Steve / Chris,
A "Coast Broker" would have been an agent for the "Coastal Trade".
[As opposed to the "International Trade".]
This was the commerce that was conducted in smallish ships around the coasts of Britain and Ireland, though sometimes further afield.
[e.g. Channel Islands, Azores, Dantzig.
Some brave souls even ventured over the Atlantic to America,
but only in the summer time when the weather was good!]
The HASLETTs may have chosen to concentrate on it because of the unstable nature of the times. The coastal trade was typically executed in convoys. Many ships left Belfast in such groups, under the protection of the Sandwich lugger - a heavily armed escort which also carried the post.
They headed for "The Downs", an assembly area off Deal in Kent, where ships (sometimes as many as 800 at a time) had to wait (sometimes for weeks) for favourable winds before being able to turn in to the North Sea or the Thames river.
The role of agent must have been very political, balancing demands from all directions (producers, sellers, buyers, owners, captains, ships, weather, privateers, convoys, etc.).
It was also quite precarious financially.
Their typical "cut" seems to have been 5% of the value of the cargo.
The transactions were frequently done on trust.
This was fine until it went awry.
The WHITTLEs in Virginia got involved in a protracted law suit over an (allegedly) late/not_top_quality shipment of tobacco to merchant James BAILLIE of Belfast aboard the Brig "Exchange" in late 1810.
[This had been able to sail to Belfast direct because the Americans had temporarily lifted their trade embargo.]
BAILLIE refused to accept it, and his backers, (JOHNSTON & McQUOID, "Irish Merchants" of 6 SCOTT's yard, Bush Lane, off Cannon Street, London) refused to honour their invoices (as per the usual arrangement).
The value of the shipment was $65,000 (!) so a protracted action ensued in the Court of the Kings Bench.
[Cracking stuff!
All recorded on large velum documents in The National Archives at Kew.
They detail how the trade was organised and effected.]
Perhaps HH also had some interface with J & McQ ?]
The agents kept very good records, in case of difficulties.
Some of these were marshalled in what were known as "Letter Books".
[There might be one for HH held at PRONI ...?]
The WHITTLE family were based at Glenavy, though several brothers traded in Belfast. There was also a HASLETT presence in Glenavy, so this might indicate a possible 18thC origin for the family.
[William HASLETT b. 1788 was a weaver, of swarthy complexion, who became a soldier in the 5th Dragoon guards, discharched in 1832.
Ref: TNA WO 97/64/31 ]
