Crews of the sea vessels of the Nikolo-Korelsky monastery during the first half of the XVIII century: structure and employment conditions

The article deals with the organization of the ship crews of the Nikolo-Korelsky Monastery during the first half of the XVIII century. The relevance of the work is associated with the disclosure of the system of communications of the coastal marine economy in the pre-industrial era. In this era, communications operated seasonally, not providing year-round maintenance of remote fisheries. The problem of the sea and river communications of the Pomorye monasteries has been repeatedly addressed by researchers, but for the Nikolo-Korelsky Monastery this topic remains undeveloped. The monastery carried cargo to the Murmansk fishery and supplies for the garrison of the Kola fort. For these purposes, since the 1720s two types of ships were used - sailboats and hookers (gukors). Ship crews consisted of helmsmen and sailors. The research revealed the territorial origin of the crew members, the stability of labor relations with the monastery, the working conditions, and the wage rates. In the course of the study, the following conclusions were made: the Nikolo-Korelsky Monastery felt the impact of Peter the Great’s reforms, which required the transition from traditional Pomor vessels to western European types of ships; the composition of the ship crews was flexible and changed almost annually, while captains (helmsman) worked for a long period; the wages of sailors were fixed and depended on the length of each sea route, while at the Murmansk fishery the income was determined by the volume of production and was unstable.