Vessel traffic and commodity flows expanded at a remarkable pace from the 1750s to the late 1780s, making maritime trade one of the most dynamic sectors of the international economy in an era otherwise marked by slow growth. This study offers a comprehensive overview of late eighteenth-century shipping and maritime trade in the Baltic Sea region. Drawing on extensive and systematically analysed empirical material, it provides new quantitative and interpretative insights into the structure and development of Baltic maritime trade.
At the heart of this trade was the export of primary products and raw materials from the eastern Baltic regions to the more economically advanced countries of western Europe, notably the Dutch Republic, western Germany, and especially Britain.
The book will be of particular interest to scholars and students of maritime and economic history, early modern trade, and European economic development, as well as to all readers interested in the historical foundations of industrialisation and international trade.