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The "green fishery" was carried out on the open sea, on the banks
off the coast of Newfoundland. It was also known as the migratory
fishery because once a ship arrived at a bank the pilot let it
drift to try to follow the schools of fish. Green cod was not a
specific type of fish; the term refers to fresh, cleaned and
salted Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) without the head.
The ships used in the green fishery were generally small, 60 to
120 tons (90 on average). They had a crew of 10 to 12 sailors,
two young apprentices, a boy, a pilot who steered the ship, and
a captain who also managed the fishery and trading operations.
The sailors fished, while the mates, apprentices and boys prepared
and salted the fish, then piled it up in the hold. The ships had
to carry enough provisions for an expedition of over nine months
and large quantities of salt to preserve the fish. At the end of
the expedition, they returned to the port where the fish was to
be unloaded, having spent the whole time on the open sea. Green
cod, like herring, was among the preferred fish in ports along the
English Channel, and certainly the favourite in regions of France
to the north of the Loire.
From 1744 to 1748, when the War of the Austrian Succession ended,
the number of ships from Honfleur employed in the fishery on
Newfoundland's Grand Bank decreased considerably. On March 8, 1751,
Mr. Thirat, commissaire aux
classes, 8
wrote the following about Honfleur: 9
The cod fishery has always been the city's main source of trade.
However, even at its peak, the number of ships outfitted for this
fishery never exceeded 52. The war almost destroyed it because
it declined and most of the ships were captured. In 1748, only
13 or 14 ships were outfitted for the Bank. Today, 61 ships of
80 to 200 tons sail from the port, and the fishery has contributed
to a considerable increase in trade here.
The ships leave Honfleur with their ballast to pick up supplies of
salt in ports on Ré Island or along the Seudre River. Once
the salt has been loaded, they set off for the Bank of Newfoundland.
After the fishery, most of them return to their home port, and the
rest go to Dieppe, a few to Le Havre.... It is estimated that
400,000 to 500,000 cod are consumed in this city and the surrounding
area...
Let us get back to Jean Marin Le Roy, the pilot of the
Saint-André. In the middle of Seine Bay, north of the
village of Vasouy, he waited for favourable winds to enter the English
Channel. This was not his first fishing expedition. His logs from 1752
and 1753, which are in very poor
condition, 10
show that he participated in at least two other expeditions. He had
already crossed the Atlantic on the Maréchal de Saxe,
under the command of Captain Nicolas Fafard, an old salt from Honfleur
who was well acquainted with the Bank.
The previous expeditions had been much like the one Le Roy undertook
in 1754. The ships were the same size and carried approximately the
same number of men. However, in 1752 and 1753: a) the ship had
sailed late in the
season; 11
b) the Maréchal de Saxe headed directly to the
Grand Bank from Honfleur; c) it had obtained all its provisions
at its home port, including the salt, which had come from the
storehouses in Honfleur; d) there was no surgeon on board because,
under the 1681 ordinance, surgeons were required only on ships with
crews of 20 or more men. The crews of those expeditions must have
bitterly regretted the absence of a qualified surgeon.
In 1752, the Maréchal de Saxe, armed with one cannon
and two rifles, had a crew of 15, including the captain. They left
Honfleur on May 14 and fished until October 27, returning with 10,900
cod. They rushed home, arriving safely on November 25, because a month
earlier Captain Fafard had had to call upon the surgeon of a ship that
was fishing close by.
After visiting the crew of the Maréchal, the surgeon
concluded that the fishermen's complaints of illness were justified.
Anyone could see that even Captain Fafard was ill; he had been
suffering from a violent fever for ten days and was in bed. Jean Marin
Le Roy, also ill, was too weak to perform his duties. After consulting
the surgeon who went to their bedside, Fafard and Le Roy decided to
leave the Bank and return home. Given the crew's complaints, the captain
had the beverages checked and discovered that the cider and other
beverages had gone bad. In fact, they had been undrinkable for about a
month. The surgeon was convinced that the beverages were the cause of
the illness. Fafard would have liked to stay a few more days to complete
the expedition, but on October 26 and 27, three more men were confined
to their beds. The ship left the Bank on the 28th at 1:30 a.m.
It was not the first time a ship's food or beverages had spoiled. In
1700, several fishermen from Havre-de-Grâce were sick during an
expedition, and 14 sailors died on the way home. The quality of the
cider was one of the main causes of illness because when cider was
watered down too much (usually one part cider to three parts water),
it did not keep as long or help prevent scurvy. There were likely other
causes of illness. 12
The inferior quality of the biscuit, butter, salted meats and dried
vegetables was also a problem that, combined with the poor physical
condition of the fishermen, could pose significant health risks when
a ship remained at sea for over six months. After 1748, shipowners
from Honfleur lowered their standards when selecting crews because
they had trouble recruiting men. In Auge, a fertile region inland from
the port of Honfleur, it was already more difficult to find men willing
to participate in fishing expeditions. And because of the low birth rate
in Normandy at the end of the Ancien
Régime, 13
shipowners had to pay crews from that region a better wage or else
recruit fishermen elsewhere. As a result, some captains skimped on
the food and beverages to increase their profits.
On May 9, 1753, the Maréchal de Saxe was back on the
Bank, and once again members of the crew fell ill. The second mate
was plagued by a kidney stone until the 17th, and a sailor grappled
with whitlow from the 12th to the 28th. To make matters worse, the
captain complained of a large stone, chest problems and a weak heart.
At the end of the month, he was still ill.
Shortly after, it was discovered that the salt needed to preserve the
cod was of very poor quality. The
salter 14 threw
out 40 baskets in May and another 100 in June because it was "old
brine". The ship was carrying salt from the warehouses in Honfleur.
Had the problem originated there? A precious commodity essential to
fishing vessels, which were required to pay the gabelle,
salt was kept under guard in the stone warehouses built in the
previous century by order of the Minister of Finance, Colbert. In
July, the mystery was solved. The barrels of cider and other beverages
had leaked, spilling their contents over much of the salt in the
hold.
On July 12, a sailor lost a finger when a foresail yard fell because
its strop 15
broke. Three days later, a sailor developed a stitch in his side, a
stomach ache and a fever. On the 18th, another one became ill.
Someone was sent out in the shallop to ask Captain Delahaye Jr. to
send his surgeon to the Maréchal de Saxe to treat
the sick, who were increasing in number. On the 26th, surgeons were
sent over by captains Delahaye Jr., Delahaye Sr., Bréhaut Sr.
and Aufray to treat Captain Fafard and his crew. They returned on the
27th and advised Captain Fafard to go back to France if he did not
want to die. Holding a medical certificate, Fafard resigned himself
to leaving less than three months after the beginning of the
fishery. 16
On July 27, at 5 p.m., Jean Marin Le Roy noted his point of departure
(44 degrees 20 minutes north latitude, 24
leagues 17 inside
the Bank). There was a moderate S1/4SW breeze. He headed E1/4NE under
full sail then ENE and travelled about 44 2/3 leagues, until about 6
a.m. The sounding lead was lowered into the water: 33 fathoms. Three
hours later, at 9 a.m., the depth was measured once again. This time
there were 70 fathoms of water. The ship had left the Bank at 44 degrees
35 minutes latitude and 335 degrees 07 longitude. On July 29, the brother
of the second mate developed a severe stomach ache and a fever. Then the
sailors recovered on August 9 and 14.
On Tuesday, August 21, at 4 p.m., an inshore pilot from Havre-de-Grâce
approached the Maréchal de Saxe. Later, around 1:30 a.m.
on the 22nd, a pilot from Honfleur approached the ship in a
biscayenne 18 with
a crew of six. He took the Maréchal de Saxe into its
home port around 2:30 or 3:00 a.m. Everyone had survived, but the
expedition had failed. The members of Captain Fafard's crew and their
families faced hard times.
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