Subject: Merchant marine

A single-page letter written by Judah Hays on June 30, 1797, in Boston, Massachusetts. The letter is addressed to a Captain, likely of the schooner Boston, which was unlawfully detained in a French port. Hays discusses the unlawful detainment and the infringement of rights. This letter is significant due to its creation during a period of heightened naval tensions between the United States and France.

A letter dated May 13, 1800, signed by Moses Franks and George Phillips, merchants from the United States, in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands. The letter addresses the capture of a seaman by a privateer, noting the absence of an American consul in St. Thomas at the time.

This document consists of two parts: a report from the Committee of Claims on the petition of David Valenzin (pages [23]-28), dated December 12, 1803, and a supplementary report on the same petition (28 pages), dated February 1, 1804. The documents were published in Washington. David Valenzin, an Italian Jewish merchant from Venice, was captured by American forces during the Barbary Wars. His goods were confiscated and sold, leading to his eventual suicide before receiving restitution. William Ray, in his "Horrors of Slavery," describes the US Navy's actions as criminal abuse.