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| Field name | Value |
|---|---|
| Collection Reference Number | GLC05758.01 |
| From Archive Folder | Sixteenth and Seventeenth Century Exploration and Settlement |
| Title | Edward Randolph to William Blathwayt about an adventurer looking for mines and precious metals |
| Date | 22 March 1699 |
| Author | Randolph, Edward (1632-1703) |
| Recipient | Blathwayt, William |
| Document Type | Correspondence |
| Content Description | Reports that Cutler, an adventurer, is in Charleston seeking information on mines of precious metals in the province. Cutler claims he has a commission from the king to search for mines, but Randolph doubts that Cutler has a commission and that there are such mines. Encloses a letter from James Moore giving his thoughts about precious metals in the province. At the time this letter was written, Randolph was Surveyor General of His Majesty's Customs in America and Blathwayt was Surveyor and Auditor General of Royal Revenue in the Colonies. |
| Subjects | Frontiers and Exploration Mining Geography and Natural History |
| People | Randolph, Edward (1632-1703) Blathwayt, William (1649-1717) |
| Place written | Charles Town, South Carolina |
| Theme | Industry; Merchants & Commerce |
| Sub-collection | The Gilder Lehrman Collection, 1493-1859 |
| Additional Information | Edward Randolph (1632-1703) was surveyor general of customs in colonial America. In 1684 he worked for the Privy Council for Trade and Plantations and recommended that the Lords of Trade take legal action against the 1629 charter of Massachusetts, ending fifty-four years of independent Puritan government. He remained in Massachusetts and accrued many positions, including deputy auditor to William Blathwayt. During the Glorious Revolution, he was imprisoned by Massachusetts officials and sent back to England to be tried. He was exonerated and made surveyor general of customs for all provinces and colonies in America in 1691. In that position, he traveled throughout the colonies and made many enemies as he used his auditing powers. His experiences led him to recommend the laws that became the last of the seventeenth century Navigation Acts in 1696 and he was tasked with setting up admiralty courts to enforce the law. He traveled throughout the colonies from 1697 to 1699 as the surveyor general, returning to England in 1700. He supported the Reunification Bill that would have bought the colonies under a uniform relationship to the crown, but the leaders of Pennsylvania and Maryland successfully opposed the centralization. William Blathwayt (or Blathwayte) (1649?-1717) was a civil servant and politician who established the War Office as a department of the British Government and played an important part in administering the colonies of North America. In the early 1670s, Blathwayt became a clerk to the Privy Council, a highly influential body which advised the King. He was considered "as a very fit person" to be assistant to the secretary of the council, becoming heavily involved in the administration of the colonies. In 1680 he became the first auditor-general of royal revenues in America and after 1685 became the secretary of the Privy Council's committee on trade and foreign plantations - in effect, colonial under-secretary. It was in this capacity that he became a key figure in American affairs. He was responsible for establishing the charter of the Crown colony of the Province of Massachusetts Bay, the predecessor of the state of Massachusetts. He did much to encourage trade in America and the Caribbean, promoting the slave trade and benefitting considerably from gifts and bribes received in connection with his office. From 1692-1702, Blathwayt served as the Secretary of State to King William III. He became a Whig Member of Parliament for Bath in 1693 (a post which he retained until 1710) and built a large mansion house for himself at Dyrham Park near Bristol. James Moore was the British colonial governor of South Carolina between 1700 and 1703. |
| Copyright | The Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History |
| Module | Settlement, Commerce, Revolution and Reform: 1493-1859 |
| Transcript | Show/hide |