4. Relations between German merchants and islanders in the North Atlantic

Abstract

Commercial relations between German merchants and islanders were shaped by the specific trading conditions in the North Atlantic and the great distance from the European continent, which complicated communication. In the words of Wendy Childs, the merchants found "a market essentially underdeveloped by current Western European standards, and one with a very harsh climate. It had a low population, and no permanent towns, not even in harbours, although people might congregate there when ships came in". 1 The remote and wild character of the North Atlantic islands influenced literary adaptations of the situation in the north, which emphasised its inhabitants' otherness. Examples are the at-times fantastic or exaggerated descriptions by Gories Peerse and Dithmar Blefken of the natural environment of Iceland and the customs of its inhabitants. 2 Before we begin the analysis of the German merchants' relations with these inhabitants, it is essential to first look at what it took the merchants to get to the North Atlantic. 4.1 Sailing to the North Atlantic 4.1.1 Ships and crews It is difficult to make detailed statements about the ships used in the North Atlantic trade based on the written sources. Ships are rarely mentioned, and when one is, it is only denoted by a general term or a size in lasts. I will therefore limit myself to some general remarks. Regarding ship sizes, all kinds of sizes are mentioned. The Oldenburg ship sailing to Nesvogur in Iceland of 35 or 40 lasts was considered small by their Bremen colleagues, 3 and at the other end of the spectrum we find mentions of over 100 lasts. 4 Usually we find