Der Schiffbau und die Handelstransaktionen Johann Albrechts I. von Mecklenburg nach Portugal: Betrachtungen im Lichte der tief greifenden Veränderungen in Schiffbau und Schifffahrt zu Beginn der Frühen Neuzeit

Abstract

The waning Middle Ages were characterized by an expansion in shipping activities. Not only were new transoceanic routes established, but the cities and regions of Europe - a continent almost completely surrounded by water - were also interconnected by a dense network of shipping routes, in which context coastally oriented river shipping played a fundamental role. The Baltic region also had its share in this development, on which the emergence of Hanseatic trade systems had a major impact. Newly formed states became active in ocean-going trade, while principalities also strove for presence at sea. Sailing vessels grew steadily in size and were ever more expensive to build, especially in view of the fact that the necessary timber was becoming scarcer and costlier. If Mecklenburg on the south-western coast of the Baltic Sea otherwise receives little historiographic mention as a principality, one of its rulers is a striking exception - Johann Albrecht I, a modern Renaissance prince intent on making a name for himself all over Europe. He thus created a small fleet with which he desired to enter into trade relationships with Portugal and the Iberian Peninsula. To this end, however, he was not content merely to obtain the services of the local shipbuilding experts. On the contrary, scholars believe that he aspired to build his vessels by the new methods just coming into fashion at the time. With this wish he turned to France - indeed, directly to the French ruling house. For within the large collection of written sources that have comedown to us on the construction of two of his ships, there is a file from Paris containing works of draughtsman ship that are among the earliest examples of technical drawings in existence. These drawings are discussed against the background of meteorological developments as well as the transformation from the shipbuilding trade to the field of engineering. With the aid of so-called Shipshape software, an experimental vessel design is also featured. Socio-cultural reflections - carried out in conjunction with the evaluation of historical inventories - and reconstructions of voyages to Portugal round out our picture of this interesting case of ducal shipping and shipbuilding activities in the Baltic area.