Cornwall Business and Occupations: Difference between revisions

Many of the people who were not themselves mariners or fishermen, were employed in related occupations, such as boatbuilding, dockworkers, sailmakers, fishmongers, shipping clerks, lighthouse keepers, and other such jobs. In recent years, the fishing industry has not prospered, and the occupations associated with the sea are more likely to be connected to tourism and recreation.  

An occupation that stands out in the lore of Cornwall is piracy, although only a small part of the population was involved in this. The reality is far different from the popular perception that one would get from moving pictures. The major part of the practice of "piracy" was actually smuggling, where goods would be brought ashore and then transported inland to avoid import taxes. This was especially attractive in the case of high-duty luxury items such as perfumes, rum, and other goods with higher profits that may not be available locally. The long stretches of rugged coastline, devoid of population but rich with isolated and hidden coves contributed to the success of the smuggling trade which peaked around the decades close to 1800. The proximity to France across the English Channel was important, and many goods were brought up past the French coast from Spain.  

The other occupation that is also often included under the appellation of "piracy" was wrecking. The same spectacular coastline with the granite outcroppings and sheer cliffs that now attract the tourists could be a dangerous and deadly place at night or during a storm as can be attested by the loss of thousands of vessels ranging from small boats to the supertanker "Torrey Canyon." When ships foundered and washed up along the coast, the wreckers were often there long before the agents of the shipping or insurance company arrived, the latter only to find that much of what was of value had already disappeared, carried off by the local wreckers. Although most of this was opportunistic, there were professional wreckers who were not above placing their own lights on the cliffs near a harbor in such a manner as to lure an unsuspecting ship onto the shoals. The popular notion of pirates seizing a ship at sea was a rare practice in Cornwall.  

The most important occupations, both with respect to the number of people involved, as well as the economic impact to Cornwall were related to mining. The entire land area is mostly granite, which is laced with what has been rich layers and seams of copper and tin. It is recorded that dating from the pre-Christian era, people came from as far away as the Mediterranean lands to obtain tin, and for centuries Cornwall was the source of a substantial part of the known world's tin.  

*[http://www.cornwall-calling.co.uk/mines.htm Cornish Mines and Mining History]

*[http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2285245/Cornwall-tin-mines-How-quest-metal-took-men-just-feet-ocean-floor.html How the Quest for Tin Took Men Below the Ocean Floor Off Coast of Cornwall]

Of course, the usual occupations found everywhere, such as farming, teachers, shop keepers, carters, civil servants, clergy, construction, masonry, innkeepers, grocers, dressmakers, butchers, and the idle rich are to found in Cornwall. Away from the coast, the illiterate who were not engaged in other occupations were usually agricultural laborers, eking out a marginal living. The last named will often be identified on a census record as "Ag lab." In the agricultural areas, boys (and sometimes girls) were frequently found living away from home as farm servants, often as young as age 10. The girls are also often found elsewhere as "domestic servants" where they earned their keep with another family.