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At the Institute’s core is the Gilder Lehrman Collection, one of the great archives in American history. More than 85,000 items cover five hundred years of American history, from Columbus’s 1493 letter describing the New World through the end of the twentieth century.

Martinica, Dominica, fl. 1777-1778 [Legal document of privateer from Court of Vice Admiralty of East Florida claiming enslaved people]

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Gilder Lehrman Collection #: GLC01411.01 Author/Creator: Martinica, Dominica, fl. 1777-1778 Place Written: s.l. Type: Document signed Date: February 7, 1778 Pagination: 1 p. : docket Height: 30.4 cm, Width: 18.3 cm Order a Copy

One document countersigned by Judge Robert Catherwood of the Court of Vice Admiralty of East Florida dated February 7, 1778. Signed with an "X" as the mark of Lieutenant Dominica Martinico. Document states that Martinico, the commander of the privateer schooner "Recovery," had taken several schooners off the coast of South Carolina during a cruise. Two of these schooners, the "Betsey" and "Grace," held enslaved people. Probably written in St. Augustine.

Catherwood, Robert, fl. 1778

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