DECRÈS (Denis, Duke of) - Lot 222

DECRÈS (Denis, Duke of) Châteauvillain, 1761 - Paris, 1820. Vice-admiral, Minister of the Navy and Colonies under the Consulate and Empire, Grand Officer of the Empire. L.S. "Decrès" addressed to the Imperial Commissioner to the Seven Islands in Corfu. Paris, May 29, 1809. One folio page on laid paper, handwritten header "Marine et Colonies - 5e Division - Prises". Important letter concerning the affair of the Russian ship La Minerve, arrested in Corfu, and the decisions rendered by the Conseil des prises in the context of the Napoleonic Wars and imperial maritime control. Decrès sends the Imperial Commissioner extracts from two successive decisions of the Conseil des prises concerning the proceeds from the sale of the ship and its cargo. He ordered the restitution of the sums to the merchant Constantin Zafiriopoulo, after deduction of the costs legitimately incurred, while reserving any actions by Captain Dedde Riga and verification of the interests of the various partners: "...the proceeds of the sale of this vessel and its accessories will be returned to S. Constantin Zafiriopoulo, less the legitimate costs incurred...". The Minister goes on to specify that the second decision also orders the restitution of the net proceeds of the cargo, subject to confirmation of the true owners designated in the purchase deed: "...subject to affirming (...) that the only owners of the said cargo are those designated in the deed of acquisition." A fine administrative document illustrating the workings of the Conseil des prises under the Empire, an essential jurisdiction for handling captured ships and maritime trade disputes during the Continental Blockade. Very fine signature by Decrès at the bottom of the letter. Appointed Minister of the Navy in 1801, Denis Decrès remained in this position until the fall of the Empire. He was one of the main architects of the reorganization of the imperial navy, and played a major role in the naval, colonial and commercial administration of Napoleonic France.