THE SHIPPING INDUSTRY OF NINETEENTH CENTURY PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND: A BRIEF HISTORY

by Lewis R. Fischer

The Maritime History Group at Memorial University of New-foundland is currently in the midst of a five year project to study the nineteenth century shipping fleets in a number of eastern Canadian ports. Utilizing computers, the researchers are sifting through large masses of data to analyze more fully the rise and fall of the shipping industry. The analysis is based largely upon a study of all ship-ping registers of Prince Edward Island between 1840 and 1889, the "golden years" of the Island fleet.

Ls the delegates to the Char-lottetown Conference disembarked from their vessels in the late summer of 1864, they may well have noticed the activities in the bustling harbour. The scene might have been helpful in explaining the reluctance of many Islan-ders to exchange their solid prosperity for the uncertainties of union with the other colonies in British North America. For example, they could have witnessed the arrival of W.W. and Artemas Lord's splendid new brig Jane, built in Pisquid by Samuel Clark and commanded by Samuel Walsh. Entering Charlottetown Harbour for registration on the first of September, by the fifth she had been loaded with timber and cleared for Liverpool. Tiny in comparison was the

nineteen-ton schooner J.E. Can, which was registered at the same time. She would never sail across the ocean; instead her days would be passed in the coastal trade and fishing. In addition, at least twelve sailing vessels arrived at Charlottetown to unload during the conference, including Donald McDonald's schooner Cranola, which entered from River Philip with a load of deals, and John Aylward's Idaho and Andrew Archibald McDonald's Pearl,

which brought coal from Sydney and Pictou respectively. Fourteen vessels cleared from the port in the same period, including Benjamin Davies' brig John Pitcairn carrying timber and deals to London. Similar activities could have been observed in a dozen smaller ports, from Cascumpec to Souris and from Murray Harbour to Malpeque Bay.

Sailing vessels, large and small, built and managed primarily by Islanders, were visible symbols of a vital economy.

Public Archives of Prince Edward Island

The Undine, a 388-ton barque launched by J.C. Pope at Summerside in 1864, the year of the Charlottetown Conference.

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They provided transportation for both exports and the importation of com-modities not produced locally. In the middle of the "booming sixties" they represented not only bulk carriers but also the promise of future wealth and prosperity which would not likely have been increased by political union. As much as any other factor, Island confi-dence was fed by the continued success of the shipping industry over a sustained period of time.

Hindsight, of course, allows us to see how misplaced that confidence was. By the late 1860s the shipping industry had begun to founder; despite a brief renaissance in the mid-1870s, the age of the wooden sailing vessel was rapidly drawing to a close, at least in North America. None of this, however, was obvious to people of the day. In fact, given the information available, the assumption that the shipping industry would continue to serve as the bedrock of the Island economy was quite reasonable.

During the "age of sail" Prince Edward Island achieved prominence in both shipbuilding and shipowning. In fact, the first federal census subsequent to Island entry into Confederation showed that even in the twilight of the great age of wooden ships, the tiny province ranked second in Canada in tons owned per capita, outstripping even her larger neighbour, Nova Scotia. How did the Island achieve such sta-ture? How important were Island ships in the nineteenth century? How does one explain the rapid decline after the mid-1870s? This essay can provide but brief answers to these questions, yet the tale represents nothing less than the rise and fall of the Island's first great industry.

Glossary of Terms

Barque: A vessel with three (or more) masts with square sails on the fore and main masts, and fore and aft sails on the after mast; generally 250-700 ton capacity. Barquentine: A vessel with three (or more) masts with square sails on the foremast, and fore and aft sails on the main and after masts; generally in the 250-500 ton class. Brig: A vessel with two masts with square sails on each; normally 150-300 ton capacity.

Prelude to Greatness The identity of the first sailing vessel

constructed on the Island is shrouded by the mists of time and the fog of incomplete records. However, we can be certain that at least two schooners, the Success and the Betsey, were built in 1783 at Savage Harbour and Rustico respectively. When the British govern-ment ordered the formal registration of all sailing vessels, Island officials began compiling a plantation book of registries in 1787. The earliest sailing vessel to be entered was the schooner Saint Patrick, registered at Charlottetown, May 12, 1787. Built at Rustico in 1784, she was owned at registration by John B. Peters of that place, who gave his occupation as mariner; the owner's son, John Peters, Jr., was her master. Unfortu-nately, no records exist to illuminate her life history, and she was reported broken up in September 1802.

Sixteen additional sailing vessels were registered in 1787, and at least ninety-one more were recorded by the end of the century, although undoubtedly a number of owners chose to ignore the requirement of formal registration to save the fee. Most of the vessels were small shallops, sloops, or schooners with carrying capacities of less than 100 tons. As early as 1786, however, a brig was constructed at New London, and a few other large vessels were built in the next decade. Ports such as Grand Rustico, Richmond Bay, Savage Harbour, and New London were the major centres of vessel construction. Only a handful of vessels were imported from outside the Island, thus setting a pattern of "home construction" which would predomi-nate throughout the age of sail.

As the new century dawned, ship design was becoming more diversified,

probably reflecting the new and varied uses to which the vessels were being put. The first full-rigged ship joined the fleet in 1804, and increasing numbers of brigs and brigantines were built and registered. Total registrations remained relatively small until 1812, when several factors combined to spur construction. Fears over the security of wood supplies from the Baltic threatened by the Napoleonic Wars had prompted the British government to encourage the development of timber resources in North America. When renewed hos-tilities in Europe plus the outbreak of the War of 1812 in North America forced British shipyards to convert to the production of warships, Prince Edward Island, along with other colonies in British North America, used their timber to meet the demand in the mother country for vessels designed for the carrying trade. This began a long-term trend in the Island industry: the con-struction of large numbers of vessels designated for immediate export, par-ticularly for customers in the United Kingdom.

Continued demand in this new export market coupled with further exploitation of timber resources bolstered the ship-building industry for the next two decades. Registrations in the 1820s increased rapidly after mid-decade and grew at a slightly more moderate pace in the 1830s. Although schooner construc-tion continued to predominate, brigs and barques began to assume greater relative importance. The larger vessels, averaging up to 350 tons or more, were rarely retained for long by Island own-ers. The usual pattern was for such vessels to be sold to new owners in the United Kingdom as soon as possible after registration. While this practice had

Brigantine: A vessel with two masts, carrying square sails on the foremast, and fore and aft sails on the main mast; generally 100-250 ton capacity, although some Island-built vessels exceeded 400 tons. Schooner: A vessel with two (or more) masts, with fore and aft sails on both masts; generally less than 150 tons, although some of the three-masted schooners constructed on the Island in the early 1880s exceeded 700 tons.

Shallop: As used on the Island, this term referred to a vessel with one mast carrying fore and aft sails; gener-ally less than 25 tons. Ship: A vessel with three (or more) masts with square sails on each; the largest sailing vessel, almost always exceeding 500 tons. Sloop: A vessel with a single mast, fore and aft rigged; generally less than 25 tons. Tonnage: Used as a measurement of the carrying capacity of a vessel.

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Three Island Shipbuilders: James Yeo, James Peake Sr., and J.C. Pope.

the virtue of providing infusions of capital to finance the burgeoning indus-try, it also helped to retard the de-velopment of shipowning. The advan-tages of owning sailing vessels were also obscured by the failure to develop an extensive carrying trade in the early years; by the late 1830s the domestically-owned component of the fleet was almost entirely composed of small schooners.

Shipping Conies of Age At the beginning of the fifth decade of

the nineteenth century, all of the pre-requisites for a major shipping industry were present on the Island. Local shipwrights and shipbuilders, such as the Dingwells in Bay Fortune, the Orrs in New Glasgow and Rustico, the Coffins at St Peters, the Duncans and James Peake in Charlottetown, and James Yeo and his master builders at Port Hill, had accumulated sufficient expertise and capital to construct dura-ble yet inexpensive vessels for overseas sale. Smaller builders scattered throughout the Island had become experts at marketing their vessels in British North America, particularly in Newfoundland. Suitable stands of timber were being exploited and stood ready to supply the needs of the builders. A major expansion of fleets throughout the North Atlantic held promise for an increased demand. The shipbuilding industry was poised on the brink of an era of unprecedented expansion.

The shipowning segment of the in-

dustry, until now a decidedly weaker sister, was also ready to grow. During the 1830s, some of the builders and brokers had made tentative ventures at operating vessels, first in the coastal trade and occasionally on overseas routes. As they gained experience in vessel operation, it became apparent to some that there were potentially greater profits to be reaped in the actual management of a sailing ship than in the mere disposal of it for ready cash. Combined with a sharp upsurge in the local production of exportable com-modities, the foundation was laid for a shipowning and managing industry as well.

The Island Fleet, 1840-1889 If some adjustments are made to

allow for discrepancies in the records, we find that in 1840 the Island fleet was composed of 192 vessels with a carrying capacity of almost 22,000 tons. Well over half of these vessels were schoon-ers, with a scattering of brigs, brigan-tines, and barques. Ten years later the fleet had increased to 254 vessels and almost 32,000 tons. While this appears to be a very rapid increase, the mag-nitude of the expansion is over-shadowed somewhat when one consid-ers that 758 vessels were newly regis-tered at the port during the decade. This rather modest growth in the face of massive shipbuilding underscores once again the importance of the export market for sailing ships. Indeed, almost ninety percent of all vessels built and registered in the 1840s were transferred

to other ports soon after registration. However, the fact that the Island fleet grew at all is testimony to the increasing number of Island owners who were operating rather than selling their ves-sels. Prominent among these owner-managers were James Yeo, James Duncan, and James Peake, but there were a growing number of others as well. Many of the ships retained for Island operations were brigantines of 100 to 250 tons, which Island shipyards began producing in large numbers after 1845. These vessels were handy in various kinds of weather, could be used for deep-sea as well as coastal voyages, and were efficient to operate. Such vessels were also eagerly sought in export markets.

The trend toward greater retention of vessels for domestic use continued throughout the next two decades due, at least in part, to reciprocity with the United States. By the late 1860s the fleet had reached a peak of almost 400 vessels, and in the next decade a high of almost 70,000 tons. While schooners continued to be the most important component of the fleet numerically, the bulk of the tonnage was accounted for by large brigantines, barques, and ships. Some of these vessels were in excess of 1000 tons burthen, and the 1,796-ton full-rigged ship Ethel, built at James Duncan's shipyard at Charlottetown in 1858, was the largest sailing vessel ever constructed on the Island.

The fleet declined rapidly after reach-ing its peak; by the end of the 1880s the number of vessels had contracted to

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the level of the year 1840. While tonnage remained about forty percent above the 1840 base, this was entirely due to the greater number of large vessels owned. Most of these, however, were aging, since few were built in the 1880s. The days when sailing ships would exist only in the memories of older residents was rapidly approaching.

An oft-repeated adage suggests that on Prince Edward Island vessels were constructed wherever there was a bit of water and a few suitable trees. While reality did not quite measure up to the myth, it is true that the construction of sailing vessels was widely dispersed. In the five decades under study, 3,172 vessels were built in some 176 different towns and localities. Most of these places made only negligible contribu-tions, but even the most prolific ship-building town, Mount Stewart, pro-duced less than six percent of the total output.

The intensity of shipbuilding activities in the various centres tended to vary considerably over the period. North shore towns such as New London, New Glasgow, Rustico, and St. Peters were important building locations in the 1840s and '50s, as was Charlottetown itself. Construction activities were moved up the Hillsborough River in the 1860s as shipyards were opened at Mount Stewart. Summerside and. vari-ous spots along the Grand River and Malpeque Bay also became more im-portant, and these places remained dominant throughout the remainder of the period. In general, shipbuilding activities shifted toward the western reaches of the Island as the century progressed. In part this reflected grow-ing concentrations of capital in centres such as Summerside and Port Hill, but this area was also favoured in a more prosaic way: because it was settled late, it had far larger stands of unexploited trees suitable for masts and keels than did more easterly regions.

Not all types or sizes of sailing vessels were produced in every centre. Indeed, some towns specialized in certain types of craft. Mount Stewart, for example, built far more brigantines for export than any other centre, but it was less important for schooners or some of the larger rigs. Grand River, Summerside, and the Port Hill-Bideford area specialized in barques, barquentines, and ships to the virtual exclusion of other rigs. The production of small

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Finelle, May 18, 1855. _ _ _ WM, M'LEAN.

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Public Archives of Prince Edward Island

Advertisement from the Islander, June 8, 1855.

schooners was concentrated in New London, New Glasgow, Rustico, Mur-ray Harbour, and Souris.

There was some logic to this speciali-zation. Most of the vessels constructed on the shores of Malpeque Bay, for instance, were built for the Yeo and Richards families. They concentrated on deep-sea trading voyages and con-sequently preferred larger vessels. In Summerside, important owners such as James C. Pope and later John Lefurgey placed orders for barques which they generally sold in the United Kingdom. Almost all of the vessels constructed at Mount Stewart were either floated or

towed down the Hillsborough River for Chariottetown owners. Since men like James Peake, Lemuel C. Owen, the Duncans, Benjamin Davies, and William Welsh had strong connections with British shipbrokers, the popular brigan-tine rig, which was especially favoured in Great Britain, predominated. Schooner construction was relatively widespread but showed areas of con-centration in regions where either fish-ing or coastal trade were prime con-cerns.

As a general rule, the larger the vessel the less dispersed were centres of construction. This stands to reason,

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Public Archives of Prince Edward Island

Construction of the Victory Chimes, Cardigan, 1918.

since the building of barques and ships required higher investments in non-mobile capital, such as fixed large stocks and slipways. As well, a large stable pool of labour was required, and some of the more specialized tasks necessary for the finishing of a large vessel often necessi-tated the importation of skilled trades-men. On the other hand, the more modest investment required for the construction of most schooners and small brigantines made it possible for less affluent builders to be competitive; in fact, over one-third of all schooners were built by their owners.

Shipowners Who owned the sailing vessels which

constituted the Prince Edward Island fleet? The answer is that almost 2000 people, virtually all of them Islanders, owned shares in vessels registered over the period. Most of these individuals were small investors, holding shares in no more than a vessel or two in a lifetime. Some, however, were consid-erably more prominent While it was rare for a major figure not to have invested in at least a few vessels, certain people can be identified who specialized in the owning — and sometimes manag-ing — of sailing craft. During the half century after 1840, the elder James Yeo owned shares in 135 different vessels. Lemuel Cambridge Owen, James Col-ledge Pope, James Peake ST., William Welsh, and James Duncan all partici-pated in the ownership of at least one hundred vessels. Below these giants were a host of others, frequently in-

tertwined by familial or business con-nections, who were multiple investors. The seventy-three owners who held shares in ten or more vessels, for example, owned almost seventy-three percent of all new tonnage registered. Clearly, ownership of a large portion of the fleet was concentrated in a few hands.

Almost all of these large owners identified themselves as merchants, and men of commerce accounted for well over half of all vessel shareholdings and about eighty percent of tonnage. Far-mers and shipbuilders each held about ten percent of the shares, while the underdeveloped state of the Island fishery was underscored by the fact that only about eight percent of all shares were owned by people who claimed to be either mariners or fishermen.

The ownership of sailing vessels also gave evidence of regional concentra-tion. Over half of all tonnage was owned by residents of Charlottetown and its environs. Other significant concentra-tions occurred along the shores of Malpeque Bay, where the Yeos held sway, and in Summerside. Together, these three regions accounted for al-most three-quarters of all tonnage regis-tered. While ownership was distributed unequally, the fleet was primarily Island-owned: only about three percent of all tonnage was controlled by non-residents.

Vessel Operation What did the owners do with their

sailing vessels? Two distinct patterns

emerge, and both need to be consi-dered.

As indicated earlier, an overwhelming majority of the vessels built and regis-tered at Prince Edward Island were eventually sold or transferred to owners who lived elsewhere in the British Empire. In the 1840s, for example, almost ninety percent of all newly-built vessels were disposed of in this manner, and the percentage declined very little over the next two decades. Not until the 1880s, when the decay of the fleet was well advanced, did the percentage of vessels transferred decline to less than fifty percent. Over the period as a whole, brigs were most likely to be transferred, along with brigantines and schooners of between 100 and 250 tons; small schooners and steam vessels were the most likely to be retained.

The most typical pattern was for a vessel to be registered, loaded with timber or agricultural produce, and dispatched for sale to a port in the United Kingdom. Liverpool was the favoured market for the first thirty years, but by the 1870s Swansea and other Welsh ports were becoming more im-portant outlets. Most often the sale occurred within a year of registration, but if a vessel were built without a pre-arranged buyer or the markets were depressed by prevailing economic con-ditions, the process could be prolonged. In such cases, Islanders often showed initiative in seeking out alternate mar-kets, occasionally dispatching a vessel on a "tramp voyage" to distant ports in hopes of a sale. Vessels were sold in this manner to owners in the Caribbean, Australia, New Zealand, and even China.

This pattern of sale was most charac-teristic of the larger vessels. Many of the smaller craft, especially schooners and small brigantines, found buyers much closer to home. Newfoundland was a particularly important market for Island-built vessels: over the fifty year period residents of that Island became the new owners of 500 of these products. Competition was stiffer in other ports in British North America, especially in those areas which had their own shipbuilding industry, but almost no port in the region failed to purchase an Island-built sailing vessel at some point.

Of course, not all vessels were marked for quick sale. Each of the first four decades witnessed an increase in the number of vessels which Island owners retained for their own use. Most

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of these were small schooners and brigantines well-suited for the coastal trade, but by the mid-1850s many owners were venturing into the deep-sea trade as well. This required large vessels, leading to an increase in the number of brigs, barques, and ships which remained in the Island fleet. Although some owners enjoyed great success in this facet of the industry, overseas trading never became as im-portant on the Island as in ports such as Yarmouth or Saint John.

A rapid expansion of carrying capac-ity and an aggressive attempt to attract cargoes enabled Islanders to capture an important segment of the coastal trade in the 1840s. By late in that decade, Island-owned vessels accounted for at least eighty percent of the entrances and clearances at Charlottetown; the per-centages in the smaller ports around the Island were doubtless even higher. Not content with dominating Island trade, many of these owners attempted to attract cargoes on other regional trade routes as well. Through the 1850s, for example, Island ships carried most of the produce to Newfoundland, not only from the Island but from other east coast ports. Similarly, a majority of the coal from Nova Scotia and Cape Breton coalfields destined for Maritime ports was transported in Island-owned bot-toms. By the early sixties, however, Islanders had lost their paramount position in the Newfoundland trade; within another decade they had lost control of the coal trade as well. Finally, Island owners were unable even to hold on to their own market: by the late 1870s, Island-owned vessels accounted for fewer than one-third of all ship movements at Charlottetown.

At the same time, the market for Island-built vessels was declining in Britain. The loss of the carrying trade and an increased inability to sell vessels overseas characterized the decline of the industry on the Island.

The Decline There are no simple explanations for

the virtual disappearance of the ship-owning and shipbuilding industries on Prince Edward Island by the end of the nineteenth century. It is easy to suggest, as most historians have done, that the industry was doomed when wood and sail gave way to iron and steam. But such an explanation begs the question. The experience of the Swedes, Norwegians, Italians, and Russians who purchased many of the

Public Archives of Prince Edward Island

The Lady Napier just prior to launching, Georgetown, 1902.

Island-built vessels second or third-hand demonstrated that there were a number of good years left in wooden sailing vessels, particularly on trade routes where speed was unimportant or where primitive loading facilities caused delays which negated the primary advantages possessed by steamers. Further, Islanders had proved remarkably adaptable to changing circumstances in the past, and the managers, at least, seemed to possess the necessary skills to make the transition to steam, if necessary. Why, then, did the industry wither and die on the Island while retaining a remarkable degree of vitality in other areas of the world?

Ship construction was the first seg-ment of the industry to encounter serious difficulties. Proof of the decline in building was seen in the 1880s, when Island owners were forced to import about half of their new vessels; in previous decades, the percentage of imports had never exceeded five per-cent. The decline in shipbuilding was caused primarily by rising costs, which were in rum affected by the declining availability of timber. The Island was not running out of wood, but it was becoming increasingly necessary to import large masts from New Brunswick as the stocks of trees suita-ble for this purpose were depleted. In a period in which owners were at-tempting to maximize efficiency by increasing the size of vessels, the ina-bility to produce large vessels cheaply sounded the death knell of the indus-

Public Archives of Prince Edward Island

At Montague, circa 1910.

try. The decline of shipbuilding activities

had an important effect upon shipown-ing. Island owners had traditionally been dependent upon local production as the source of their vessels, and it must have been a difficult task for many to look elsewhere for ships. As well, many of the large owners had also been builders, and the decline in one phase of their operations inevitably impinged upon their ability to raise sufficient capital to carry on the other.

Moreover, the export segment of the fleet suffered from particular problems. As it became ever more costly to

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National Maritime Museum, Greenwich, England

The Alma, a James Yeo barque built at New Bideford in the early 1850s.

construct larger vessels, Islanders turned increasingly to brigantines. Previously these vessels had been easily marketa-ble: now, however, increasing competi-tion from steam affected the demand adversely. Three to four hundred brigantines had for years dominated many of the world's major trade routes, the very routes which now faced the greatest challenge from steam. As Islan-ders were unable to construct larger barques or ships, or to market brigan-tines, the export of vessels declined precipitously.

The decline of the coastal fleet is more easily documented than explained. It may have been that Island owners were less efficient or set higher rates than their competitors, but a more likely explanation is suggested by an examination of the composition of crews on Island coasters. Island masters had long had difficulty in obtaining crews locally, although as late as 1863 local residents still contributed about forty percent of all crew on coastal vessels. By 1876, however, this figure had declined to eighteen percent, and by 1889 to but seven percent This suggests that an important factor in the decline of coastal dominance may well have been the inability to maintain a stable labour pool. Certainly, Island owners and masters complained re-peatedly about this phenomenon, and on the surface it seems like a plausible explanation. Its validity can be better

tested when we have comparable data for non-Island ports.

Conclusions By 1890 an era had ended for the

Island. Like a nova, the shipping indus-try had flashed to prominence and even more rapidly expired. For half a century the Island, while in some ways on the periphery of major developments, had been an important centre, building sailing vessels that filled an essential demand in the British market as well as sailing its own ships to ports around the world. A healthy shipping industry had added hundreds of thousands of pounds annually to the Island economy. The dislocations caused by the decline were severe; the loss of employment opportunities, for example, giving an added impetus to the migration of skilled tradesmen to the "Boston states" and elsewhere.

Historians have generally agreed that the decline of the shipping industry sapped much of the strength from the Island economy. While this is doubtless correct, it is equally important for Islanders to recall their successes. The building and managing of a large number of sailing vessels by the resi-dents of a tiny province, dwarfed by most other centres of the industry in both population and material resources, was indeed a remarkable accomplish-ment.

Sources Most of the material for this article

comes from documentary sources col-lected by the Maritime History Group at Memorial University. The shipping regis-tries for Prince Edward Island are contained in Board of Trade series 107 and 108, which may be supplemented by port copies found in the Public Archives of Canada in Ottawa and on microfilm at the Provincial Archives of Prince Edward Island. Data on crew-members comes from "Agreements on Account of Crew" in the Maritime History Group Archives. Ship move-ments are derived from the same source, supplemented by a quantitative study of entrances and clearances re-ported in the local newspapers. Readers who would like further amplification on some of the themes touched on here, or on the methodology employed, should consult my article on the Island in K. Matthews and G. Panting (eds.), Ships and Shipbuilding in the North Atlantic Region (St. John's, 1978), or my forthcoming monograph on the subject to be published in the fall of 1978 by the Maritime History Group.

Colourful, if sometimes inaccurate, detail on the Prince Edward Island industry may be found in F.W. Wallace, Record of Canadian Shipping (Toronto, 1929), and Wooden Ships and Iron Men (London, 1924). Basil Greenhill and Ann Giffard, VJestcountrymen in Prince Edward's Isle (London, 1967), contains a wealth of information on James Yeo, the Island's largest ship-owner. The most reliable work on the economic context is Andrew H. Clark, Three Centuries and the Island (To-ronto, 1959).

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