The World of Jacob de Pinna, Notary and Culture-Broker: The role of eighteenth-century London notaries as intercultural go-betweens
- Event type
- Seminar
- Series
- British History in the Long 18th Century
- Address
- Hybrid | Online-via Zoom & IHR Wolfson Room NB01, Basement, IHR, Senate House, Malet Street, London WC1E 7HU
- Speakers
- Rebecca Earle (University of Warwick)
- Event dates
- Contact
- ihr.events@sas.ac.uk Email only
Jacob de Pinna (c.1742-1827) was an Anglo-Jewish notary-translator. Translation was an essential part of British naval bureaucracy; De Pinna was one of the British High Court of Admiralty’s favourite translators. His labour, sometimes intimate, sometimes tedious, was part of the machinery of early modern global trade and global conflict. It was also a form of intercultural go-betweening, carried out in the heart of London. This talk explores both aspects of De Pinna’s world, via the notarial documents, invoices, and translations that he left behind, drawing in particular on methodologies from the sociology of work. Paying attention to notaries highlights their invisible work underpinning the entire system of naval prize, a source of immense wealth in this period. It also reveals their role as intermediaries between the Admiralty and the individual sailors caught in the wake of the eighteenth century’s global conflicts.
This seminar aims to create a welcoming space for discussion and debate, fostering a professional environment where diverse views and perspectives can be shared. You can find more on this via our seminar page on the IHR website.
All welcome. This event is free to attend, but advance registration is required.
This will be a ‘hybrid’ seminar with a limited number of places available in person and a larger number of bookings for online attendance via Zoom. Those attending in person are asked to bring a Wi-Fi enabled laptop, tablet or phone.
The session will start at the slightly later time of 17:30.
