Finnmarkshandelen i en brytningstid 1789–1811: Hva kan toll-listene fortelle?

Abstract

Abstract In 1789, Hammerfest and Vardø were the first settlements in northern Norway to be granted rights as independent market towns. To monitor the development, especially of the growing trade with north-western Russia, customs offices were established. The main tasks for the officials were to list the goods and the ships entering and departing their ports. In recent years, customs records from the 18th and early 19th centuries have been made accessible online. Hitherto, little systematic use has been made of this source. After presenting the trade history of Finnmark before 1789, this article shows how the customs records can be used to shed light on similarities and differences between trade towns, exemplified by an analysis of the main characteristics of trade in Hammerfest and Vardø. The author describes how the war and the British blockade of Norwegian ports affected the trade, and thus the records from 1807, and eventually led to their suspension in 1810–11. The author argues that as the new trade regime was not tried out very long under normal circumstances, it is difficult to say if it catalysed the economic improvements hoped for by the government.