Hugh and Robert McCalmont, merchants and slave-owners 1828

 

The McAlmonts of this letter, father Hugh in Dublin and son Robert in London, have been well-researched in the recent past with long biographical entries at the UCL Legacies of Slavery database and David Alston’s Spanglefish website; I provide References at the end. After the abolition of slavery in 1833, compensation was paid to Hugh McCalmont of Abbeylands County Antrim for 426 enslaved people at the Hope and Experiment plantations in British Guiana. A different Hugh McCalmont also made claims in respect of other plantations; it is not clear to me how long the Hugh of this letter lived and worked in Guiana before going or coming back to Dublin.

The Hugh McCalmont of this letter was born 1765 and died 1838. The Robert of this letter was born 1808 – so just twenty when writing this letter - and died 1883. The Thomas mentioned became a clergyman dying in 1872. The “Jonny” of this letter may be Robert’s youngest brother James who would have been at school in 1828; he matriculated at Magdalen College Oxford in 1839. Robert’s younger brother Hugh (1810-1887) named after his father is not mentioned in the letter unless he is the “Jonny” and at university.

This letter mixes business and personal matters in a way which might seem strange to a modern reader, especially in relation to the fact that the McCalmont family was very - and eventually fabulously – wealthy from its business activities. It is perhaps noteworthy that the main references in this letter are to trade with Latin America in general and not specifically British Guiana. Five years before this letter was written, a large-scale slave revolt – brutally repressed – took place in British Guiana and with the abolition of slavery in British colonies clearly in prospect by 1828 the McCalmonts would have had good reason to diversify their activities.

The Henry Lauauze (sic) of the address panel was a prominent insurance broker in Dublin.

The Mr Exter of this letter was Richard Exter, born about 1791,  who did indeed obtain extraordinary grants from the government of Mexico, though not quite so extraordinary as the letter may suggest. Many governments have sought to control and tax those who trap wild animals for their skins. Exter pitched a plan to the Mexican government that suggested he would employ Mexican personnel to control fur trapping and as part of the process raise tax revenue for the government, though of course he would have hoped to reap a very handsome profit for himself. The story continues at length on the internet but Exter himself died on a voyage from Vera Cruz to London less than a year after this letter was written.

Transcription

Addressed to: Hugh McCalmont Esq   Care of Henry Lauauze Esq   Dublin

Datelined: London 18^th Novr. 1828

London postmark of 18 No 18  1828 and Dublin mark of  20 NO 20 1828

Docketing note: Robt McCalmont 18^th Novr 1828

My Dear Father

Received your letter of the 15^th & also that of last Saturday week & one from Mamma of last Tuesday. I am sorry to find that Thomas is not recovering so fast as was expected. I hope however he will not go back [either backwards in getting well or back to the Caribbean?]

Your order for Negro Cloathing was in time for the Highbury as she was detained a day longer than I expected. She is waiting a wind at Portsmouth & I am afraid she will hardly be out [to the Caribbean] by Christmas as she is to call at Madeira.

Mr Inglis [W.Inglis & Co was the predecessor firm of McAlmont Brothers – Robert and Hugh -  which replaced it a few years after this letter was written, the takeover funded by their father] arrived on Saturday week & your letter from him via Glasgow the same morning. There has been nothing to write to you about since his return. He & Mrs & Miss Inglis are all quite well. Mr Hooton [probably a merchant or plantation manager in British Guiana; a Mary Hooton claimed for loss of 8 enslaved people there; no other Hootons appear in the slavery database] left for Falmouth last week, but all Mr Inglis could do he could not persuade him (by fair means) to go till the Decr Packet [boat ;Falmouth a regular port of departure for Atlantic crossings] & he will therefore remain at Falmouth till then. He is rather slow on his motions & if every one was equally so it would be absolutely necessary that there 48 hours in the day.

You will find when you go home [to Abbeylands, the family estate ] your share of the Chocolate. It is a great rarity even in Mexico & not to be had there for money. It is made by the Huns & Mr Exter got it as a present from the Bishop of Oajaca [ Oaxaca, whose nuns had for a couple of centuries added sweeteners to traditional indigenous chocolate recipes creating powders which would make what we now call hot chocolate].

Mr Exter’s new grant is certainly the most ridiculous thing I ever heard of. It is not confined to New Mexico, but includes also California, New Albion [northern California up to Oregon] &c, & no one, not even one of the Indians, dare kill a rabbit or a badger or a fox or any other animal with a skin on its back in all that immense district nearly as large as the half of Europe without a permit from him. That is, if he can hinder them. This he considers a valuable privilege.

There has been nothing from Mexico since the last Packet & in Mr Hooton’s letter by her there was very little that could interest you farther than what you already had. The best thing was an account of a Sale of some Cinnamon which Mr Inglis sent out in June.

There was 500 lb [pounds] weight which sold for $5000 Charges including about $400 commis[ion] &c  1195 [balance] $3805 or at 45… [converts] to £713=8 = 9 [pounds shillings and pence] Cost £200 [leaves] £513=8=9 Profit besides £80 Commission but there was a P.S. to the letter which said that the buyer had returned in the afternoon in great trouble about his bargain as he bought it in ignorance of the large qu [antity – letter torn here] that was on board the same vessel & Mr Graves to oblige [him] cancelled the sale. He will not be able to sell it again at the same price but there will still be £200 or300 Profit

What is Johnny [ one of his younger brother, could be Hugh or James] to do in vacation? As he will have 6 or 7 weeks of it I think he had better go home. Thomas will be sorry to hear that Covent Garden is on fire [? No obvious major fire in 1828]. There is scarcely anything new from any part of the world. There is an arrival this morning from Para  ta [ ? ] the 25^th Septr but nothing doing.  Corn which has been till lately 1400 rs[? reales, Spanish currency] p[er] ….. has fallen to 800 rs & if the Blockade of Guayaquil continues [as part of a Peruvian-Colombian War] I think there is some chance of the price keeping up here but if it continues so low out there the people will not be ale to pay for the Goods.

Yours affectly. R McC

 

References

Wikipedia: Battle of Cruces [ for blockade of Guayaquil]

https://www.spanglefish.com/slavesandhighlanders/index.asp?pageid=314815

[David Alston]

https://www.ucl.ac.uk/lbs/search/

As well s the basic compensation details for two Hugh McCalmonts there are lengthy narratives with many references to other sources including archival holdings of letters like this one.        

https://thechocolatewebsite.com/thehistoryofchocolate/

https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/History_of_California_(Bancroft)/Volume_3/Chapter_6

https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/exter-richard

For more about British Guiana type “John Davies” into my Search Bar at the top of the page.