Riis - Long distance trade

Question 1

(p59)

Sound Toll Registers

Answer 1

Registers are a record of shipping passing through the narrows between Denmark & Sweden at Elsinore.
Comparing Sound Toll entries with Scottish customs books shows consistency in skippers’ names, mostly agreement over home port (90%) but less agreement about cargoes
Goods passing through Sound taxed at different rates so those attracting lower tolls could be substituted in records for higher taxed goods.
Earliest records only have captain’s name & cargo owner’s home port. Later records contain more info including details of cargo.

Question 2

(p60)

Navigation

Answer 2

C15 navigation guides: 2 routes to Baltic, both with tolls
1) Along Swedish west coast & through the Sound. Best for shipping to eastern ports like Danzig
2) Along Jutland east coast and through ‘Great Belt’ (strait between islands of Fyn (Odense) & Zealand (Copenhagen) for shipping heading for Lubeck or Rostick
Route from Scotland natural took ships through Sound.
Not much difference in length/time but easier to evade Toll on Great Belt route.

Question 3

(p61)

1555 - Man-o-war stationed in Great Belt to limit evasion of the toll

1618 - visitation on board introduced (was this a cargo inspection?)

Answer 3

Single journeys through the Sound might suggest these ships used the Great Belt for the other part of their journey assuming a round-trip by sea (not always the case).
C16 & C17: Scottish ships passing through Sound or Belt were from: Aberdeen & Montrose, Dundee (Tayport), East Neuk, Outer Forth (eg Kinghorm, Leven, Mussselburgh, Prestonpans); Leith, Edinburgh & Queesferry; the West (Ayr Dumfries, Glasgow, Greenock, Irvine); and other ports (eg Banff, Cupar, Dunbar, Findhorn, Perth)

Question 4

(p63) Contribution of Scottish ports to total trade through Sound

Aberdeen - 3-6% total
Montrose - <2% in C16 to c. 8% in C17.
Dundee = commercial centre for the NE in C16 & early C17. 34% early C16 but falling to c. 10% by later C17
East Neuk ports eg Anstruther increased in importance to peak of c. 28% during later C16 but then declined again till <8% by late C17

Answer 4

Outer Forth ports increased in importance in 1680s - might reflect salt production in area
Edinburgh - accounted for >40% total in 1st half C16 declining sharply to c. 27% in later C16 & remaining @ 20 - 25%
Western ports - sig trade esp (c. 15% total) from Glagow by 1680s reflecting role in colonial trade in tobacco & sugar. Each September, ships left Glasgow/Greenock for the Baltic with herring either returning b4 Xmas or staying in Sweden or Poland till spring

Question 5

(p64) Destinations

Scots ships ventured further into Baltic as time went on.

Early C17 - Denmark
17% journeys
10% east bound cargo
< 5% west bound

Seems Scots exported herring to Denmark then travelled on into Baltic to trade profits for other goods

1620s - Scotland lacked corns (bad harvests) so tried to buy in Danzig or Konigsberg & if space might also buy in lesser Danish ports

Answer 5

2nd half C16, Prussian ports Danzig & Konigsberg:
» almost 90% of voyages
» 94% value east bound goods
» 91% value west bound goods

Early C17
>> Prussia still dominates; >50% voyages
>> approx 2/3 east bound value
>> 3/4 west bound value
>> new features = Sweden & Denmark appear as desinations.

1680s
Trade split between Prussia & Sweden. Prussia still leading desintation for Sweden close behind.
Swedish cargo didn’t pay Sound Toll so cargo may be underestimated.

Question 6

(p65-67) Cargoes

Ships from Montrose

Late C16: Mainly skins/leather & textiles going east. Westbound cargo more diverse

Between late C16 and 1620s, big changes in cargoes. Skins/leather, animal husbandry & textiles fell significantly, salt & corn products (incl malt) rose. Sea produce most import eg herring, = 1/3 total.

Answer 6

East bound: skins & leather (late C16 - 39%), animal husbandry products (like what?), textiles (late C16 - 59%), produts of the sea, corn products, salt. Quantities rose/fell at different times. Skins & textiles declined, salt rose.

West bound: metals (rose to 60% in 1680s), fibres incl flax & hemp & naval stores, textiles (very small), forestry products (declined), corn products (40%, 28%, 0%)

Question 7

p 68 - 69

Tables of sailing times

Big variation in sailing times between ports could reflect different activities

Answer 7

(p70)
Having delivered cargo to one Baltic port, skippers might sail to another to get a return cargo. Or ship cargo between Baltic ports before sailing home.
Triangular trad between Britain, Sweden & Prussia was profitable.

Time ships spent in port might reflect business relations there eg late C16/early C17 skippers from St Andrews preferred Konigsberg to Danzig in Prussia perhaps coz had existing networks

Question 8

(p71)

Specialists or occasional visitors?

Answer 8

Some skippers sailed to Baltic regularly each year, some only occasionally.
Montrose: skippers only specialised in Baltic trade during C17. Some engaged in local Baltic trade.
Dundee:
late C16 - no skippers truly specialists in Baltic trade. Just one of several trading possibilities.
(p72)
1618 - 28: No skippers went to Baltic ev year
1680s - small no. went ev year but most only once pa. None engaged in local Baltic trade

Question 9

Definitions

Tramping = shipping with no fixed schedule or published ports of call

Long-distance trade = fixed schedule & set ports

Answer 9

Montrose skippers were tramping

Dundee skippers were long-distance trade