copper produced by the Company of Mines Royal within its production of brass. Many share- holders of the company of Mineral and Battery Works also owned shares in the Company of Mines Royal and it was Figure 5. Waste from constructing sheet copper belt buckles. thought that by forming a trade partnership as such, profits could be brought to both ventures.2 Crucibles with copper residue and melted copper are likely This, however, was not the case.