The preservation of Scottish fish exports required a continuous and sufficient supply of salt. Scottish salt was produced in coal fired pans from evaporated sea water and was marked by a low degree of purity therefore making it unsuitable for curing purposes.149 Thus, merchants dealing with Scottish fish relied on imports of Iberian and French Boy salt which was extracted by evaporating sea water by natural sunlight.150 This was provided by Bremen and Hamburg merchants sailing to Shetland who carried the commodity with them.151 There is evidence of some Bremen merchants trading with Shetland purchasing Scottish salt when supply from the Iberian Peninsula and France was scarce.152 Surprisingly, they were not the only Bremen traders to deal with the commodity. Scottish salt became a highly successful export on the Northwest German market from the last quarter of the sixteenth century.153 Bremen’s surviving trade registers reveal that Scottish salt was the dominant type of salt sold within the city in 1617 and 1626 from where it was partially re-exported into the city’s hinterland.154 The commodity thus asserted itself against strong competition of Boy salt and Lüneburg salt, the latter of which was evaporated from brine resulting in a higher quality than either Boy and Scottish salt. The inferior quality of Scottish salt had a price reducing effect which made it affordable to the lower strata of the population, explaining its success on the market.155 Although aimed at a different target group, trade with Scottish salt provoked severe complaints from Lüneburg’s senate to Bremen concerning some
149Rössner,Scottish Trade with German Ports, 125. 150Ibid.
151 StAH, Admiralitätskollegium, 371-2, F4, vol. 13-14, 1644-1646; Reißmann, Die hamburgische
Kaufmannschaft,73. Robert and Alexander Jolly were in possession of 20 barrels of Lisbon salt in 1687 which had initially been destined for Shetland but had been left in Scotland for unknown reasons. NAS, Jolly Papers, RH15/140, Account Robert Jolly to Alexander Jolly, September 1687.
152StAO, Weserzollregister, Best.20-AB-D3, Elsfleth, 13 and 26 April 1655. 153
Schwebel,Salz, 39.
154Ibid., 36-37.According to Schwebel’s analysis of Bremen’s excise toll register of 1617 (the only one
to survive in its entirety stating different origins of salt imports) 42.5 lasts, 1.300 tons and 47 bushels of Scottish salt out of a total amount of 121 lasts, 2.796 tons, 402 bushels, 432,75 and 358 pounds of salt were handled in the city as imports or re-exports by over 100 Bremen merchants. The entries of Bremen’s convoy tax register of 1626 (the only one to survive in its entirety before the 1660s) demonstrate the continued strong position of Scottish salt whose imports consisted of 185 lasts, 1 ton and 30 bushels out of a total of 484 lasts, 15 tons and 30 bushels of total salt imports. However, as with all statistics, these numbers have to be studied with care as the excise toll registers for example do not differentiate between imports and re-exports so that the same freight of Scottish salt might have been recorded twice when entering and upon leaving Bremen.
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fraudulent behaviour by their merchants.156 These complaints eventually led to an agreement in 1611 that barrels filled with the Scottish product were to be marked with the symbol ‘S.S.’ whereas salt refined from French or Iberian Boy salt (‘Solt von Solte’ or ‘salt upon salt’) was to be marked with the letters ‘S.V.S’.157
Bremen’s merchants faced competition from the Dutch when purchasing salt in Scotland. This was especially so after the end of a twelve-year truce between Spain and the United Provinces in 1621 which caused disruptions in supplies of Iberian Boy salt to the Dutch market and consequently increased demand for the Scottish product.158 By this time, close mercantile relations had been developed by the Bremen salt merchant Arend Meier and a supplier in Scotland (almost certainly the Earl of Kincardine) who was prepared to favour the Bremen merchants over the Dutch provided they paid with bullion.159 By the 1630s Kincardine and the city of Bremen established even closer commercial links when his factor, Archibald Mercer, negotiated various prices for salt deliveries from Culross with the Bremen senate for a planned salt monopoly within the city (a project which failed miserably).160Apart from Mercer there is as yet no evidence for the presence of Scottish factors in Bremen before the 1670s. By the mid-1650s the position of factor for Scottish salt trade was in the hands of Arend Meier who facilitated business on behalf of Edward Bruce, the new Earl of Kincardine, and his brother, Alexander Bruce and organised salt imports for fellow Bremen merchants.161 He worked closely with the Scottish skipper Magnus Wilson who settled in the city from
156
StAB, Salz, 2-Ss.2.b.S.2., Lüneburg Senate to Bremen Senate, Lüneburg, 17 March 1590; Schwebel, Salz,33, 41.
157Schwebel,Salz,12, 33 and 44. 158Schwebel,Salz, 44.
159
StAB, Salz, 2-Ss.2.b.S.2, Arend Meier to Bremen Senate, Bremen, 2 February and 12 May 1628; Schwebel,Salz, 44-45.
160Schwebel,Salz, 44-48. It is unclear how long Mercer resided in the city but between 1639 and 1641
and between 1644 and 1645 he was listed as MP for the Royal Burgh of Culross signifying his presence in Scotland. Kai Drewes, ‘The Scottish Civil War Refugee Archibald Mercer and His Family’ (published online at www.kai-drewes.de/mercer-main); Friedrich Lucae (ed.), Der Chronist Friedrich Lucae. Ein Zeit- und Sittenbild(Frankfurt, 1854), 200.
161 NLS, Bruce Papers, Acc.12868, Arend Meier to Alexander Bruce, Bremen, 26 February 1656;
Acc12868, Arend Meier to the Earl of Kincardine, Bremen, 20 April 1656. Edward Bruce became earl in 1643. Due to his emotional instability his brother Alexander was considered the de facto head of the family. David Stevenson, ‘Introduction: The Life of Sir Robert Moray’, in David Stevenson (ed.),Letters of Sir Robert Moray to the Earl of Kincardine, 1657-73(Ashgate, 2007), 18.
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1651 and frequently returned from Culross with salt on behalf of Meier and other Bremen salt merchants.162
Until the 1670s Scottish salt exports to Northwest Germany were exclusively transported in Bremen ships revealing that a special agreement must have been in place, albeit documentation to prove this remains elusive.163 Between 1658 and 1675 the Weser toll registers record one hundred imported ship freights of Scottish salt from Culross, Torryburn and Kincardine and it has to be assumed that several of these freights belonged to Alexander Bruce (Earl of Kincardine since 1661) who personally visited Bremen in 1657/58.164 The Weser toll registers suggest an increased use of the port of Bo’ness for this trade from 1661 onwards.165 A comparison with the extant export registers of this harbour reveals that out of the eleven Bremen ships which left the toll precinct laden with salt in 1666 only four arrived on the Weser.166 The same applies for the year 1673 when two out of the seven Bremen ships leaving Bo’ness arrived at Elsfleth signifying the use of Bremen ships as neutral carriers during the Second and Third Anglo-Dutch Wars.167 The comparison of the Scottish and German trade registers further reveals that Robert Mylne and James Hamilton traded with Bremen in 1666 and 1673 respectively.168
James Graham was one of the most frequent users of Bremen ships for salt exports, though not all of these necessarily went to Bremen. Graham also maintained a close business connection with the Hamburg merchant Cornelio van Weed. In 1674 the latter was ordered by Graham and his business associate Henry Stewart to pay a
162
Schwebel,Salz,54-59. Between 1653 and 1668 Wilson returned seven times from Culross, five times from Kincardine, twice from Bo’ness and once from Torryburn. For three additional journeys from Scotland in this period the toll precinct is not stated. After 1668 Wilson exchanged his ship for a bigger vessel but continued to travel to Scotland.
163
Schwebel,Salz, 41-43.
164 Schwebel, Salz, 51. As the registers are incomplete the number of ships is probably higher.
Interestingly, the number of ships arriving from Culross seems to have dropped significantly after 1663 with 1-2 ships arriving annually thereafter compared to 2-6 ships sailing from the port annually between 1654 and the early 1660s. However, the use of Torryburn increased slightly during this period suggesting that this port was then more accessible.
165Schwebel,Salz,51. Between 1661 and 1673 two to seven ships returned annually from Bo’ness to the
Weser.
166NAS, Exchequer Records, E72/5/1, Bo’ness, 2, 3, 10, 11 and 23 April, 6 and 14 June, 6 and 20 August
1666; Schwebel,Salz,51.
167NAS, Exchequer Records, E72/5/7, Bo’ness, 15 April, 5 and 23 May, 2 and 18 June, 21 July 1673;
Schwebel,Salz,51. Unfortunately the extant German and Scottish trade records do not allow for further cross references.
168 Ibid. Commercial engagement of Scottish merchants including James Cockburne, the Earl of
Kincardine, James Riddell (Leith) and Walter Seton can also be confirmed from the Weser toll registers and other Bremen and Scottish documents. See Schwebel,Salz, 63, 66.
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substantial sum of 1196 Imperial dollars to their servant James Brown who was then in the city.169 It is unclear if this related to the salt trade although Graham’s commercial activities hint in this direction. Van Weed’s involvement in Scottish trade must have been considerable as he became a burgess and guildbrother in Edinburgh in 1679.170 Although Hamburg was less of a distribution centre for Scottish salt than Bremen, the Scottish trade registers indicate that some exports were delivered to the city.171 Certainly some of the bills for salt bought at Scotland were remitted to the Scottish factor John Beck in Hamburg during the early 1670s.172
Scottish merchants resident in Northwest Germany also participated in the salt trade from the 1670s onwards. Gilbert Spence had moved to Bremen by 1672 when he represented the Royal salt commissioner Robert Mylne in a court case against the heirs of the Bremen merchant and senator Arnold Havemann alongside the advocate Dr Paul Coch.173 Havemann had acted as representative for several other Scottish traders in the early 1670s, including Kincardine but had left significant debts to them after his death.174 The court case, which was initiated to retrieve these debts from the inheritors, was finally put to rest in 1676 with a settlement.175 Spence complained to one of his business partners, William Bruce of Balcaskie, that the Mylne brothers had put ‘reproach and scandal’ on his reputation, presumably referring to their behaviour in the proceedings against Havemann’s heirs.176 He then feared that they would prejudice his business associate James Cockburne against him. This was not without reason as the latter had sent the Scot David Gudey to Bremen to inform Cockburn of the state of affairs and received consignments of Scottish goods in the city which almost certainly
169NAS, Register of Deeds, RD2/63, 484-485, Bond, James Graham/Cornelio van Weed, 7 October 1679. 170 Extracts from the Records of the Burgh of Edinburgh, 1665-1680, 379, Admission, Cornelio van
Weed, Edinburgh, 10 October 1679.
171NAS, Exchequer Records, E72/9/4, Fife, 25 July 1670; E72/9/6, Fife, 7 August 1672.
172NAS, High Court of Admiralty, AC7/4, Supplication, Robert Mylne, Edinburgh, 27 October 1675. 173StAB, Forderung Robert und Alexander Mylne an Arnold Havemann, 2-W.9.b.14, 1674-1675;
Schwebel,Salz,65-68.
174StAB, Hitlandfahrer, 2-R.11.kk, Memorial, without date or place; Schwebel,Salz, 65-68.
175Due to the involvement of the Royal commissioner, Charles II showed a close interest in the outcome
of the case.CSPD,1673-1675, 348, Charles II to Bremen Senate, Whitehall, 9 September 1674; TNA, SP82/12 fol.160, Bremen Senate to Charles II, Bremen, 3 October 1674; For further details on the court case see Schwebel,Salz, 65-68.
175NAS, Kinross House Papers, GD29/1906, Gilbert Spence to Balcaskie, Bremen, 19 April 1676. 176Ibid.
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belonged to Cockburn.177 However, despite these difficulties their business relations continued.178His link with the aforementioned salt merchants and some of the entries in Bremen’s trade records signify that Spence acted as factor for several Scottish traders. The Scot also received several freights consisting of Scottish salt in his own account between 1672 and 1690.179 These included two consignments from Amsterdam which Spence obtained on 21 March 1673 reminding us again that Scottish-Bremen trade could sometimes take indirect routes.180
A close associate of Spence in Bremen was the Englishman William Willet who also acted as factor for the Jolly family.181 For sure this shared connection brought Spence in contact with Alexander and Robert Jolly who engaged in the Scottish salt trade themselves. Their network included Jolly’s Hamburg-based partner, William Grison. In 1678 Grison was to sell part of a load of Scottish salt at Bremen and Robert Jolly ordered Willet to send a bill to George Jolly at Prestonpans covering the value of this cargo.182 The fact that Grison was to close the deal reveals that he must have had contacts in the city which had perhaps been initiated by Alexander Bruce who had visited Grison in Hamburg in 1658.183 As previously mentioned, neutral Bremen ships were in high demand during the Third Anglo-Dutch War and Bremen’s trade volume increased significantly.184 This resulted in a shortage of Bremen vessels and in a subsequent relaxation of the prohibition of salt transports to the city in Scottish ships. Alexander Jolly was one of the skippers who profited from the relaxed regulations as he freighted Scottish salt on behalf of the Earl of Weymss to Bremen in 1679.185
177Ibid.; Schwebel,Salz, 59. On 4 July 1676 Magnus Wilson paid tolls on Gudey’s behalf for 30 lasts of
salt. In addition, Gudey received two further consignments of goods in Bremen the same day.
178This can be gauged from the fact that Alexander and Robert Mylne were prepared to lend Spence a
sum of £100 Sterling in 1676 (guaranteed by the Leith merchant George Riddell). NAS, RD2/48, 648, Bond, Spence/Alexander and Robert Mylne, Leith, 1676. He was also credited a sum of £300 Sterling by Cockburne (guaranteed by James and George Riddell). NAS, Register of Deeds, RD2/47, 745-746, Bond, Spence/Cockburne, Leith, 20 July 1677.
179
NAS, Exchequer Records, E72/5/31, Bo’ness, 13 November 1689; Schwebel,Salz, 64.
180StAO, Weserzollregister, Best. 20-AB-D18, Elsfleth, 21 March 1673. 181See above.
182NAS, Jolly Papers, RH15/140, Robert Jolly to Alexander Jolly, Hamburg, 27 November 1678.
183Stevenson (ed.),Letters of Sir Robert Moray,195, Robert Moray to Alexander Bruce, Mastricht, 19/29
April 1658.
184 Witzendorff, ‘Bremens Handel’, 135. Despite the fact that Bremen’s intake from excise tax sank
considerably in 1675 after a peak in 1673 no less than fourteen English ships were needed to transport Scottish salt to Bremen in 1678. Bremen as well as Hamburg ships engaged as carriers for Scottish trade with France in 1673. NAS, Exchequer Records, E72/15/14, Leith, 20 February and 15 July 1673; E72/15/15, Leith, 22 January and 25 June 1673.
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Furthermore, in March 1681 he left Fife carrying 45 ‘great chalders’ of salt from Dysart.186 After his arrival in Bremen he met the merchant Hans Jacob Meier, a relative of Arend Meier, to whom he presumably sold his cargo.187On this occasion Alexander Jolly was also supposed to meet with his brother and Grison at Bremen but they were delayed due to Grison falling ill.188Nevertheless, Robert Jolly used his brother’s visit to Bremen to establish the current salt price in the city, confirming his continued interest in this lucrative trade.189 Furthermore, the Jollys maintained contacts with the Jacobs family who were known to have engaged in the Scottish salt trade since the 1650s.190As with their counterparts in the fish trade, Bremen and Hamburg ships sailing to Scotland in the 1690s were exposed to the dangers of French privateers. Thus, several cargoes consisting of salt were transported in ships re-registered at Danish Altona and Oldenburg as well as Swedish Stade.191
Around the turn of the century a new Bremen-Scottish link was set up between Berend Gloysten and George Clark in Leith. Interestingly, the latter was expressly referred to by Gloysten as an Englishman, suggesting that the Scottish salt trade did not always involve Scottish merchants or indicating another mis-identification.192 Gloysten’s correspondence exemplifies the pattern of salt trade during this period. He had sent the Bremen skipper Dirk Holthusen to Leith with 1,000 clapboards, 5 casks of Westphalian hams, 20 barrels of mum beer and 1,200 barrels of blacking which Clark was to sell on his behalf. From the profit of these sales he was to purchase a cargo of salt which was to be sent back to Bremen. However, the profits were not sufficient to fund the return freight and thus Clark drew £100 Sterling on Johan Martens Elking,
186
NAS, Exchequer Records, E72/9/10, Fife, 17 March 1681. The toll register was signed for by John Cowan who belonged to Jolly’s crew.
187NAS, Jolly Papers, RH15/140, Robert Jolly to Alexander Jolly, Hamburg, 22 April 1681. 188Ibid.
189
Ibid.
190NAS, Jolly Papers, RH15/140, Robert Jolly to Alexander Jolly, Hamburg, 11 March 1683; RH15/140,
Robert Jolly to Isobel Touch, Hamburg, 5 June 1688. The Jacobs family held a number of commercial contacts in Scotland. One of them was the Earl of Wintoun from whom Dirich Jacobs received 46 chalders of salt in 1687. NAS, Miscellaneous Papers, RH9/1/176, Account, Captain Collinson, Seton, 1687.
191 NAS, Exchequer Records, E72/9/10, Fife, 17 March 1681; E72/5/12, Bo’ness, 8 August 1681;
E72/5/35, Bo’ness, 8 August 1690; E72/9/28, Fife, 9 October 1690; E72/5/37, Bo’ness, 4 August 1691.
192
NAS, Campbell Papers, RH15/14/74, Berend Gloysten to George Clark, Three Letters, Bremen, 8 February, 13 March and 19 April 1699. Curiously, a merchant with the same name who has been identified as an ethnic Scot traded in Leith at the same period. This could indicate that Gloysten simply made a mistake in his address. However, Clark did apparently nothing to correct him.
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Gloysten’s contact in London.193 This commercial exchange was meant as a trial run which must have gone well as Gloysten’s brother visited Scotland the following month with another cargo of the above commodities in order to ‘see the country’.194These also included a gift consisiting of two Westfalian hams and a barrel of beer for Clark, revealing that Gloysten intended to continue his commercial activity in Scotland.195 However, a month later he decided to change his order from salt to coal and salmon as salt was ‘not for the present here to be sold, because there are several ship loads com(sic), from other countrys.’196Gloysten referred almost certainly not only to Iberian or Lüneburg but also to Newcastle salt which arrived increasingly on Bremen’s market due to the city’s exemption from the Navigation Acts in 1669 which strengthened commercial links with England.197 The intake of Newcastle salt led to complaints by some Bremen merchants in the 1670s that the English commodity – which was perceived as being of poorest quality – was sold as Scottish salt.198 Although some measures were undertaken to hinder this fraudulent behaviour, Newcastle salt still posed some form of competition in 1701 when Robert Jolly complained that it sold cheaper than the Scottish commodity in both Bremen and Hamburg.199 Bremen’s salt merchants faced more difficulties from protective measures by the Elector of Hanover, George Louis. From the late 1660s several edicts and toll regulations had prohibited or limited the sale of Scottish salt in certain Welfenian territories such as the county of Hoyer.200