Shipowners & Emigration -- An Ghorta MÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂÃÂ³r

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Date Posted: 09:35:41 12/26/02 Thu
Author: John Hume
Subject: Shipowners & Emigration

Shipowners & emigration

A SUBSTANTIAL part of the shipping trade was in Derry hands. Much of Derry's foreign trade had long been in the hands of local merchants. Firms like McCorkell, Cooke, McIntyre, Baird and Munn were owners of sailing ships plying between Derry and St. John's, New Brunswick, Quebec, New York and Philadelphia.

The growth in Derry ship ownership during these years was a sign of growing business confidence. It also signalled a willingness to adjust to new circumstances in international trade and exploit available market niches.

The shipowners also built upon the port's long-standing involvement in the emigration trade and made the provision of passages to Canada and the United States for the new wave of migrants their specialisation, indeed their only major export to America apart from ballast items such as pig-iron from Glasgow, and locally provided bricks and salt.

Their return cargoes were timber and, increasingly, maize for the distilleries and animal feed, as well as to cope with the famine crisis.

Local newspapers of the period abounded in advertisements, both for the emigration ships and for the sale of the imported cargo, which was normally sanctioned on the quayside by the local shipowners.

The number of ships carrying emigrants in 1833 was estimated at 40 ships of 12,987 tonnes register.

The shipowners secured a substantial return on their voyages bearing in mind that the cost of passage for an adult to British America was between �1.10 and �2 and on to the United States from �4 to $5.

It appears that roughly 60 per cent of emigrants to America went to Canada although many no doubt travelled onward from that cheaper destination to the United States.

These figures reveal direct emigration only. It was the growing custom in the 1840s for emigrants to go via Liverpool, particularly in winter since no emigrant ships left the port of Derry in that season.

In 1844 it was estimated that an additional 2,000 had sailed from Derry to America from Liverpool.

ENDS.

Extracts from Derry Beyond the Walls - Written by John Hume. See other extracts herein.

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