Abstract

Trade from 1400 onwards had an impact upon the North Atlantic region quite out of proportion to its volume. e opening of a ready market for dried sh, in particular, but also cloth, train oil and sulphur encouraged the production for export on a much larger scale than before. In return, a greater range of nished goods and raw materials was supplied by German mer- chants. Initially, trade was channelled through Bergen, but this system broke down, largely because English merchants sailed to Iceland. From the 1470s onwards, the number of German ships travelling to Iceland and Shetland increased. e Danish government struggled to control the trade in their North Atlantic territories, but rst in the Faroes and later in Iceland, they sought to impose greater restrictions on foreign merchants. e Danes licensed ships to trade at certain ports and from 1601 attempted to restrict the trade to their own merchants. e introduction summarizes the history of German trade in the North Atlantic, and outlines its economic and cultural impacts.