Accession Number

1986.008.1960

Creation Date

circa 1620

Description

6.5 by 5.0 cm. Very fragile.

Exhibition Label

Case Caption (2023):

A COLONIST—GASPAR DE ROJAS

Gaspar de Rojas had immigrated to Peru with his family as a boy, and lived in Lima, where he had become a prominent merchant. He imported textiles and other manufactured goods from Europe and also traded in leather, wax, and fur. He was the agent responsible for a consignment of 100 silver ingots on the Santa Margarita, and 11 on the Nuestra Señora de Atocha.

De Rojas had risked the transatlantic voyage several times. Records state that in 1616 he returned to Peru from Spain accompanied by his bookkeeper and an enslaved mulatto man. In 1620, he sailed with an enslaved African named Felipe Biafra. Aboard the Santa Margarita, he was traveling with his nephew, don Francisco de Rojas. They both drowned in the shipwreck.
Object Caption (2023):

Ball Locks
Iron (c.1600)
Gift of Jamestown Inc.
1986.008.1767, 1986.008.1960

These locks would have kept personal possessions secure. A chest might store household silver, but it might also hold rich fabrics and clothes, tooled leather, and other domestic valuables.