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447 - CHARLES V (1500–1558). L.S. ‘Carolus’, Valladolid, 14 July 1…
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Estimate €1,500 - €1,800
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Description
CHARLES V (1500–1558). L.S. ‘Carolus’, Valladolid, 14 July 1523, to the administrators of the Bank of the Office of St George; countersigned by G. Argellensis; 1 folio page, address on the reverse with a seal bearing the coat of arms under paper (small hole not affecting the text); in Latin. Protest against the practices of the Bank of Genoa. [Founded in 1407, the Office of St George, established to support Genoa’s maritime enterprises, became one of Europe’s leading banks, notably lending substantial sums to Charles V. To secure its loans, the Office demanded a right of mortgage over territories, which it subsequently had no hesitation in seizing.] The Emperor warns the directors that, if they care for their reputation, they should not defend their bank’s interests to the extent of condoning the unjust dispossession of private individuals: ‘If you wish to retain your former esteem, you ought not to be so concerned with the profits of your bank as to condone the wrongdoing against private individuals’. He took Jacques, Conrad and Nicolas Spinola under his protection, along with their mother Cornelia, the guardian of these minors. He demands that these dispossessed wards be fully restored to their rights, whilst their father Lucas had been forcibly dispossessed by Octaviano Fulgosio of the town known as Pieve, which Octaviano subsequently annexed to the bank to consolidate his unlawful actions: ‘We have taken Iacobum, Conradum and Nicolinum Spinola, together with Cornelia, the mother and guardian of the wards, into our care. And we request that, since Lucas, their father, was in fact dispossessed by Octaviano Fulgosio of the town known as Pieve, and that same town has been forcibly seized by Octaviano Fulgosio to further consolidate his unlawful acts, and that he has attached it to your mountain, in accordance with the greater freedom established here, the dispossessed wards may be fully restored to their former state.” Once restitution has been made, it will still be possible to bring a case in accordance with the laws, statutes and customs. The Emperor considers this request to be most just and a matter of equity, and he urges the administrators to preserve their reputation and not to allow a precedent to be set whereby anyone, on a mere whim, might dispossess another of their property: ‘We urge you to heed your own judgement and not to allow this practice to resurface, lest anyone, on a mere whim, be deprived of your property in the said case. For if this were permitted with your approval, there would be nothing here that could be said to belong to anyone.”
See original version (French)
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About the sale Letters and Autograph Manuscripts – Part II
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Auction time 10/14/2026 at 2:00 PM
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