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Project Details: The Operation of International Trade in Iceland and Shetland c. 1400-1700

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Project Description

Parent Project Title:
Sub Projects		 OITIS
Title: The Operation of International Trade in Iceland and Shetland c. 1400-1700
Description The project will examine the development, operation and impact of European trade in two areas in the north Atlantic - Iceland and Shetland. In the early 15th century both were part of the Danish kingdom but, with the pledging of Shetland in 1469, it passed to the kingdom of Scotland, and led to the opening of trade to Hanse merchants. The lifting of Danish restrictions on Icelandic trade in 1490 had a similar effect. The period of trade extended in Shetland until ca. 1700, while in Iceland the restriction of trade to licensed Danish vessels in 1602 marks a similar endpoint. By far the largest item of trade from both islands was stockfish which was purchased from local fishermen who operated in small vessels inshore. English fishing vessels worked the offshore waters. Our aim is to examine selected places of trade between merchants from the south and the sub-Arctic populations to elucidate the method of operation of commerce. The objective will be to survey and classify trading sites in Iceland and Shetland during the period ca. 1400-1700. Sites will be identified using historical sources and place-names, and located in the field using the normal archaeological techniques of aerial photography and field inspection of earthworks. The survey will be undertaken using differential GPS to map the sites in relationship to the local topography with the further objective of identifying sites for future investigation by excavation.
Keywords:Hanseatic League
trade
fish
Middle Ages
post-medieval
Sponsors/Funders Roman Germanic Commission of the German Archaeological Institute, Queen´s University Belfast, German Research Foundation
Country Iceland
Project Start Year 2006
Project End Year Ongoing

Project Contact

Contact: Natascha Mehler
Address Leibniz-Institut für deutsche Schifffahrtsgeschichte Hans-Scharoun-Platz 1 27568 Bremerhaven
Website http://www.dsm.museum/ueber-uns/team/mehler.5801.de.html
Email Mehler@dsm.museum

Project Content


german website describing the project

Report on the survey at Papa Stour, Shetland

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