dansk skibsbygning omkring 1780 - Handels- og Søfartsmuseet

SHIPBUILDING IN DENMARK G. 1780
Slimmary
A decree of March i8th 1776 was designed to encourage shipbuilding in Denmark.
Subsidies were granted to promote the building of more ships at home and
a duty was placed on vessels built abroad purchased by Danish merchants. Armed
merchant vessels were given the monopoly of the West Indies route, but when the
War of American Independence created a great demand for neutral shipping this
restriction was pointless. These protective measures were therefore abandoned and
the quantitive results of the decree are consequently difficult to assess.
The decree also laid down standards which vessels had to conform to. Subsidies
were only given after plans had been. submitted and approved and the technical
and theoretical skills of the shipbuilder ascertained. These requirements gave rise
to many difficulties, especially to shipbuilders outside Copenhagen who did not
use plans. Productivity was consequently reduced to a considerable degree.
The immediate result of the decree was that a number of ships were built
according to its provisions. More lasting results can not be discovered.