Joachim Gaunse: A Mining Incident in the Reign of Queen Elizabeth

<plain_text><page sequence="1">JOACHIM GAUNSE: A MINING INCIDENT IN THE REIGN OF QUEEN ELIZABETH. By ISRAEL ABRAHAMS, M.A. A new era in the history of English mining dawned in the sixteenth century. Then, as now, science as applied to industry was far more advanced on the Continent than in this country. In the opening years of Henry VIII. we thus find that the Cornish tin mines were worked by Frenchmen from Brittany, just as, if tradition be trustworthy, they had been worked by Jews in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Hunt, the chief historian of British mining, attributes the decay of the Cornish tin industry after the reign of Edward I. to the expulsion of the Jews.1 At all events it was not till the importation of foreign miners in the sixteenth century assumed extensive proportions, and strangely enough another Jew participated in working the English mines, that a revival occurred. William Pexwell, a merchant of Bristol, received Henry VIII.'s permission to employ Frenchmen from Croys " in mines of iron, lead and other metals, as well of the King's highness as others of his faithful subjects." 2 Before the same century was over, copper was being smelted in Cornwall by Dutch workmen. But the most important of the foreign immigrants of this class were Germans. They have left their impress on the technical language of mining, in which many of the terms are of Teutonic origin. A less laudable result of the inroad of Germans was the popularity given to the divining rod for discovering metallic lodes, while too many of the German adepts belonged to the type of impostor satirised by Scott in the character of Dousterswivel. The original of this character was a German miner who died in Ireland, and who, appropriately enough, was the author of the Adventures of 1 British Mining, pp. 17, 49. 2 Cunningham, Alien Immigrants, p. 122.</page><page sequence="2">84 JOACHIM GAUNSE. Baron Munchavsen. Strange is it that the history of mining adventure, in earlier times as in our own, should be disfigured by so much imposture. But many of the German miners who found their way to England in the sixteenth century were genuine experts. Henry VIII. took a momentous step when in 1528 he commissioned Joachim Hochstetter to develop the mineral resources of his realm.1 Hochstetter was a member of a noted Augsburg family which had won wealth and fame by exten? sive mining operations in the Tyrol and by commercial undertakings which embraced the whole civilised world. The founder of this family, Ambrose Hochstetter, stood in close relations with the even greater firm of the Fuggers. As we learn from a contemporary record, Ambrose was a fine figure of a man?tall, stout, and strong?whose profits, to the glee of his compatriots, were rapid and huge, l&lt; sevenfold as large as those of the Jews," says the chronicler. His business reputation was so high that all classes of society entrusted him with their capital, on which he paid 5 per cent. Princes and peasants, merchants and servant girls were among his clients. But though we are told that he was a "good Christian, entirely opposed to Lutheranism," Ambrose Hochstetter would have had little to learn in crooked device from the most accomplished of modern speculators. He successfully manipulated corners in various commodities, sometimes in necessaries of life, so that the poor suffered severely. But Ambrose came to grief over a corner in quicksilver, a mis? fortune which synchronised with the loss of one of his ships, and the seizure of on? of his land convoys by highway robbers. His failure in 1529 was, however, due more to internal than external causes. His family indulged in the most extravagant display, and his son Joachim was the chief offender. Ambrose died in prison, but in the meantime his son Joachim had feathered his nest, and next appears on the scene in England, where in 1528 Henry VIII. appointed him principal surveyor and master of all mines in England and Ireland.2 Joachim 1 On the Hochstetters ; see Tagebuch des Lucas Rem aus dem Jahren, 1494 1541, pp. 93 seq. This document was edited by B. Greiff, Augsburg, 1861, as the 26th " Jahres-Bericht des historischen Kreis-Vereins im Regierungsbezirke von Schwaben und Neuburg." 2 Letters and Papers, Henry VIII., iv. 2, No. 5110. Cunningham, pp. 122-123.</page><page sequence="3">JOACHIM GAUNSE. 85 had under him six German experts, and proposed to begin work with 1000 men. The results of Joachim's operations must have been successful, for another member of the Hochstetter family, Daniel, was made Master of the Royal Mines in 1571. Daniel Hochstettens name occurs very often in the Elizabethan records, though the State Papers have so pleasing a habit of misspelling names that it requires very close study of them to trace any individual through his various disguises. Hochstetter even appears under the alias Ulstatt. In 1563 a charter was granted to the Mines Royal Society, the partners in the venture being Thomas Thurland, Master ?f the Savoy, and Daniel Hochstetter, thrir heirs and assigns. The Mines Royal Society enjoyed distinguished patronage. The Members of the Privy Council all more or less shared in the risks and profits of the enterprise. In the list of shareholders were Burgh ley himself, the Earls of Leicester, Pembroke and Mountjoy, and many others. Half the shares were held by Daniel for foreign capitalists, whose names are unfortunately not fully recorded. Queen Elizabeth was also involved in the speculation, for she receive'd as royalty a large share of the metals produced, whether gold, silver, or quicksilver, or mixed ores of tin, lead, zinc, and, above all, copper. The German experts early detected the presence of silver in the copper ore, and used this fact to secure royal support against such noble rivals as the Earl of Northumberland. The crown, it should be stated, still has rights in the gold or silver found in England, and till the reign of William and Mary a similar right existed over mixed ores in which precious metal was found. At the outset the Queen waived her rights in Hochstetter's pro? ducts, and she further conferred the privilege of importing large numbers of foreign workmen and experts. From this time onwards the records of the Privy Council are full of entries of passports for Germans, and in some interesting lists preserved in the Lansdowne papers there are many foreigners entered as resident in London. In such a list of the year 1580 may be found among the strangers &lt; 'of no church " a Moyses Van Dam, who may have been a Jew, as may others in that and other lists. The operations of the Mines Royal Society were mainly confined to the neighbourhood of Keswick in Cumberland, where six furnaces were already in use in 1567, and where the company e!ected</page><page sequence="4">86 JOACHIM GAUNSE. extensive smelting works which were said to be the largest in Europe. The works at Keswick continued in full vigour, with an interregnum to be mentioned below, until the vein was exhausted, but the coup de grace was given in 1650 by Cromwell. During his northern campaign the Keswick works were destroyed, and the miners killed or drafted into the Parliamentarian army. The works were partially rebuilt by another German company in 1690, but they were finally closed after a quarter of a century.1 To return, however, to the reign of Elizabeth. Both parties to the original venture of the Keswick mines frequently reported to the Privy Council or the Queen as to their progress. By 1567 they had succeeded in producing pure copper, and they sent a specimen to Elizabeth.2 They do not give any details as to their method of smelting, for such matters were and still are jealously held secret by mining experts. It is necessary to mention that in this same letter Thurland and Hochstetter commend a certain George Nedham for his diligence at the mines. The same man appears as a small shareholder in the Mines Koyal Society, and we shall soon come across him very prominently in connection with Gaunse. In 1568, Hochstetter, in a letter in which he expresses his surprise at the mineral wealth of the country, adds the curious request that he would like to procure a foreign preacher who can speak the language of the workmen.3 Things however did not proceed with? out a hitch. Many German rivals flocked to England, and some of them sought to undermine the confidence felt in Hochstetter. Certain it is that in 1572 Frederick Schwarz, described as agent of a German society working copper mines in England, denounced Hochstetter as a trickster and defrauder.4 Possibly this complaint came from the German shareholders in the Mines Boyal who were dissatisfied with their profits. The wildest schemes were set afoot. Mines of fabulous wealth were brought before Burghley's notice, the projectors sometimes beginning their prospectuses with Biblical texts. Whether these causes shook the resolution of the English magnates, certain it is that Hochstetter him? self in his letters informs us that his work at Keswick was interrupted. 1 Hunt, British Mining, pp. 91, 828. 2 Calendar of State Papers, Domestic, Eliz., xliv. 14 (p. 300). 3 Ibid., xlvi. 80 (p. 310). 4 Lansdowne MSS., xiv. 12.</page><page sequence="5">JOACHIM GAUNSE. 87 The Privy Council Acts for 1578 include a petition from "Dariell Heigsteten " (another alias for Daniel Hochstetter), and an order is given to various legal authorities to summon and examine such persons as the matter doth concern " to informe themselfes by what occasion the said work (at Keswick) was given over." Daniel justified his claim for consideration on the grounds that the work " hath been found beneficial to her Majestie, and the metals arising thereof very necessarie for the Realme, and many poor men entertained while it was kept working."1 From this it appears that the works were momentarily at a stand? still. We seem to get at the real ground for this check in another ad? dress from Hochstetter to Burghley in the following year, 1579. Daniel had been on an inspection of the mines, which must now have re? sumed work. But he complains of diverse slanderous reports made, as he says, behind his back, and asks for a continuance of his privi? leges, begging Burghley not to be misled by offers of greater profit from others. And now we are able to discover whence these offers of greater profit, which so disquieted Hochstetter, emanated. A new character appears on the scene at Keswick. This was the Jew, Joachim Gaunse, whose originality and expert skill brought fresh vigour not only to the mining operations in Cumberland, but also, if my inference is just, to the similar operations at Neath in Wales. Abundant evidence will be forthcoming later on that this Joachim Gaunse was a Jew not only by birth but also by religion. We further know that he came from Prague, and at once our imagination calls up another Prague Jew with the same surname?the famous David Ganz, historian and astronomer, who, born in Wfestphalia in 1541, settled in Prague in 1564, and died in the same city in 1613.2 If Joachim Gaunse was a young man when we find him at Keswick in 1581, he may have been David Ganz's son. David Ganz was a man of wide scientific attainments, a correspondent of Johann M?ller and a personal friend of Kepler and Tycho Brahe. His own writings display accurate knowledge of astronomy and geo? graphy, just as Joachim does of chemistry and metallurgy. Though it is impossible to find direct evidence linking the two men together, yet 1 Acts of the Privy Council, New Series, xi., p. 58. 2 Hock, notes to Lieben's Gal Ed., p. 10.</page><page sequence="6">88 JOACHIM GAUNSE. it is highly improbable that there were at the same time two families of Jews resident in the same city Prague, bearing the same surname Ganz, and imbued with the same taste for scientific research.1 Two long documents in the Domestic State Papers of the reign of Elizabeth describe in detail the doings of Joachim Gaunse at Keswick in 1581.2 The documents consist of letters written by the same George Nedham whom we found among the shareholders of the Mines Royal at its inception. Nedham was a most energetic and versatile man. In 1565 he went to Ireland to procure wood for the Keswick works.3 For the next two years he devoted himself so earnestly to the Keswick mines that Hochstetter specially commended him, as we have seen. In 1568 Nedham projected a wharf at Wokington,4 and at the same date offered Elizabeth to search for gold on Crawford Muir in Scotland.5 In 1570 he was able to give Cecil information regarding inundations in the Netherlands.6 Four years later, in 1574, this extraordinary man was farmer of her Majesty's Custom-house Key in London, an office which brought him often into litigation.7 In 1581 he supplied the Govern? ment with a report about Margrave John of Embdon.8 In 1592 we find him again at work in Carlisle.9 It is this eager and resourceful speculator that we now discover hand in glove with Joachim Gaunse at Keswick. It is only necessary to add one fact. Nedham's letters con? cerning Gaunse are addressed to Walsingham, Secretary of State from 1573 till his death in 1590. Into the technical details of Gaunse's work it is difficult to enter, but the documents are printed in full below. Suffice it to say, that there is a clearness and scientific tone about his proposals which 1 It must be confessed that no Joachim appears in the lists of members of the Ganz family compiled by S. Hock (Die Familien Prays nach den Epitaphien des alten j?dischen Friedhofs in Prag, edited by D. Kaufmann, Prag, 1892). A similar remark applies to the lists in M. Horovitz' Die Inschriften des alten Friedhofs der israelitischen Gemeinde zu Frankfurt a. M. (Frankfurt, 1901.) 2 See Appendix A and B. 3 Calendar State Papers, Domestic, Eliz. xxxvii., 34 (p. 258). 4 Ibid., xlvii. 52 (p. 315). 5 Ibid., xlviii. 14 (p. 320). 6 Ibid., lxxiv. 43 (p. 397). 7 Lansdowne MSS., xviii. 67 ; xxxi. 30. 8 Ibid., xxxii. 54. 9 Calendar Border Papers, i. 412. Nedham is described in this letter to Burghley as " once one of Mr. Secretary Walsingham's men."</page><page sequence="7">JOACHIM GAUNSE. 89 favourably distinguish them from the plans of some charlatans of his day. Immediately on his arrival at Keswick, Joachim's first step was to "search out both the nature and number of the hurtful humours that were naturally bred in our Copper Ores." Gaunse's chemical knowledge enabled him after sundry trials to make a full analysis of the ores, and to classify the "hurtful humours." Nedham, who must have been very well acquainted with Hochstetter's qualifica? tions, positively asserts that this analysis had never before been made, whether by Daniel or his son Emanuel, "or by any of the Dutch workmen who have been sent from Germany to the mines." This ignorance, Nedham continues, was the sole cause of the unreasonable cost and long time spent at the mines before pure copper could be made. Gaunse undertakes to do well in sixteen weeks what it had previously taken twenty-two weeks to do badly. Nedham significantly adds that Gaunse not only promises to do this, but had experimentally proved his competence to perform his promises. Thus at a critical moment in the history of English mining this Jewish alien immigrant came to the rescue of a great industry. What is especially noteworthy is that Gaunse's proposals are set forth without professional reserve, and the documents are therefore peculiarly important as revealing the methods of smelting in the sixteenth century. One technical point may be mentioned. As Hunt remarks,1 Gaunse had evidently acquired the secret of separating the iron from the copper in the condition of a sulphate. Nedham also says that the process invented by Gaunse will enable them to produce at Keswick this sulphate or copperas in sufficiently large quantities to supply the whole demand for it in the northern counties which had previously been forced to import the subsidiary product of copper smelting from foreign countries, for the purposes of dyeing. The only reserve in the statement occurs here, for Nedham tells Walsingham that he will convey the method of making the copperas by word of mouth. The value of Gaunse's proposals was at once recognised. His scientific skill was utilised not only at Keswick but also at Neath in Wales, and probably also in Cornwall. Nedham tells us explicitly that Gaunse was preparing to experiment " in the great works," which had 1 British Mining, p. 93.</page><page sequence="8">90 JOACHIM GAUNSE. just been completed at JSreath. For at least five years Gaunse must have been passing to and fro between Cumberland and Wales, his visits being eagerly awaited in the principality. The mining industry at Neath, which has grown to such vast proportions in the present century, was founded during Gaunse's stay in Britain, and his share in the enter? prise was highly important. A German, Ulrick Frosse, was manager at Neath, but he too was dependent on the help of Gaunse. This seems a fair inference from a passage in one of Ulrick Frosse's letters written in March 1586. In this he says : " We look daily for the Copper Refiner from K es wick, and have in readiness as much copper roast and black copper as will make a twenty-ton lot of fine copper." It is irresistible to suggest that this eagerly expected Copper Refiner was none other than Gaunse. At all events Gaunse's part in the development of English mining was far from insignificant. Cunningham and Hunt, to name no others, have fully recognised the value of the services rendered by the German experts. Neither of them, however, suspected that one of the leading figures in this interesting group was a Jew. There is no hint of Joachim's religion in Nedham's letters. From 1586 to 1589 we lose sight of Gaunse. But our information about him is not yet exhausted. The previous facts gave us a good impression of him as a scientist; what remains to be unfolded enables us to recognise his excellence as a man. For at least three years after 1586 Gaunse remained in England, using his time and talents doubtless in mining work in various parts of the country. We find him in Bristol in 1589, but in the curious documents now to be mentioned he is described as resident in the Blackfriars, London. In the Blackfriars many Elizabethan nobles had their town houses. The pier wTas a usual landing place for aliens, among whom Gaunse may have had friends. When the friars were dispossessed of their monastery, the precinct still retained its right of sanctuary. In the Blackfriars were congregated the play-actors, for though the theatre was not built till 1596, plays were performed in the neighbourhood as early as 1580, and the Globe Theatre was not far off. But it was in Bristol that Gaunse had the opportunity t&gt;f proving his grit, for he was there offered the chance of declaring himself a Jew, and he accepted the chance though the revela? tion was fraught with considerable danger. In the Record Office are preserved some documents which are now</page><page sequence="9">JOACHIM GAUNSE. 91 given in full below.1 It is unnecessary to do more than summarise them, for they tell their own story very vividly. On Friday, Sep? tember 12, 1589, the Minister, Richard Curteys, in order to engage in " conference in the Hebrew tongue " with Gaunse, visited the houses of Mr. Richard Meyes, " Inholder." He was then informed that Gaunse was an infidel. When Gaunse came in, Mr. Curteys addressed some test remarks to him in Hebrew, maintaining the divinity of Jesus of Nazareth. Gaunse, also speaking in Hebrew, replied that " he is not the Sonne of God," whereupon Curteys, finding the reply " odious," continued the con? versation in English so that the bystanders might witness to his speech. Gaunse remained staunch in his opinion, saying that " there was but one God, who had noe wife nor chielde. . . . What needeth the almightie God to have a Sonne, is he not almyghtie1?" When brought before the Mayor and Aldermen on September 15 he openly declared himself a Jew, born in Prag in Bohemia, adding that he had never been baptized and did not " beeleeve any Article of our Christian faithe for that he was not broughte uppe therein." Gaunse was sent to London on September 17 to appear before the Privy Council. The signatories of these charges were all men of local note in Bristol.2 Robert Hitchen the Mayor had played a patriotic role in the defence of the coast against the Spanish Armada a year before. Aid worth had been Mayor in 1583, and, by a breach of the ordinary rule, wTas allowed to serve a second term of office in 1592. He had also been of assistance to Walsingham in his designs for the colonisation of Newfoundland. Colston's name is still a household word in Bristol. Of Richard Cole we read that he was "active, far-sighted, prudent, and benevolent." Every one of them has left his mark on the charities of the place, leaving legacies for widows, for hospitals, for poor scholars at the University. Yet this group of good and able men felt con? strained owing to the prejudices of their day to join in arresting a man who had rendered real services to England, simply because, when challenged, or in a moment of unguarded loquacity, he had proclaimed himself a Jew. If the William Bird whose signature appears here be 1 See Appendix, C, D, E and F. 2 Nicholls, Bristol Past and Present, i. p. 260, &amp;c. ; Sever, Memoirs of Bristol, ii. 251, &amp;c.</page><page sequence="10">92 JOACHIM GATJNSE. the same William Bird who may be found among the shareholders of the Mines Royal, then one at least of the group of Bristol magnates knew the true character of the man who was now sent in custody to the Lords of the Privy Council in London. What was his fate ? The Acts of the Privy Council are silent. We read of many about this date who appeared before the Council, but Joachim Gaunse was not one of them. The records of the Privy Council are not however extant in their complete form, and it may also be that Gaunse was sent before the Court of High Commission, of which no minutes earlier than the Stuarts have been preserved. But I rather think that the records are silent for the plain reason that no official action was taken. Walsingham, who knew Gaunse well, was still Secretary of State; Burghley knew him, so did other members of the Council. The charter to the Mines Royal gave the company very full rights as to the admission of aliens. We have evidence that the Privy Council did protect foreign miners against pains and penalties which they incurred; they did so, for instance, in the case of Jacob Yerich, a Dutchman, in 1578.1 Possibly this man was also a Jew, really named Jacob Yarchi. One must be very cautious, however, about inferences from names. Thus Hochstetter is a Jewish name, and most of the members of the family are Joachims, Daniels, Josephs, and Emanuels. But we know for certain that the founder of the Hoch? stetter line, Ambrose, was a Christian. I should not have felt it safe to pronounce even Gaunse a Jew merely from his name. There was a German Jesuit, Jean Ganz, in Wurtzburg in 1591, and in Grimsby in 1450 I find an old English family named Gaunes.2 The Bristol deposi? tions, however, completely establish the fact that our hero Joachim was a Jew, and a good one. Probably, when the Privy Council became as sure of this fact as we are, it dealt leniently with him, and connived at his quietly remaining in England. He probably did not die in Prague, for among the many Ganzes buried there, the epitaphs of whom have been published by Hock, there is no Joachim. Suddenly this alien immigrant comes on the scene at Keswick in 1581. After a useful and energetic career, smelting copper and talking 1 Acts of Privy Council, New Series, x. 195. 2 Hist. MSS. Commission, 14th Keport, p. 266.</page><page sequence="11">JOACHIM GAUNSE. 93 Hebrew, in a land in which no Jew was supposed to dwell, he as suddenly vanishes from our sight. His career has previously been told in part by Mr. Sidney Lee, and also by myself. But it has long been felt that the Jewish Historical Society owed a fuller tribute to the memory of Gaunse. It was my good fortune to be commissioned to render this justice to him. With the aid of Mr. Lucien Wolf, I have tried in this paper to pay an overdue debt to one whom we may fairly honour both as Englishmen and as Jews. APPENDIX. A.1 Domestic Elizabeth, Yol. 152, No. 88. At back of third leaf " Notes touching that which was don at the Copper mynes by mr Nedham and Joachim." [Headed] March 1582, covering one a.D. 1581. Offers made by Jochim Gaunse for makeing of Copper, vitriall, and Coppris, and smeltinge of Copper and leade ures. [Endorsed:?] Offers of Joachim Gans for the melting of coper and making of vitryol. 1. Wheras mr Stembarger at his Laste being in London made his pro potion to the Company that for everie quintall of rough Copper he made (being cxij li.) he must have vij. Kebulls of Copper ure gotten in godes gifte myne, euerie Kebull wherof is in waight civ. li. at the least, w'ch after a cxij li. to the hundreth amountes to xc iiijcccc vli. of ure, and for all manner of Charges of fireworke and smeltars wages to bring the same xc iiij^x vli. of ure into rough Copper he Offreth to do it for xiiij s. iiij d. 2. Mr. Jochim doeth Offer to bringe fully so much Copper out of the like 1 Of these documents, C, D, E and F, have never before been printed, but documents A and B have already been printed by Colonel Grant Francis : The Smelting of Copper in the Swansea District of South Wales from the Time of Eliza? beth to the Present Day (1881), p. 25 seq., but the present text is, it is hoped, more accurate. It is printed from a fresh copy made by me from the originals at the Record Office. See also Hunt, British Mining, p. 92. That considerable interest attached to these documents may be gathered from the fact that in the State Papers (Ibid., No. 89), there is a second copy of them in more modern spelling.</page><page sequence="12">94 JOACHIM GAUNSE. quantity of ure, And to beare all manner of fireworke, smelters wages, and the queenes parte likewyse therein Comprehended for ix s. iiij d. w'ch is lesse then mr stembargers offer, by v s. in a quintall: so as by his order of roste inge, and smelting, putting to, the Charges of gettinge, shawdring and carrieing the ure, the quintall of rough Copper shall not st?nde v s. in above xxvj s. : And by his order of workeinge he will make as much Copper or more then mr stembarger doeth 3. And further the said Jochim doubteth not, but after he hath rosted and smolton iij. or iiij, saies of o'r copp' ure, in the great worke, after such manner as he hath devised since his Comeing from Keswik, to attaine to such farther Knowledg of the nature of all o'r Copper ures in Cumberlande and Westmoreland, that he shalbe able to kill all the Corrupt humors that be in them, and therby to bringe out more Copper then heretofore hath byn : And w'th lesser charge then is above written 4. And further he will take out of the ure either vitriall or Coppris, as the tyme and occasion of sale therof shall serve, w'ch will not onely be soulde to the great bennifitt of the Companie, but also by takeinge the said vitriall or Coppris from the ure before it Come in to the first smeltinge, it doeth in the first smelting very much helpe and save the Copper from wasting and causeth the ure sooner to smelt: In w'ch rostes both of vitriall, Copper and Coppris makeinge, he will use nothing but peate, whereas mr stembarger and his father have used much woode o. After the Copper ure be rosted and redie to smelting (w'ch roste is done in one fire) then must the vitrall or Coppris, or w'ch of them shalbe thought moste mete be taken from the ure, before it Come to the first smelt? inge, w'ch is done by letting water passe through the ures : of wT'ch water the Coppris or vitriall must be made ; And that water doth not onely drawe the vitriall and Coppris from the ure, but also divers other hurtfull humors, being by nature enemyes to the Copper : as arsenick, sulpher, antimony, allome and Ironn ; w'ch being taken away as aforesaid, maketh the ure w'thin iiij dayes, by once rosting and once smelting to yeeld black Copper and Copperstone w'ch mr stembarger nor his father Coulde do under xvj. rostinges and xvj weekes 6. And whereas, in o'r first vitriall that was made he drew xx li. of copper out of the ure to make a c. of vitriall: he Can nowe make the vitriall in as great quantity as we Can utter it, and as good as his first vitriall was, and will take but x li. of Copper to the cxij li. of vitriall: and as for the charges of makeing therof w'th other Circumstances is to be declared by word and not by writing 7. And yf we cannot have utteraunce of so much vitriall as we Can make, then may we make of that substaunce Coppris w'thout takeing any Copper from the ure, and the same copperris, w'ch we shall make, for dyeing of Cloth will excell in goodnes, both that w'ch is made here in England by</page><page sequence="13">JOACHIM GAUNSE. 95 the lord mountjoye his preveledg or any other Coppris Comeinge from beyonde the seas, the Chardges of makeinge therof is also to bee declared by mouth 8. For vent of this Coppris ther wilbe great quantitie used in Cumber? land, Westmorelande Yorkshire, Cheshire, and Lancashire onely for dyeing : who ar Constrained to transeporte it from London th ether : And Likewise ther wilbe much soulde in the north-partes of scotlande, who have often tymes both Come and sent to Keswick to buye Coppris, and makeing more quantitie then we Can utter there : we may send to london and other partes of england, or into fraunce, spaine and other Countryes who have it brought them from lubeck, dandzick and andwerpe being a longer viadge and greater Charges 9. And wheras the riche Copper ure gotten in the mynes of Calbeck being enfected w'th such Corruptions, that hetherto mr Danyell or his sonn Coulde never smelt them alone as they Came frome the myne but were forced to myngle them w'th rosted stone of the first smelting of godes gifte ure : mr Jochim at his being at Keswick, in ij fires, that is w'th once rostinge and once smeltinge it, as it Came from the myne, w'thout myngling did bring it into black Copper and Copperstone 10. And in Like manner the rich leade myne at Calbeck, w'ch houldeth good quantity of silver, and hath Cost the Company great sommes of mony : Lieth now unwrought being a myne whereout great proffitt myght be yearely gotten by the silver and the lead : w'ch ures neither mr Danniell nor his sonn mr stembarger, hitherto Could smelt to preserve the leade : and bringe the silver from it but by such wast of the ure and silver, that their doeinges were rather to losse then proffitt. mr Jochim hath made divers smale sayes therof, wher by he doubteth not to smelt it in such sort as the moste part of the lead shalbe preserved, and the silver brought out to great gaynes George Nedham declareth his knoweledg and Opineon to the right honorable, s'r Fraunces Wallsingham, Conserning these articles of Jochim Gaunse, for makeing of Copper, vitriall and Coppris ; and the smelting of Copper and leade ures :? For his Offer made in the seconde article I knowe it to be trewe and in my notes geven your honnor xij monthes paste I did offer to make the great c of rough coper for 27 s' For his offer in the iij article, by such experience as I have gotton by Conference w'th him in the knowledg in the nature of our ures, that I dare assure my self he is able to performe his p'mise, and especially by bringing more Copper out of the ure then mr stemberger nowe doth For the iiij article, I Can my self make vitriall in such order as we made at o'r beinge at Keswicke : but not so good Cheape as mr Jochim can now do it nor to save the x li of Copper in the c of vitriall as mr Jochim can do For Coppris makeing, I have no p'fect skill but must learne it of</page><page sequence="14">96 JOACHIM GAUNSE. mr Jochim which I am verie desireous to do being a Comoditie w'ch L knowe will yeelde us great p'fitt For his Offer made in the ixth article I knowe he Can do it for I my self at my laste being at Keswick, did smelt the Copper ure gotten in Calbeck myne alone, w'thout putting any thinge to it. and in v fires and viij dayes did make good rough Copper therof Your Honors most humbel to Comaund Geohge Nedham. B. [Headed] A discription of the doeinges of Jochim Ganse and George Nedham at the copper mynes by keswicke in Cumberland A? 1581. Right honourable as soone as mr Jochim and I came to keswicke the firste thinge we did take in hande, was to searche out both the nature and the number of the hurtfull humors that were naturally bred in onre copper ures gotten in that Countrie, wherein after sundrie trialls, we attained to some perfection, And found that in our copper ures, were tenn severall substances, wherof iiij ar visible, w'ch ar Iron, copper, a kinde of black stone (wherin the copper groweth), and a kinde of white stone named sparr: The other vj humors, w'ch ar in the said ures, and invisible, ar sulpher, Arsenique, Antimony, vitriall, cal[cator], and Allom : So as in tenn substances w'ch ar in our copper ures, the copper is one &amp; the other ix substances by their naturall operation ar all hurtfull and venomous humors to the copper : For some of theim by wasteinge the copper in smeltinge, and by their drynes make it bretle and black : the other by theire toughe and moiste nature, be a great let to the speedie smeltinge and bringinge the ure into rough copper. The nomber, nature, and propertie of w'ch ix hurtfull humors being wholly unknowne to mr Daniell and his sonne or to any other of the Duch workemen w'ch have bin sent from Germany to the mynes, that have bin in our copper ures, hath bin the onely cause of the unreasonable charge, and long tyme spent before the could make of those ures perfect rough copper : w'ch copper after the order used in tymes past by mr Daniell and his sonn, thei never coulde, nether yet can make under xxij tymes passinge thro the fire, and xxij weekes doeing therof and somtyme more : But now the nature of these ix hurtfull humors abovesaid being dis? covered and opened by mr Jochims doeing we can by his order of workeinge so correct theim, that parte of theim beinge by nature hurtfull to the copper in wasteinge of it, ar by arte maide fremdes, and be not onely an encrease to the copper, but further it in smeltinge : And the rest of the other evili humors shalbe so corrected, and their hurtfull fo[rce] so taken from them, that by once rosteinge and once smeltinge the ure (w'ch shalbe done in the space of</page><page sequence="15">JOACHIM GATJNSE. 97 three dayes,) the same copper ure shall yeeld us black copper and copperstone, w'ch nether mr Daniell nor his sonne coulde or yet can do under xvj tymes passinge through the fire, and xvj weekes in doeing therof : And further in once rosteinge and once smeltinge the same black copper and copperstone again, w'ch shalbe done in ij days, after mr Jochims order of workeinge, I will bringe the black copper and copperstone into perfect rough copper, w'ch mr Stembarger cannot make under xxij tymes passing through the fire and xxij weekes in doeinge therof and somtymes more I have therfore thought neccessarie to sett downe in writeinge, that yor honnor might see the seeral names of the ix infections w'ch ar in our copper ures, w'th the nature and operation of every of theim by what meanes thei do hurt unto the copper, before thei be corrected, and being corrected, by what meanes thei be helpfull to the copper : The names of the ix infectyve and euill humors :? i The firste is sulphur, being a mynerall substance w'ch verie quickly taketh fire, and wilbe consumed in smoke by blast, wherby it goeth away very violently, and in goeing away will not onely carry w'th it some of the copper or any other mettall it is Joyned w'th: but also maketh the copper black and bretle so that it wilbe [broken] w'th the hammar, in manner like glasse : ij The ij corrupt humor is arsnicque, by nature a kinde of poyson, being in like manner a miner-all substance, wilbe consumed w'th fire in to smoke, w'ch is a vere daungerous ayer or savor, and by his force maketh the [copper] white and bretler then the sulpher doeth. this arsenicque is not onely in great quantitie in our copper ures, but is by nature so forceable of it self, that it is lorde and ruller over all the rest, and consumes both ye sulpher, and anti? mony, that thei ar not to be seene : And in my opinion, by his dryenese doth so dry and take away the force of the other iij liquid and tough humors, that thei have no force to let them from speedye smeltinge and departing from his drosse : iij The iij corruption is Antimony, w'ch is in like manner a mynerall substance, and by rosteing wilbe consumed into smoke, Itt is in nature much like to sulpher and arsenicque in makeinge the copper black and bretle; besides it is a great let and hinderer to the copper in the smeltinge : And by the opinion of some that in refineing, it doeth Consume part either of golde, silver or copper w'ch ar smolten w'th it: iiij The iiij corrupt humor is vitriall, in like manner a mynerall sub? stance, and if the force therof be noc corrected by rosteinge before the ure wherin it groweth be smolten, it fretteth the copper and maketh it bretle and black coulered : but by stampeinge the copper ure into powder and by rostinge the same powder after mr Jochims order before it be smolton, and then letting water passe through the same rosted powder the water doth not onllie carry the vitriall from the powder or ure, but also carrieth w'th it the burnt powder or sinder of the sulphur, arsenicque and antimony, wherby it VOL. IV. G</page><page sequence="16">98 JOACHIM GAUNSE. so clenseth the ure that when it cometh to the smeltinge the copper cometh forth so easelie, w'thout such quantitie of slagges or drosse, as otherwise would be, if the ure were not rosted and the vitriall in this manner taken from it, thus is the vitriall, of an enimye made a freinde : v The vth corruption is Calcator, beinge the mother or corpus of vitriall, and a mynerall substance : this will not be consumed w'th smoke, but gathereth into a body and substance, and very forceablie abideth the fire, although in nature it be not fullie so hurtfull to the Copper as vitriall is, but carrieth away Corrupt humors w'th it as vitriall doth : vi Allom is the vjth corrupt humor, a mynerall substance, and by nature a let to the smeltinge of the copper, it also hindreth the vitriall, and of all the rest of the ix infections is least hurtfull to ye copper : vij The vij?/i humor is Iron, beinge one of the vij mettalls but no mynerall, w'ch being engendered and bred up in the earth w'th the copper ure, will not lightlie be gotten from it, and especiallie when the copper ure is smolten greene as it cometh from the myne, w'thout rosteinge, then the Iron doth joyne and incorporat him self w'th the copper, by reason of the other ij moist humors hereunder written as shall plainely apeare unto yo'r honnor by samples that I have to shewe, w'ch is onely the greatest cause of so many chargable fires and long tyme w'ch mr Daniell and his sonne do spende before thei can make rough copper: And accordinge to mr Jochims order of workeinge the nature and substance of the Iron that is in our copper ure being beaten into powder, and rosted as aforesaide: the drosse and corruption that is in the Iron is so dryed up, that when it cometh to smeltinge it is not able to runne or gether it self to gether like a slagge as it doeth being smolten greene before the ure be rosted : And the best substance w'ch is the right Iron ure, beinge by rosteing, brought into the perfection of Iron, is by the water and strength of vitriall converted into copper, as I have prooved sundrie tymes : So as this cheefe of the hurtfull humors beinge thus corrected, it is made of an enemye a freinde and helper of the copper : viij The viijth hurtfull humor that is in our copper ure, is a kinde of blacke stone wherin the copper is bred and doth growe, and is incorporated w'th the copper, as shall plainely be shewed unto yo'r honnor, w'ch stone beinge a liquide and tough substance, and smolten before it be rosted, doth so joine it self w'th the Iron and copper, being bred up to gether, that thei will hardly be parted but by great charges and longe tyme : But as is before declared, beinge rosted before it come to smeltinge, (what by force of the fire and of the venemous arsenicque) this hurtfull stone is so dryed up, that when the ure cometh to smelteinge, it cannot incorporat it self to any substance to become a slagge or drosse but is like a sinder consumed w'th the force of the fire wherby it can no way hinder or lett the copper : ix The ixth and the last corrupt humor is a kinde of white stone named sparr w'ch in all respectes is like to the black stone, And if in the same sorte it be not corrected it is no lesse prejudicial! to the smeltinge then the other :</page><page sequence="17">JOACHIM GATJNSE. 99 Thus, right honnorable, I have so breefly as I coulde, rudely sett forth the nomber, nature, and operation of the hurtfull humors that be in our copper ures, and how by arte thei may be so corrected that such of them as be moste hurtfull enemy es, shalbe made freindes: And the hurtfull force of the rest so overcome and taken away that thei shall not hurt or hinder the copper make inge Most humblie beseecheinge yo'r honnor to pardone my boldnes in troubleing you, and to accept my goodwill herin : And hereafter (as occasion and tyme shall serve) I do purpose by goddes grace to sett forth a more ample discourse, And by the help of mr Jochim not onelv to dissipher ye hurtfull humors that be in any ure (groweing in this realme) be it copper or lead, but also a remedie so to correct or kill the same, as the same ures ether of copper or leade shalbe smolton to benifitt without the hurt of those humors : C. Vol. 226 40 [Endorsed] To the Right e honorable or very good Lls the Lord es of her mates moste honorable pry vie Counsell. 17 September 1589 from the Maior and Aldermen of Bristowe with thexamina tion of Jochim Gaunz Righte honorable, our moste humble dewtyes p'mised, Whereas one Jeochim Gaunz beinge (as he saithe) a Jewe borne in the Cytie of Prage in Bohcemia, and nowe Inhabitinge in the blacke Fryers in London was latelye apprehended and broughte before us, for that beinge in this Cytie he used verye blasphemous Speaches againste or Savyour Jesus Christe, denyenge him to be the Sonne of God, a matter ministringe noe small offence to her Maties people heere, and beinge thereupon examyned before us declare the him selfe to be a moste wicked Infidell, as by his examynac'on maye appeere, We have therefore thoughte yt our dewtyes to sende him unto your honors, as alsoe to Signifye unto you his ungodly e and moste heathenishe opinyons and demeasnor not meete to be suffered amonge Christyans, as may appeere unto yor Lls by the p'ticuler Informac'ons wth his owne examynac'on herein enclosed, All wche we ieave to yor honors further Considerac'on, And soe we most humblye Commende yor good LI8 to the moste holye protection of Almightye God, At Bristoll this xviith of September 1589. Your honors moste humble at Comaundemt Robart Kitchen Mayor Willm Birde Mayor electe John Browne Alderman Thomas Colston Aldarman Phillipp Langley allderman Thomas aldworthe alderman Richarde Cole aldarman</page><page sequence="18">100 JOACHIM GA?NSE. 40, I. D. Civistas Bristoll Coram maiore et Ald'ri's xvto die Septembris Anno Rne Elizabethe xxxi? 1589 Jeochim Gaunz, of the Cytie of London beinge app'hended w'thin the Cytie of Bristoll and broughte before the said Mayor and Aldermen for that he hathe denyed that or Savyour Jesus Christe ys the Sonne of God, and beinge thereupon examyned affirmeth and say the that he the said Jeochim ys a Je we borne in the Cytie of Prage in Bohemia, and that he was Circumcised and hath bin alwayes instructed and broughte vppe in the Talmud of the Jewys and was never Baptized, neyther dothe he beeleeve any Article of our Christyan faithe for that he was not broughte vppe therein. Robart Kitchen mayor Willm Byrde mayor electe John Browne Alderman Phillipp Langleye allderman Richarde Cole aldarman Wyllyam Hickes Alderman (Endorsed) Thexamynac'on of the Jewe. On Fridaie beinge the twelfthe daye of September 1589 I Richard Curteys mynister came into the howse of mr Eichard May es Inholder in the Cytie of Bristoll where one Joachim Gaunze of Prage vsed conference w'th me in the Hebrue tonge at which tyme one of his companye whose name I knowe not enformed me that the said Joachim Gaunze was an infidell for he holdeth that Christe Jesus is not the sonne of God at which tyme of our secret speeche the said Joachim came into our companye unto whome I the said Richard Curteys spake in the Hebrue tounge to this effect that Jesus of Nazareth the kinge of the Jewes whome the Jewes crucyfied was and is the sonne of God at which tyme he answered me in the Hebrue tounge he is not the sonne of God whose replie beinge so odious I spake in the englishe tonge to the ende that others beinge there present might heare it and witnes his speeche, what do you denie Jesus Christ to be the sonne of God, at whiche tyme he awnswered what needeth the almightie God to have a sonne, is he not almyghtie : Enformed before the worshipfull mr Maior &amp; the Justices of the Citie of Bristoll the xvth claie of September 1589 vppon myne othe taken vppon the holye Evangelye. 40, II. E. By me Richard Curteys Mynister.</page><page sequence="19">JOACHIM CAUNSE. 101 F. Civistas Bristoll Ooram maiore et Ald'ri's xvi die Septembris Anno Rne Elizabethe xxxi 1589 Jeremye Pierce of the Cytie of London Joyner inhabitinge neere the Lorde Riehes house in greate St Barthomewes Informeth the saide Mayor and Aldermen upon his othe taken upon the holye Evangilistes of God, that he beinge in Companye w'th Jeochim Gaunz at the Cytie of Bristoll on fryday last beinge the xiith of this instante monethe, fallinge into Comunicac'on of the oulde testam* and the newe, This exam1 demaunded of the said Jeochim whether he did not beleeve in Jesus Christe the Sonne of God. Whereunto the saide Jeochim aunswered that there was noe suche name, and that there was but one God, whoe had noe wife nor chielde. Robart Kitchen Mayor Willm Birde Mayor electe John Browne Alderman Phillipp Langleye allderman Richarde Cole aldarman Wyllyam Hickes alderman (Endorsed) The Informac'ons againste the Jewe.</page></plain_text>