A History of Modern Wales 1536-1990 by Philip Jenkins

Author:Philip Jenkins [Jenkins, Philip]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: History, Europe, Great Britain, General
ISBN: 9781317872696
Google: zmKuBAAAQBAJ
Publisher: Routledge
Published: 2014-10-13T03:37:42+00:00

Markets

The Welsh coal industry was fortunate in the variety of its production. Initially, it offered the type of coal needed for coking to supply the early iron furnaces. This was what provided the impetus for the rapid growth of south Wales production after 1760, and the ironworks provided between a third and a half of the market for coal well into the mid-nineteenth century. When steamships came into their own from the 1830s, Welsh coal proved ideal for this purpose too and the maritime age of steam precisely coincided with the days of glory of Welsh coal. Steamship companies, navies and railway companies all provided essential markets. Other areas of Wales offered house-coal cleaner and less smoky than the traditional wares of northern England. When the iron and steel industry developed the hot blast process, the anthracite which this required was to be found abundantly in the western coalfields.

In other words, once the coal was made available for sale, the potential markets seemed limitless. In the 1830s and 1840s, the coal entrepreneurs succeeded in forging a direct link with the vital market of London, which had previously been the preserve of the Newcastle men. In 1828, Robert Thomas opened at Abercanaid (near Merthyr) the first pit aimed explicitly at this market, and his widow Lucy Thomas pioneered sales in London. In 1840, John Nixon secured the coal contract for the French navy. Cardiff was soon exporting to a major French market, re-establishing a connection at least as old as the days of Queen Anne. Coal exports tripled between 1828 and 1834.

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