THOM(P)SON Tidbits |
Submissions are welcome and will be categorized and linked from this page.
As we know, David Thomson was an apothecary. This information about the formation of the apothecaries guild may be a clue as to why he was so interested in exploring the new world...there was money to be made by a brave and entrepreneurial pharmacist!
The Society of Apothecaries of London
"Trade in drugs and spices was lucrative in the Middle Ages. In the British Isles, it was monopolized by the Guild of Grocers, which had jurisdiction over the apothecaries. After years of effort, the apothecaries found allies among court physicians. Upon persuasion by the philosopher-politician, Francis Bacon, King James I granted a charter in 1617 which formed a separate company known as the "Master, Wardens and Society of the Art and Mystery of the Apothecaries of the City of London" over vigorous protests of the grocers. This was the first organization of pharmacists in the Anglo-Saxon world."
Tidbits || Genealogy || Web Centre || Researchers || Links || What's New