Changes in Foreign Trade from the Customs Ports of Northeast Scotland, 1743-1826

Abstract

For much of the historical period, seaborne trade was of great significance to the northeast of Scotland and this paper considers the changes which took place in the foreign trade conducted through the region's ports in the period 1743-1826. It was a time when economic expansion was taking place as a result of new developments in agriculture and industry and if, in the early years, there was a close similarity to the economy and contacts already established in the 17th century, by the end of the period under study the goods traded and the people involved bore a greater resemblance to the region as it was known in the later 19th and early 20th centuries. The northeast was, traditionally, made up of the old counties of Aberdeenshire , Banffshire and Kincardineshire and, as was the case elsewhere in the country until investment was made in the toll road system, land transport facilities were both limited and expensive. In contrast, the movement of goods by sea was a relatively simple matter especially as the region had an extensive seaboard and many towns and villages had grown up at locations where shelter was available along an otherwise less than hospitable coastline. Archaeological evidence and early historical records indicate that trading contacts had long existed with other parts of Scotland, eastern England and northern Europe. By the 17th century these links had intensified, with eastern Scotland (especially the Firth of Forth), Norway, the Low Countries and the Baltic States being of particular importance. From the late 17th century onwards the construction of improved harbour facilities within the northeast became increasingly important in order to cater for the growing maritime trade of the region. During the 18th and 19th centuries the area's economy developed rapidly and although the merchants and shipowners of Aberdeen played a critical part in this growth, many of the small coastal burghs also had cargoes arriving from, or being dispatched to ports at home and abroad. Unfortunately few harbour registers appear to exist (with the exception of Aberdeen) relating to ship movements at individual harbours. As a result it difficult to assess the relative importance of individual ports within the region or to obtain accurate details of the cargoes imported and exported. Until later in the 19th century government statistics in Scotland did not record coastal shipments or vessels sailing in ballast and hence it is difficult to obtain any indication of the relative importance of coastal traffic unless relevant statistics were recorded by local writers. This lack of information is doubly unfortunate as it covers a period of time when it is known that coastal trade increased rapidly. Fortunately, customs records relating to foreign trade do exist and from them it is possible to gain considerable insight into the changes which took place as the country experienced rapid economic development in the 18th and early 19th centuries.