Name

The Running Trade Cargo Game

Description

In the 1750s, a single week’s customs entries at Douglas recorded tea from China, brandy from France, violins from Rotterdam, gunpowder for the African trade, and coal from Liverpool — all arriving at the same tiny harbour.

This card game challenges your family to load a trading vessel with the right cargo. Print the cargo cards, each showing a real trade good that passed through Manx harbours. Players draw destination cards (Lancashire, Cumberland, Dublin, the Guinea Coast) and must assemble a profitable cargo before the revenue cutter catches them.

Every cargo item is real, every route is real, and every price is based on what these goods were actually worth in the 1750s. What Parliament called smuggling, the Manx people called trade. The goods were entered legally through the Duke of Atholl’s customs house. Every duty was paid. Nothing was against Manx law.

Key Stage / Type

Family Activity

Ages 6+

At Home / Rainy Day

Period

1703–1765

Topic

Smuggling & Trade