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From: John Blankenbaker <>
Subject: [GERMANNA] (1817)Germanna Colonies, History of
Date: Mon, 01 Dec 2003 05:47:23 -0500

The eighteen hundred and seventeenth note in a series on the Germanna Colonies

A recent question pertained to naval stores. Since Great Britain had ships
before they had the North American colonies, where did they get their naval
stores then? At first they obtained them from the British isles where the
ultimate source for many of the things that made up naval stores was trees,
especially pine trees.

Wood and trees were the source of many of the goods which were needed in a
civilization then. So much so that the lands became denuded of trees. Wood
became a precious commodity, not something to be wasted. This is why Europe
has so many half-timbered houses. Less wood was required to build a
half-timbered house than it did to build one completely out of wood. The
frame was built out of wood and this is visible part of the structure that
we see today. The space between these timbers was filled with something
else other than wood. In the oldest half-timbered construction, the space
was filled with a patchwork of brush and adobe. Today, bricks are used
because they are more permanent.

The roofs of houses used to be thatch but this was too dangerous from a
fire standpoint. Briefly, prior to the industrial age, thatch was replaced
by wood. This was a drain on the wood supply without relieving the fire
hazard completely. Then it was dictated that the roofs had to be built of
slate and tile, non-wood products that had excellent fire inhibiting
properties.

By seventeen hundred, the industrial age had progressed to the point that
much iron was being used. Iron processing required an intense heat which
could be provided by charcoal (pure carbon). This led to an increased
demand on the wood supplies. In fact, in England, the supply of wood to
make charcoal was being exhausted. England was forced to procure several
things from the Baltic nations such as naval stores and iron because of the
wood shortage at home.

Very soon after Alexander Spotswood came to Virginia (in 1710) he proposed
to make iron that could be shipped home to England. His arguments were
good. Virginia and other colonies had the necessary materials and energy to
do so. But the mercantile mentality in England said that the colonies must
supply raw materials, not finished goods. He was warned against going into
the "iron works" business for this reason. But his arguments were valid.

However, the production of tar, pitch, and deal boards were encouraged.
England simply could not do these at home so the colonies were encouraged
to do these things. Germans were sent to New York in 1710 to make naval
stores. This project was poorly guided and managed and produced little.
Spotswood heard the appeal and wanted to go into naval stores. For this
purpose, he obtained immense quantities of land which he said were for
making naval stores. He "imported" (his word) the people who made up the
Second Germanna Colony to provide the labor for this.

John Blankenbaker
http://www.germanna.com/
http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~george/johnsgermnotes/germhis1.html
http://www.germanna.net/

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