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Country
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NL
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Name of institution (English)
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National Archives
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Language of name of institution
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dut
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Contact information: postal address
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Prins Willem-Alexanderhof 20, 2595 BE The Hague
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Contact information: phone number
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0031 703315400
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Reference number
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1.01.47.21
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Type of reference number
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Archival reference number
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Title (English)
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Admiralty Colleges: Collection J. Bisdom
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Title (official language of the state)
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Admiraliteitscolleges: Verzameling J. Bisdom
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Language of title
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dut
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Creator / accumulator
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Jacob Bisdom
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Date(s)
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1428/1811
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Language(s)
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dut
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Extent
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21.75 linear meters
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Type of material
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Textual Material
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Physical condition
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Good
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Scope and content
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The Admiraliteitscolleges: Verzameling J. Bisdom contains diverse types of documents relating to the States General and the Dutch Admiralties. These documents mostly concern maritime affairs, construction and equipment of ships, finances, convoys, import and export rights, and legal matters. The collection is organised into seven sections related to the provenance of the documents and their subjects: A) Zeewezen in het algemeen (Seafaring affairs in general); B) Admiraliteit op de Maze (Admiralty of the Maze, also known as Admiralty of Rotterdam); C) Admiraliteiten te Amsterdam, in Zeeland, in West-Friesland en het Noorderkwartier en in Friesland (Admiralties in Amsterdam, Zeeland, West Friesland and the Northern Quarter and Friesland); D) Handel, visscherij, nijverheid (Trade, fisheries and industry); E) Koloniën (Colonies); F) Betrekkingen met vreemde mogendheden en moeilijkheden met deze over de neutraliteit ter zee, tollen enz (Relations with foreign powers and difficulties with them concerning neutrality at sea, tolls, etc); and G) Varia.
The importance of the Sephardic networks in the Dutch maritime commerce in the 17th and 18th centuries is reflected in several documents in this collection. For instance, the extracts from the resolutions of the States General on admiralty and naval affairs (35-68; 34 units arranged chronologically) include scattered references to Amsterdam Sephardic merchants involved in commercial transactions with Iberian territories, witnessing the evolution of the Dutch-Iberian trade during the Twelve Year's Truce (1609-1621), and the challenges faced by the merchants after this period and until the end of the Eighty Years' War in 1648. For instance, in 1621, a vessel chartered by Amsterdam Jews that carried grain from Sicily to Lisbon was forced to return to the point of departure (48ii, fols. 93-5). Shortly after the end of the truce, ten Portuguese Jews from Amsterdam appealed to the States of Holland requesting safeguards for cargoes sent to Brazil to avoid their apprehension by Dutch warships or privateers. However, captures continued. In January 1622, a Portuguese Jewish merchant, Tomás Nunes da Pina, contested the apprehension of 124 chests of sugar brought into Rotterdam (49i, fols. 8-9). In August 1623, Diogo Nunes Belmonte contested a decision of the Admiralty in Amsterdam on the forfeiture of a sugar cargo (50, fols. 172v-3).
Further evidence regarding the role played by the Sephardic trade networks in the Dutch-Iberian trade can also be found in other documents of this collection. For instance, that information is present in a collection of 17th and 18th-century extracts from the resolutions of the States General, the States of Holland and the Admiralty in Zeeland on several matters, including trade relations with Portugal and Spain (263).
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Administrative / Biographical history
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Jacob Bisdom (1696-1762) was the "advocaat-fiscaal" (tax lawyer) at the Admiraliteit op de Maze, from 1744 to 1762. Gerard Daniel Denick (1724-1780) was the first "adjunct-fiscaal" (tax deputy) from 1748 to 1762. He succeeded his father-in-law, Jacob Bisdom, in the office of "advocaat-fiscaal" at the Admiraliteit op de Maze in 1762 and remained in the office until 1780. Dirk Rudolf Wijckerheld Bisdom (1740-1814), Jacob Bisdom's son, was successively the second "equipagemeester" (equipage master) from 1762 to 1780 and the "advocaat-fiscaal" at the same Admiralty between 1780 and 1785. From 1782 to 1785, he was also a member of Departement der marine van Zijn Hoogheid (His Highness's Department of the Navy).
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(source: J. de Hullu 1924. "Inventaris van het archief van de Admiraliteitscolleges: Verzameling J. Bisdom, 1525-1793") (1.01.47.21))
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System of arrangement
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The collection is divided into six sections according to institutions and subjects. Section A, B and D are divided into subsections following thematic criteria.
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Author of the description
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Kevin Soares, 2022
