Our shipping fleet grew throughout the ensuing years and travelled further and further afield to include the west of Ireland and down into Spain and Portugal. With the discovery of prolific fish stocks off the coast of Newfoundland, Jersey fishermen began to regularly travel across the North Atlantic and it wasn't long before they extended their journey down the eastern coast of the United States, making stops in Salem and Boston.
During the next 200 years our merchant and shipping fleet grew and fortunes were made by a number of Jersey and Guernsey families, notably de Gruchy, Janvrin, Le Mesurier, Lempriere, Pipon and Robin. When Quebec was ceded to the British in 1763 large numbers of fish processing sheds, owned and run by these families, were constructed throughout the region and up into the Gaspe Peninsula. (To this day Jersey names, as noted above, still crop up in this area of Canada and down into the north-eastern part of the United States).
The Catholic communities in the West Indies provided a ready market for the cod caught off the Newfoundland coast and Jersey ships plied the seas down the eastern US and into the Caribbean, where they would sell their cargoes of dried cod and collect rum, molasses and tropical fruits for their onward journey to Spain and Portugal. In Bilbao in Spain they would frequently swap their West Indian cargo for one of iron ore, carrying it northwards on the homeward-leg of their journey for sale to northern European countries.
In the period of approximately 10 years from 1763 onwards the 'cod triangle' was at the height of its activities and Channel Island merchant traders stood on an international footing. The wealth that poured into the islands allowed for the building of many fine merchant houses and we are reminded of their origin today because they are still referred to as 'Cod Houses'. Many businesses were established during this period, not only in Jersey but also in London and several of the English south coast ports.
After the American War of Independence in 1776, Jersey ships travelling down into the West Indies risked capture by American privateers and the cod trade started to dwindle, the sheds gradually shutting one by one.
Trade in the Newfoundland area didn't cease altogether, however, because the Jersey merchant traders came up with another strategy to continue their operations. In 1785 Jerseyman Charles Robin became the first to supply household goods, clothing and fishing equipment to the area and he set up a credit system with the fishermen, whereby they would pay him with fish at market value. The more fish they caught, the more the market value would drop and the more fish Robin had to trade.
