Espagne – Cadix – Guerres Napoléoniennes – Premier Empire – Restauration – Commerce International – - Copie De Lettres. Remarquable témoignage sur les négociants français de Cadix pendant les guerres - 1809

Spain – Cadiz – Napoleonic Wars – First Empire – Restoration – International Trade – Maison Rivet.

Copy Of Letters
(1809-1819).
Important original register of commercial correspondence, folio, 252 pages entirely handwritten in brown ink, followed by blank sheets, with alphabetical directory of correspondents with printed tabs. Vellum of the period, title printed on the first cover. Worn binding, spine fragile, some stains and worn spots; interior generally well preserved.

Remarkable testimony on French merchants of Cadiz during the Napoleonic wars. The early letters, dated August 1809, recount events of December 1808, the detention of the French at Fort Sainte-Catherine, the seizure of their trading houses, their refuge in Gibraltar and then their return to Marseille. Abundant documentation on confiscations of merchandise, unpaid debts, bills of exchange, marine insurance and the reorganization of trade under the Restoration.

Vast network of correspondents in Paris, London, Hamburg, Amsterdam, Lyon, Marseille, Genoa, Seville and Cadiz, including notably Jacques Récamier, Joseph Echalaz, François Doorman and the Gieffulhe brothers. Mentions of Antonio Pizano, associated with the network of the David Rivet house and nephews, an important French trading enterprise established in Cadiz. The attribution of the register to this house remains probable, though not formally established. Correspondence continued until December 1819, with mention of Montpellier.

Valuable set of first-hand commercial archives, particularly interesting for economic and maritime history, Franco-Spanish relations and European trading networks in the Napoleonic era.