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<DATE>2013-07-12</DATE>
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<NAME>Sarah Wingo</NAME>
<RESP>MURP</RESP>
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<ITEM>Proofed and reviewed as part of batch B130611.pdcc.</ITEM>
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<IDG S="marc" R="UM" ID="B20579">
<STC T="W">C5595</STC>
<STC T="G">L.R.305.a.7.[1]</STC>
<STC T="C">R227661</STC>
<BIBNO T="umi">99887454</BIBNO>
<VID>190401</VID>
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<TEXT LANG="eng">
<BODY>
<DIV1 TYPE="letter">
<PB REF="1" MS="y">
<HEAD>The Council-General of the <HI>Indian</HI> and <HI>African</HI> Company's Petition to His Maje&s;ty.</HEAD>
<OPENER><SALUTE>May it plea&s;e Your Maje&s;ty,</SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>WE Your Maje&s;ty's mo&s;t dutiful Subjects, the Council-General of the Company of <HI>Scotland</HI> Trading to <HI>Africa</HI> and the <HI>Indies,</HI> do do in all Humble Duty beg leave to lay before Your Maje&s;ty the pre&s;ent Condition of our Affairs.</P>
<P>Your Maje&s;ty from an earne&s;t de&s;ire of the Flouri&s;hing of your Ancient King|dom, having been graciou&s;ly plea&s;ed by the 32 Act of the 4th. Se&s;&s;ion, and by the 8th. Act of the 5th. Se&s;&s;ion of this Current Parliament, and Your Maje&s;ty's Let|ters Patent under the Great Seal of this Kingdom following thereupon, to Autho|rize <HI>the Settling of Plantations and Colonies in</HI> A&s;ia, Africa, <HI>or</HI> America, <HI>by the Natives of this Kingdom, and &s;uch Others as &s;hould joyn with them,</HI> as in the &s;aid Acts of Parliament, and Letters Patent, is more particularly expre&s;s'd.</P>
<P>We and our Con&s;tituents, Your Maje&s;ty's mo&s;t Loyal Subjects did, upon the Faith and Encouragement of the &s;aid Acts and Letters Patent, enter into a <HI>Socie|ty,</HI> Erect a <HI>Company of Trade,</HI> and with Great Charge, and after many Difficulties, &s;ettled a <HI>Plantation</HI> on the North-&s;ide of the <HI>I&s;thmus</HI> of <HI>Darien,</HI> a Place preci&s;ely in the Terms of the &s;aid Acts of Parliament and Letters Patent.</P>
<P>And being Sen&s;ible, That as our Company had its Birth from Your Maje&s;ty's mo&s;t Gracious Favour, &s;o it could not &s;ub&s;i&s;t but by your Royal Protection. We did therefore, in all humble Manner, Petition Your Maje&s;ty's <HI>High Commi&s;|&s;ioner</HI> and the <HI>E&s;tates of Parliament,</HI> A&s;&s;embled the 19th. of <HI>July</HI> 1698.</P>
<P>Upon which, The <HI>E&s;tates of Parliament</HI> did, with great Unanimity Addre&s;s Your Maje&s;ty, <HI>That you would in your Royal Wi&s;dom be plea&s;ed, to take &s;uch Mea&s;ures as might effectually Vindicat the undoubted Rights and Priviledges of the &s;aid Com|pany, and &s;upport the Credit and Intere&s;t thereof.</HI></P>
<P>That Se&s;&s;ion of Parliament ending, before any Return could be had from Your Maje&s;ty; Reports have been &s;pread by the Enemies of our Settlement, as if our Company had not Your Maje&s;ty's Protection: And as an Evidence thereof, That Proclamations have been I&s;&s;ued out in Your Maje&s;ty's Name, by your Gover|nours in all the <HI>American</HI> Plantations, not only to Deprive our &s;aid Company and Colony of the friendly A&s;&s;i&s;tance that might Rea&s;onably have been expected from our Neighbour-Nation; But al&s;o, <HI>&s;trictly forbidding all Your Maje&s;ty's Subjects, or Others within the&s;e Plantations, to enter into any Traffick or Commerce with the &s;aid Colony, and that no Provi&s;ions, Arms, Ammunition, or other Nece&s;&s;aries what&s;o|ever, &s;hould be Tran&s;ported or Carried to them, either in their own Ve&s;&s;els, or any o|ther Ship or Ve&s;&s;el for their U&s;e, and that under the outmo&s;t Pains, Penalties, and Forfeitures,</HI> mentioned in the &s;aid Proclamations.</P>
<P>Which Proceedings we have but too much Rea&s;on to believe, have been of Fatal Con&s;equence to our Company and Colony, and con&s;equently to the Inte|re&s;t of all Your Maje&s;ty's good Subjects in this, Kingdom. And we being fully Per&s;waded, that nothing could be &s;o Conducible for the Support of our &s;aid Com|pany and Colony in our pre&s;ent Circum&s;tances, as &s;ome &s;pecial Te&s;timonies and Evidences of your Royal Protection.</P>
<PB REF="2">
<P>We do therefore in all Humility and Earne&s;tne&s;s, beg of Your Maje&s;ty's Father|ly Care of our &s;aid Company in particular, and of the Nation in General, That <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">our Maje&s;ty would be graciou&s;ly plea&s;ed, to take off the Force and Effect of <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">e&s;e Proclamations, which have been &s;o Prejudicial to us, and to &s;ignify your <GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">oyal Plea&s;ure to the Governours of the&s;e your Plantations, that We may be &s;up|<GAP DESC="illegible" RESP="KEYERS" EXTENT="1 letter">lyed in the Common and Ordinary way of Commerce.</P>
<P>As al&s;o, That Your Maje&s;ty may allow your Parliament to Meet at the Day appointed in <HI>November</HI> next, or as &s;oon as po&s;&s;ibly can be, that Your Maje&s;ty may have the Advice and A&s;&s;i&s;tance of the Great Council of this Nation, in &s;uch a Weighty and General Concern, which we hope God will Ble&s;s with an Happy I&s;&s;ue to His Glory, the Honour of your Maje&s;ty, the Credit of your Parliament, the Intere&s;t of the Nation, and the Good of our Company and Colony.</P>
<CLOSER><DATELINE><HI>Sign'd at</HI> Edinburgh <DATE><HI>the</HI> 19th. <HI>Day of</HI> October 1699.</DATE> <HI>In Name, Pre&s;ence, and by Order of the &s;aid</HI> Council-General, by May it plea&s;e Your MAJESTY,</DATELINE>
<SIGNED><HI>Your Maje&s;ty's mo&s;t Faithful, mo&s;t Dutiful, mo&s;t Humble, and mo&s;t Obedient Subject and Servant</HI> BELHAVEN <HI>I. P. C. G.</HI></SIGNED></CLOSER>
</DIV1>
<DIV1 TYPE="letter">
<HEAD>To which His Maje&s;ty was pleas'd to give the follow|ing An&s;wer.</HEAD>
<OPENER><SIGNED><HI>WILLIAM</HI> r.</SIGNED>
<SALUTE>RIght Tru&s;ty and Well-beloved, we Greet you Well. </SALUTE></OPENER>
<P>Your Petition has been pre&s;ented to Us by Our Secretaries, and we do very much regret the lo&s;s which that our Ancient Kingdom and the Company has lately &s;u&s;tained: We will upon all Occa&s;ions, Protect and Encourage the Trade of the Nation: And we will al&s;o take Care, that the Subjects of that our Kingdom, &s;hall have the &s;ame freedom of Trade and Commerce with our <HI>Engli&s;h</HI> Plantations as ever they had formerly.</P>
<P>Our Current Parliament is Adjourn'd to the 5th. Day of <HI>March</HI> next, and we will Order that the Parliament &s;hall Meet when we judge that the Good of the Nation does require it. </P>
<CLOSER><SALUTE>And &s;o We bid you heartily Farewell.</SALUTE>
<DATELINE><HI>Given at our Court at</HI> Ken&s;ingtoun <DATE><HI>the</HI> 2d. <HI>day of</HI> November 1699. <HI>and of our Reign the</HI> 11th. <HI>Year.</HI></DATE></DATELINE>
<SIGNED>By His Maje&s;ty's Command, <HI>SEAFIELD.</HI></SIGNED></CLOSER>
<TRAILER><HI>To our Right Tru&s;ty and Well-beloved, the Council-General of the Company of our Ancient Kingdom of</HI> Scotland, <HI>Trad|ing to</HI> Africa <HI>and the</HI> Indies.</TRAILER>
</DIV1>
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