Sailing Ships of the Island of Mljet in the Dubrovnik Wood Supply from 1922 to 1941

摘要

The island of Mljet, the area of 100,4 km2, stretches parallel with the eastern half of the Pelje?ac peninsula. It is situated in the southern Dalmatian island group and it is in the furthest south and east of our major islands. Cape Gruj, south-east part of the island 30 km away from Dubrovnik and Cape Goli, its north-west end, 18 km away from the island of Kor?ula. The island of Mljet has always been known as the most wooded Adriatic island. Its inhabitants, even from the time of the Dubrovnik Republic but afterwards as well, under the Austrian rule over the Dubrovnik and Dalmatia, especially in the period of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes and the Kingdom of Yugoslavia, exported large quantities of firewood to Dubrovnik. In this period, from 1922 – 1941, firewood was mainly carried to Dubrovnik by Mljet Captains in about fifteen island sailing – vessels and sailing fishing boats, oar propelled. However, this carriage was occasionally included, for the sake of profit, by the vessels of the island of Kor?ula. In order to provide the population of Dubrovnik with constant and uninterrupted supply, the district perfect of the Dubrovnik region forbade the export of Mljet wood outside the Dubrovnik district at the beginning of 1929. From 1922 to 1941 Dubrovnik was supplied from the island of Mljet from 30.000 to 35.000 quintals of firewood, mainly holm oak, bearberry, holly, olive tree and pine-tree.