Living History: The Prize Papers in the British Archives
Together with the
Embassy of Spain in London and the
Cátedra Internacional CEU Elcano, we are pleased to invite
BritishSpanish Society members to this fantastic presentation on: “Living History: The Prize Papers in the British Archives”.
The event will highlight the growing collaboration between the Cátedra Internacional CEU Elcano, the Historical Archives of the Spanish Navy, and the Göttingen Academy of Sciences and Humanities in Lower Saxony. Together, they are studying this remarkable collection of Spanish documents captured at sea between the 17th and 19th centuries, now preserved at The National Archives in Kew.
It will include the participation of various respected authorities on the subject, including
Charles Powell, Director of the Elcano Royal InstituteChristopher Storrs, University of DundeeMilagrosa Romero, Cátedra Internacional CEU ElcanoDate: Wednesday, 12th November 2025
Venue: Residence of the Ambassador of Spain in London
Time: Arrival from 9.00am, with the programme running from 9.30am to 12.15pm, followed by a reception kindly offered by HE the Ambassador of Spain in London.
About the Prize Papers Collection
The Prize Papers Project is dedicated to the study of the Prize Papers Collection, a vast and unique trove of documents and artefacts that track the daily lives of people around the globe in the time of the European colonial expansion and resistance.The objects in the Prize Papers Collection were impounded by the High Court of Admiralty of the English and later British Royal Navy between 1652 and 1815, and they are now held by The National Archives of the UK.The Prize Papers were collected as a result of the early modern naval practice of prize-taking: capturing ships belonging hostile powers, dealing severe blows to their military, political and economic capabilities. This practice had its heyday in the 17th and 18th centuries, and so the collection proves a fascinating insight into the formative period of European colonial expansion.The Prize Papers Project is part of the Göttingen Academy of Sciences and Humanities in Lower Saxony, Germany. It is based at the Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg, Germany, and The National Archives, UK.
