The Boatmen of Rovinj and Istria in Dalmatia in the Course of the Napoleonic Age

Abstract

In this work the author presents the contribution of the boatmen from Istria/Rovinj in the maritime and mercantile activities of Dalmatia in the Napoleonic Age. Upon having researched into the sources of the archives in Zadar the author came across a handful of data which give fragmentary, but nevertheless useful clarifications in relation to the maritime activities of the Istrian boatmen on the Croatian coast at that time, particularly the ones coming from Rovinj. On their crossings towards Dalmatia they mainly transport somebody else’s goods and only sometimes passengers. The available sources bear witness to the type of their sailboats, the number of members of the crew and the type of cargo transported. Considering that those were not infrequently times of turbulent and dangerous weather, not everybody managed to escape some bad destiny; some experienced attacks of Russian and English pirates, the capturing and plundering of the boats and their cargoes. That is how they used to loose their boats, cargoes and risk the lives of the crew members, instead of gaining some capital. In spite of everything this is how conclusions can be drawn about Rovinj as a maritime centre of Istria at that time and about boatmen and tradesmen of Rovinj who used to sail all the way to Kotor.