Equipment of Shark Fishing, The Settlement Exhibition Reykjavík 871±2 ~ Reykjavík, Iceland
Shark Liver Oil, and a Fishoil Lamp
*The Port of Reykjavík
The oldest documentation of commerce at Hólmurinn on Örfirisey island (now part of Reykjavík Harbour) is from 1521. The people of Reykjavík and its environs were compelled to trade there, on pain of flogging or imprisonment. The trading post was transferred to Reykjavík around 1780, to the area which is now Aðalstræti and Hafnarstræti.
Imports and exports in the middle ages
In medieval times Iceland's major export com-modity was woollen cloth: vaðmál (wadmal or twill), used to make clothing, sails for ships, etc. In the 13th century fish exports began: cod was gutted, de-headed and hung to dry in the sun and wind to make stockfish. Fish-liver oil was also an important export in the middle ages, as well as gyrfalcons (sold as hunting birds) and sulphur. Major imports were grain, wax, linen cloth, and timber and tar for building homes and boats. Iceland had no woods to provide home-grown timber.
Trade monopoly
In the 15th and 16th centuries Icelanders traded extensively with English and German merchants who sailed to Iceland. But from 1602 Danish merchants held a monopoly on the Iceland trade. This was the start of a long period of hardship, when few ships sailed to Iceland, Icelanders were poorly paid for their products, and shortage of goods was common. The monopoly was abolished in 1787, when six trading centres were chartered: Reykjavík, Grundarfjörður, Ísafjörður, Akureyri, Eskifjörður and the Westman Islands.
Industry on Aðalstræti
In 1752 major development began in the area that would become Aðalstræti. New buildings were constructed to house various industrial workshops with the aim of modernising the stagnant Icelandic economy. Known in Danish as De Nye indretninger (the New Enterprises), the companies are best known for their innova-tions in spinning and weaving wool on a large scale, but they also sought to modernise the fisheries and agriculture and establish sulphur-refining, leather-working and rope-making.
In May 1752 two ships arrived in Iceland, laden with timber and tools. The vessels were gifts to the New Enterprises from the king of Denmark and Iceland. They were intended to be the first decked vessels in the Icelandic fishing fleet. Aboard the ships were a large number of foreign craftsmen, as well as Danish and Norwegian farming families, who were to instruct Icelanders in new methods of agriculture and horticulture.
Equipment of Shark Fishing, The Settlement Exhibition Reykjavík 871±2 ~ Reykjavík, Iceland
Shark Liver Oil, and a Fishoil Lamp
*The Port of Reykjavík
The oldest documentation of commerce at Hólmurinn on Örfirisey island (now part of Reykjavík Harbour) is from 1521. The people of Reykjavík and its environs were compelled to trade there, on pain of flogging or imprisonment. The trading post was transferred to Reykjavík around 1780, to the area which is now Aðalstræti and Hafnarstræti.
Imports and exports in the middle ages
In medieval times Iceland's major export com-modity was woollen cloth: vaðmál (wadmal or twill), used to make clothing, sails for ships, etc. In the 13th century fish exports began: cod was gutted, de-headed and hung to dry in the sun and wind to make stockfish. Fish-liver oil was also an important export in the middle ages, as well as gyrfalcons (sold as hunting birds) and sulphur. Major imports were grain, wax, linen cloth, and timber and tar for building homes and boats. Iceland had no woods to provide home-grown timber.
Trade monopoly
In the 15th and 16th centuries Icelanders traded extensively with English and German merchants who sailed to Iceland. But from 1602 Danish merchants held a monopoly on the Iceland trade. This was the start of a long period of hardship, when few ships sailed to Iceland, Icelanders were poorly paid for their products, and shortage of goods was common. The monopoly was abolished in 1787, when six trading centres were chartered: Reykjavík, Grundarfjörður, Ísafjörður, Akureyri, Eskifjörður and the Westman Islands.
Industry on Aðalstræti
In 1752 major development began in the area that would become Aðalstræti. New buildings were constructed to house various industrial workshops with the aim of modernising the stagnant Icelandic economy. Known in Danish as De Nye indretninger (the New Enterprises), the companies are best known for their innova-tions in spinning and weaving wool on a large scale, but they also sought to modernise the fisheries and agriculture and establish sulphur-refining, leather-working and rope-making.
In May 1752 two ships arrived in Iceland, laden with timber and tools. The vessels were gifts to the New Enterprises from the king of Denmark and Iceland. They were intended to be the first decked vessels in the Icelandic fishing fleet. Aboard the ships were a large number of foreign craftsmen, as well as Danish and Norwegian farming families, who were to instruct Icelanders in new methods of agriculture and horticulture.