Trade, Exploration and Shipping

John Masefield’s poem Cargos, does, I think, hold the key to beginning of British manufacturing. Eric Hobsbawn, in his book Age of Revolution, observes that, toward the end of the 18th century, the conditions were right for industrial revolution, not least, he says, because ‘private profit and economic development had become accepted as supreme objects of government policy’. Key to private profit was trade, and in this chapter I explore quite what this meant

Trade, exploration and shipping hold the key to our story. John Masefield’s poem Cargoes is a good starting point.

Quinquireme of Nineveh from distant Ophir
Rowing home to haven in sunny Palestine,
With a cargo of ivory,
And apes and peacocks,
Sandalwood, cedarwood, and sweet white wine.
Stately Spanish galleon coming from the Isthmus,
Dipping through the Tropics by the palm-green shores,
With a cargo of diamonds,
Emeralds, amethysts,
Topazes, and cinnamon, and gold moidores.
Dirty British coaster with a salt-caked smoke stack
Butting through the Channel in the mad March days,
With a cargo of Tyne coal,
Road-rail, pig-lead,
Firewood, iron-ware, and cheap tin trays.
Cargoes
by John Masefield

We might start by recognising features of this island nation. Seafaring was a way of life for a sizable minority, and this involved exploration of foreign lands as well as the more obvious fishing and coastal transport. John Masefield’s poem paints the vivid scene. The British were an adventurous people. They were also a trading people, and foreign lands offered opportunities for buying and selling.

It is this spirit of adventure that in many ways is the key to how Britain moved from being a country driven by the rhythm of the seasons to one of much greater prosperity. For, in many coastal towns, alongside the blacksmith and wheelwright, there was also the shipbuilder and sail-maker; this was particularly true in the case of the major ports of London, Bristol and Liverpool, but of many other smaller ports too. As an island nation, the sea had for centuries beckoned the adventurous, whether it be for fishing or for exploring other shores.