Commercial Arguments for Maintaining An English Agent in Turkey
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| Date | 1587-88 |
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| Abstract | |
Entry
[Trans. R.H.S., Fourth Series, Vol. V., 1922, pp. 16-19.]
The sundry harms ensuing to the realm if the amitie with the Great Turk by reclaiming of the Agent should be given over, without whose residence in that Court there can be neither friendship nor intercourse.
(1) Imprimis, the loss of divers ships of Her Majesty's subjects which yearly will be captured as well within as on this side of the Straits, which former times have verified, whose ransomes have cost this realme great sums of money and yet divers by their torture and extreme dealing forced to turn Turk, whereof some made excuses, to the shipwreck of their bodies and souls .
(2) Item, the loss of divers ships taken ard sunk with their whole lading, of no small value and likely to increase, for that the Turks at this present be more expert in their piracies than ever heretofore, for then they did not use to go out of Algiers till the month of May, whereas now they go out in January,
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(being enemies) they will cut off our whole trade into the Straits, which at this present not only we have thither, but also owners of ships and mariners by strangers which do freight English ships.
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(3) Item, Her Majesty shall lose much by the customs and duties which generally the trade into the Straits do pay her, which shall be well approved to have been in some one year ten thousand pounds at the least, for the Turkey Company have paid for one ship six and twenty hundred pounds, a great part of which commodities were transported hence into other countries, whereby in effect this realm of late years hath served as the only staple to and for other countries as formerly Antwerp did, to the great commodity and setting awork of our people, both for the unlading, relading and transporting thereof. (4) Item, for the voyages into the Straits there be above thirty tall ships builded of late, and if the said trade do surcease, the owners might be suitors to Her Majesty to buy them or otherwise crave leave to sell them out of the realm, for other trade there is none for them.
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(5) The commodities Vented within the Straits be all sorts of clothes and kersies dyed and dressed to the best proof, tin, lead, silk, spices, drugs, currants, wines of Candia, cotton-wool and yarn, grograms and divers other things, and now that the peace is made between the Turk and the Persian, there will be much more vent of other said commodities. And where it may be objected that the Venetian will fetch away from us the said commodities, if we vent them not, it will prove contrary, for the Spanish wool usually brought out of Spain into Flanders and there dressed is now carried over to Alicante, a port of Spain within the Straits, and from thence transported into Italy, Venice and those parts, where it is dressed, and whereof in Venice they make so much cloth that the clothiers and drapers of that city did offer at Constantinople to the Viceroy and by other Bashas thirty thousand chequins, which is above ten thousand pounds sterling. (6) Item, experience hath verified that the Venetians, to cut ..
off our ancient trade into the Straits in the time of King Henry VII., did set an impost of four ducats upon every butt of wine which our nation should lade in their port, for obviating of which discommodity it pleased the King in the seventh year of his reign by act of Parliament¹ to set an impost of 18 s. upon every butt they should bring hither, to continue so long and no longer than theirs did, which therefore presently they surceased ; and yet not withstanding, for so much as after that the Turk took Scio and other lands within the Archipelago, he drove our nation clean from the said trade, so as for thirty years and more the same was wholly left off and no English ship durst pass into the Straits, till that of late the same hath been removed again and increased much more than ever it was before. And now the said Venetians have set a greater imposition upon English ships lading in their ports, but none upon themselves, so that if the English merchants should pay the same both here and there, the Venetians should bring all their commodities hither a third penny better cheap than we, to their great commodity and the increase of their ships.
(7) Item, if this amitie with the Turk being dissolved, might again upon the discommodities be removed [sic,? renewed], the proof might be hazarded with little peril, but for so much as it is most certain that it will not, both for the displeasure he himself in particular will have by calling home the Agent, who is thought of him to be only maintained by Her Majesty, and that rather for causes of estate than of traffic, for which he hath himself out of his own coffers [paid .] pounds per year, which he would not do if he knew the contrary, as also for the profit which will ..
ensue to the Viceroy and Bashas by the Venetians, French and other Christian traders thither, who will offer great rewards to keep us out, and in like manner the Admiral, for his duty of the tenth part of all prizes of the spoil of our ships and men.
(8) Item, the great charges that have been defrayed by the traders into Turkey, finding out and continuing the said trade unto this day, namely ; the first present, the charge of the Ambassador, and placing of consuls in Scio, Patras, Tripoli, Aleppo, Alexandria and Algier, which may amount to above thirty thousand pounds sterling which is utterly lost if the same trade be given over. ..
1 Henry VII., с. 7.
(9) Item, the trade into Turkey is had in great price with all nations, especially the Venetian, and French King who ..
maintaineth an ambassador at Constantinople at his own cost and charge, and both the Spaniard and Florentine have sought the same with great charge and could never to this day obtain it. (10) Item, lastly it would be much marvelled at of all nations that we, such trade being so profitable, should so suddenly • give over the same, which will be thought to be either lost for fear of the Spaniards or else that Her Majesty doth it in respect of the charge of her Agent there, and so diversely spoken of that other nations may consider the great commodity that this realm enjoyeth by the said Amitie, especially in that we are favoured in Turkey more than any other nation whatsoever. Nevertheless according to our duties we content ourselves with Her Majesty's determination
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and so craving pardon do there- unto humbly submit ourselves.
