Casper Van Senden was a German merchant who was active in Tudor-era

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

during the 16th century. Born in the German city of

Lübeck Lübeck (; Low German also ), officially the Hanseatic City of Lübeck (german: Hansestadt Lübeck), is a city in Northern Germany. With around 217,000 inhabitants, Lübeck is the second-largest city on the German Baltic coast and in the stat ...

, he eventually moved to the English capital of

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, a major port at the time. Working as a merchant in

Hanseatic League The Hanseatic League (; gml, Hanse, , ; german: label=Modern German, Deutsche Hanse) was a medieval commercial and defensive confederation of merchant guilds and market towns in Central and Northern Europe. Growing from a few North German to ...

, he rose to prominence in 1596 by ensuring the safe return of 89 English subjects who were detained in the

Iberian Union pt, União Ibérica , conventional_long_name =Iberian Union , common_name = , year_start = 1580 , date_start = 25 August , life_span = 1580–1640 , event_start = War of the Portuguese Succession , event_end = Portuguese Restoration War , ...

. This brought Van Senden to the attention of

Queen Elizabeth I Elizabeth I (7 September 153324 March 1603) was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. Elizabeth was the last of the five House of Tudor monarchs and is sometimes referred to as the "Virgin Queen". El ...

, as he entered her court to seek compensation. While at the English court, Van Senden requested to transport "

Blackamoores ''Blackamoores: Africans in Tudor England, their Presence, Status and Origins'' is a 2013 non-fiction book by British historian and writer Onyeka Nubia which explores the history of Black people in Tudor-era England. Based on a study of 250,0 ...

" out of the country and sell them in Portugal or Spain to compensate for the money spent freeing the 89 detainees. Some deportations of "Turks and Moors" from England were arranged at this period by Admiralty officials acting under royal authority. Elizabeth subsequently issued a royal warrant to Van Senden, granting him the right to transport the "Blackamoores" out of the country and sell them in Portugal or Spain. During this time, he became a protégé of Sir Thomas Shirley, who supported his plans. The warrant stated (in part):

Casper van Senden a merchant of Lubeck did by his labor and travell procure 89 of her Ma esty'ssubiectes that were detayned prisoners in Spaine and Portugall to be released, and brought them hither into this Realme at his owne cost and charges, for the w ih his expences and declaration of his honest minde towardes those prizoners, he only desireth to have lycense to take up so many Blackamoores here in this Realme and to transport them into Spaine and Portugall.

However, the plan proved unsuccessful, as the warrant stipulated that all Africans who were servants could not be removed with the permission of their masters, all of whom proved reluctant to assent to Van Senden's plan. A second warrand urged compliance. In the end, Van Senden failed to collect even one African to transport to Portugal or Spain. Despite this, he continued to work for the release of English subjects overseas.

References

16th-century German businesspeople 16th-century German people Businesspeople from Lübeck People of the Tudor period {{Germany-bio-stub