Collection of Sound Toll Accounts of Scottish ships, 1786-1788

• The collection consists of three bound volumes of computer print-outs of the Sound Toll Accounts date for Scotland and a user manual, 1973.

The collection consists of three bound volumes of computer print-outs and a user manual. These were produced by the Danish economic historian, Hans Christian. Johansen of the University of Odense, Denmark in 1973  for all the Scottish ships passing through the Sound, the strait between Denmark and Sweden , between 1786  and 1788  . This was part of a project to extract data from the Sound Toll Registers, and was an early study to demonstrate how computers could be used in historical research. Johansen used coding sheets and punch cards to create a database for all the information on the ships and cargoes passing through the Sound between 1784  and 1795  . The Sound Toll was in operation by the 15th century  and was levied by the king of Denmark on all ships passing through the Sound . The registers, which were kept by the customs at Elsinore, record detailed information on every ship, including date of passage, nationality, name and home port of the captain, tonnage of ship, cargo, tolls and duty paid, ports of departure and destination.

The three volumes of print-outs contain extracted information for all the Scottish ships sailing in and out of the Baltic for 1786-1788  . The information on the print-outs is coded and the user manual (UGC 086/1) is necessary to understand the codes.

A project is now ( 2012  ) underway in the Netherlands to create a database with all the detailed information on the 1.8 million ships' passages recorded in the Sound Toll Registers between 1497  and 1857  . The initiative was taken by the University of Groningen (represented by Jan Willem Veluwenkamp) and by Tresoar , the Frisian Historical and Literary Centre in Leeuwarden ( Siem van der Woude) in cooperation with the Danish National Archives ( Erik Gøbel). The information will be online between 2011 and 2013. For more information see the website

[This administrative history was compiled using info from here.]

Chronological order

Open

Deposit : Prof Roy Campbell : July 2002: ACCN 2243

None.

Johansen's database is available on application to the Danish Data Archives, while a revised version can be found on the internet.

None which affect the use of this material

Applications for permission to quote should be sent to the Archivist.

Reproduction subject to usual conditions: educational use and condition of documents

This material has been appraised in line with standard GB 0248 procedures

This collection was originally deposited at the Scottish Record Office [now National Records of Scotland] under the reference RH2/9/1 & RH2/9/3/3-5. These were deaccessioned from the NAS and deposited at GUAS in 2002 by Professor Roy Campbell.

None expected

Sound Toll Registers in the Danish National Archives. More information can be found here.

The Sound Toll Registers are kept in the Danish National Archives. The information taken from the Sound Toll Accounts was recorded on a 9-track magnetic tape kept at NEUCC in Copenhagen as tape number IR11117.

No known publications using this material

Description compiled in line with the following international standards: International Council on Archives,ISAD(G) Second Edition, September 1999 and National Council on Archives,Rules for the construction of personal, place and corporate names

Scotland is the location of all place names in the administrative/biographical history element, unless otherwise stated.

Fonds and lower level descriptions compiled by Alma Topen, Senior Assistant Archivist (Cataloguing), November 2004. Finding aid created by Alma Topen, Senior Assistant Archivist (Cataloguing), November 2004. Catalogue revised by Alma Topen, Senior Assistant Archivist (Cataloguing), September 2012> Catalogue edited by Michelle Kaye, Archives Assistant, 27 September 2012.