Description:

Acting on his Uncle's behalf, only a year before he would become a full partner in his mercantile concern, John Hancock completes a bill of lading supplying British troops in New York, "by order of Sir Jeffrey Amherst..." with over 100 words in his hand!

JOHN HANCOCK (1737-1793) Partly-printed Document Signed, "Thomas Hancock," 1 page, 9" x 4.5" Boston, January 15, 1762, a bill of lading completed in his hand signed by him on his uncle's behalf. Minor chips and minor tears at margin, lightly toned, else very good to fine.

After two years in London networking and strengthening his uncle's business contacts there, John Hancock had returned to assist his ailing uncle in Boston. The next year he would become a full partner in the House of Hancock. The present document concerns a large cargo of foodstuffs that were to be shipped from Boston to New York aboard the ship Britton, commanded by "George Wilkinson." The shipment, which included large quantities of beef, pork, bread, flour butter, Rice "Pease," vinegar, and Wine was shipped "by order of Sir Jeffrey Amherst," commanding British forces in North America.

The large contingent of British troops stationed in North America during the French and Indian War proved an boon for merchants like Hancock. Feeding the army brought in badly-needed hard money for cash-starved colonial merchants. Unfortunately with the Treaty of Paris of 1763, that source of hard money vanished with the departing army—spurring on an economic downturn in the colonies. That circumstance helped set the stage for the American Revolution as Parliament attempted to tax the colonies in order to pay the enormous debt incurred by the late, and very expensive, war.

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