Entre grande pêche et commerce

This article deals with the reconversions in the high sea cod fisheries of North Brittany in the middle of the 19th century. These changes are to be connected with occurrences such as the Crimean war, and with structural developments. During the first decades of the 19th century, many ports of North...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Annales de Bretagne et des pays de l'Ouest
Main Author: Auffray, Jean-Michel
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:French
Published: Presses universitaires de Rennes 2012
Subjects:
geo
Online Access:http://journals.openedition.org/abpo/1846
Description
Summary:This article deals with the reconversions in the high sea cod fisheries of North Brittany in the middle of the 19th century. These changes are to be connected with occurrences such as the Crimean war, and with structural developments. During the first decades of the 19th century, many ports of North Brittany became prosperous through the produce of fishing off the coast of Newfoundland. The cods were sold in different ports of the Mediterranean Sea. In autumn and winter the sailing ships were used for trading, thus providing additional profits. During the Crimean war, some of these ships were used solely as merchantmen.During the sixties, deep reconversions took place. This time they were imposed by durable structural factors. The ship-owners gradually left the havens of Newfoundland and sent their ships to Iceland. It was a success. On the other hand, endeavours for reconversion in trade were proving more difficult. Cet article concerne les reconversions que connaît la grande pêche en Bretagne Nord au milieu du xixe siècle. Ces changements sont à mettre en rapport avec des événements (la guerre de Crimée) et des évolutions structurelles.Pendant la première partie du xixe siècle, les armements morutiers de Bretagne sont prospères. Les revenus proviennent essentiellement de la vente en Méditerranée des produits de la pêche sédentaire à Terre-Neuve mais aussi des campagnes commerciales qui suivent. La guerre de Crimée prend l’allure d’un avertissement qui oblige les armateurs à utiliser une partie de leur flotte pour le commerce.Durant les années soixante, de profondes restructurations ont lieu, imposées cette fois par des facteurs structurels durables. Alors que la reconversion au commerce s’avère très difficile, l’abandon progressif des havres de Terre-Neuve sera en grande partie compensé par l’essor de la pêche sur les bancs et à Islande.