Amsterdam notarial deeds relating to the trade with Archangel in the period 1594-1724

This database contains information about sea voyages undertaken between Amsterdam to Archangel and other towns in Russia’s Far North in the period 1594-1724. These data were originally collected by Piet de Buck (1931-1999), who was attached as a historian to Leiden University from 1961 to 1991. The sources are charter parties and other notarial deeds filed at the Amsterdam City Archives. These deeds have yielded systematic data regarding the vessels, shipmasters, charterers, routes taken and the freight involved in these voyages. Occasionally further details are included – such as when a ship was privateered or shipwrecked. Over 4,700 deeds have been included in the database. Occasionally, the same voyage is referred to in a number of deeds: for example, a charter party drawn up before the ship’s departure and a statement given on its return. The notarial deeds rarely divulge information on the ships’ actual cargo. The database is therefore mainly relevant to those researching the history of shipping and the merchants involved in the trade with Russia, of whom thousands are named in person.

We imagine the primary audience for this database will be scientific: researchers and students interested in the history of shipping, trade and foreign relations.

In the second place, the database will be of interest to genealogists, thanks to the large number of individuals named in the documents, and for local historians, who can use it to look up shipmasters and charterers from a specific city or town.

The database has been made accessible to non-Dutch speakers by means of an English translation of the general information. Details that only relate to a single vessel have not been translated.

Cite as:

Piet de Buck (†), Sebastiaan Kerkvliet and Milja van Tielhof, Amsterdamse notariële akten over de Archangelvaart 1594-1724 (http://www.historici.nl/Onderzoek/Projecten/Archangel)