Danmarks Handel og Industri

XXVII period«, in the latter half of the 18th and the beginning of the 19th century, played a highly important part. Even though some of the transatlantic connections were lost for a long time, Danish shipping has, in spite hereof, in modern times again established its former renown, and now as formerly Denmark occupies an honourable position in the ranks of the sea-faring nations. At the outbreak of the Great War in 1914, the Danish mercantile marine comprised a tonnage of upwards of 560.000 tons net register, of which 430.000 tons were steamships. Some years previously Denmark had had the credit of launching quite a new type of vessel, the funnel- and smokeless sea going motor ship »The Diesel Ship«, built by the Danish shipbuilders Burmeister & Wain and introduced by »The East Asiatic Company«. In the development of Danish shipping throughout the last fifty years the United Steamship Company have played an important part by gradually starting a network of regular routes between Danish and foreign ports, — in the first instance, export routes to England, and next, also regular connections with almost all European ports, and finally different trans- atlantic routes to North and South America, especially The American Scandinavian Line's New York Route. In the middle of the nineties, the interrupted connection with the East was again resumed, through the activity of The East Asiatic Company, and this company, in the course of its rapid growth, has subsequently launched a series of other regular connections with South Africa, Australia, the Pacific coast etc. Finally Denmark has at her disposal quite a respectable fleet of tramp steamers which is employed partly in the coal and timber trade between England and the Baltic countries, and partly in trading on the Mediterranean or finding employment in still more distant parts in the transatlantic trade. By means of the constantly increasing freight originating from ships trading in foreign parts the shipping trade has therefore also contributed its share towards the payment of the import expenses of the country. By the Convention af May 27th 1873 between Denmark and Sweden Monetary System. a Monetary Union was formed between these two countries, which by an additional convention of October 16th 1875, was acceded to by Norway. Thus the three Scandinavian countries have — for upwards of half a century — had uniformity of coinage based on the gold standard.