In the nineteenth century 90% of the world’s copper was smelted in Swansea valley.
At first, ships brought ore from Cornwall, North Wales and Spain.
But as demand for copper grew, Barques began to bring copper back from all over the world, many of their voyages were round the Cape Horn to Chile – the most challenging voyage a seaman could encounter.
Swansea’s docks developed to hold these ships – the North Dock, using a natural bend in the river, then South Dock which lies not far from this museum.
Warehouses, workshops, dry docks, boat yards, And shipping offices clustered around the docks.
Swansea was truly transformed from a small market town to a great bustling centre of industry, and one of the busiest ports in the world.
