What would commonly be found on a European merchant/trade vessel traveling from Latin America to Europe in the 17th Century?

by Amarnra

Essentially what I'm looking for is more than just a ship manifest. I imagine the European vessels that may be traveling from Latin America to Europe would be sailing under the Spanish or Portuguese flag, but if a historian had knowledge of any other such vessel I'd certainly appreciate it.

If this is a question that could be better answered elsewhere, or if this question is too broad and I need to narrow it down, I'd greatly appreciate such feedback.

I want to include:

  • Cargo (including colonial exports)
    • Common types of cargo; or
    • A list of cargo commonly transported from any country/colony.
    • Whether cargo is typically homogeneous (only silver/sugarcane/tomatoes etc.) or varied (and if so, what were common makeups, if that's possible to describe)
  • Foodstuffs and the containers they were held in
  • Water supplies and the containers they were held in
  • Alcohol that could have been brought onto the vessel, or brewed on the vessel
  • Personal affects that would be permitted to be brought aboard the vessel
  • Tools that are used on the vessel and what their purposes might be (hammers, chisels, nails, hooks, paddles etc.)
  • Any other objects on the vessel

I want to exclude:

  • Crew, passengers and other persons (and the positions held)
  • Physical aspects or attributes of the vessel, such as 'mast', 'sail' and 'stern' (but still include 'spare wood for repairs' and 'a spare sail' if these were things actually carried on the vessel)

If there are any resources available online that you can point me to, I'd appreciate that too.

xoxxyd

I’m just recently learning about this, so I hope I haven’t misunderstood anything. I live in Whitehaven, Cumbria, England and Whitehaven Harbour was involved in the transatlantic slave trade in the 17th century.

Ships would travel from England to West Africa and would exchange British made goods for slaves. These British goods could have been for example glass, wool, textiles, iron.

They would then travel the “Middle Passage” from West Africa to the Americas and trade the slaves for rum and sugar which would be brought back to England, along with tobacco.

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