The impact of a new port on the organization of maritime shipping: an attempt to generalize the results of a case-study on the foundation of St. Petersburg and its influence on Dutch maritime shipping in the Gulf of Finland and Archangel (1703-1740)

Scheltjens, Werner (2008): The impact of a new port on the organization of maritime shipping: an attempt to generalize the results of a case-study on the foundation of St. Petersburg and its influence on Dutch maritime shipping in the Gulf of Finland and Archangel (1703-1740).

Abstract

In this paper, I present an attempt to generalize the results of a historical case-study on the foundation of St. Petersburg and its influence on Dutch maritime shipping in the Gulf of Finland and Archangel in 1703-1740. In order to do so, I present the case itself first, followed by a description of the methods applied to its study and a detailed overview of the analytical results. The interplay of local and regional economic policies, infrastructural developments and the location of industries plays a major role in the organization of maritime shipping destined to the places and regions that were affected by it. The actual effect on the organization of maritime shipping, however, can be rather unexpected. The results of this case-study show that the impact of a new port on the organization of maritime shipping is anything but straightforward. The reason for this is that maritime shipping is an economic activity in its own right: maritime shipping is defined not only by the nodes it connects nor by its own social structures exclusively, but by both elements at the same time. In adopting organizational strategies varying from flexibility to repetitiveness in the choice of both cargoes and routes, maritime shipping is bounded by the origin of the shipmaster, the size of his ship and the type of cargo that he was specialized in. Thus, in order to understand the impact of a new port on the organization of maritime shipping it is necessary to take into account both the interplay of economic geographical circumstances and the complex organizational structure of maritime shipping. Three types of generalization are possible on the basis of the results of this case-study. From a historiographical point of view, the analytical results of this paper serve as an answer to existing assumptions about specialization in early-modern maritime shipping. On a methodological level, it is possible to generalize the resuls of this case-study in the form of a taxonomy of organizational strategies and behaviour of populations of shipmasters. This, in turn, is proof of the successful application of evolutionary theory to a profoundly economic historical topic.

• Item Type: MPRA Paper
• Language: English
• Keywords: early-modern maritime shipping, evolutionary economics, methodology, evolutionary framework, homo sapiens oeconomicus
• Subjects: N - Economic History > N0 - General > N01 - Development of the Discipline: Historiographical; Sources and Methods; N - Economic History > N0 - General; N - Economic History > N7 - Transport, Trade, Energy, Technology, and Other Services

References

Åström Sven-Erik, ‘Technology and Timber Exports from the Gulf of Finland 1661-1740’ // The Scandinavian Economic History Review, 1975, Vol. 23.

Åström Sven-Erik, From Tar to Timber: Studies in Northeast European Forest Exploitation and Foreign Trade 1660-1860, Helsinki, Societas Scientiarum Fennica, 1988 (Commentationes Humanarum Litterarum 85).

Black William R., ‘Transport route location: a theoretical framework’ // Journal of Transport Geography, 1993, Vol. 1, No. 2.

Boon P., ‘West Friesland and the Sound (1681-1720). Sound Toll registers, Sound Toll Tables and the Facts in West Friesland’ // W.G. Heeres (red.), From Dunkirk to Danzig: Shipping and trade in the North Sea and the Baltic, 1350-1850, Hilversum, 1988.

Boon P.A., Bouwers van de zee: zeevarenden van het Westfriese platteland c. 1680-1720, Den Haag: Stichting Hollandse Historische Reeks, 1996. (Hollandse Historische Reeks 26).

Boschma Ron A., Frenken Koen, ‘Why is Economic Geography not an Evolutionary Science? Towards an evolutionary economic geography’ // Journal of Economic Geography, 2006, Vol. 6, No. 3.

Brakel Simon van, ‘Statistische en andere gegevens betreffende onzen handel en scheepvaart op Rusland gedurende de 18e eeuw’ // Bijdragen en mededeelingen van het historisch genootschap, 1913, Vol. 34.

Buck P. De, Lindblad J.Th., ‘Navigatie en negotie. De Galjootsgeldregisters als bron bij het onderzoek naar de geschiedenis van de Oostzeehandel in de achttiende eeuw’ // Tijdschrift voor Zeegeschiedenis, 1990, No. 1.

Burovskij A.M., Peterburg kak geografičeskij fenomen, Sankt-Peterburg: Aletejja, 2003.

Čulkov M.D., Istoričeskoe opisanie rossijskoj kommercii pri vsech portach i granicach: Ot drevnich vremjan do nyne nastojaščago i vsech preimuščestvennych uzakonenij po onoj gosudarja imp. Petra Velikago i nyne blagopolučno carstvujuščej gosudaryni imp. Ekateriny Velikija, Sankt-Peterburg, Pri Imp. Akad. nauk, 1781-1788, 7 tomov.

David Paul, Thomas Mark, ‘Introduction: Thinking historically about Challenging economic Issues’ // P.A. David, M.Thomas (red.), The Economic Future in Historical Perspective, Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003.

Dekker Pieter, ‘Friese schippers op de Amsterdamse Oostzeevaart in 1731’ // It beaken: meidielingen fan de Fryske Akademy, 1977, vol. 39.

Dopfer Kurt, ‘Evolutionary economics: a theoretical framework’ // K. Dopfer (ed.), The Evolutionary Foundations of Economics, Cambridge University Press, 2005.

Dopfer Kurt, ‘The economic agent as rule maker and rule user: Homo Sapiens Oeconomicus’ // Journal of Evolutionary Economics, 2004, nr. 14.

Dopfer Kurt, Foster John, Potts Jason, ‘Micro-meso-macro’ // Journal of Evolutionary Economics, 2004, Vol. 14.

Dopfer Kurt, Potts Jason, ‘Evolutionary Realism: an new ontology for economics’ // Journal of Economic Methodology, 2004, Vol. 11, Nr. 2.

Dugger William M., ‘Two Twists in Economic Methodology: Positivism and Subjectivism’ // American Journal of Economy and Sociology, 1983, vol. 42, Nr. 1.

Dugger William, ‘Methodological differences between institutional and neoclassical economics’ // Daniel M. Hausman (ed.), The Philosophy of Economics: An anthology, Cambridge University Press, 1994.

Elfeky Mohamed G., Verykios Vassilios S., Elmagarmid Ahmed K., ‘TAILOR: A Record Linkage Toolbox’ // Proceedings of the 18th International Conference on Data Engineering. IEEE, 2002. [pdf].

Ėngman Maks, Finljandcy v Peterburge, Sankt-Peterburg: Evropejskij Dom, 2005.

Fleming Douglas K., Hayuth Yehuda, ‘Spatial Characteristics of transportation hubs: centrality and intermediacy’ // Journal of Transport Geography, 1994, Vol. 2, Nr. 1.

Fowler Christopher S., Missing the Boat: The role of transportation networks in shaping global economic relations, 2003. (Unpublished Master Thesis, University of Washington).

Fukuyama Francis, State-Building: Governance and World Order in the Twenty-First Century, [London]: Profile Books, [2005].

Gipping Andrej Iogann, Vvedenie v istoriju Sankt-Peterburga, ili Neva i Nienšanc, Sankt-Peterburg, s.l.: Rossijskij Archiv, 2003 [reprint 1909].

Glete Jan, ‘Cities, state formation and the protection of trade in Northern Europe, 1200-1700’ // Hanno Brand, Paul Holm, Leos Muller (eds.), The Dynamics of Economic Culture in the Northsea and Baltic Region (ca. 1200-1700), Hilversum: Verloren, 2007.

Greif Avner, ‘Cliometrics after 40 years’ // The American Economic Review, Vol. 87, No. 2, Papers and Proceedings of the Hundred and Fourth Annual Meeting of the American Economic Association, 1997, May.

Gu Lifang, Baxter Rohan, Vickers Deanne and Rainsford Chris, Record Linkage: Current Practice and Future Directions. Technical Report 03/83, April 2003, CSIRO Mathematical and Information Sciences.

Hall Peter, Hesse Markus, Rodrigue Jean-Paul, ‘Reexploring the interface between economic and transport geography’ // Environment and Planning A, 2006, vol. 38.

Heckscher Eli, ‘Quantitative Measurement in Economic History’ // The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 1939, February.

Hellebust Rolf, ‘The Real St. Petersburg’ // The Russian Review, 2003, Vol. 62.

Istomina Ė.G., ‘Lesosochranitel’naja politika v Rossii v XVIII – načale XX v.’ // Otečestvennaja istorija, 1995, Nr. 4.

Kahan Arcadius, ‘Continuity and Economic Activity and Policy during the post-Petrine period in Russia’ // The Journal of Economic History, 1965, Vol. 25, No. 1.

Kahan Arcadius, ‘Entrepreneurship in the Early Development of Iron Manufactories in Russia’ // Economic Development and Cultural Change, 1962, Vol. 10, No. 4.

Knoespel Kenneth J., ‘Building Space and myth at the Edge of Empire: Space Syntax Analysis of St. Petersburg, 1703-1913’ // Proceedings. 4th international space syntax symposium. London, 2003.

Knoppers Jake Th., Dutch trade with Russia from the time of Peter I to Alexander I : a quantitative study in eighteenth century shipping. Montréal, ICES, 1976. 3 vol.

Kotilaine J.T., ‘Competing Claims: Russian Foreign Trade via Arkhangel’sk and the Eastern Baltic Ports in the 17th Century’ // Kritika: Explorations in Russian and Eurasian History, 2003, 4 (2).

Kotilaine J.T., Russia’s Foreign Trade and Economic Expansion in the seventeenth Century: Windows on the World, Leiden, Brill, 2005.

Kozinceva R.I., Očerki vnešnej torgovli i tamožennoj politiki Rossii pervoj treti XVIII veka, Leningrad: s.n., 1963.

Labahn K., Kroll S., ’Die "niederländischen Sundregister" als Quelle für den Fernhandel der Hafenstädte des Ostseeraums während des 18. Jahrhunderts’ // F. Braun, S. Kroll (red.). Städtesystem und Urbanisierung im Ostseeraum in der Frühen Neuzeit: Wirtschaft, Baukultur und Historische Informationssysteme. [Münster], LIT, 2004.

Lindblad J. Thomas, Sweden’s trade with the Dutch Republic, 1738-1795: a quantitative analysis of the relationship between economic growth and international trade in the eighteenth century, Assen, Van Gorcum, [1982].

Lindblad J.Th., Buck P. de, ‘Shipmasters in the shipping between Amsterdam and the Baltic 1722-1780’ // W.J. Wieringa (ed.), The interactions of Amsterdam and Antwerp with the Baltic Region, 1400-1800: papers presented at the 3rd international conference of the “Association internationale d’Histoire des Mers Nordiques de l’Europe”, Utrecht, August 30th-September 3rd 1982, Leiden: Nijhoff, 1983.

Lotman Jurij Michajlovič, Semiotika goroda i gorodskoj kultury: Peterburg, Tartu: Tartuskij Gosudarstvennyj Universitet, 1984.

Matley Ian M., ‘Defense Manufactures of St. Petersburg 1703-1730’ // Geographical Review, 1981, Vol. 71, Nr. 4.

North Douglass C., ‘Structure and Performance: The Task of Economic History’ // Journal of Economic Literature, 1978, Vol 16, No. 3.

O’Kelly Morton, ‘A Geographer’s Analysis of hub-and-spoke networks’ // Journal of Transport Geography, 1998, Vol. 6, Nr. 3.

O’Kelly Morton, Miller Harvey J., ‘The hub network design problem: a review and synthesis’ // Journal of Transport Geography, 1994, Vol. 2, Nr. 1.

Petersen Nikolaj, ‘Denmark as an International Actor 706-2006’ // World Political Science Review, 2006, Vol. 2, Nr. 3.

Petrov P.N., Istorija Sankt-Peterburga s osnovija goroda do vvedenija v dejstvie vybornago gorodskago upravlenija po učreždenijam o gubernijach 1703-1782. Sankt-Peterburg, Tipografija Glazunova, 1885.

Polnoe Sobranie Zakonov Rossijskoj Imperii. Pervaja Serija s 1649 po 12 dekabrja 1825 goda (sost. pod rukovodstvom M.M. Speranskogo). Sanktpeterburg: [s.n.], 1830, 45 vol.

Repin N.N., ‘Izmenenie ob’’ema i struktury ėksporta Archangel’skogo i Peterburgskogo portov v pervoj polovine XVIII v.’ // Promyšlennost’ i torgovlja Rossii XVII-XVIII vv.: sbornik statej, Moskva: Nauka, 1983.

Repin N.N., ‘Ot diskriminacii k fritrederstvu: pravitel’stvennaja reglamentacija torgovli čerez Archangel’sk v 20-60-e gody XVIII v. i ee rezul’tat’ // Ju.N. Bespjatych (red.), Archangel’sk v XVIII veke / Arkhangelsk in the XVIII century, Sankt-Peterburg: Rossijsko-Baltijskij informacionnyj centr BLIC, 1997.

Royen P.C. van, Zeevarenden op de koopvaardijvloot omstreeks 1700, Amsterdam: De Bataafsche Leeuw, 1987.

Šarymov Aleksandr Matveevič, ‘Istorija Landskrony’ // Avrora, 1993, Nr. 5.

Šarymov Aleksandr Matveevič, Predystorija Sankt-Peterburga / 1703 god: kniga issledovanij, Sankt-Peterburg: Žurnal Neva, 2004.

Scheltjens Werner, ‘Sources for the study of Dutch trade in the Gulf of Finland, 1558-1780’ // Stadt und Meer im Ostseeraum während des 17. und 18. Jahrhunderts. Seehandel, Sozialstruktur und Haubau – dagestellt in historischen Informationssystemen. (forthcoming).

Scheltjens Werner, When Nyen became St. Petersburg. Patterns of specialization in Dutch shipping in the eastern Gulf of Finland in the first half of the eighteenth century. Conference Paper, presented at the Second Flemish-Dutch Conference ‘Economic History of the Low Countries before 1850’ (Antwerp, 20-21 April 2006). available on line at: http://mpra.ub.uni-muenchen.de/7686/.

Šelgunov N.V., Istorija lesnogo zakonodatel’stva, Sankt-Peterburg, 1857.

Semencov Sergej, Mify Istorii, 2003, Janvar’, Nr. 16.

Semenov A., Izuchenie istoricheskikh svedenii o rossiiskoy vneshney torgovle i promyshlennosti s poloviny XVII-go stoletiya po 1858 god 9 (reprint, 3 parts bound in 2 vols), Newtonville, Oriental Research Partners, 1977.

Sorokin P.E., Landskrona – Nevskoe Ust’e – Nienšanc: 700 let selenija na Neve, Sankt-Peterburg: Litera, 2001.

Steinberg Philip E., ‘Navigating to multiple Horizons: toward a geography of ocean-space’ // The Professional Geographer, 1999, Vol. 51.

Steinberg Philip E., ‘Transportation Space: A Fourth Spatial Category for the World Systems Perspective?’ // Paul S. Ciccantell, Stephen G. Bunker (red.), Space and transport in the World System, Westport: Greenwood, 1998.

Steinberg Philip E., The Social Construction of the Ocean, Cambridge: University Press, 2001. (Cambridge Studies in International Relations, Vol. 78).

Tabeller over skibsfart og Varetransport gennem Øresund 1497-1660, I: Nina Ellinger Bang (red.), Tabeller over Skibsfarten. Copenhagen: Gyldendalske Boghandel – Nordisk Forlag; Leipzig: Otto Harrassowitz, 1922; II. Ibidem, Tabeller over Varetransporten A. Copenhagen: Gyldendalske Boghandel – Nordisk Forlag; Leipzig: Otto Harrassowitz, 1922; II. Nina Ellinger Bang, Knud Korst (red.), Tabeller over Varetransporten B. Copenhagen: Gyldendalske Boghandel – Nordisk Forlag; Leipzig: Otto Harrassowitz, 1933. Tabeller over skibsfart og Varetransport gennem Øresund 1661-1783 og gennem Storebælt 1701-1748, I: Ibidem, Tabeller over Skibsfarten. Copenhagen: Gyldendalske Boghandel – Nordisk Forlag; Leipzig: Otto Harrassowitz, 1930.

Tarif sanktpeterburgskogo, vyborgskogo, narvskogo, archangelogorodskogo, kol'skogo portov’ // Ukazy blažennye i večnodostojnye pamjati gosudarja imperatora Petra Velikogo samoderžca vserossijskogo. Sostojavšiesja s 1714, po končinu Ego Imperatorskogo Veličestva, Genvarja po 28 čislo, 1725 godu. Napečatany po ukazu vsepresvetlejšei deržavnejšei velikoi gosudaryni imperatricy Anny Ioannovny samoderžicy vserossijskoi. Sanktpeterburg: Imperatorskaja Akademija Nauk, 1739.

Ullman E.L., ‘The role of transportation and the Bases for Interaction’ // Man’s Role in Changing the Face of the Earth, Chicago, 1956.

Unger W.S., ‘De publikatie der Sonttabellen voltooid’ // Tijdschrift voor Geschiedenis, 1958, nr. 71.

Veluwenkamp J.W., Archangel: Nederlandse Ondernemers in Rusland 1550-1785, Amsterdam, Balans, 2000.

Verykios Vassilios S., Elmagarmid Ahmed K., Automating the Approximate Record Matching Process, [1999].

Vrangel’ V., Istorija lesnogo zakonodatel’stva v Rossijskoj imperii s prisovokupleniem očerka istorii korabel’nych lesov Rossii, Sankt-Peterburg, 1841.

Wallace Daniel, ‘Entrepreneurship and the Russian Textile Industry: From Peter the Great to Catherine the Great’ // Russian Review, 1995, Vol. 54, Nr. 1.

Welling G.M., The Prize of Neutrality. Trade relations between Amsterdam and North America 1771-1817: a study in computational history. Groningen, 1998.

Welling George, ‘Price-supply relations on the Amsterdam staple-market 1778’ // W.G. Heeres e.a. From Dunkirk to Danzig: Shipping and Trade in the North Sea and the Baltic, 1350-1850. Hilversum, 1988.