The Fisherman's Cause
Atlantic Commerce and Maritime Dimensions of the American Revolution

This book examines why and how colonial fishermen and fish merchants mobilized for the American Revolution, underscoring the pivotal maritime efforts that secured American independence.

Christopher P. Magra (Author)

9781107403970, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 12 January 2012

254 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 1.5 cm, 0.38 kg

Review of the hardback: 'The Fisherman's Cause is a welcome reminder that America is a sea-minded nation. Native Americans turned to the sea for sustenance along the shore and in nearby shallow waters. For European settlers the Atlantic was both a highway to the Old World and a moat protecting them from it. The Atlantic was also a vast green pasture to which they ventured harvesting fish. Measured in quintals and packed in barrels these enterprising yankees marketed 'sacred cod' around the Atlantic world. Dancing across the ocean fishermen, seamen, and merchants established a sophisticated network of trade that generated profits used to fuel the extraordinary growth of the colonial economy. When this prosperous world was threatened by the acts of a clumsy imperial administration these traders and fishermen defended their interests and fought for American independence. Magra's story, well told and well documented, is essential reading if we are to understand the role of the sea in establishing the American republic.' William M. Fowler, Northeastern University

This book examines the connections between the commercial fishing industry in colonial America and the American Revolution, Christopher P. Magra places the origins and progress of this formative event in a wider Atlantic context. The Fisherman's Cause utilizes extensive research from archives in the United States, Canada, and the UK in order to take this Atlantic approach. Dried, salted cod represented the most lucrative export in New England. The fishing industry connected colonial producers to transatlantic markets in the Iberian Peninsula and the West Indies. Parliament's coercive regulation of this branch of colonial maritime commerce contributed to colonists' willingness to engage in a variety of revolutionary activities. Colonists then used the sea to resist British authority. Fish merchants converted transatlantic trade routes into military supply lines, and they transformed fishing vessels into warships. Fishermen armed and manned the first American Navy, served in the first coast guard units, and fought on privateers. These maritime activities helped secure American independence.

Introduction
Part I. The Rise of the Colonial Cod Fisheries: 1. Fish
2. Fish merchants
3. Fishermen
Part II. Atlantic Origins of the American Revolutionary War: 4. Cod and the Atlantic economy
5. Atlantic business competition and the political economy of cod: part one
6. Atlantic business competition and the political economy of cod: part two
7. The New England trade and fisheries act
Part III. The Military Mobilization of the Fishing Industry: 8. From trade routes to supply lines
9. The first American navy
10. Starving the enemy and feeding the troops
11. From fishermen to fighting men
Conclusion.

Subject Areas: Economic history [KCZ], Modern history to 20th century: c 1700 to c 1900 [HBLL], History of the Americas [HBJK]