Freight Rates in the Trade between Europe and South America, 1840–1914

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to examine the evolution, between 1840 and 1914, of the freight rates for bulk cargoes and general cargoes, in the trades between South American ports in Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay, Chile and Peru, and European ports in the United Kingdom/Continent range. The article does not deal with the transport of passengers nor the exports of refrigerated foodstuffs from South America. The basic data on the freight rates charged for some of the main exports and imports in those trades are shown in Graphs i a/b (p. 24). The Appendix includes information about the methodology and the sources used for the preparation of the freight series. The freight rates quoted in the text are nominal or ‘market’ prices in decimal pounds.1