[4 confidential letters by Robert Goes to the registrars of the Dutch States General on the Baltic Sea trade].[The Netherlands, written 1689-1690 and copied then or soon after]. 4 manuscript letters. Folio. Written in one column in three different 17th-century hands (each letter written, signed and dated in a single hand) on 5 bifolia (2 bifolia for the letter dated 5 December 1689). Folded.

[3], [1 blank]; [2]; [2]; [2] ll.Contemporary copies of four "secret" letters written by Robert Goes, the Dutch Republic's resident in Copenhagen, presumably addressed to the registrars (griffiers) of the States General. As resident, Robert Goes (ca. 1660-1723), Lord of Broekhorst, was charged with the trade negotiations for the States General at the court of Denmark.The four letters by Goes report and discuss current affairs and trade information, particularly concerning the Baltic Sea trade and relations between Denmark and the Dutch Republic. In addition to such administrative matters, he discusses piracy, as in the last letter of 9 December 1690. In this letter he reports that a Copenhagen merchant has filed a complaint about an act of piracy by the Dutch against one of his ships, because such acts of piracy hinder the efforts to let Dutch and Danish ships carry out trade in peace with one another. Altogether these letters provide a detailed insight into various aspects of the Baltic Sea trade and the affairs of the Dutch resident in Copenhagen.The present copies must have been transcribed from the originals, almost certainly by the States General themselves, given the confidentiality of the letters. The watermarks match those in other documents written in The Hague at the time.Inserted are modern transcriptions of the letters. Edges slightly frayed, some browning, folds of the letters a little worn. Otherwise still in good condition.