*CANCELLED* A legacy jeopardized ‘for that the king our master called himself head of the church in England’: English merchants in Spain and the struggle for Thomas Howell's bequest

Due to unforeseen circumstances, this session has been cancelled today- 21 November 2022.

In his will, dictated to a Spanish notary in 1537, the dying Thomas Howell cited ‘my greate booke’ (trading ledger), left with The Drapers in London. Howell knew that his lack of progeny, and death in Spain four years after Henry VIII’s break with Rome, put his legacy in a precarious position. Although the last entry in his ledger was dated 1528, Howell hoped it would quantify his life - not just in terms of profit and loss, but in terms of contacts, loyalties, and reliability.  

Referring to this, as well as letters archived in Seville and London, I shall unpick the controversy and litigation caused by Howell’s substantial will.