The Prize Papers Project
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prizepapers.bsky.social
The Prize Papers Project
@prizepapers.bsky.social
The Prize Papers Project is dedicated to the study and digitization of the Prize Papers collection stored at The National Archives, UK. It is based at the University of Oldenburg, Germany, and the National Archives, UK.
Learn more: www.prizepapers.de
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Hello Bluesky. We are the Prize Papers Project, dedicated to the study & digitization of the Prize Papers collection, a vast trove of documents & artifacts stored at The National Archives, UK: www.prizepapers.de Watch this space for updates, exciting finds & upcoming events #earlymodern #skystorians
Check out the link below for more information and the registration for Alejandro Salamanca Rodríguez's (@desvelandooriente.com) book presentation and the workshop on Early Modern Transatlantic Migration here: www.eui.eu/events?id=58...
January 26, 2026 at 10:32 AM
Next week (26/01 @ 1PM), the Ships & Seafaring Talks - a Prize Papers Talks Special Edition with the German Maritime Museum in Bremerhaven welcomes a very special guest: underwater archaeologist Felix Rösch from the Hanseatic city of Lübeck, who is excavating a very special Hanseatic merchant ship!
January 22, 2026 at 9:32 AM
For the first talk of the second half of our Ships & Seafaring 1500-1800 series - A Prize Papers Talks Special Edition, Milagrosa Romero Samper is taking us to Honduras to tell a tale about dye-ing feud! Sign up here: www.eventbrite.com/e/ships-seaf...
#earlymodern #maritimehistory #skystorians
January 13, 2026 at 8:05 AM
“A new take on European expansion”
Just before Christmas project director @dagmarfreist.bsky.social gave an interview on the project and her recent trip to the Spanish embassy. Check it out here: uol.de/en/news/arti...
A new take on European expansion
Historian Dagmar Freist recently presented the Prize Papers Project at the Spanish Embassy in London. In this interview, she talks about captured galleons, secret trade networks, slavery, and moving l...
uol.de
January 12, 2026 at 10:01 AM
January 9, 2026 at 11:38 AM
Nicolás Cranisbro (or Cranisbrough) was a passenger on the Fort de Nantes. He belonged to an Anglo-Spanish family from El Puerto de Santa María . His personal archive contains many letters, some of them entrusted to him for his delivery, He also had calligraphy exercises, prayers...
December 23, 2025 at 7:00 AM
The first half of "Ships and Seafaring 1500–1800" has wrapped up! Last Monday’s talk closed this year’s program, and we’ll be back with more in 2026. We wish you all a well-deserved Christmas break. We’ll be back on January 12 with our next talk—until then, you can check out the whole program below
December 17, 2025 at 11:44 AM
This week we release some letters that were on board the Fort de Nantes. These were not delivered to the official mail circuit but were instead entrusted to passengers who would deliver them personally. #earlymodern #maritimehistory
December 16, 2025 at 9:33 AM
Next Monday, the Prize Papers Talk is hitting new waters, as Eleonora Rohland's talk dives into climate history: The Doldrums is a belt-shaped weather phenomenon near the equator, where winds are very weak, trapping sailing ships inside. Sign up here: www.eventbrite.com/e/ships-seaf...
December 10, 2025 at 4:25 PM
Antonio José Ruiz was a merchant travelling on the Fort de Nantes. He had connections with English trading houses and carried some recommendation letters. In times of war, trade between Spain and England was not allowed... #earlymodern #maritimehistory #skystorians
December 9, 2025 at 7:01 AM
Next week, Séverine Angers will present her research on women's patriotism during the American Revolutionary War and the Napoleonic Wars, based on letters from military families. Sign up for the Prize Papers Talks Special Edition with the German Maritime Museum in Bremerhaven with the link below!
December 2, 2025 at 9:20 AM
Antonio José de Paule was a passenger on the Fort de Nantes. He travelled from Mexico to Spain carrying some letters and a golden chain. There are some hints that de Paule might have been a Roma, a group that was theoretically not allowed to migrate to the Americas.
December 2, 2025 at 6:48 AM
Next week @lhaasis.bsky.social and @neleppp.bsky.social are welcoming Jean Soulat for the Prize Papers Talks Special Edition with the German Maritime Museum in Bremerhaven!
Sign up here to learn more about a pirates‘ lair:
www.eventbrite.com/e/ships-seaf...

#earlymodern #maritimehistory
November 26, 2025 at 11:18 AM
Reposted by The Prize Papers Project
Juan León Hidalgo and Sebastián Pastor were two Spanish passengers on the Fort de Nantes. They kept with them small personal archives with letters from relatives and friends.
#earlymodern #maritimehistory #skystorians
November 25, 2025 at 7:00 AM
Juan León Hidalgo and Sebastián Pastor were two Spanish passengers on the Fort de Nantes. They kept with them small personal archives with letters from relatives and friends.
#earlymodern #maritimehistory #skystorians
November 25, 2025 at 7:00 AM
Join @lhaasis.bsky.social and @neleppp.bsky.social next week on November 24th for the next session of this year's Prize Papers Talks, Ships & Seafaring 1500-1800, with Randolph Cock from the National Archives! Sign up here: www.eventbrite.com/e/ships-seaf...
November 19, 2025 at 7:00 AM
Last week, our project director, Prof. Dr Dagmar @dagmarfreist.bsky.social and Dr Marc Vermeulen (National Archives, UK) presented one of the most intriguing objects in our material collection at the Annual Reception of the @akademienunion.bsky.social
#earlymodern #maritimehistory
November 18, 2025 at 9:57 AM
José Garacino was a sailor or a passenger in the Fort de Nantes, probably from Italy. He seemed to have worked as sailor on different Spanish ships, He kept several documents on him, including two letters from his brother in Cádiz. One of the letters is in Spanish, the other in Italian.
November 18, 2025 at 7:00 AM
Reposted by The Prize Papers Project
Antonio Navarro was a passenger on the Fort de Nantes. He carried some family letters, including one from his daughter, as well as various recipes and remedies - see below for some selected documents #early modern #maritimehistory #skystorians
November 11, 2025 at 7:00 AM
Antonio Navarro was a passenger on the Fort de Nantes. He carried some family letters, including one from his daughter, as well as various recipes and remedies - see below for some selected documents #early modern #maritimehistory #skystorians
November 11, 2025 at 7:00 AM
José Joaquín Maximiliano de Villa y Urrutia was a passenger on the Fort de Nantes. Born in León, Mexico, he was sixteen or seventeen years old when he went on board.
#earlymodern #MaritimeHistory #skystorians
November 4, 2025 at 7:00 AM
We are thrilled to announce this year's rendition of the Prize Papers Talks Special Edition - an online lecture series organised by the German Maritime Museum and the Prize Papers Project! The first talk will be on November 10th, with Jane Ohlmeyer, Tom Truxes, and John Shovlin on the Amity Papers!
November 3, 2025 at 12:29 PM
Reposted by The Prize Papers Project
Francisco Ortiz, originally from Santoña, was appointed as shipmaster of the Fort de Nantes by the Spanish charterer, Francisco Sánchez de Madrid. His personal archive, comprising more than 500 documents, reveals many details about his personal life and his social relationships.
October 28, 2025 at 7:00 AM
Francisco Ortiz, originally from Santoña, was appointed as shipmaster of the Fort de Nantes by the Spanish charterer, Francisco Sánchez de Madrid. His personal archive, comprising more than 500 documents, reveals many details about his personal life and his social relationships.
October 28, 2025 at 7:00 AM
Reposted by The Prize Papers Project
This week we release the personal papers of the French captain of the Fort de Nantes, Jean Le Depencier, and his first lieutenant, Richard Albert de Pollville. Their archives offer insight into the ship’s command structure and inner relations.
October 21, 2025 at 8:12 AM