From Outpost to Outport
A Structural Analysis of the Jersey-Gaspé Cod Fishery, 1767-1886
Description
Using the extensive papers of the firm Charles Robin and Company of Jersey and Paspebiac, and the records of the Jersey mercantile establishment, Rosemary Ommer presents a detailed case study of commodity trade, uncovering the development, function, and strengths and weaknesses of all aspects of the fishery. Her analysis clearly reveals a functional three-point trading system: production in Gaspé, management in Jersey, and markets in the Mediterranean, the West Indies, and Brazil. Employing a new set of methodologies developed for this study, Ommer is able to escape the myopic perspective of works which assume that staple-based development comprises only "good" and "bad" staples that inevitably lead to development and underdevelopment respectively. She has instead produced a rich and complex analysis which broadens our understanding of colonial staple development and commodity trade and introduces new insights on regional development.
Reviews
"There has been, until recently, a lamentable ignorance among historians of the British North American fisheries. [This study], erected on a firm basis of documentary sources, [is] an entirely original contribution." Julian Gwyn, Department of History, University of Ottawa. "Ommer does not write `thick history' about the Gaspé fishery, but underscores, rather, the way in which some key Jersey merchants used the cod fishery to enhance their economic status. This analysis of the symbiotic relationship of Jersey and the Gaspé makes a significant contribution to Staple Literature. George Rawlyk, Department of History, Queen's University.