Saint John Shipbuilding

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The Golden Age of Sail was a steady period of economic success for the Maritimes. Although short lived, it spanned from 1846 to 1867 and made British North America a major player in the international shipbuilding industry. This time of prosperity and nation building also marked a tradition of craftsmanship – the coming together of wind, wood and sail – especially in Saint John, New Brunswick. The establishment of a vessel registry kept track of the number of ships built in the city, and the numbers steadily rose, which fostered the Provinces growth far beyond expectation. This paper will focus on Saint Johns development within its larger colonial context and serves as a key proponent of shipbuilding in the Maritimes during the nineteenth century. Through its early beginnings, the Golden Age itself and the industries subsequent decline, the ebbs and flows experienced by the region will be illustrated to assess the true value of the Golden Age of Sail in Saint John.
With the global demand for New Brunswick timber on the rise, shipbuilding became essential for the Province. From 1803 to 1816 the Napoleonic Wars, between Napoleon’s French Empire and coalitions led by Great Britain, broke Britain’s lumber supply relationship from the Baltic Sea and made way to a new relationship with New Brunswick (Houston and Smyth 95). Since New Brunswick “possessed hundreds of kilometers of coastline suitable for launching ships, timber merchants built shipyards and increased their output to meet this demand” (MCCORD-MUSEUM). Saint John began producing ocean-going rigs to utilize their close proximity to timber, which created jobs given the manpower that was necessary to fulfill labor demands. Timber had a duel purpose as a shipped commodity and sh...

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...” ((Spicer THE AGE OF SAIL 88). The demand for ships was just beginning when Troop became to build his fleet, as two were later acquired in the 1840s and a subsequent eight in the 1850s (Spicer THE AGE OF SAIL 90). These ships varied in size, caring anywhere from 300 tons to 1200 tons depending on their make. The Troops development helped to create and support the Golden Age of Shipbuilding as “the demand for ships [was] said to be greater than [had] ever been known to [the] builders” (Spicer THE AGE OF SAIL 91) of the time. The fleet was developing at a time where they could capitalize at the expense of others. One of the reasons for the high growth rates was the decline in the American fleet in the 1860s and 1870s and resulting in opportunities for Canadian vessels in American export trades (Sager and Fisher 27) as a result of the Crimean and American Civil wars.

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