Bound for Slave Trade! 1705 Oath of Benjamin Gallop of Boston, Also A Pirate Hunter for “preventing Frauds and regulating Abuses in the Plantation Trade”

On September 19, 1705, Benjamin Gallop of Boston swore an oath before Captain General & Governor in Chief Joseph Dudley and Deputy Collector and Customs Officer William Payne that he was the sole owner of the brigantine Adventure to ensure that it complied with an act of Parliament designed to prevent fraud and abuse in the trade with the British colonies.

On September 10, 1705, John Bennet, as master of the brig Adventure left Boston bound for London. According to a report the following April, he was forced to shore by a privateer at Dungeness. On August 11, 1707, the brigantine Adventure imported 92 slaves to Maryland via London.

[MASSACHUSETTS.] William Payne, Autograph Document Signed, Copy of Oath of Benjamin Gallop about ownership of brigantine Adventure, October 6, 1707, Boston, Massachusetts. 1 p., 7.5" x 9.75". Expected folds; embossed paper and wax seal intact; separation on one fold; very good.

Excerpts
"Jurat Benjamin Gallop of Boston in sd Province, Menht that the briganteen Adventure of Boston, whereof John Bennet is at present Master, being square sterned, burthen about Eighty Tonns was built at Sittuate, in sd Province, Anno 1705 And that he ye said Benjamin Gallop is at present sole owner thereof, and that no foreigner directly or indirectly hath any share, part or interest therein.
Benjamin Gallop
Which Oath abovesd was made before us Joseph Dudley Esqr Capt General & Governr in Chief in & over the Province abovesd & William Payne Gent. D Collectr & principle Officer of her Majesties Customes within the same
Given under hands & seals Boston, Septr 19th 1705Joseph Dudley
In the fourth year of her Majesties ReignWilliam Payne D Collr"

"These may certifie that the above written is a true Coppy of the Register, of ye briganteen Adventure, as recorded in the booke of Registers for this Province; And that the above John Bennet cleared out Master of the same for London ye 10th day of Septr anno 1705
Dated at ye Customehouse in Boston, NEngland this 6th day of Octobr In the Sixth year of Her Majesties Reign Queen Ann Annog 1707
⅌ Wm Payne D Collr"

Historical Background
In April 1696, Parliament passed An Act for preventing Fraud and regulating Abuse in the Plantation Trade. The act specified that no goods or merchandise could be imported to or exported from any colony by any ship not built-in and wholly owned by the people of England, Wales, Ireland, or the English colonies. The master and three-fourths of the crew of any such ship also had to be from these places. This certificate confirms that Benjamin Gallop's brigantine Adventure has no foreign owners and was built at Scituate, Massachusetts Bay colony, to conform to the requirements of the Navigation Act of 1696.

It was one of a series of Navigation Acts that enforced mercantilism, hampered colonial manufacturing, and increased resentment in the American colonies against the mother country.

Joseph Dudley (1647-1720) was born in Massachusetts to Thomas Dudley (1576-1653), one of the founders of the colony, and graduated from Harvard College in 1665. He became a member of the Massachusetts General Court in 1673. He traveled to London in 1682 to represent the colony's complaints to the Lords of Trade. When the colonial charter was annulled in 1684, the British government established the Dominion of New England, and Dudley became the interim governor from May to December 1686, when Governor Edmund Andros arrived. Dudley sat on his council and became associated with the tyranny of Andros's administration. In the wake of the Glorious Revolution of 1688, Dudley was arrested and jailed for ten months before being sent back to England. He served briefly on the council of the Province of New York, where he oversaw the trial of Jacob Leisler, who had led an insurrection in 1689. Dudley then spent eight years in England as Lieutenant-Governor of the Isle of Wight and served for one year in Parliament. From 1702 to 1715, he served as governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay and the Province of New Hampshire. During his tenure, the colonial legislature routinely challenged or disputed his prerogatives, setting a pattern for the next six decades of crown officials in Massachusetts.

William Payne (1669-1735) was born in Massachusetts and graduated from Harvard College in 1689. He received a commission as deputy collector of Boston in 1699 and continued in that position until 1710. He served as the sheriff of Suffolk County from 1714 to 1715. In 1694, he married Mary Taylor (1675-1701), with whom he had four children. After her death, he married Margaret Stewart in 1703, and they had twelve children.

Benjamin Gallop (1664-1731) was born in Boston, Massachusetts, and became a sailor. In 1689, he was part of a crew that attempted to seize pirates Thomas Hawkins and Thomas Pound; the pirates killed the captain, but Gallop as lieutenant seized one of the pirate ships with Thomas Pound aboard. Gallop married Hannah Sharp in 1694, and they had at least seven children. He became a merchant in Boston. From 1692, he owned several ships, including the Adventure, built at Scituate in 1705.

This item comes with a Certificate from John Reznikoff, a premier authenticator for both major 3rd party authentication services, PSA and JSA (James Spence Authentications), as well as numerous auction houses.

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