medieval-atlas/economic-development/274

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Scottish trade in the seventeenth century As part of his Report of 1656, the Cromwellian customs official, Thomas Tucker, listed the number of home-owned ships, often together with their tonnages, in Scottish ports. The small number (215 'ships of burden' were counted twelve years later) reflects the losses inflicted by the Wars of the Covenant. The size of sea-going ships ranged from 250 to about 50 tons; although open boats of6 tons plied between Norway and Orkney, most smaller vessels were engaged in the coastal trade and probably many plied between their home port and Leith; the small barques, carrying coal, salt, fish and other such cargoes, varied between 30 and 3 or 4 tons. The list is at its vaguest in describing shipping on the south side ofthe Forth, such as at ewhaven and Prestonpans, where, it said, 'any small vessels' picked up salt. It does not itemize either fishing boats or the flatbottomed barges, which, for example, carried goods up the shallower part ofthe Forth to Stirling; the number of 'twelve or fourteen' given c:::) tons for Leith seems low for a port in which a tax roll of 1647 recorded over 140 skippers. Only three sea-going vessels at Leith had tonnages recorded -each of 250 tons. The number and size of vessels does, however, give a good indication of the kind oftrade carried on in each port for which there are fuller details. It also reflects the shallow or awkward draught of most Scottish harbours -the reason for the construction of Port Glasgow ten years later. ~ ~ r:J ~{!:P ~~~, I~\? Detail of Fife burghs Numbers and tonnage of Scottish shipping 1656 ML 274

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