Letter from Count Joseph Cage to Duke of Powis - Seville 1736
Mr James Baker or Mr Duvals
Plumber near grays in gate
Holborn
London
To: His Grace the Duke of Powis, at Powis Castle near Welch Pool.
Sevilla July 1736
My Lord
Three year agoe I had the honor of writing to your grace about Lady Mary, you then [illegible] your consent of my hapiness In that point, only that you sem’d desierous to have some things first ended. My Lord what ever has bin your graces, as well as Lady Marys will and pleasure for this 19 years past has always bin a rule and a lan [illegible] me and ever shall be so. And I believe that I have proved in that time both in pains and little fortune, which I never spared in all occasions to contribute in everything that could be for her Ladyships content you honor. And if it was to begin again and that I had Kingdom, it should be disposed of for her service. But pray give me leave to represent to your grace that years passes very fast away over our heads, and that it is full time, (with your consent) to have that affair ended. I desire nothing so much as to be aly’d to your family, and as for settlements none at all if you think proper, or when ever it is most convenient to you all that I desire is to have it ended at present for if Ive are to stay till all things are concluded I am afraid many years may pass first. That affair my Lord may be done in this place without any bodys knowing of it, and besides that I regard her Ladyship to that degree that I am [illegible] that every thing should fall upon me. Therefore my Lord let me beg of you to [illegible] your content, and orders upon this subject, that it may be immediately ended, as realy in conscience it should be. My happiness depends upon your grace, I have you wont refuse it me. And you shall find that none of your children, shall ever be more dutiful, love and regard all that belongs to your grace more than I who am with a great deal of respect
My Lord
Your graces most obedient and humble servant
Jo Gage.
Background and follow up
transcription and background by Alex Cutts
This letter, handwritten by Joseph Gage in July 1936, addressed to Maria Herbert’s father, the Duke of Powis, requests the Duke to give consent for Mary's hand in marriage.
Mary was a Catholic woman, educated outside of the United Kingdom in Ghent, Belgium. She met Joseph Gage whilst living in Paris in 1719, where they both became early speculators in the Mississippi Company, and persuaded their family and friends to follow suit.
The Mississippi Company was a corporation, involved in international trade, holding a monopoly across French colonies in the early 18th century. It was one of the earliest examples of an economic bubble, coming to be referred to as the “Mississippi Bubble” which subsequently burst in 1721.
Mary would frequently reside in different lodgings to avoid creditors who were conducting a lengthy lawsuit against Richard Cantillon, an Irish-French banker and merchant. In 1927 Mary returned to Madrid, Spain, where she once resided, in another attempt to avoid creditors. She was eventually awarded a contract to work on and drain the Pozo Rico silver mine in Guadalcanal, Andalucia, thanks to contacts of hers. In February 1929, she moved to Seville with her Aunt Carrington where she was once again reunited with Joseph Gage who would go on to run the operations of the mine.
By July 1732, Gage and superintendent Richard Richardson had pulled off a heroic feat with a motley crew of 400 laborers, draining the Guadalcanal mine down to level six. A certificate was issued by inspectors, but the client, Conde de Cogorani had no intention of paying Mary. It took eight years for her to win the case in court, during which time she had to remain in Spain, and the mine slowly filled with water.
Sources:
More about Lady Mary, her life and her part in the history of Rio Tinto.
The original letter and many others are archived in the 'Powis Castle Papers Collection' held at the National Library of Wales in Aberystwyth.
Martin Murphy has undertaken detailed research and published accounts of their lives in the Montgomeryshire Collections Vol. 85 and Vol. 86. and his book "The Duchess of Rio Tinto - The story of Mary Herbert and Joseph Cage"
