Cosmopolitan Networks in Commerce and Society 1660–1914

HELEN DOE
Table 5.3 Shares owned by Mrs Ann Banfield
Registered Ship Name Tonnage Built No. of Shares
1851 Silura 71 1833 64
1851 Vivid 131 1851 16
1852 Gazelle 109 1839 32
1852 Jessie Banfield 122 1852 46
1853 Emerald 264 1855 16
1854 Mary Banfield 116 1854 30
1854 Presto 123 24
1855 Ann Banfield 218 1855 20
1855 Jane Lakey 264 1855 16
Source: Cornwall Record Office, MSR/SCI, Shipping Registers of the Isles of
Scilly.
All of the larger vessels were involved in international trade. The
Ann Banfield, under the command of Henry Edwards of Liverpool,
set out in August 1864 with a prospective list of ports of call including
Mauritius, Adelaide, Melbourne, Sydney, Hobart Town, Laun -
ceston, Auckland, Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Singapore. 42
Conclusion
All of this distance trading underlines the importance of business
networks and shows that ‘networks are an integral part of economic
activity’. Even in markets where there were systems such as contracts
and customary practice to deter malfeasance, individuals still preferred
to deal with known contacts of repute or good connections.
Networking is a relationship ‘rooted in social and cultural practice,
42 CRO, MSR/SCI, Shipping Registers of the Isles of Scilly.
148