User:Thypingvinen/sandbox/Skudehandel

Skudehandel (loosely Danish for 'ship trade') refers to a historical maritime trade in Denmark from the Jutlandic west coast to settlements in Western Norway, primarily originating from Ringkøbing, Thy, Han Herred and Vendsyssel.

The shortest distance from the Jutlandic west coast to Norway is 110 km, and is achieved from Klitmøller on the Danish side. The trade used ships called sandskuder (loosely 'sand ships') or baggeskuder, which were well-adapted to Denmark's flat, sandy beaches by having very shallow draught. In Thy, the ships were manufactured locally, while in Vendsyssel they most often purchased in Norway.

Denmark, traditionally an agricultural economy and with few natural resources, had an excess of butter, corn and flour. Norway instead had plentiful supplies of timber and metals from its forests and mines, but lacked produce.

The first written Danish accounts of the trade are from 1665. These take the form of letters from tradesmen in Klitmøller to the king, pleading for permission to continue the trade that they since "time immemorial" had carried out. Their ships landed outside the market towns and could therefore avoid the taxes and tariffs imposed by the local authorities. This was a significant annoyance to the 'normal' merchants that instead landed their goods at Thisted, who felt that they were subject to unfair competition. They complained to the king, who, seeing an opportunity for further taxation, wrote the letters that led to the above response from those in Klitmøller.

Merchants in Hjørring also complained about the practice, specifically about the landing of ships at Løkken and Lønstrup. In this region the tax levied on farmers selling produce in the market towns was so high that a significant proportion instead chose to sell their grain directly to the tradesmen on the coast.

The regions on the west coast had many mills because of the bountiful production of corn. As a vocation, the trade was held in high esteem by locals. This was mostly because it was very lucrative and many smallholders were keen for a family member to work under one of the leading captains. Unusually for the social customs of the time, the captains were often reluctant to pass the trade onto their sons, instead training their eldest daughter as the inheritor. This was because the trade was dangerous compared to others in the area, with losses of crew at sea not unheard of.

The Danish captains were obviously keen to improve their standing at the Norwegian ports. Many took merchant's citizenship at one of market towns in Norway. It was common for the captains to marry their families into those of Norwegian merchants, and vice versa. Hence there are a substantial number of Danes buried in, for example, Arendal, and the Norwegian dialect in the surrounding areas is much closer to Danish than in other parts of the country.

The trade was almost wiped out overnight by the introduction of the railways. This dramatically undercut the captains as it became far cheaper for the farmers to send their corn to larger Danish ports by train, where it was exported overseas.