[EXTENSIVE MANUSCRIPT BOOK OF CORRESPONDENCE, REPORTS, AND OTHER MATERIAL RELATED TO THE BRITISH OCCUPATION OF MINORCA DURING THE WAR OF SPANISH SUCCESSION, AND AN INVESTIGATION INTO ITS FINANCIAL AND MILITARY GOVERNANCE BY BRIGADIER LEWIS PETIT]

[War of Spanish Succession]: [Petit, Lewis]

Verlag: [Minorca, Spain, 1713

[690]pp. Thick quarto. Later three-quarter calf and marbled boards. Moderate wear to edges and spine extremities, boards rubbed, corners bumped. Small later ownership inscription on front pastedown. Light foxing and tanning, marginal dust soiling. Composed in a neat, legible hand. Very good. Untrimmed. A lengthy and highly detailed manuscript volume containing documents related to the British takeover of Minorca after its capture from Spain during the War of Spanish Succession and an investigation into the governance of the island. In September 1708 British forces occupied the Mediterranean island with little opposition, the inhabitants and nobles having mostly supported the Anglo-Dutch designs for the Spanish throne. The inherent importance of the island as a military outpost and trading way point in the Mediterranean led the British to occupy it for the rest of the war, and to receive it as a possession in the Treaty of Utrecht, which ended the conflict in 1713. The documents collected here relate to the English Brigadier Lewis Petit, who served as Lieutenant Governor and Chief Engineer of the island during its occupation. As Chief Engineer, Petit was in charge of improving the fortifications and defenses of Minorca, and although a Spanish ally was named as titular Governor, Petit exercised the true authority over the island. Although his improvement plans may have been sound, his management of the island's public moneys was suspect. "Petit somehow found time to enter into commercial speculations on his own account. In partnership with two Spaniards and Stanhope's secretary Arent Furley, Petit purchased a French prize at Mahón for 7800 dollars with which to trade between Minorca, Majorca, Sardinia, and the Spanish and Barbary coasts. He advised Furley that he had found it necessary to use funds supplied for the fortifications to complete the purchase, and urgently requested capital from his partners to repay this misappropriation. Petit's participation was valuable to the enterprise owing to his ability to land cargoes at Mahón without paying duty, an activity much objected to by the local town government. "Petit was soon to find himself under the scrutiny of the inspectors sent from London to investigate irregularities in the expenditure of the army in Spain, as an attempt to disgrace the previous ministry.The accusations against him concerned imperfections in his accounts, including allegations of missing vouchers, irregularities, and overcharging in the numbers of workmen and mules, and alleged differences between prices contracted and prices paid, among other charges" - DNB. The documents compiled here therefore relate principally to the investigation of those actions by a specially convened Board of Commissioners, and contain Petit's written responses to specific inquiries about his expenditures. In transmitting these answers, the reports provide a detailed perspective regarding the management of Minorca's finances, defenses, and engineering improvements under Petit's charge. Moreover, in order to buttress or to undermine those claims, voluminous correspondence, financial figures, construction reports, testimonies, affidavits, and other material are reproduced that span the length of the British occupation of the island before it officially became a possession. As a result, the manuscript documents contained here provide a thorough encapsulation of the economic and military situation on Minorca, and the growth of its importance as a British outpost in the Mediterranean. A highly valuable set of manuscript documents that meticulously details the development and management of a British possession gained through the War of Spanish Succession, worthy of much deeper research. Paul Latcham, "Petit, Lewis (1665?-1720)" in OXFORD DICTIONARY OF NATIONAL BIOGRAPHY (Oxford University Press, 2004). Bestandsnummer des Verkäufers WRCAM53351

Bibliografische Details

Titel: [EXTENSIVE MANUSCRIPT BOOK OF CORRESPONDENCE...
Verlag: [Minorca, Spain
Erscheinungsdatum: 1713