Henry and his voyage

["Sinclair" <labehotierre@wanadoo.fr>]

Thinking about why Henry went to America  and mulling over the reasons.  He could not have gone for wood.  Norwegians built their ships from pine.  Pine was plentiful nand accessible in the Norse area at the time.

Pirates abounded and Henry have to pay a great tribute to the Crown. His rents were declining his outgoing rising.  Trade, on which he was dependant, was being more and more controlled by the Hansa league.  If Henry made the voyage it was for money. The Norweagin Crown had it's own money problems. They had twice debased the coinages in five years and there was no Templar Treasure and income had to come from somewhere.  Henry was simply attempting to open a new market.

See Thomson, W. P. L. 1984. Fifteenth century depression in Orkney: The evidence of Lord Henry Sinclair's Rentals. In Crawford, B. E. Essays in Shetland History. Lerwick, The Shetland Times Ltd

and Barrett, J. H. 1995. "Few know an earl in fishing-clothes." Fish middens and the economy of the Viking Age and Late Norse earldoms of Orkney and Caithness, northern Scotland. Ph.D., University of Glasgow.

Sinclair