WISHART, ALEXANDER [SSNE 5384]
Text source
Alexander Wishart from Edinburgh was a merchant who worked in both the Dutch Republic and Norway. In the 1650s-60s he served as a factor for Sir William Davidson of Curriehill [SSNE 5382], at Davidson's ironworks in Mostadmark, Trondheim. Davidson, who invested heavily in the ironworks from 1656, placed Wishart there as the boss and director of the production in 1658. Wishart did not see eye-to-eye with the Norwegian owner of the ironworks, Bernt Brunsmand, who complained about the Scot, but Brunsmand died before any action was taken against Wishart. The privileges for the ironworks were transferred to Davidson in 1664, who held it until he sold the ironworks in 1675. Wishart presumably maintained his position at Mostadmarken until that time. Additionally, in 1668 Wishart acted as a translator for the Scottish Admiralty Court in a case involving the ship the 'Cavalier' in the second Dutch War. Wishart and his former employer Davidson fell out over a business arrangement by 1670 and notarial evidence exists to show the degree to which the men had gone their separate ways.
Sources:
R. Fladby (ed.), Norske Kongebrev (6 vols., Oslo, 1962), I, p.154; Swedish Riksarkiv, Anglica, VII, 542, 1660-1670, -Deposition of Jan Speult, skipper of The Cavalier 28 February 1668, translated by Alexander Wishart; Leif Halse, "Mostadmarkens Jernverk" in Malvik Bygdebok, (3 vols, Trondheim, 1957-9), vol.1, pp.237-243; Steve Murdoch, Network North: Scottish Kin, Commercial and Covert Associations in Northern Europe, 1603-1746 (Brill, Leiden, 2006), pp.196-198, 200.
With thanks to Dr Doug Catterall for providing copies of these papers from the Rotterdam Archive: Gemeentearchief Rotterdam, Oud-notarieel Archief, vol. 833 (Protocollen vav Zeger van de Brugge, 1662-1700), f.60. 5 January 1671; Same archive, vol. 596 (Protocollen van Johannes Crosse, 1664-1674), ff.43-46, 58, 66, 73, 76-79.
Service record
- DENMARK-NORWAY, TRONDHEIM, MOSTADMARK, NORWAY
- Arrived 1658-01-01
- Departed 1675-12-31
- Capacity FACTOR, COMMERCIAL AGENT, DIRECTOR OF IRONWORKS, purpose TRADE, BUSINESS, COMMERCE
- SCOTLAND, EDINBURGH
- Arrived 1668-01-01
- Capacity TRANSLATOR, purpose CIVIC
- SCOTLAND, DUTCH REPUBLIC, ROTTERDAM
- Arrived 1670-02-01
- Departed 1672-12-31
- Capacity MERCHANT, purpose TRADE, COMMERCE, MERCANTILE