Spanish Consulate records, 1794-1898 and undated

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Summary

Creator:
Spain. Consulado (Charleston, S.C.)
Abstract:
Collection contains correspondence, logbooks, shipping and passport registers, crew lists, and an inventory of consular property. Communications in the collection are chiefly directed to the Spanish Consulate in Charleston, S.C., by the Madrid government, by Spanish diplomats and consular representatives in the U.S., and by governing officials in Florida, Cuba, and Puerto Rico. The papers of the 1790s and early 1800s are largely concerned with Spanish interests in Florida. The papers of the 1830s, except those dealing with routine commercial matters, are largely concerned with political affairs in Spain. Later papers relate to Spain's concern that the U.S. will aid Cuban insurgents; reports of American filibustering for Spanish possessions before and after the Civil War; revolutionary movements in Cuba; Spain's diplomatic approach to the U.S. during the Civil War; Spain's naval war with Chile and Peru (1865-1866); Charleston's trade with Spanish West Indian possessions during most of the 19th century; and occasionally to Spanish diplomatic relations with nations other than the U.S. Bound volumes in the collection include letter books, shipping and passport registers, logbooks, crew lists, and an inventory of consular property.
Extent:
10.5 Linear Feet
Language:
Materials in English and Spanish
Collection ID:
RL.10019

Background

Scope and content:

The collection contains dispatches from the Madrid government, Spanish diplomatic and consular representatives in the United States, and officials in Florida, Cuba, and Puerto Rico, addressed to the Spanish consulate in Charleston, South Carolina. Prior to 1803 there are similar dispatches addressed to the Spanish vice consul at Savannah. Topics include Spanish fear of American filibustering in Florida in the 1790s, especially the activities of Samuel Hammond in 1794; the fear of English invasion of Florida, 1796, or invasion by Americans sympathetic to England; and privateering and the actions of William Augustus Bowles in seizing the fort at St. Marks (Appalachee) in 1800. Papers of the 1830s and after concern political affairs in Spain, the Carlist War, and Spanish expectations of a favorable ruling from the U. S. Supreme Court in the Amistad case, 1841. Material concerning the fear of American filibustering activity in Cuba extends from the 1840s to the 1890s, and includes comment on American neutrality policy and on Northern support for and Southern opposition to filibustering after the Civil War. During the Civil War period papers relate to neutrality of the consulate; the capture of Spanish property in American vessels by Confederate privateers; the seizure of the Nuestra Señora de Reqla by Union forces; Beauregard's claim to have lifted-the Charleston blockade, 1863; and the bombardment of Charleston. There are lists of ships entering and leaving Charleston harbor in violation of the blockade. Papers of 1865-1866 concern Spain's naval war with Chile and Peru and activity in the United States of Chilean privateers. Most of the papers in the collection are of a routine nature and concern shipping, health conditions, passports, changes of government in Spain, and legal problems encountered by Spaniards in South Carolina. Numerous papers relate to commerce between Charleston, Cuba, and Puerto Rico; and after the Civil War there are letters of the vice consul in Wilmington, North Carolina, relating to shipping at that port.

Bound volumes in the collection include letter books, shipping and passport registers, logbooks, crew lists, and an inventory of consular property. The shipping registers, 1850-1860, 1871-1896, contain information on the nature and value of cargoes entering and leaving Charleston, and on the nationality, type, origin, and destination of vessels calling at the port. Letter books relate almost entirely to such commercial affairs as the arrival and departure of Spanish ships, prices of goods, tariffs, legal problems of merchants and shippers, costs of ship repairs, and the discipline of Spanish seamen. For the Civil War period, reports of consul Francisco Muñoz Ramón de Moncada describe conditions in Charleston and news of political and military events within the Confederacy; French intrigues in Texas; the attack on Fort Sumter; Confederate policy on privateering; the capture of Fort Hatteras and other points along the coast, the ineffectiveness of the blockade; conditions in Charleston and the flight of residents; and Confederate conscription policies, especially as they concerned citizens of foreign countries. Post-Civil War letter books relate almost exclusively to routine commercial matters.

Acquisition information:
The Spanish Consulate Records were acquired by the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book Manuscript Library in 1951.
Processing information:

Processed by: Rubenstein Library Staff

Physical location:
For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Contents

Using These Materials

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Using These Materials


Restrictions:

Collection is open for research.

Researchers must register and agree to copyright and privacy laws before using this collection.

All or portions of this collection may be housed off-site in Duke University's Library Service Center. The library may require up to 48-hours to retrieve these materials for research use.

Please contact Research Services staff before visiting the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library to use this collection.

Terms of access:

The copyright interests in this collection have not been transferred to Duke University. For more information, consult the copyright section of the Regulations and Procedures of the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library.

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Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], Spanish Consulate records, David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library, Duke University.