Seamen on Norwegian Ships: Norway and Shipping

Because of Norway's lengthy coastline, ships were a common means of transport and communication. During the Norwegian North Sea empire (vesterhavsriket) in the Middle Ages, the country was important for shipping, but by the beginning of the sixteenth century Norwegian shipping was insignificant compared to its competitors. The majority of freight to and from Norway was carried by foreign ships. Due to the Hanse's dominant position in Bergen, Germans had a strong grip on the trade of western Norway and on the supplies of fish from the north. But Bergen still showed signs of being a westward-oriented town, maintaining contacts with Iceland, the Orkney and Shetland Islands, and Scotland, partly because western Norway at that time could supply these barren lands with timber. In the districts of Rogaland and Vest-Agder, timber was the most important export; here the Scots were dominant. From Aust-Agder eastwards, the timber trade was especially important, and it was at first dominated by the Dutch. Of course, no nation had total control over any district. For example, in Trondheim the economy depended on fishing as well as timber, and vessels from various nations called at the port.

It was crucial to Norwegian shipping to carry a growing share of exports, because the new industries, timber and mining (bergverk), grew rapidly. Timber was especially important, since the bulk of mining output was consumed domestically. As the Hanse's power declined, Norwegian vessels engrossed a large part of the fish trade as well. Thus, the growth of Norwegian shipping resulted mainly from heightened demand for the country's exports. This was buttressed by the Dano- Norwegian policy of encouraging shipping, especially through an armed merchant ship agreement (defensjonsskipsordninga) which gave domestic craft certain advantages as long as the state could use them in time of war. As the fleet developed, the role of outside shipping was reduced. Growth also resulted from a shift in the locus of world trade from Holland to England. Timber exports, as well as the volume of shipping, increased when the British Navigation Act of 1651 excluded third-party shipping from trading between Norway and England. Another reason a small country like Norway could obtain a foothold was that the great shipping states were constantly at war.