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The Royal African Company was founded in 1672 and held the English monopoly in slave trading until 1698, when all Englishmen received the right to trade in slaves. The Royal African Company continued slaving until 1731, when it abandoned slaving in favour of traffic in ivory and gold dust.

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Though no details regarding the creator of this collection, information regarding William Ewart Berry exists.

William Ewart Berry was born on 23 June 1879 at Gwaelod-y-garth, Merthyr Tudful; leaving school at fourteen, Berry joined the Merthyr Times, moving on to neighbouring newspapers in order to widen his experience; he was appointed a City reporter on the Investors' Guardian,1898. Berry launched his first commercial venture, 1901; after four years William Berry decided to sell Advertising World, he saw a substantial return upon his initial investment and; successfully launched Boxing, 1909.

Due to demand for news from the western front after the outbreak of the First World War, Berry and his brother that the moment was right to acquire the Sunday Times. Berry purchased the St Clement's Press, and its City flagship the Financial Times, 1919 and became a baronet, 1921. In 1927 Berry and his brother acquired a major London based daily newspaper, the Daily Telegraph, which was in need of modernization. In October 1937 Berry took over the Morning Post, the Telegraph's rival. In 1929, on the recommendation of Stanley Baldwin, Berry was elevated to the peerage, as Baron Camrose of Long Cross. Viscount Camrose died in the Royal South Hampshire Hospital, Southampton, on 15 June 1954.

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In 1784, a new Committee of Council on Trade and Plantations was created by an Order in Council (Privy Council). Its functions were mainly consultative. As the Industrial Revolution gathered momentum, the department's work became mainly executive, and from 1840 a succession of statutes gave it power to regulate industry and commerce. It officially became the Board of Trade in 1861, though the title was in common use for a long time beforehand.

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This manuscript is a translation of a Dutch book Het thresoor oft schat van alle specien printed by William of Paris at Antwerp in 1580.

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Butlerage was a commuted toll paid in specie at a fixed rate upon every cask imported by alien traders, and prisage a tax in kind on denizen subjects of the English crown importing wines.

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Robert Devereaux, 2nd Earl of Essex (1567-1601) was an English soldier and courtier of Queen Elizabeth I. During the years 1592 to 1596, Essex became an expert on foreign affairs, mainly to challenge the ascendency of the Cecil family in this field. He kept secret agents who obtained detailed political intelligence from France, Scotland and Spain, and extended his friendship and patronage to Antonio Perez, a Spanish renegade.

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The English Parliament was the main legislative body of the country. William de la Pole, 1st Duke of Suffolk, military commander and statesman, dominated the government of Henry VI of England. During the Hundred Years War, he was made commander in chief of the English army in France from 1428 to 1431. He secured a two-year truce in 1444, but after the reopening of hostilities in March 1449 the French recaptured almost all of Normandy. Parliament laid the blame for the disaster on Suffolk, who was banished from the realm for five years. Suffolk left England on May 1, 1450, but was intercepted in the English Channel by some of his enemies and beheaded.
John de Cobham, 3rd Baron Cobham, was impeached in 1397 for acting as a commissioner at the trial of King Richard II's favourites in 1388. He was condemned to be hung, drawn and quartered, but this sentence was commuted to perpetual banishment to Jersey. When Richard was deposed in 1399 Cobham was recalled by King Henry IV, and died in 1408.

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Put forward to King Charles I in the English Parliament of 1628, the Petition of Right asserted four liberties: freedom from arbitrary arrest; freedom from non-parliamentary taxation; freedom from the billeting of troops; and freedom from martial law.

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The Council of State was set up by Parliamentary ordinance on 13 February 1649 as a successor to the Derby House Committee which had taken over much of the Privy Council's executive role in the State. It was annually renewed by Parliament and insisted on choosing its own President. From May 1649 it was housed at Whitehall. Membership was reduced from 41 to 15 in 1653 when it became the Protector's Council. By 1656 it was being styled the Privy Council. After Richard Cromwell's abdication in 1659 the Council of State was revived and remodelled twice before it relapsed into a Privy Council. It spawned committees, both standing and ad hoc; the former included the Admiralty Committee, set up in 1649.

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The term 'customs' applied to customary payments or dues of any kind, regal, episcopal or ecclesiastical until it became restricted to duties payable to the King upon export or import of certain articles of commerce. By ordinance of 21 January 1643, the regulation of the collection of customs was entrusted to a parliamentary committee whose members were appointed commissioners and collectors of customs forming a Board of Customs. This and succeeding committees appointed by Parliament until 1660 and thereafter by the Crown, functioned until 1662, when those who had been serving as commissioners became lessees of a new form of customs. This continued until 1671 when negotiations for a new farm broke down and a Board of Customs for England and Wales was created by Letter Patent.

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Sir Thomas Culpeper the Younger (fl 1655-1673). Publications: The Advantages which will manifestly accrue to this kingdom by Abatement of interest from six to four per cent (Christopher Wilkinson, London, 1668); Morall Discourses and Essayes upon severall select subjects (Charles Adams, London, 1655); A Discourse, shewing the many Advantages which will accrue to this Kingdom by the Abatement of Usury (Tho. Leach for Christopher Wilkinson, London, 1668); The Necessity of abating Usury re-asserted...Together with a familiar and inoffensive way propounded for the future discovery of summes at interest, that so they may be charged with their equal share of publick taxes and burthens (Christopher Wilkinson, London, 1670).

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Acts of Sederunt were the ordinances of the Scottish Court of Session for the ordering of processes and expediting of justice. The Court of Session was the supreme Scottish court, instituted in 1532.

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The Grand Jury was a group that examined accusations against persons charged with crime and, if the evidence warranted, made formal charges on which the accused persons were later tried (indictments).

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This manuscript appears to be a translation of a very rare tract published in 1608 entitled Waerschouving van de ghewichtige redenen die Heeren Staten General behooren de beweghen, om gheensins te wijcken van de handelinghe en de vaert van Indien, possibly by William Usselincx, of which a translation into French by Jean François Le Petit entitled Sommaire recueil des raisons plus importantes, qui doivent mouvoir Messieurs des Etats des Provinces unies du Pays bas de ne quitter point les Indes was made, also in 1608. Asher attributes this tract to William Usselinex, but J. F. Jameson is of the opinion that he was not the author (William Usselinex, New York, 1887).

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Miniature painting flourished from the mid-sixteenth century to the mid-nineteenth century.

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Voltaire (François-Marie Arouet, 1694-1778) was a celebrated French writer. His La Pucelle D'Orleans was a mock-heroic poem, a comic satire of fundamental Catholic religion, as well as of Voltaire's own personal enemies, and was written for his own pleasure and that of his friends. The outrageous work was an open secret in Europe, and manuscript copies circulated freely. Several versions were printed against Voltaire's wishes, and he denied authorship until 1762, when he allowed the publication of an authorised copy.

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Samuel Stryk (1640-1710) was a leading German lawyer and Professor of Law, who was active in developing German law from native sources, rather than from received Roman law.

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The House of Commons is the effective legislative authority in Great Britain. It alone has the right to impose taxes and to vote money to, or withhold it from, the monarch and the various public departments and services. The passage of legislation is the House of Commons' primary function.

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Maximilien de Béthune, Duc de Sully (1560-1641) was a French statesman, who acted as director of the king's Council of Finance in 1596, and sole superintendent of finances, 1598.
The Thirty Years War was a series of wars fought by various European nations for various reasons, including religious, dynastic, territorial, and commercial rivalries. Its destructive campaigns and battles occurred over most of Europe.

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Parliament is the legislative body of England, and has the right to impose taxes and to vote money to, or withhold it from, the monarch and the various public departments and services. Excise are inland duties levied on articles at the time of their manufacture, notably, alcoholic drinks, but has also included salt, paper and glass. In 1643 a Board of Excise was established by the Long Parliament, to organize the collection of duties in London and the provinces. Excise duty was settled by statute despite widespread aversion in 1660.

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The Act of Union was a treaty (1 May 1707) that effected the union of England and Scotland under the name of Great Britain.

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William Burton (1609-1657) was a philologist and antiquary. He published A commentary on Antoninus, his itinerary or jounies of the Romane Empire, so far as it concerneth Britain: wherin the first foundation of our cities, lawes and government, according to the Roman policy, are clearly discovered (Thomas Roycroft, London, 1658). The Commentary emphasised the antiquities of Britain in an attempt to place the origins of British cultural institutions in the context of the Roman Empire.

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The system of weights and measures in Great Britain had been in use since the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. Following a reform begun in 1824 the imperial standard yard was adopted in 1855. The imperial standards were made legal by an Act of Parliament in 1855.
Members of the Commission appointed in 1838 'to consider the steps to be taken for the restoration of the standards of weights and measures', included Sir George Biddell Airy (Astronomer Royal), Francis Baily, Sir John George Shaw-Lefevre and Sir John William Lubbock. A report was issued in 1841.

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A bill of lading is a document which is issued by the transportation carrier to the shipper acknowledging that they have received the shipment of goods and that they have been placed on board a particular vessel which is bound for a particular destination and states the terms in which these goods received are to be carried.

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The Exchequer was responsible for receiving and dispersing the public revenue. The lower Exchequer, or receipt, closely connected with the permanent Treasury, was an office for the receipt and payment of money. The upper Exchequer was a court sitting twice a year to regulate accounts. The business of the ancient Exchequer was mainly financial, though some judicial business connected with accounts was also conducted.

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No information was available at the time of compilation.

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The system of weights and measures in Great Britain had been in use since the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. Following a reform begun in 1824 the imperial standard yard was adopted in 1855. The imperial standards were made legal by an Act of Parliament in 1855.

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This diplomatic paper may have had something to do with Dutch support for the United States during the American War of Independence (1775-1783).

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The Act of Parliament which brought into being the navigation scheme for the rivers Aire and Calder was the first of its kind, and was granted in 1699. By 1704, the Aire was navigable throughout from Airmyn, just above the mouth of the Aire, to Leeds and Wakefield. The Aire and Calder became a great success, making huge profits and its owners very wealthy, although little of those profits were to be reinvested in the scheme and the navigation began to fall into disrepair. However, the success of the scheme soon had merchants all over the country promoting their own river navigations and it was to combat the threat posed by the proposed Leeds and Liverpool canal that improvements were begun in the 1760s. This included the building of a new canal to Selby from the River Aire at Haddlesey, which was opened in 1778.
The Aire and Calder navigation Company had been in dispute with Knottingley for several years, due to the use of water by the mill which led to low water levels in the navigation. Many plans were put forward in an attempt to solve these ongoing disputes between the navigation and Knottingley Mills, none of which were put into practice with any degree of success. Eventually in 1772, the navigation purchased outright Knottingley Mills and a new weir was constructed.

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An apprenticeship indenture bound a young person to a master, to learn from him his art, trade or business, and to serve him during the time of his apprenticeship, which could only last until he reached his majority.

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During the late Middle Ages, the Book of Hours developed as a popular devotional text for the laity, who would recite the particular prayer for the hour of the day and time of year according to the ecclesiastical calendar. The accompanying illuminations and miniatures of saints, the Virgin Mary, and Christ provided an opportunity for spiritual reflection and prayer for salvation.

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The English Royal Mint was responsible for the making of coins according to exact compositions, weights, dimensions and tolerances, usually determined by law. English minting was run from the Royal Mint in London by the Master and Warden of the Mint. For several centuries control of policy relating to the coinage rested soley with the monarch, with Parliament finally gaining control following the Revolution of 1688. The Mint itself worked as an independent body until that date, when it came under the control of the Treasury.

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The New River, an idea proposed and partly financed by the Welsh businessman and engineer Hugh Middleton, was constructed between 1609 and 1613 from Anwell and Chadwell in Hertfordshire to Islington, London, in order to convey fresh water to the City of London.

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Jonathan Carter Hornblower (1753-1815) was the British inventor of the double-beat valve, the first reciprocating compound steam engine. Hornblower's invention, patented in 1781, was a steam engine with two cylinders, a significant contribution to efficiency. The firm of James Watt (Boulton & Watt) challenged his invention, claiming infringement of patent. With the decision against him, Hornblower lost the opportunity to further develop the compound engine. Hornblower patented other inventions, a rotative engine and a steam wheel, or steam engine, and amassed a fortune in engineering. Hornblower died in 1815.

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The Hapsburg family dominated Europe for over 700 years. They were hereditary Archdukes of Austria from 1270 to 1918, and the head of the family was, with only one exception, elected Holy Roman Emperor from 1438 to 1806.

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Founded in the 12th century, Market Harborough is a market town situated 13 miles south of the city of Leicester in the East Midlands region.

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The Roman Emperor Justinian I attempted to increase the unity of the Roman Empire by collecting and codifying the scattered laws, imperial edicts, decisions of the early Roman Senate, and opinions of learned jurists and organizing them into a written law code. The result was the Corpus Iurus Civilis (Body of Civil Law), issued in three parts. These parts were the Codex Justinianus (529), which compiled all of the extant imperial constitutiones from the time of Hadrian; the Digest, or Pandects, (533), which compiled the writings of the great Roman jurists such as Ulpian along with current edicts; and the Institutes, which was intended as sort of legal textbook for law schools and included extracts from the two major works.

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The English Parliament is the main legislative body of the country. Politicians and Lords who disagreed with proposed legislation could protest, or enter their dissents to any votes of the House, either with or without their reasons. These dissents were entered and signed in the Clerk's book.

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An accord (?1801) between Russia and England during the Napoleonic Wars permitted the inspection of cargo on board the ships of neutral nations; in addition, England and Russia declared their right to demand a ship's papers and even seize and detain a ship with or without provocation. Under duress, Sweden and Denmark also signed the agreement.

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A medieval psalter usually comprised a Calendar, the 150 Psalms, and a collection of canticles and creeds. The three text-types worked together in the practice of the Divine Office, the Church's daily public prayer. When a psalter-book was intended for private use as well, other texts, such as prologues, hymns, or favourite prayers were added.

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The general election of April 1820 was won by the Tories; the Prime Minister was Robert Banks Jenkinson, 2nd Earl of Liverpool.

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St Mary Axe is a street in East London connecting Leadenhall Street with Houndsditch. The parish merged with St Andrew Undershaft in 1560/1.

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The Missal is a liturgical book which contains the prayers said by the priest at the altar as well as all that is officially read or sung in connection with the offering of the holy Sacrifice of the Mass throughout the ecclesiastical year.

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St Anne's church was on the west side of Dean Street, Soho, in the Liberty of Westminster. It was formerly a Chapel of Ease to the Parish of St. Martin in the Fields, but was taken out of that, and made a distinct and proper Parish of itself by Act of Parliament, in 1678.

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Gallicanism is the term used to designate a certain group of religious opinions for some time peculiar to the Church of France, or Gallican Church, and the theological schools of that country. These opinions, in opposition to the ideas which were called in France 'Ultramontane', tended chiefly to a restraint of the pope's authority in the Church in favour of that of the bishops and the temporal ruler.
Charles de Marillac was Archbishop of Vienne and a member of the French Privy Council. His nephew, Michel de Marillac (1563-1632) was a French politician who acted as Minister of Justice in 1626. He published an ordinance reforming the legal administration in 1629.

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Andrew Melville (1545-1622) was a Scottish religious reformer and scholar, who was ardent in his support of civil and ecclesiastical liberty, following in the tradition of John Knox. Melville was Principal of the University of Glasgow, 1574-1580, and the University of St Andrews in Edinburgh. He was imprisoned in the Tower of London from 1607-1611, then exiled to France, where he spent his last years.
One of the first acts of Charles I when he acceded to the throne was the Act of Revocation of 1625, which annulled all gifts made since 1540 of properties which the crown could claim, including the vast ecclesiastical revenues which had fallen into lay hands during the Reformation. In a further attempt to revive the fortunes of the episcopy, Charles insisted on the acceptance of the new Prayer Book in 1637. Many Scots actively opposed the Prayer Book, and a riot at St Giles on 23 July 1637 soon led to widespread and organised agitation. The various grievances against Charles coalesced into the National Covenant of 1638. This Covenant professed loyalty to the crown but asked for a return to ecclesiastical and constitutional practice as it was before Charles' reforms. A General Assembly met in November 1638 in Glasgow and it was decided to abolish Episcopal government. This led to a military confrontation but the kings forces were no match for experienced Scottish veterans and the government army refused to fight. A temporary peace was arranged at Berwick in June 1639.

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An antiphoner was a liturgical book containing antiphons, the sung portions of the Divine office, both texts and notation. Such books were often of a large format, to be used by a choir.

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A 'stent' was the rate levied on property owners in order to pay for local expenses, such as poor relief.

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The War of the Spanish Succession (1702-1713), was fought against France over the choice of successor to the throne of Charles II of Spain. England, Holland, Austria and most of the German states sided against France, and a series of battles were fought in Europe. The Dutch and English armies were led by John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough.
James Brydges (1674-1744), successively Earl of Carnarvan and Duke of Chandos, was Paymaster General to the Forces during this period, and managed to accumulate a large personal fortune through the illicit investment of public funds and bribes paid by merchants.

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Robert Holcot (1290-1349) was a Dominican theologian and preacher. Born in Holcot, near Northampton, Holcot joined the Dominican Order and studied at Oxford. After gaining his doctorate in theology, he became Regent Master of Oxford University (1331-1333). It is also surmised that Holcot was Regent Master of Cambridge from 1334-1335. In 1343 he returned to the Dominican priory at Northampton, where he died of plague in 1349. Holcot wrote many theological works, including Commentaries on the Books of Wisdom, one of the best known works of the 14th century, which was printed in 1480 and went through 17 editions.
A Collectar is a manuscript containing the prayers (specifically 'collects') for the canonical hours of the Divine Office.
John Stafford, Archbishop of Canterbury, was the son of the Earl of Stafford. He held high political and religious office, being Bishop of Bath and Wells and Lord Chancellor to Henry V and VI; in 1443 he was created Archbishop of Canterbury, an office which he held until his death in 1452.