Die Schifffahrt des Herzogtums Schleswig im Spiegel des Sundzolls 1634-1857

The Sound Toll was imposed by the Danish crown at Elsinore in 1427-29. The registers, which give a good impression of the economic state and the regional distribution of shipping, are analyzed in this essay for the Duchy of Schleswig. As other serial sources are lacking, the registers complement our existing knowledge, especially concerning the seeventeenth century. Overall, the Duchy of Schleswig did not play a particularly important role in shipping between the North and Baltic Seas. As far as the origins and destinations of voyages are concerned, the region was relatively insignificant. However, the duchy provided a considerable number of ship captains sailing from other ports. Until the first third of the eighteenth century, the merchant fleet remained relatively small. After the end of the Great Northern War, a prolonged boom began that was only interrupted by the Napoleonic wars. This development was unequal on the western and the eastern coast. While the North Sea coast stagnated, the towns on the Baltic Sea, especially Flensburg, Sønderborg and Aabenraa, were booming. In the nineteenth century, the island of Ærø became a maritime center as well.