An Inuit shopping list - November 2010 Document of the Month

Poole, with one of the largest natural harbours in the world, has long been a centre for maritime trade. From the 1600s to the 1800s a major, triangular trading route formed between Poole, Newfoundland and the Mediterranean.

Ships would head out to Newfoundland carrying provisions to trade, along with large quantities of salt. The provisions would be traded for fish, which then be dried and salted to preserve them during transportation. Finally the ships headed for the Mediterranean ports, where the fish could be exchanged for olive oil, wine and more salt, which was then taken back to England.

The document shown here dates from 1783, and is part of letter within the Lester and Garland collection (ref: D/LEG/X5), which represents the archive of a family who were important Poole merchants for several generations.

By this time Newfoundland was inhabited both by European settlers and its indigenous people, the Inuit or 'Eskimeau', as they are referred to in the document. The letter is from George Cartwright, who outlines the kinds of goods that would be need to be loaded on to an outbound ship to trade with the Inuit.

As the Inuit cultural and economic life was almost entirely centred on hunting and fishing, many of the items on the list are hunting tools. These include 60 arrow heads and 60 dart heads, 12 guns (along with gunpowder and ammunition), 36 beaver traps and a "few old whaling harpoons & spears ... particularly the spears (what [sic] they kill the whales with after they are stuck)".

Not surprisingly, articles for keeping warm are also included - 60 pairs of stockings and 20 blankets (which Cartwright says "Cannot be too thick, or too coarse, & the larger the better").

A number of contemporary terms, which now seem very obscure and archaic, feature in the document. Whilst we know that "shellops" (or shallops) are whaling boats and that a "caulking mallet" would probably have been used to make the seams in these boats, staff and volunteers at the History Centre have been unable to determine what "Ullows" (item 3 on the list) or "Skiff rades" (item 20) are! If you have a suggestion why not contact the Outreach and Communities Officer (as below)?

• Archive Service Officer (Community Engagement)
  Name: Vacant
  Email: archives@dorsetcc.gov.uk
  Tel: 01305 250550
  Full details for Vacant