What was the involvement of Jersey mariners in the Canadian cod-fisheries and the Transatlantic carrying trade?
In the 15th Centaury, Newfoundland in Canada was discovered. the waters around it contained lots of cod which was great for fishermen.
In the 16th centaury tens of thousands of fishermen were traveling across the ocean to fish for all this cod including fishermen from the Jersey and channel islands. by the late 16th Centaury The governor of jersey stated that “islanders were saved from starvation by the arrival of a cargo of fish from the colony”
Fact: One Jersey islander who obtained a licence to sail to Newfoundland from the government to fish for the people of jersey was fined 300 crowns after he sold the fish to the people of St. Malo instead.
By the 17th centaury where trade routes were being set up with the rest of Europe, America and Canada, fishermen had set up bases on the coast of Gaspé, Canada. This is where they would salt the cod so it would be preserved till they got back to their countries.
Which ports did Jersey ships sail to and trade with?
Jersey ships sailed and traded with St. Servan (now part of St. Malo) in France as well as St. peter port in Guernsey and Hengistbury Head in Dorset, UK.
During the cod trade Jersey ships traded with the Caribbean and Honduras, as well as Europe, especially catholic countries such as Portugal, Spain and Italy as Catholics eat fish on Fridays so there was a high demand in these countries for fish.
What type of goods did Jersey merchants exchange for cod-fish?
In Mediterranean countries cod was of high demand so cod was traded for: wine, brandy, dried fruit, citrus fruits and salt. There was also a demand in Brazil where the cod was traded for coffee and sugar.
To what extent, has the island of Jersey benefitted from its constitutional relationship with Britain and the legacies of colonialism based on a slave plantation economy during the first Industrial Revolution (1760-1840)?
- No 9 Pier road, is known as the ‘Merchant house’ and is a Victorian townhouse which was built by Philippe Nicolle in 1818 using money he inherited from his great uncles involvement in the transatlantic slave trade. The building is now part of the Jersey museum.
- John Frederick Gibaut was a Jersey man who owned one of the largest sugar plantations, ran by slaves, in El Salvador during the mid 1800s. It ended up going bankrupt around the time slavery was abolished.
- TW: Peter Pierre, Thomas Mallet and Parry were jersey men who sailed with the captain John Kimber, in 1797 from Gold Coast to Barbados with 409 Slaves. Sadly one of the Slaves passed away on the boat and the captain was accused of killing her because she refused to dance naked.
In summary Jersey benefited economically from the slave trade due Jersey men who had businesses involving the trade and ship masters whose boats were used to capture slaves.
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