Baltic Iron and the Organisation of the British Iron Market in the Eighteenth Century

The project was concerned with the role of international commerce and mercantile networks in the early phases of British industrialisation. Specifically, it was concerned with the operation of the market for malleable bar iron. Between 1650 and 1800 domestic ironmasters were unable to meet the growing demand for bar iron. The shortfall was made good by imports from the Baltic, first from Sweden, then from Russia. The objective of the project was to uncover the links in the global commodity chain that stretched from the mining district of central Sweden to Britain and beyond. By doing so, the destination of bar iron imports can be plotted, allowing regional markets and specialised production zones to be detected, illuminating the operation of one of the most important industrial commodity markets of the era. As a further step, the role of mercantile networks in Britain in developing new patterns of metalware manufacture, orientated upon export markets in the Atlantic world, is brought to light.