The domination of the economy of Newcastle upon Tyne by the coal industry during the seventeenth- and eighteenth - centuries is well known. Many ships arriving to collect a cargo of coal did not carry cargo but carried ballast, often in the form of sand or gravel. Over many years a vast quantity of ballast was deposited along the banks of the river, often spilling into the water, causing obstruction to river traffic. The management of ballast became a major pre-occupation for the Burgesses of Newcastle and a complex organisation evolved to manage the problem. Ships masters paid fees to the town to deposit ballast at ballast staiths which was then conveyed to the ballast hills at some distance from the river. The cumulative amount of these fees provided a substantial income both to the town and the Ballast Conveyors who leased and ran the ballast staiths, resulting in significant competition between the leading citizens in the town to obtain a lease to work a ballast shore. The ballast trade and its associated social, political and business networks played a very important and previously little understood role in the economy of Newcastle during this period.

中文翻译：

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压舱物贸易：17 和 18 世纪泰恩河畔纽卡斯尔的经济驱动力

17 世纪和 18 世纪煤炭工业对泰恩河畔纽卡斯尔经济的支配是众所周知的。许多到达收集煤炭货物的船只并不运载货物，而是运载压载物，通常以沙子或砾石的形式。多年来，大量压载物沿着河岸沉积，经常溢出到水中，导致河流交通受阻。镇流器的管理成为纽卡斯尔伯吉斯一家的主要当务之急，一个复杂的组织演变为管理这个问题。船长向镇上支付费用，将压载物存放在压载物台，然后将其运送到距河流一定距离的压载物山上。这些费用的累计金额为镇和出租和经营压载站的压载输送机提供了可观的收入，导致镇上主要公民之间为了获得在压载岸上工作的租约而展开激烈竞争。在此期间，压舱物贸易及其相关的社会、政治和商业网络在纽卡斯尔的经济中发挥了非常重要且以前鲜为人知的作用。