Admiralitätskollegium

Item

Country

DE

Name of institution (English)

Hamburg State Archive

Name of institution (official language of the state)

Language of name of institution

deu

Contact information: postal address

Kattunbleiche 19, 22041 Hamburg

Contact information: phone number

0049 (0)40 428313200

Contact information: web address

http://www.hamburg.de/staatsarchiv/

Contact information: email

office-staatsarchiv@hamburg.de

Reference number

371-2

Type of reference number

Archival reference number

Title (English)

Admiralty College

Title (official language of the state)

Admiralitätskollegium

Language of title

deu

Creator / accumulator

Admiralitätskollegium

Date(s)

1623/1814

Language(s)

deu

Extent

18.50 linear meters

Type of material

Textual Material

Physical condition

Good

Scope and content

The Admiralitätskollegium fonds comprises the files and official books related to maritime trade (log books, accounting, and cash books, customs books, journals, inventories) and extensive correspondence.
Considering the importance of the Jewish mercantile community of Hamburg in the 17th century, this fonds constitutes a rich source of information for the history of Sephardic networks and the commercial activity of their main actors, in particular, the trade relations kept with Portugal and Spain. For instance, the fonds contains several registers of shipments to Lisbon made by Duarte Nunes da Costa (Jacob Curiel) (F3/5, 28, 76, 79, 84). One of these records (F4/3, p. 2) contains the earliest known reference to Duarte Nunes da Costa in Hamburg, reporting a cargo of sugar consigned to him from Portugal.

Archival history

In the 19th century, the German states started to set up archives systematically. They were used to keep records of the government or the ruling dynasty. Archives such as these were slowly being established all over Germany. Each of the numerous German states that comprised the German Conferedation of 1815 divided its territory into "archivsprengel" (archival districts). These were clearly defined areas that were assigned a specific state archive. Every institution in these areas was legally required to hand over all records of historical interest to the state archive.
The history of Hamburg State Archive dates back to 1710, when it became an independent administrative institution managed by a member of the Senate. As a matter of fact, for a long time, the archive was directly subordinate to the Senate. Since 2006, it has functioned as an office of the Ministry of Culture and Media.
In 1842, a great fire destroyed a district of Hamburg and the municipal archives were severely damaged. The surviving documentation was removed to rooms in today's Town Hall. Although this new location soon became too small for the increasing number of materials, it was only in 1972 that the archive was transferred to a new building on ABC-Strasse. Since 1997, the Hamburg State Archive has been located in a building at Kattunbleiche designed by the architect Jan Störmer. At present, the archive contains over 30,000 metres of documents related to the city administration of Hamburg, as well as from major private institutions and individuals in the city.
Sources:

Administrative / Biographical history

The Admiralitätskollegium was founded in 1623 in order to handle matters related to the sea, navigation, and maritime issues, as well as to secure trading conditions involving naval transportation. In addition to the judicial functions in all disputes relating to shipping and maritime trade, the college was responsible for appointing the Hamburg agents and consuls, promoting shipping and maintaining the light beacons on Neuwerk and Helgoland, supervising the pilotage and insurance, and settling disputes.
In 1814, the Admiralitätskollegium was formally abolished. The Handelsgericht (Commercial Court) assumed its judicial functions, while the newly formed Schiffahrts- und Hafendeputation (Shipping and Port Deputation) took on its administrative competencies.

Access points: locations

Access points: persons, families

Access points: subject terms

Access points: document types

System of arrangement

The fonds is divided into areas of activity. Internally, documents tend to be arranged chronologically.

Links to finding aids

Author of the description

Kevin Soares, 2022

Bibliography

Item sets

Linked resources

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Title Alternate label Class
Staatsarchiv Hamburg Collections (official language of the state)