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The Prize Papers Project @prizepapers.bsky.social · 16/09/2026

An International Workshop on the UK Prize Papers and the American War of Independence: Wartime Lives, Capture, and Transnational Exchange - for more information and the sign up links follow www.hsozkult.de/searching/id...

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The Prize Papers Project @prizepapers.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

The Polly, seized in July 1776, looked like an ordinary merchant ship hauling oil, candles and flour. In truth, she carried a secret mission: passenger William Hodge held orders to buy muskets, gunpowder and warships for Congress—papers he threw overboard moments before capture #skystorians #history

Digital Copies of a letter from the owner of the ship Polly, Joshua Maddor Wallace, to the ship's captain, Philip Lacey, with the address on the folded letter in the top right corner. Credits: Prize Papers Project, National Archives, ref. HCA 32/424/26/SP2. Images reproduced by permission of The National Archives, UK. Photographer: Maria Cardamone

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The Prize Papers Project @prizepapers.bsky.social · 04/07/2026

On 3-4 July 1776, as Philadelphia finalised the Declaration of Independence, four American merchant ships were seized off Cape Henlopen, Delaware by the British, and taken to New York Bay. Papers from the Adrian, Fidelity, and Peggy were likely lost. More soon on the Polly's secret mission

Text: Amanda Bevan and Nele Popp
Picture: Regina Schönecker, Seascape after Wigerus Vitringa, 1782-1785, Rosenwald Collection at the National Gallery of Art, https://www.nga.gov/artworks/34937-seascape.

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The Prize Papers Project @prizepapers.bsky.social · 04/07/2026

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Melinda Haunton @melindahaunton.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

This just *keeps* happening to us. (This is a great, great story, about brilliant work in the now and fascinating print diffusion in the past. Come and see the exhibition which is STUFFED with this kind of story.)

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The Prize Papers Project @prizepapers.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

Rare find at the National Archives UK: earlier this year, the volunteer Michael Scurr at TNA discovered one of the earliest prints of the US Declaration of Independence in the Royal Navy Captains’ letters collection and can be linked to our collection as it travelled on the American privateer Dalton

nationalarchives.gov.uk

Finding a new copy of the US Declaration of Independence

In May 2026, a volunteer working on a cataloguing project at The National Archives made an astonishing discovery.

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The Prize Papers Project @prizepapers.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

nationalarchives.gov.uk

Finding a new copy of the US Declaration of Independence

In May 2026, a volunteer working on a cataloguing project at The National Archives made an astonishing discovery.

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Margot Finn @eicathomefinn.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

Actually, it was a volunteer archivist at The National Archives, Kew called Michael Scurr who found it, not the "UK" that found it. (with a sharing link for 3 non-subscribers). giftarticle.ft.com/giftarticle/...

giftarticle.ft.com

UK finds lost US Declaration of Independence copy after 250 years

Document revealed by National Archives ahead of its anniversary on Saturday

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Graham Moore @mooregraham.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

we have some fun 4 July news over at The National Archives! a new copy of the US Declaration of Independence, with an amazing story behind it (privateers! printers! prisoners!) - but also, a find that shows the power and importance of our volunteering and cataloguing projects.

theguardian.com

‘Vanishingly rare’ copy of US Declaration of Independence found by volunteer in UK archives

One of 11 surviving copies of ‘Exeter printing’ and only one known outside US was taken from American privateer ship

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Holly Brewer @earlymodjustice.bsky.social · 03/07/2026

The Prize Papers team, led by Dr. Amanda Bevan at the UK National Archives, has been finding so many historical treasures and discoveries. Here, a rare Copy of the Declaration of Independence —captured by a British warship from an American privateer off the Coast of Spain in 1776–

nytimes.com

Rare Copy of the Declaration of Independence Is Discovered in London

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The Prize Papers Project @prizepapers.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

The Prize Papers Project announces a new collaboration with Capstan Games. Together with the German Maritime Museum and the Gamelab Oldenburg, we explore the Age of Sail by linking archival research with historically grounded game development for the game Ahoy #maritimehistory #earlymodern #history

Screenshot Ahoy game: British ships on sea in full sail, logos of Ahoy and Prize Papers Project.

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deborahhamer.bsky.social @deborahhamer.bsky.social · 17/04/2026

Dream positions: 3 (!!) PhD placements at the Prize Papers with emphasis on finding students with the following language skills: French, Spanish, Dutch, and Scandinavian languages. (Of course, I emphasize the Dutch language!) www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/professional...

nationalarchives.gov.uk

Exploring the Prize Papers, a global early modern archive

Using language skills, examine previously unknown records from the Prize Papers collection and produce descriptions to support digitisation.

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The Prize Papers Project @prizepapers.bsky.social · 08/04/2026

Our colleague, Dr Oliver Finnegan, records specialist for the Prize Papers at @nationalarchivesuk, holds a workshop on 'Practical Archival Skills Training (PAST) Workshop on English High Court of Admiralty Records', more info below & tickets can be booked here www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/practical-...

Workshop Announcement: Practical Archival Skills Training (PAST) Workshop on English High Court of Admiralty Records. 18 June 2026 at the UK National Archives. Banner with an archive image in the background.

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The Prize Papers Project @prizepapers.bsky.social · 28/03/2026

Unfortunately, we have to cancel the last instalment of our lecture series, Ships and Seafaring 1500-1800, on March 30th. The hosts @lhaasis.bsky.social and @neleppp.bsky.social want to thank everyone who presented, participated in the discussions, and attended.

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The Prize Papers Project @prizepapers.bsky.social · 18/03/2026

Next week, on the 23rd March, 1 PM CET, we welcome a very special guest to our Ships & Seafaring 1500-1800 Talk: Dr. Fred Hocker, the director of research at the @vasamuseet in Stockholm. In his talk, he answers the question we all want answered: why did the Vasa sank in 1628?

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The Prize Papers Project @prizepapers.bsky.social · 11/03/2026

Next Monday, 16th March at 1 PM CET, we welcome Lucas' colleagues from the German Maritime Museum in Bremerhaven to tell us more about reconstructing a historical shipwreck! Join us under www.eventbrite.com/e/ships-seaf...! #earlymodern

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The Prize Papers Project @prizepapers.bsky.social · 04/03/2026

On Monday, at 1 PM, we welcome Casey Schmitt to our Ships & Seafaring Talk, where she will present her book "The Predatory Sea", a full-length study of the entangled history of captivity and colonialism using Spanish, French and English archives. Sign up here: www.eventbrite.com/e/ships-seaf...

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The Prize Papers Project @prizepapers.bsky.social · 27/02/2026

Want to learn more about the spectacular find on the Danish cargo ship Anne-Marie? Sign up for an exciting roundtable with researchers from the Faroe Islands here: www.eventbrite.com/e/ships-seaf... #skystorians #19thcentury #earlymodern #maritimehistory

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The Prize Papers Project @prizepapers.bsky.social · 17/02/2026

Join us Monday, 23rd February at 1 PM for Lunch Talks: Kings of Privateering, where we’ll explore how Spanish privateers in the 18th-century Caribbean were vital instruments of imperial power—driving war, trade, smuggling, and the trade with enslaved people with remarkable agency.

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The Prize Papers Project @prizepapers.bsky.social · 05/02/2026

Next Monday (February 9th), Hielke van Nieuwenhuize talks about the role Dutch Seamen played in Sweden's expansion beyond the Baltic Sea during the Swedish "Stormaktstiden". Sign up here www.eventbrite.com/e/ships-seaf... #skystorians #earlymodern #maritimehistory

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The Prize Papers Project @prizepapers.bsky.social · 26/01/2026

Check out the link below for more information and the registration for Alejandro Salamanca Rodríguez's (@desvelandooriente.com) book presentation and the workshop on Early Modern Transatlantic Migration here: www.eui.eu/events?id=58...

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The Prize Papers Project @prizepapers.bsky.social · 22/01/2026

Next week (26/01 @ 1PM), the Ships & Seafaring Talks - a Prize Papers Talks Special Edition with the German Maritime Museum in Bremerhaven welcomes a very special guest: underwater archaeologist Felix Rösch from the Hanseatic city of Lübeck, who is excavating a very special Hanseatic merchant ship!

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The Prize Papers Project @prizepapers.bsky.social · 13/01/2026

For the first talk of the second half of our Ships & Seafaring 1500-1800 series - A Prize Papers Talks Special Edition, Milagrosa Romero Samper is taking us to Honduras to tell a tale about dye-ing feud! Sign up here: www.eventbrite.com/e/ships-seaf... #earlymodern #maritimehistory #skystorians

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The Prize Papers Project @prizepapers.bsky.social · 23/12/2025

Nicolás Cranisbro (or Cranisbrough) was a passenger on the Fort de Nantes. He belonged to an Anglo-Spanish family from El Puerto de Santa María . His personal archive contains many letters, some of them entrusted to him for his delivery, He also had calligraphy exercises, prayers...

The text and metadata were produced by Alejandro Salamanca -
@desvelandooriente.com
. Prize Papers Project, National Archives, ref. HCA 32/111D/16/CRA152. Images reproduced by permission of The National Archives, UK. Photographer: Maria Cardamone

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The Prize Papers Project @prizepapers.bsky.social · 17/12/2025

The first half of "Ships and Seafaring 1500–1800" has wrapped up! Last Monday’s talk closed this year’s program, and we’ll be back with more in 2026. We wish you all a well-deserved Christmas break. We’ll be back on January 12 with our next talk—until then, you can check out the whole program below

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The Prize Papers Project @prizepapers.bsky.social · 16/12/2025

This week we release some letters that were on board the Fort de Nantes. These were not delivered to the official mail circuit but were instead entrusted to passengers who would deliver them personally. #earlymodern #maritimehistory

The text and metadata were produced by Alejandro Salamanca. Prize Papers Project, National Archives, ref.

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The Prize Papers Project @prizepapers.bsky.social · 10/12/2025

Next Monday, the Prize Papers Talk is hitting new waters, as Eleonora Rohland's talk dives into climate history: The Doldrums is a belt-shaped weather phenomenon near the equator, where winds are very weak, trapping sailing ships inside. Sign up here: www.eventbrite.com/e/ships-seaf...

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The Prize Papers Project @prizepapers.bsky.social · 09/12/2025

Antonio José Ruiz was a merchant travelling on the Fort de Nantes. He had connections with English trading houses and carried some recommendation letters. In times of war, trade between Spain and England was not allowed... #earlymodern #maritimehistory #skystorians

The text and metadata were produced by Alejandro Salamanca. Prize Papers Project, National Archives, ref. HCA 32/111D/21/AJR7. Images reproduced by permission of The National Archives, UK. Photographer: Maria Cardamone

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The Prize Papers Project @prizepapers.bsky.social · 02/12/2025

Next week, Séverine Angers will present her research on women's patriotism during the American Revolutionary War and the Napoleonic Wars, based on letters from military families. Sign up for the Prize Papers Talks Special Edition with the German Maritime Museum in Bremerhaven with the link below!

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The Prize Papers Project @prizepapers.bsky.social · 02/12/2025

Antonio José de Paule was a passenger on the Fort de Nantes. He travelled from Mexico to Spain carrying some letters and a golden chain. There are some hints that de Paule might have been a Roma, a group that was theoretically not allowed to migrate to the Americas.

The text and metadata were produced by Alejandro Salamanca. Prize Papers Project, National Archives, ref. HCA 32/111D/20/AJP1. Images reproduced by permission of The National Archives, UK. Photographer: Maria Cardamone

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The Prize Papers Project @prizepapers.bsky.social · 26/11/2025

Next week @lhaasis.bsky.social and @neleppp.bsky.social are welcoming Jean Soulat for the Prize Papers Talks Special Edition with the German Maritime Museum in Bremerhaven! Sign up here to learn more about a pirates‘ lair: www.eventbrite.com/e/ships-seaf... #earlymodern #maritimehistory

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The Prize Papers Project @prizepapers.bsky.social · 25/11/2025

Juan León Hidalgo and Sebastián Pastor were two Spanish passengers on the Fort de Nantes. They kept with them small personal archives with letters from relatives and friends. #earlymodern #maritimehistory #skystorians

The text and metadata were produced by Alejandro Salamanca. Prize Papers Project, National Archives, ref. HCA 32/111D/19/PAS1. Images reproduced by permission of The National Archives, UK. Photographer: Maria Cardamone

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The Prize Papers Project @prizepapers.bsky.social · 25/11/2025

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The Prize Papers Project @prizepapers.bsky.social · 19/11/2025

Join @lhaasis.bsky.social and @neleppp.bsky.social next week on November 24th for the next session of this year's Prize Papers Talks, Ships & Seafaring 1500-1800, with Randolph Cock from the National Archives! Sign up here: www.eventbrite.com/e/ships-seaf...

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The Prize Papers Project @prizepapers.bsky.social · 18/11/2025

Last week, our project director, Prof. Dr Dagmar @dagmarfreist.bsky.social and Dr Marc Vermeulen (National Archives, UK) presented one of the most intriguing objects in our material collection at the Annual Reception of the @akademienunion.bsky.social #earlymodern #maritimehistory

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The Prize Papers Project @prizepapers.bsky.social · 18/11/2025

José Garacino was a sailor or a passenger in the Fort de Nantes, probably from Italy. He seemed to have worked as sailor on different Spanish ships, He kept several documents on him, including two letters from his brother in Cádiz. One of the letters is in Spanish, the other in Italian.

The text and metadata were produced by Alejandro Salamanca. Prize Papers Project, National Archives, ref. HCA 32/111D/17/GAR6. Images reproduced by permission of The National Archives, UK. Photographer: Maria Cardamone

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The Prize Papers Project @prizepapers.bsky.social · 11/11/2025

Antonio Navarro was a passenger on the Fort de Nantes. He carried some family letters, including one from his daughter, as well as various recipes and remedies - see below for some selected documents #early modern #maritimehistory #skystorians

The text and metadata were produced by Alejandro Salamanca. Prize Papers Project, National Archives, ref. HCA 32/111D/14/NAV8. Images reproduced by permission of The National Archives, UK. Photographer: Maria Cardamone

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The Prize Papers Project @prizepapers.bsky.social · 11/11/2025

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The Prize Papers Project @prizepapers.bsky.social · 04/11/2025

José Joaquín Maximiliano de Villa y Urrutia was a passenger on the Fort de Nantes. Born in León, Mexico, he was sixteen or seventeen years old when he went on board. #earlymodern #MaritimeHistory #skystorians

The text and metadata were produced by Alejandro Salamanca -
@desvelandooriente.com. Prize Papers Project, National Archives, ref. HCA 32/111D/4/URR24. Images reproduced by permission of The National Archives, UK. Photographer: Maria Cardamone

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The Prize Papers Project @prizepapers.bsky.social · 03/11/2025

We are thrilled to announce this year's rendition of the Prize Papers Talks Special Edition - an online lecture series organised by the German Maritime Museum and the Prize Papers Project! The first talk will be on November 10th, with Jane Ohlmeyer, Tom Truxes, and John Shovlin on the Amity Papers!

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The Prize Papers Project @prizepapers.bsky.social · 28/10/2025

Francisco Ortiz, originally from Santoña, was appointed as shipmaster of the Fort de Nantes by the Spanish charterer, Francisco Sánchez de Madrid. His personal archive, comprising more than 500 documents, reveals many details about his personal life and his social relationships.

The text and metadata were produced by Alejandro Salamanca -
@desvelandooriente.com. Prize Papers Project, National Archives, ref. HCA 32/111D/4/ORT53. Images reproduced by permission of The National Archives, UK. Photographer: Maria Cardamone

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The Prize Papers Project @prizepapers.bsky.social · 28/10/2025

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The Prize Papers Project @prizepapers.bsky.social · 21/10/2025

This week we release the personal papers of the French captain of the Fort de Nantes, Jean Le Depencier, and his first lieutenant, Richard Albert de Pollville. Their archives offer insight into the ship’s command structure and inner relations.

Prize Papers Project, National Archives, ref. HCA 32/111D/4/DEP9A. Images reproduced by permission of The National Archives, UK. Photographer: Maria Cardamone

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The Prize Papers Project @prizepapers.bsky.social · 21/10/2025

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The Prize Papers Project @prizepapers.bsky.social · 20/10/2025

This week, @neleppp.bsky.social will speak at the "Transcribir América" seminar in Rome, where she’ll be presenting the Prize Papers Project. This year’s theme «Errores, malentendidos y mala transcripción de América» could not be more fitting for the Prize Papers(1/3) #earlymodern #maritimehistory

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The Prize Papers Project @prizepapers.bsky.social · 14/10/2025

Ship's Papers Used in Court (HCA/32/111C/2 and 3): Every time a ship was captured by the British, all documents that could be found on board were confiscated to be used as evidence in court (read more below) #earlymodern #history #maritimehistory #skystorians

Prize Papers Project, National Archives, ref. HCA 32/111C/2/SP6A. Images reproduced by permission of The National Archives, UK. Photographer: Maria Cardamone

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