International Merchant

The House of Derby.

Elias Hasket Derby's father, Richard Derby, had been one of the most prosperous merchants in Salem, Massachusetts. In 1761 Elias Derby married Elizabeth Crowninshield, daughter of another leading merchant family. After Derby took over managing his father's firm in the early 1780s, he made it one of the most successful businesses in America. During the American Revolution the Derbys had made their commercial vessels into privateers, raiding British commerce under the authority of the U.S. Congress. After the Revolution, having made a significant fortune during the war, Derby began sending his ships on longer voyages to South Africa, the Indian Ocean, and ultimately China and the Dutch East Indies.

Grand Turk.

Derby supervised every aspect of his business, from the building of ships to the direction of the voyages. But he recognized the limits of his own authority...