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‘A True, Faire and Just Account’

This article offers a detailed study of the operations of one vessel, the Content, trading between her home port in the borough of Maldon in Essex and London in the late seventeenth century. Master Charles Huggett of Maldon was recorded in the books of his home port over a period of twenty-two years, but the years 1679-1684 are the most interesting and make up the bulk of this discussion. The author notes that some aspects of this trade are in line with what may be regarded as the norm for a small port serving an agricultural hinterland, with bulky outward freight unmatched by a similar volume of inward-bound goods. Use of the Exchequer port books, however, presents a picture of an irregular, unidirectional trade. In this case, Master Huggett had deposited a notebook as evidence in litigation; in this notebook, he purports to tell an accurate story of the expenses and receipts accruing from a series of twenty-two voyages. The author integrates the information from this notebook into the contemporary trading scene and discusses regularity of passages, the use of ballast, and the acquisition of return cargo. The author concludes that the documentation and fees noted in the notebook were normal for the mundane cargoes and short passages of the vessel, but extra expenditures are of greater interest. From these notes, it can be seen when extra assistance was employed for cargo handling, when maintenance was needed, and the basis on which the crew were paid. The author stresses that, based on the additional information available on the Content, one can conclude that port books provide only a partial picture. Any generalization based on them may seriously underestimate the volume of activity in this humble but vital trade.