The Port of Aberdeen : a History of Its Trade And
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/' IS 'A iih] Br VICTORIA E. CLARK, M.A OS s o ^ CQ -|> x 3 w - Q 5 PS s w <PQ The Port of Aberdeen A HISTORY OF ITS TRADE AND SHIPPING FROM THE 12th CENTURY TO THE PRESENT DAY BY VICTORIA E. CLARK, M.A. ABERDEEN > j* D. WYLLIE & SON MCMXXI <\121Tl 300 Copies printed, of which this is No ?Z.....£l DeDfcateO TO THE ABERDEEN HARBOUR COMMISSIONERS PREFACE NOT to those only that go down to the sea in ships, but to all whose work and interests are bound up with the trade and commerce of Aberdeen, and to those who have a regard for the history of their own town, it is hoped that this little book, to some extent, may fill a blank in local annals. It may also incidentally serve a wider purpose in showing the influence of the sea upon the rise and progress of a town. My indebtedness for its production is due in the first instance to Mr. J. M. Bulloch, LL.D., at whose sugges- tion the work was undertaken, and whose advice in the collecting of data has been invaluable. I desire also to express my gratitude to Mr. P. J. Anderson, LL.B., and the Library Staff of King's College, and also to the officials of the Town House for their un- failing courtesy and help; to the Customs Authorities both in Aberdeen and in London for permission to consult their records, and particularly to Mr. Edward Petfield, Port Surveyor at Aberdeen, for his kindly interest in, and helpful suggestions regarding, the work ; to Mr. R. Gordon Niool, Harbour Engineer, Mr. James Smith and others of Messrs. Alexander Hall and Co., and Mr. D. W. Rennie, London, to all of whom I am obliged for access to records and manuscripts in their keeping, and to Mr. William Walker, Aberdeen, for his encouragement and advice in the matter of publication. vii Vlll PREFACE The study of municipal records was greatly facilitated by Miss Margaret Mackenzie, M.A., who kindly placed at my disposal her admirable MSS. transcriptions and precis of the Propinquity and Letter Books of the Burgh of Aberdeen. For the illustrations, I am indebted to Dr. Gordon, Town Clerk, for permission to reproduce " Aberdeen Harbour in 1838," belonging to the Corporation; and to " Messrs. A. Hall and Company for " The Scottish Maid and " The Waterside, Footdee." I have to thank many others who have helped me in various ways, including the reading of the proof sheets. Finally, my thanks are due to the Carnegie Trust, whose grant of a Fellowship enabled me to give the time necessary for the somewhat extensive research this work entailed. VICTORIA E. CLARK. London, December, 1921. —:: CONTENTS CHAPTER I The Port before 1500 fAGB Early references to Aberdeen as a Port—Ships mentioned—Trade of 12th and 13th Centuries —Trade with Flanders—Chief Aberdeen exports—Piracy in 14th and 15th Centuries its effect on Trade—Supervision of Trade by the Magistrates—Commencement of Trade with " Eastlands " and Baltic ports—Danzig —Decline of Flanders Trade—Growing connection with Campvere—Commodities imported and exported—Chief Aberdeen Merchants of the period -'_--,- CHAPTER II The Sixteenth Century Rapid development of Trade with the " East- lands "—Ships and Cargoes of note—Trade with other Countries—Contest over the Staple Port—Aberdeen's share in the disputes Andrew Cullan, merchant-burgess—Harbour Improvements and Shipping Regulations Municipal Supervision—Obstacles to Trade ix — CONTENTS PAGB Plague, Piracy, War—Ships of War—The Port and equipment of King's ships—Aber- deen and the threatened Spanish Invasion - 16 CHAPTER III Progress and Decay in the Seventeenth Century Causes of decay—Main streams of Commerce Union of 1603 and effect on City's Trade Continuation of Anglo- Scottish commercial rivalry—Port's early Trade with the Mediter- ranean—Aberdeen the Scottish pioneer of Trade with the New World—African Com- pany—Development of Salmon and Pork Trade—Other exports—Wool and restrictions of Navigation Act (1651)—Commercial problems of the Port : heavy taxation ; impediments to wool exportation; preserva- tion of Aberdeen's privileges as a Royal Burgh; breaches of Staple Contract, etc. State of Port's Trade and Shipping—Types of Ships—Harbour Improvements—Begin- ning of Shipbuilding ----- 34 CHAPTER IV Aberdeen and the Wars or the Seventeenth Century Wars with Spain, Holland, France, England an obstacle to Trade—Port and the Spanish —— CONTENTS Pagk freebooters—Dutch and French privateers Ships captured—Naval enterprise—Civil War and its influence on Trade of Aberdeen Measures taken by Privy Council and Aber- deen Town Council—The Port and the Dutch Wars—The Navy and Aberdeen mariners Impressment ...... 52 CHAPTER V Development of the Port in the Eighteenth Century Era marked by opening up of new Markets Effects of Union of 1707—Increase in Coast- ing Trade and growing connection with London—Decline in Dutch Trade—Close connection between the Port and Campvere maintained—Trade with America—State of Wool and Salmon Trades—Development of Shipbuilding—Size and types of Ships Beginning of Whaling industry- -Harbour reconstruction—Ships and their voyages Notable shipwrecks—Port Authorities in relation to (1) Quarantine Regulations; (2) Smuggling; (3) Complications of Naviga- tion Laws 66 CHAPTER VI Privateering in the Eighteenth Century Great Britain's foreign policy influenced by Imperial considerations—Port affected by —; Xll CONTENTS Page Spanish War ; War of Austrian Succession Jacobite Rebellions ; Seven Years' War American War of Independence ; French Revolution—Ships and their Cargoes—Chief questions affecting Mercantile and Maritime sections of the community : (1) Home Defence - (2) Convoys ; (3) Impressment 107 CHAPTER VII Progress since 1800 A. Period of fluctuation in and stabilization of Trade—Napoleonic Wars and end of Priva- teering—Embargoes on Aberdeen ships Trade of Port prior to 1820—Gradual rise of Coasting Trade—Harbour Improvements Shipping before 1840—Whaling Industry and its decline—Smuggling rampant until the Thirties B. Development in Shipbuilding; Clipper Ship era; early Aberdeen shipbuilding firms and their work—Rise of chief Shipping Companies —Iron Ships—Sailing Ships—Evolution of Clipper Ships—Great Aberdeen Clippers, their voyages, etc. —Growth of two Aberdeen Steamship Lines—Passing of the Clipper Ship and decline of the Port as a Shipbuilding centre—Trend of Trade throughout the period—Harbour and Shipping—Exports and Imports—Foreign and Coasting Trade compared — CONTENTS Xlll Page Development of the Fishing Industry—Aber- deen's previous failures to develop deep sea fishing—Growth of Trawling Industry White and Herring Fishing—Early connec- tion with Baltic ports re-opened—Allied Trades—Effects of the Great War on Trade of the Port 125 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS Aberdeen Harbour, 1838 - - - Frontispiece The Weigh-House, about 1850 - - Facing page 48 The Waterside, Footdee, Aberdeen - ,,80 " Scottish Maid," First Clipper Ship built - in Aberdeen, 1839 - - - ,, 144 CHAPTER I The Port Before 1500. FACTS pertaining to the history of Aberdeen as a port prior to the fourteenth century are few and incomplete, but a sufficient number exist to prove that even in those early days the city was a place of consider- able trade. During the thirteenth century, in the days of the Flemish settlers, it was the commercial capital of the North of Scotland, and a century before, it was known to the Norwegians' as a trading town. About 1150, the buccaneering King Eystein, one of the joint sovereigns of Norway, while engaged on a piratical cruise along the east coast of Britain, landed at Aberdeen and pillaged the town.* One of the earliest references to Aberdeen in history is in connection with shipping. In 1134, King David I granted towards the erection of the new bishopric, a tithe to be levied on all ships called " snows " which traded to and from the port. The snow was denned by the King's lawyers and others ignorant of seamanship as a navis cana or caridida, a white ship, but in reality " snau " or " schnau," the vernacular name for these vessels, stood for snout or beak. They were ships probably of the largest size used for merchandise, with a prominent type of bow.f During the reign of Alexander III, Aberdeen shared largely in the commercial prosperity of Scotland. Her * Annals of Commerce. D. McPherson. Vol. I, p. 332. t Territorial History of Aberdeen. G. Cadenhead. P. 9. 2 2 THE PORT OF ABERDEEN exports were few, being almost entirely confined to hides, furs, wool and salmon, but her trade in these was relatively extensive. Stringent laws were passed pro- hibiting the exportation of goods from Scotland, for the reason that the nation would be impoverished through the loss of ships and cargoes by storm and piracy. The enter- prising Scottish merchants, however, ignored these restrictive measures, and in consequence frequently suffered the penalty of capture. In 1273, three Aber- deen merchants, Thomas Ker, John of Aberdeen and Walter de la Bothe, while on a voyage to St. Omer with a cargo of wool, ox hides, salmon, lamb skins, etc., were captured near Yarmouth by one John Adrian of Win- chelsea, their ship plundered, and they themselves cruelly treated. They declared on oath that the wool belonged to them and to other Aberdeen merchants, whereupon Edward I ordered its restitution. This act benefited the unfortunate merchants little, as shortly afterwards their vessel was again seized and their merchandise confiscated.* In the thirteenth century, Aberdeen had already established a reputation as an exporter of fish. In 1281 Edward I sent agents throughout the country to collect provisions for his army preparatory to an invasion of Wales. One, Adam of Fuleham, was commissioned to buy 100 barrels of sturgeons and 5,000 salt fish at Aber- deen.