signed
1849 · (Bonaire, Leeward Antilles
by BOYLE, William Ernst; Consulate of the United States of America, Bonaire
(Bonaire, Leeward Antilles, 1849. Very Good. Partly printed document, completed in manuscript (8" x 11"). Signed and dated (29th of July 1849) by U.S. Vice-Consul William Boye, and blind stamped with the U.S. Consulate seal of Bonaire. Partially split along two horizontal folds, very good. A rare, well-preserved document from the Denis Vandervelde Collection of Disinfected Mail of the World, 1590-2020. The certificate reads in part:
"I, William Ernst Boye, Vice-Consul of the United States of America for the port of Bonaire, do hereby certify, that the Schooner ... *Sylvan* of Stockton [California], of the registered burden of 137 tons, whereof B.E. Young is Master ... being in all Seven persons on board, cleared this day at port for Boston. I further certify, that in this port and its vicinity, good health prevails, without suspicion of plague or contagious distemper whatsoever ..."
To prevent the spread of serious diseases, ship Bills of Health were issued by government officials to certify that a ship's cargo, passengers, and crew were likely free of contagious disease. Bonaire at this time had been established by the Dutch government as an official slave plantation for the harvesting of salt. According to an accompanying note by Denis Vandervelde, the *Sylvan* was registered at Stockton, California, which had been founded in 1849 by the German Captain Charles Weber (on a grant of 50,000 acres from the Spanish government), to accommodate the initial waves of ‘49ers' and other participants in the gold rush.
An exceptionally scarce document linking public health, the California gold rush, and African slave trade. (Inventory #: 587978)
"I, William Ernst Boye, Vice-Consul of the United States of America for the port of Bonaire, do hereby certify, that the Schooner ... *Sylvan* of Stockton [California], of the registered burden of 137 tons, whereof B.E. Young is Master ... being in all Seven persons on board, cleared this day at port for Boston. I further certify, that in this port and its vicinity, good health prevails, without suspicion of plague or contagious distemper whatsoever ..."
To prevent the spread of serious diseases, ship Bills of Health were issued by government officials to certify that a ship's cargo, passengers, and crew were likely free of contagious disease. Bonaire at this time had been established by the Dutch government as an official slave plantation for the harvesting of salt. According to an accompanying note by Denis Vandervelde, the *Sylvan* was registered at Stockton, California, which had been founded in 1849 by the German Captain Charles Weber (on a grant of 50,000 acres from the Spanish government), to accommodate the initial waves of ‘49ers' and other participants in the gold rush.
An exceptionally scarce document linking public health, the California gold rush, and African slave trade. (Inventory #: 587978)
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