medieval-atlas/economic-development/277

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Scottish trade in the seventeenth century The following series of maps, drawn from statistics in T.e. Smout's, Scottish Trade on the Eve o/Union, /660-/707 (1963) are based on the returns of customs books, of arrivals and departures of laden ships, for the various precincts. They do not deal with the considerable, but mostly small-scale trade with Ireland, nor with the exports from the Dumfries precinct, where the books of departures do not survive. They deal in numbers of ships, which could vary considerably in size depending both on distance travelled and commodity carried and do not necessarily reflect the value, especially ofimports. Measured by ships alone, by far the most important ports, both for arrivals and departures, lay in the Forth estuary, though no longer, as earlier in the century, Leith alone. The pattern of trade did, however, vary considerably, not only in terms of geographical point of embarkation or destination, but also between the import and export trades. Twice as many ships arrived carrying imports into Leith as departed from it with exports. Far fewer ships went to Norway than arrived from there; yet as many left Montrose for Norway with grain as arrived with its timber. West 7.3% 'V:Y~»>), Departures of laden ships 1680 to 86 Prestonpans ,i,i Leith Bo'ness Kirkcaldy Perth Dundee Montrose Aberdeen Inverness Port Glasgow Ayr Irvine .. Prestonpans in, Leith Bo'ness Kirkcaldy Perth Dundee Montrose Aberdeen Inverness Port Glasgow Ayr Irvine Dumfries Customs precincts and head courts SPAlN Arrivals of laden ships 1680 to 86 Exports and imports 1680 to 1686 277

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