ABSTRACT
Thomas Smythe was the master of Symond Byrd, and almost certainly an uncle of Philip Smyth. In a variety of business and financial matters he was a colleague of John Byrd and the Mercer William Burd. He was one of the great Elizabethan merchants, but since there are numerous accounts of his life and activities this essay can be limited in scope. He played an active part in the City's affairs, and in 1564 was among eight merchants who received a royal commission to investigate the affairs of Sir Thomas Lodge. The customs farm proved highly lucrative. Smythe's many concerns included the Mines Royal Company, and the Mineral and Battery Company, described above in the essay on William Burd. In the same year he was a guest at the election dinner of the Mercers' Company, a body with some of whose members, besides Burd, he had a close association.
