Abstract
Reporting on the state of trade and navigation was the essential task of the Consuls. In Cyprus trade mainly involved exports which depended directly on agriculture. If the harvests were sometimes abundant, drought and locusts could nullify the peasants' hard work who were in addition crippled by taxes. Their situation became so desperate that they were forced to flee. Internal troubles and international events also affected trade and in the middle of the 19th century this was limited to the export of produce from the island and the import of items needed for internal consumption. Furthermore, though Cyprus offered shipping a safe haven from the hazards of navigation, whether storms or pirates, and supplied foodstuffs at an attractive price, maritime traffic off Larnaca went into a clear decline : new direct sea routes with the Levant had been created, the more secure situation in Syria had prompted merchants to set themselves up there, and the island's quarantine regime and relatively high customs dues also played a negative role.
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