MERRICK, JOHN [SSNE 1940]
Text source
Sir John Merrick was the son of William Merrick who had been a member of the Muscovy Company since 1555, and had spent much time in Russia as a boy. By 1592 he was in Moscow as an agent and at the start of the seventeenth century he was Governor of the Muscovy Company. Merrick visited Duke Charles of Sweden in Livonia on his journey to England in 1602. He was sent by James VI and I as an ambassador in 1614, and then returned to England in 1617 and acted as a British agent to Sweden that same year. Merrick eventually returned to Moscow as a Stuart Ambassador in 1618 after helping to negotiate the peace between Russia and Sweden. He accompanied Russians to the Stuart Court in 1619 and returned to Russia on Embassy in 1620.
Sources: The National Archives, SP/95/1-2, SP/103/61; Lauderdale Papers Add. MSS. 35125; DNB; I. Lubimenko, English Historical Review, Vol. 29, 1914; S Konovalov, Oxford Slavonic Papers, Vol. 1, 1950 and Vol. 2, 1951; 'Svenske Sandebuds till Utlandske Hof och Deras Sandebud till Sverige, SRA. 1841, p.82'; G. M. Bell, A Handlist of British Diplomatic Representatives 1509-1688 (London, 1990).
Service record
- ENGLAND, YAROSLAVIC
- Arrived 1584-01-01
- Departed 1591-12-31
- Capacity AGENT, purpose MISC
- ENGLAND, MOSCOW
- Arrived 1592-01-01
- Departed 1614-12-31
- Capacity MERCHANT, purpose MISC
- RUSSIA, ENGLAND
- Arrived 1600-01-01
- Departed 1601-10-29
- Capacity ENVOY, purpose DIPLOMACY
- ENGLAND, RUSSIA
- Arrived 1601-11-01
- Departed 1602-02-28
- Capacity AMBASSADOR, purpose DIPLOMACY
- ENGLAND, LIVONIA
- Arrived 1602-09-01
- Departed 1602-09-30
- Capacity AGENT, purpose DIPLOMACY
- STUART KINGDOMS, SWEDEN
- Arrived 1612-01-01
- Departed 1612-12-31
- Capacity ENVOY, purpose DIPLOMACY
- STUART KINGDOMS, RUSSIA
- Arrived 1613-04-19
- Departed 1613-09-30
- Capacity AMBASSADOR, purpose DIPLOMACY
- Arrived 1614-06-18
- Departed 1617-11-04
- Capacity AMBASSADOR, purpose DIPLOMACY
- STUART KINGDOMS, SWEDEN
- Arrived 1616-01-01
- Departed 1617-12-31
- Capacity ENVOY, purpose DIPLOMACY
- STUART KINGDOMS, RUSSIA
- Arrived 1618-06-01
- Departed 1618-09-11
- Capacity AMBASSADOR, purpose DIPLOMACY
- Arrived 1618-11-05
- Departed 1619-12-31
- Capacity AMBASSADOR, purpose DIPLOMACY
- Arrived 1620-06-24
- Departed 1621-10-03
- Capacity AMBASSADOR, purpose DIPLOMACY