Christopher Schutz facts for kids
Christopher Schutz (born 1521, died 1592) was a skilled metal expert from Germany. He was also known as Jonas Schutz in England. He spent many years working in England. Schutz built the very first blast furnace in England, located at Tintern. He also helped test the rocks (called ore) that Sir Martin Frobisher brought back from Baffin Island. These rocks were thought to contain valuable metals, but they turned out to be worthless.
Early Work in England
Christopher Schutz was born in Annaberg, Germany. He learned how to work with metals in the mines of the Ore Mountains. Around 1563, he was invited to come to England.
William Humfrey, who was the main metal tester at the Royal Mint, needed someone who understood calamine ore. Calamine was important for making metals like latten and brass. Humfrey paid for Schutz to travel to England.
In 1564, Schutz and twenty German workers built England's first blast furnace at Tintern. A blast furnace is a special oven used to melt metal from ore.
By 1565, Humfrey and Schutz were given permission to search for calamine ore in England and Ireland. They soon found calamine in the Mendip Hills. Another expert, Daniel Hoechstetter, helped design a way to use this ore in Schutz's furnace.
As a reward for his work, Schutz became a legal resident of England in 1568. However, getting the calamine ore was too expensive for making brass. So, a new company called the Company of Mineral and Battery Works took over the furnace. They changed it to make iron wire instead.
Schutz also helped develop calamine lotion. This lotion was used to treat burns from the furnaces. He worked on this with Burchard Kranich, another German metal expert and a doctor for the Queen.
Over the next ten years, Schutz's skills were used by the company to design other metal-working places. These included a steel furnace in Robertsbridge, Sussex, and smelters (places where ore is melted) in places like Sheffield and Bristol. The company was very large, employing about 8,000 workers.
The Frobisher Voyages
Schutz's next big project did not go well financially. In 1577, he helped test a black stone. This stone had been found by Robert Garrard on Christopher Hall Island during Sir Martin Frobisher's first trip to the Canadian Arctic. Frobisher was looking for the Northwest Passage, a sea route to Asia.
An Italian expert named Giovanni Battista Agnello claimed the stone contained gold. Schutz seemed to agree, which led to the government sending Frobisher on a second trip to Baffin Island. Schutz went with Frobisher's ships. He reportedly found a "great ruby stone" which Frobisher promised to give to the Queen in Schutz's name. However, this ruby was never seen again after Frobisher took it.
Back in England, Schutz performed several tests on the black ore brought back from this second trip. Other experts, including Agnello and Kranich, also tested the ore. Schutz and Kranich often disagreed, with Schutz accusing Kranich of being unskilled. Later, it was claimed that Kranich had added gold and silver coins to his tests to make the ore seem more valuable.
Schutz did his tests in a small furnace at Sir William Wynter's home in London. One test showed the ore had a lot of gold and silver. This made government officials decide to send Frobisher on a third trip to get even more ore.
However, Schutz's later tests showed less gold and silver. Even so, Frobisher's third voyage went ahead. A large smelter was built at Dartford under Schutz's guidance.
More tests at Dartford showed even less valuable metal. This made people suspicious of Schutz, Frobisher, and Michael Lok, who was a main supporter of the voyages. The officials ordered Schutz to do another test in front of them. This test showed slightly better results, which seemed to satisfy them.
Schutz and Robert Denham then offered to buy all the ore at Dartford themselves. They wanted to refine it at their own cost. However, Frobisher suggested that Schutz and Lok were trying to trick them and get valuable ore for themselves. So, the offer was turned down.
Work at Dartford stopped. Later, it was found that the 1,400 tons of ore brought back from Baffin Island actually contained no gold at all. Experts now believe that the way the ore was tested might have been wrong. Also, the most valuable "red ore" that Schutz had found was not brought back in large amounts on the voyages.
Later Life
Not much is known about Christopher Schutz's final years. He seemed to avoid serious trouble from the Frobisher disaster, even though many investors lost a lot of money. The Dartford furnace was eventually sold. By 1586, it became England's first paper mill.
Schutz is believed to have worked for King James of Scotland as a Master of Works for Ores.
Schutz's exact death date is not known. He owned a house in London. In his will, dated 1574, he asked to be buried in his local church. His will was officially approved in 1592. He left most of his money to his executor, Francis Barty. Barty was one of the first investors in the Company of Mineral and Battery Works. Barty had also recommended Schutz to Sir William Cecil back in 1566.
Images for kids
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Modern-day Kimmirut, in the area known to Schutz as Meta Incognita
