Page 11 - Captain William Strike of Porthleven

Trade to and from South Wales

Porthleven was one of many Cornish ports on both the south and north coasts that
sustained an important trade with South Wales, as evidenced in the reference above to
voyages to South Wales with ore and return voyages to Cornwall with coal. That coal
was destined for domestic and industrial use. With an intensification of copper mining
came an increasing need for more coal to drive beam engines to service the needs of
ever deeper excavation. The ore exported from ports like Porthleven was bound for the
smelters, many of which were to be found in and around the South Wales coalfield in
important industrial centres like Swansea. In turn many of the vessels bringing ore from
Cornwall would be fixed with coal cargoes back to Cornwall though it will be seen
elsewhere that modest freight rates did not always mean fat profits for the shipowners.

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