"The Danish Flag in the Mediterranean Shipping ..." Topic

…and Trade, 1747-1807.

"In the last half of the eighteenth century the merchant marine under Danish flag experienced a brief flowering which made it one of the largest in Europe after Britain and France and on a par with the Netherlands. In terms of tonnage pr. capita Denmark had about 50% more than Britain. The most remarkable and least studied part of this expansion was in the Mediterranean. Before the 1740s, Danish ships had sailed to the Atlantic coast of Spain and Portugal regularly, but seldom beyond Setubal (St. Ubes), and only very occasionally did a well-armed vessel venture into the Mediterranean. The danger of capture by North African corsairs was too great, and ships carrying guns, and sailors to man them, were not competitive. But between 1746 and 1753, Denmark concluded treaties with the Barbary States, and soon the Mediterranean had become a very important area of operation for Danish ships. During the Seven Years War the annual number rose to around 200, almost doubled during the War of American Independence, and doubled again during the Revolutionary Wars. The high point came in 1794 with almost 800 departures. Out of 20,500 voyages beyond Cap Finisterre between 1747 and 1807, by ships under Danish flag, there were about 15,000 departures for the Mediterranean…."
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