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Post by brokennock on Sept 5, 2022 6:26:07 GMT -7
For those of you with your extensive archives of period 18th century periodicals and advertising, do you find much indication of beeswax being imported prior to introduced colonies of European honey bees growing enough to supply it as a raw material?
(Sorry for the run-on sentence)
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Post by artificer on Sept 5, 2022 9:52:11 GMT -7
Quite a lot of beeswax was exported from the middle/lower colonies in the first half of the 18th century onwards.
Can't get the link to work, so here's the important part of the text.
"Not long after arriving in the Colonies, people figured out how to keep bees in wooden frame hives so that they did not have to kill off the bees in order to harvest the honey and beeswax.
In 1730, Virginia's beeswax exports totaled 343,900 pounds. Averaged out amongst the population at the time, that comes out to 20 pounds of honey and 2 pounds of wax, per person. That means that there was somewhere in the neighborhood of 172,000 hives harvested simply for exportation purposes alone.
Between 1740 and 1744, there was 8,000 pounds of beeswax exported out of Yorktown.
Beeswax was being exported out of Philadelphia, Charleston, Pensacola and Mobile, among many other places, in huge amounts.
In 1767, records indicate 35 barrels of beeswax exported from Philadelphia.
In 1770, records from Great Britain show the following amounts of beeswax exported from the British Colonies.....
62,800 pounds to Great Britain
50,500 pounds to Southern Europe
10,000 pounds to Ireland
5,200 pounds to the West Indies and Africa
In 1740 North Carolina and 1785 Tennessee, a person was permitted to pay taxes with beeswax, due to money shortages."
Gus
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Post by spence on Sept 5, 2022 10:31:00 GMT -7
I’m not sure it’s known who introduced bees to North America, or exactly when. All I can find is “early 17th century”. I never searched my sources for bees or beeswax, and I have only a few references to either which I picked up when searching for other things.
I have no direct evidence of beeswax being imported. A few ads in the 18th century offer it for sale, but don’t say whether it was imported or domestic. One item from 1739 lists “1000 lbs. of Bees Wax, and Myrtle Wax” arriving in Virginia aboard the sloop Thomas and Tryal, but it came from North Carolina.
I have one record of beeswax being exported aboard the sloop Molly, “2 Hogsheads and 2 Barrels of Bees Wax“, to Madeira, in 1738.
Locally produced beeswax would seem to have been available pretty early, at least according to _ A Perfect description of Virginia : being, a full and true relation of the present state of the plantation, their health, peace, and plenty... Being sent from Virginia, at the request of a gentleman of worthy note, who desired to know the true state of Virginia as it now stands._, by Richard Wodenoth, printed in 1649. He said:
“25 They have store of Bees in their Woods, make plenty of honey and wax, and also tame Bees in hives about their Houses.”
So, there apparently was a significant population of wild honey bees before the middle of the 17th century.
Spence
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Post by brokennock on Sept 5, 2022 13:08:03 GMT -7
Interesting. Thank you gentlemen.
Based on what we commonly know as honey bees being non-native, I assumed beeswax would have had to be imported for use here. It would seem though that the introduced bees did well here and by the early to mid 18th century there was enough domestic production to turn from possible importation to an export.
I might also figure that during the period of time when there may not have been enough domestic beeswax for Colonial needs, the finished products (such as candles for instance) were more likely imported instead of the wax.
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Post by artificer on Sept 5, 2022 16:54:38 GMT -7
I'm just guessing mind you, but how well would they have had to pack candles so they wouldn't break during an 18th century trans-Atlantic voyage? Maybe smaller candles or even large church candles, but not the longer "tapers," I would think.
Gus
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Post by brokennock on Sept 5, 2022 16:59:35 GMT -7
Good question Gus. My assumption is purely based on Britain's uptight adherence to their "mercantile system."
The more I think about it, the less likely it seems that raw materials of any kind would have been imported into the colonies. It was supposed to work the other way around.
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Post by artificer on Sept 6, 2022 9:11:34 GMT -7
I was surprised at the amounts of beeswax exported to Britain, because after all, that's where most of our bees came from. One might think they could have had enough hives for all their needs? Yes, there were some surprising twists in the mercantile system. You may enjoy this article on Colonial Iron Production. www.flintriflesmith.com/WritingandResearch/WebArticles/ironandsteel.htm#topSaugus Iron works was the first place they began actually manufacturing some Iron goods. Hunter Iron Works in Virginia in the 1750's also began making many things for home and construction use. Both of these were technically against the mercantile system, but they got away with it. Gus |
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Post by armando on Sept 30, 2022 14:37:53 GMT -7
I've been looking for a "beeswax" citation for months!!! Thank you! Can you cite the source these figures are coming from? Barton?
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Post by armando on Oct 1, 2022 6:13:42 GMT -7
I’m not sure it’s known who introduced bees to North America, or exactly when. All I can find is “early 17th century”. I never searched my sources for bees or beeswax, and I have only a few references to either which I picked up when searching for other things. I have no direct evidence of beeswax being imported. A few ads in the 18th century offer it for sale, but don’t say whether it was imported or domestic. One item from 1739 lists “1000 lbs. of Bees Wax, and Myrtle Wax” arriving in Virginia aboard the sloop Thomas and Tryal, but it came from North Carolina. I have one record of beeswax being exported aboard the sloop Molly, “2 Hogsheads and 2 Barrels of Bees Wax“, to Madeira, in 1738. Locally produced beeswax would seem to have been available pretty early, at least according to _ A Perfect description of Virginia : being, a full and true relation of the present state of the plantation, their health, peace, and plenty... Being sent from Virginia, at the request of a gentleman of worthy note, who desired to know the true state of Virginia as it now stands._, by Richard Wodenoth, printed in 1649. He said: “25 They have store of Bees in their Woods, make plenty of honey and wax, and also tame Bees in hives about their Houses.” So, there apparently was a significant population of wild honey bees before the middle of the 17th century. Sir Do you have a reference citation for those beeswax ads? Spence |
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Post by spence on Oct 1, 2022 7:21:16 GMT -7
Armando said, "Do you have a reference citation for those beeswax ads?"
I only seem to have collected one actual ad, Armando.
1732 Boston newspaper
"John Merrett, grocer. At the Three Sugar Loaves and Cannister near the Town-House sells: cocoa, chocolate, tea bohea and green, coffee raw and roasted, all sorts of loaf sugar, powder and muscavado sugar, sugar-candy brown and white, candy’d citron, pepper, pimienta or alspice, white pepper, red pepper, cinnamon, clove, mace, nutmegs, ginger race and powder, raisins, currants, almonds sweet and bitter, prunes, figgs, rice, ground rice, pearl barley, sago, starch, hair-powder, powder blue, indigo, annis, corriander and carraway seeds, saltpetre, brimstone, flower of brimstone, all sorts of snuff, allum, rozin, beeswax, tamarines, castile soap, fine florence oyl, vinegar, capers, olives, anchovies, and fine English pickled wallnuts, icing-glass, hartshorn shavings and burnt gums ” …
Here are the citations for the two items I mentioned above.
THE VIRGINIA GAZETTE
July 20, 1739
July 18. Sloop Thomas and Tryal, of North Carolina, John Nelson, Master, from North-Carolina, with 146 Barrels of Tar, 12 Barrels of Turpentine, 4 Barrels of Rice, 60 Barrels of Pork, 2 Barrels of Whale Oyl, 1 Barrels of Tallow, 1000 lbs. of Bees Wax, and Myrtle Wax, 50 lbs. of raw and drest Deer Skins, 50 lbs. of Hides, a Small parcel of Furs, a Bag of Feathers, 150 lbs. of Butter and Cheese, 45 pair of Mill-Stones, 20 Bushels of Pease, and 2 Barrels of Beef .
THE VIRGINIA GAZETTE
November 24, 1738
November 22. Sloop Molly, of Virginia, Thomas Wilson, Master, for Madeira, with 2014 Bushels of Wheat , 230 Bushels of Corn , 107 Bushels of Bonavest , 2 Hogsheads and 2 Barrels of Bees Wax , 4 Barrels of Flour, and 400 Hogshead Staves.
Spence
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Post by spence on Oct 2, 2022 8:34:16 GMT -7
The item about the sloop Molly lists "107 Bushels of Bonavest". Does anyone know what bonavest is?
Spence
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Keith
Hunter
Bushfire close but safe now. Getting some good rain.
Posts: 1,002 
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Post by Keith on Oct 5, 2022 17:51:27 GMT -7
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Post by spence on Oct 5, 2022 18:34:00 GMT -7
Most excellent, Keith. Your research skills always amaze me.
Thank you.
Spence
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