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Originally Posted by w7imel
Ok I guess here is my question. I have seen dozens of these online and they all have the same looking "John Hancock" in upper right corner. So your going to tell me that every one of them knew how to fill out a cargo slip the same way Hancock did? I dont think so. Most of this sailors probably couldn't read or write let alone fill out cargo manifests in such elegant writing. From what I have read Hancock was a smuggler of sorts. Hancock wrote these for them. Compare this document to any Hancock letter and letter formations the same. I can Post pictures of these as well.
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Believe what you want. The document was written--in its entirety--by the ship's Captain. Who could read, write, and do lots of other things, like knowing enough mathematics to navigate on the high seas. He could certainly fill out a simple form.
Hancock was simply a person shipping goods. He had absolutely no authority to fill out and sign a Bill of Lading. Only the shipper could do that. It's still the same today.