Throughout the 18th century Whitehaven grew to be one of the most important ports in the country, a serious rival to Bristol and Liverpool. The mining of coal and its export, primarily to Dublin and other Irish cities, drove the initial growth of the port in Whitehaven and of the town itself.
These Irish ports were important stopping off points for the colonial trade, the Whitehaven traders made useful contacts there and established themselves in the tobacco trade, the first consignment arriving in 1675. Used originally as 'carriers' to distribute the tobacco within Britain, the Whitehaven ships became increasingly involved in the transatlantic trade but competition from the merchants of Glasgow and finally the American War of Independence ended the trade in the late 18th century. One of the most important of the Whitehaven tobacco importers had been the Gale family who traded with Virginia and Maryland. In 1699 George Gale met and married a widow, Mildred Washington and they returned to Whitehaven to live. Mildred's grandson, George, was destined to become the first President of the United States of America. Mildred Gale is buried in the grounds of St Nicholas's Church in the centre of Whitehaven. Following the death of his wife, George Gale remarried and founded the town of Whitehaven, Maryland.
With the loss of the tobacco trade new markets needed to be found and Whitehaven imported spices from India and Madagascar; sugar, spices and rum from the West Indies; cotton from North America, the West and East Indies, Brazil, Turkey and Egypt; timber from the Baltic states and hemp from Ireland. It exported cloths and manufactured goods, coal, pig iron, iron ore and rope. In common with other major ports of the period Whitehaven had some involvement in the trading of slaves, exporting cotton fabrics to Africa from where slaves were transported to the Americas and then raw cotton, sugar and rum imported into England.
Links
The Rum Story
These Irish ports were important stopping off points for the colonial trade, the Whitehaven traders made useful contacts there and established themselves in the tobacco trade, the first consignment arriving in 1675. Used originally as 'carriers' to distribute the tobacco within Britain, the Whitehaven ships became increasingly involved in the transatlantic trade but competition from the merchants of Glasgow and finally the American War of Independence ended the trade in the late 18th century. One of the most important of the Whitehaven tobacco importers had been the Gale family who traded with Virginia and Maryland. In 1699 George Gale met and married a widow, Mildred Washington and they returned to Whitehaven to live. Mildred's grandson, George, was destined to become the first President of the United States of America. Mildred Gale is buried in the grounds of St Nicholas's Church in the centre of Whitehaven. Following the death of his wife, George Gale remarried and founded the town of Whitehaven, Maryland.
With the loss of the tobacco trade new markets needed to be found and Whitehaven imported spices from India and Madagascar; sugar, spices and rum from the West Indies; cotton from North America, the West and East Indies, Brazil, Turkey and Egypt; timber from the Baltic states and hemp from Ireland. It exported cloths and manufactured goods, coal, pig iron, iron ore and rope. In common with other major ports of the period Whitehaven had some involvement in the trading of slaves, exporting cotton fabrics to Africa from where slaves were transported to the Americas and then raw cotton, sugar and rum imported into England.
Links
The Rum Story
