Droit d'Aubaine, the Proposed Fondic, English Merchants, and the Treaty of Blois, 1599
Droit d'Aubaine and the Proposed Fondic
Neville's recommendation
Writing from Orléans on 18 July 1599 O.S., Neville addressed the revival of the 1572 Treaty of Blois and a proposal that English merchants obtain exemption from the French droit d'aubaine through a staple or “fondic.” In the letter printed in Winwood volume 1, he reports that merchants trading in France did not want to be forced into an expensive corporation and recommends that the privilege be secured without that condition.
The legal point matters. Droit d'aubaine concerned the French crown's rights over property of foreigners dying in France. A fondic or staple was an organized merchant establishment. Neville was not rejecting protection for English property; he was objecting to making that protection depend on a corporate structure the consulted traders said would burden them.
Treaty control
The British Library catalogues the original Anglo-French treaty of 19 April 1572 as Add MS 24671. The exact treaty clauses and any later confirmations must control the legal statement. Neville elsewhere argued that the treaty had lapsed for want of timely signification after Henry III's death and would need to be sworn anew; that was Neville's legal position in negotiation, not a judicial ruling reproduced in the letter.
Camden's contemporary chronicle independently notes the 1600 complaints about new French customs said to be contrary to the Treaty of Blois in the annals for 1600. This confirms that the customs dispute was not invented by a later summary, while leaving the merits of each impost to the instruments and tariffs.
Evidence boundaries
| Statement | Evidentiary status |
|---|---|
| Neville recommended unconditional aubaine protection | directly reported in his dispatch |
| consulted merchants opposed the fondic/corporation | Neville's report of consultation |
| every English merchant opposed it | not proved |
| France accepted Neville's formulation | not yet proved |
| the 1572 treaty governed every complained-of charge | requires clause-by-clause legal comparison |
Next research should identify the merchant memorial Neville sent, the names and ports of the merchants, the proposed French wording, English company records, and the final diplomatic disposition.
Source Control and Public Sources
Winwood controls Neville's recommendation; the British Library treaty record and Camden chronicle supply independent public routes. Neither proves later French acceptance.