BOnUSLAN HERRING-FISHERIES. 229 



with it, rose to considerable importance; it liad two mayors, a chief of 

 police, a syndic, ten aldermen, «&;c., which certainly is an evidence of 

 prosperity.^* Another evidence is fonnd in the amount of war-taxes 

 which Marstrand had to pay during the war with Sweden, and which 

 was as high as that of the large city of Bergen. The inhabitants of 

 Marstraud complained about this, and succeeded, in having the taxes 

 lowered; but this fact shows indisputably that at that time Marstrand 

 was the second city of Norway, and ranked higher than Trondhjem, Oslo, 

 and Tonsberg. Uddevalla seems also to have derived considerable ben- 

 efit H'om these fisheries.^^ 



We will now see what influence these rich fisheries exercised on the 

 moral condition and true well-being of Bohusliin. The king, in order 

 to increase the revenues of the crown, desired to di-aw as many fisher- 

 men as possible to the coast of Bohusliin, and succeeded in seeing his 

 desire fulfilled. The consequence was, that all sorts of people came to 

 Bohusliin from Norway, Denmark, and the German provinces of the 

 Danish crown, many of them by no means persons of high moral char- 

 acter. Feter Clausson, in the above-mentioned i)amphlet, gives us some 

 idea of the character of the coast population, when there we read of the 

 "godless life which the people led, drinking, gambling, whoring, murder 

 and quarrels being every-day occurrences" in the cities of Marstrand 

 and Udevalla.^^ 



As the number of bloody frays increased, it became necessary to ap- 

 point special surgeons. It is highly characteristic of those times that, 

 whenever the surgeons had to dress fresh wounds, they had to announce 

 the fact to the tax-gatherer, so the king might not lose the fine which 

 was imposed on frays of this kind. The "Law-books" imposed very 

 hea\"\' fines on the transgression of any of their regulations ; still disor- 

 der and vice were not much diminished.^^ The tax-gatherers, in whose 

 hands great power was laid, were frequently guilty of violent extortions. 

 The revenues which the crown derived from these fisheries proved of 

 little benefit to the country, for they were chiefly employed for carrying 

 on a useless war against Sweden. 



Towards the year 1590 the fisheries began to decrease, as was gener- 

 ally supposed, on account of the godless life led by the fishermen, and 

 the abuse of God's gifts; and the last "Law-book," which was issued in 

 1589, therefore recommends an earnest reform, saying: "As all good 

 gifts come from Almighty God and His Divine Majesty, thus our king- 

 dom of Norway has richly experienced His favors, its inhabitants as 



"Holmlerg, " Boliusldn's Mstoria och heskrifning," III, 408-409; Med., Ill, p. 193- 

 194. 



^^Holmierg, " Bohuslan^s Mstoria och heskri/ning," III, tj). 113; 2d edition, II, p. 239. 



^^Hohnlerg, " BoTiusJdn'a hlstoria och heskrifning," II, p. 93, note; III, p. 113, 409; 

 2d edition, I, p. 287-288, note ; II, p. 239 ; III, p. 194. 



-^ Hohnherg, " BohuslUn's Mstoria och heskrifning," II, p. 93, note; 2d edition, I, p. 

 287-288, note. 



