The World of Jacob de Pinna, Notary and Culture-Broker

Abstract Jacob de Pinna ( c. 1742–1827) was an Anglo-Jewish notary-translator. Translation was an essential part of British naval bureaucracy; De Pinna was one of the British High Court of Admiralty’s favorite translators. His labor was part of the machinery of early modern global trade and global conflict. It was also a form of intercultural mediation, carried out in the heart of London. This article explores both aspects of De Pinna’s world, via the notarial documents, invoices, and translations that he left behind, drawing in particular on methodologies from the sociology of work. Paying attention to notaries highlights their invisible work underpinning the entire system of naval prize, a source of immense wealth in this period. It also reveals their role as intermediaries between the Admiralty and the individual sailors caught in the wake of the eighteenth century’s global conflicts.