Robert G. Greenhill

The Peruvian Government and the Nitrate Trade, 1873–1879

The 1870s were a decade of crisis and change in the Peruvian economy. Guano, the bulk of Perus exports, no longer dominated the republics trade and finance as it had for thirty years. Quantity, quality and markets persistently declined from the peaks of the 1850s and 1860s. Two new growth sectors, however, increasingly diversified Perus commercial pattern. On plantations in the north sugar production quadrupled between 1873 and 1876, overhauling cotton and wool among exports. At the same time, in the southernmost province of Tarapaca nitrate extraction and manufacture steadily increased.

Book Review: Trade and Gunboats: The United States and Brazil in the Age of Empire

technological change. Yet despite the fact that the author has collected a mass of information on firm structures and strategies, a thorough analysis is lacking. The conclusion that managerial or corporate capitalism was a defensive strategy for firms in crisis seems hypothetical rather than proven. It may also be biased by the substantial weight assigned to Cramp. The discussion of the similarities and differences between naval and merchant shipbuilding is an important contribution of this book. In the early postbellum period, naval orders enhanced development of iron shipbuilding and the change to screw propulsion. Later, however, naval specialisation led to huge fixed costs and heavy capitalisation, which eroded the competitiveness of merchant shipbuilding. Why did American shipbuilding not catch up with the British during the late nineteenth century? Seaborne trade grew rapidly, not least American imports and exports, and America was the principal destination for the mass of immigrants who crossed the Atlantic, yet US shipping and shipbuilding captured only a minor part of these businesses. Heinrich repeatedly touches on this question but never really answers it. Was it the financial panic of 1873 that devastated the sector, or were institutional factors, such as an impotent marine policy, more crucial? Or, I would like to ask, could this question profit from the distinction of merchant versus corporate capitalism? That is, could a longer reliance on merchant capitalism explain entrepreneurial failure in shipbuilding on the American side of the Atlantic? I hope Thomas Heinrich will soon re-load his gun and address this and other fundamental questions.

Book Review: From Coastal Sail to Global Shipping: The History of The Steamship Mutual Underwriting Association Limited, 1909–2009DoeHelen, From Coastal Sail to Global Shipping: The History of The Steamship Mutual Underwriting Association Limited, 1909–2009.London: Steamship Insurance Management Services Ltd [www.simsl.com/], 2009. 128 pp., photographs, illustrations, and figures (b+w, colour), select bibliography, index. £10, cloth; ISBN 978-0-9563097-0-9.

on Aberdeen line ships in 1894, is replaced by the straight stem, the counter stern yields to the cruiser form, an efficient auxiliary sailing rig gives way to mechanical power alone. Power experiences its own transformation from compound inverted single propeller system through quadruple expansion to geared turbines. Steam in turn is challenged by diesel with the arrival of the motor vessel. The passenger capacity of many of these vessels is impressive, over 1500 in some cases. Cargo ships also participated in the trade. The Australind of the Australind Steam Navigation Company, built for the western Australian trade, followed a common practice of converting her hold into temporary accommodation for 450 migrants for her outward voyage. For those old enough to remember a pre-war world, these photographs will be a source of nostalgic pleasure as they remind one of a time when ships were not only functional but pleasing to the eye, with their graceful sheer lines and well-proportioned ratios between superstructure and hull. The modern slab-sided box-like bulk carrier or that mysteriously buoyant and mobile multi-storeyed apartment block, the cruise ship, are unlikely to arouse such affection as they also pass into memory. This is a well-researched book which will be of absorbing interest to the shiplover community for whom it will never age or become redundant. Such collections will become increasingly rare.

Book Review: Across the Oceans: Development of Overseas Business Information Transmission 1815–1875

few years before World War II disrupted all commerce. Once again, the coastal fleet was requisitioned for defence purposes. Their roles varied, but most performed patrol or convoy duties in the Pacific, Middle East and Southeast Asia. Some were lost to Japanese submarines and bombers, and ordinary shipping activity almost came to a standstill. After the Japanese surrender it took up to five years for all ships to be released for civilian work. Some rationalization of fleets occurred, with older ships being sold to Greek or Chinese buyers, and at least one firm withdrew from coastal passenger services. Plowman paints a picture of slow decline in the 1950s as passengers turned to air travel and the development of cruises failed to compensate. Only two motorships plied the coastal passenger trades; when both were sold in 1961, an era came to an end. This is not an economic or business history. Instead, it concentrates on the ships of the leading companies and their individual histories. It does include some information about cargoes, but there is little about their nature, size or direction and the ports involved. On the passenger side, where competition was keen, there is almost no reference to competition from railways. Industrial disputes are mentioned occasionally, but there is no discussion of them other than their negative effects on shipowners. The book is lavishly illustrated but its index only lists ship names, perhaps underlining the authors main purpose. There are some interesting reproductions of contemporary advertisements, although little is said about their context. Unfortunately, there are very few attributions to the sources the author used to write his pleasant narrative.