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MANSELL ( Sir Robert ). The travellinge Chardge of Sir Rob[er]t Mansell knight Tre[asure]r of his M[

Currency:EUR Category:Antiques / Books & Manuscripts Start Price:10.00 EUR Estimated At:80.00 - 100.00 EUR
MANSELL ( Sir Robert ). The travellinge Chardge of Sir Rob[er]t Mansell knight Tre[asure]r of his M[

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Auction Date:2012 Oct 19 @ 18:00 (UTC+1)
Location:38 Molesworth Street, Dublin, Dublin, ., Ireland
MANSELL ( Sir Robert ). The travellinge Chardge of Sir Rob[er]t Mansell knight Tre[asure]r of his M[ajes]ts Navie fo post horses boat hire & Diet Riding Downe to Chatham to impr[e]st monie unto bankers [?] w[hi]ch sometimes began the 7 7ber 1607. 1607Ms on watermarked paper, 14 by 29 cms approx, light old browning but in very good state. Mansell (1570–1652), naval officer and Jacobean naval administrator. In 1604, aided by his distant relative Lord Admiral Nottingham, and the Surveyor of the navy, Sir John Trevor, his associate in a recent privateering venture, he displaced Sir Fulke Greville as Treasurer of the navy. About the same time Mansell was also made a gentleman of the privy chamber. As Treasurer he proved keen to enrich himself at the government's expense. Corruption was allowed to flourish at every level while he himself exacted exorbitant fees from the navy's suppliers as a condition of payment. In 1605 he hired to the crown the Resistance, a new ship of about 140 tons of which he was a part owner, for service as a victualler in the fleet which accompanied Nottingham on the latter's embassy to Spain that year. Although equipped at government expense, the ship's true cargo was 50 tons of lead, which it carried on behalf of a private merchant. Moreover, her hire was paid on the false basis that she was a ship of 300 tons, and none of her rigging, worth £379, was ever returned to the navy's stores. By such underhand means Mansell amassed a fortune, so enabling him to invest in various enterprises such as the Muscovy Company. His fraudulent dealings were exposed in 1608–9 by the commission appointed to investigate corruption in the navy, but although the evidence against him was damning he went unpunished. (ODNB). This document comes at a tantalizing moment, revealing Mansell's command of detail when it came to claiming for his own expenses. It relates to Mansell's official duties days before the arrival home of the Muscovy Company's vessel Hopewell, captained by Henry Hudson from what had been his first voyage of discovery into Arctic waters. Hudson docked at Tilbury, opposite Gravesend, on 15 Sept. 1607. It is not clear why the Treasurer was moving between Deptford, Gravesend and Chatham and overseeing the handling of monies in person, but given the number of horses mentioned (6) the amount of bullion may have been significant.MANUSCRIPT; ECONOMICS; HISTORY; ENGLAND; NAVAL; ; ; ; ; ; ;