Luis Aury Papers

A Finding Aid to the Collection in the Library of Congress

Prepared by Margaret McAleer

Manuscript Division, Library of Congress

Washington, D.C.

2009

Contact information: http://lcweb.loc.gov/rr/mss/address.html

Finding aid encoded by Library of Congress Manuscript Division, 2009

Finding aid URL: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.mss/eadmss.ms009074

Table of Contents

Collection Summary

Selected Search Terms

Personal Names

Subjects

Locations

Occupations

Administrative Information

Provenance:

Processing History:

Copyright Status:

Access and Restrictions:

Preferred Citation:

Scope and Content Note

Arrangement of the Papers

Container List

Collection Summary

Selected Search Terms

The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in the Library's online catalog. They are grouped by name of person or organization, by subject or location, and by occupation and listed alphabetically therein.

Administrative Information

The papers of Luis Aury, French privateer and governor of an independent republic in Galveston, Texas, from 1816 to 1817, were purchased by the Library of Congress in 1995. A commission was transferred from the Manuscript Division's Miscellaneous Manuscripts Collection in 1996.

The papers of Luis Aury were arranged and described in 1996. The finding aid was revised in 2009.

The status of copyright in the unpublished writings of Luis Aury is governed by the Copyright Law of the United States (Title 17, U.S.C.).

The papers of Luis Aury are open to research. Researchers are advised to contact the Manuscript Reading Room prior to visiting. Many collections are stored off-site and advance notice is needed to retrieve these items for research use.

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: Container number, Luis Aury Papers, Manuscript Division, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.

Scope and Content Note

The papers of Luis Aury (circa 1787-circa 1821) span the years 1801-1911, with the bulk of the material dating from 1801 to 1822. The papers, written in French and Spanish, include originals and copies of correspondence, records relating to the settlement of Aury's estate, legal documents, a commission, and a newspaper. The correspondence consists largely of letters written by Aury to his family between 1801 and 1816. One of the earliest of these, written while Aury was still an apprentice, describes his experiences as a member of French naval forces sent to Saint-Dominigue in 1802. Letters after 1808 recount his exploits as a corsair conducting raids on English and Spanish ships in the Caribbean.

Financial records relating to the settlement of Aury's estate in 1821 include a ledger and other accounts which provide information on his activities as naval commander in the Caribbean on behalf of the United Provinces of South America (later renamed the United Provinces of Río de la Plata). The records list, among other things, Aury's expenses, ships, prize cargoes, and personal property as well as the names of his creditors, officers, and crew.

Other items include a commission authorizing raids on Spanish ships which was signed by Aury while governor of an independent republic established by him in Galveston, Texas, in 1816. An edition of a Paris newspaper, Le Constitutionnel, contains a brief summary of Aury's activities from 1818 to October 1819.

Arrangement of the Papers

This collection is arranged alphabetically by type of material.

Container List