Old Cornwall
May 20, 2008 | Permalink
Ballantyne and his wife"For three months my wife and I stayed in the town of Saint Just, closeto the Land's End, during which time I visited some of the principal mines in Cornwall; associated with the managers, "captains," and miners, and tried my best to become acquainted with the circumstances of the people.
The Cornish tin trade is very old. In times so remote that historical light is dim, the Phoenicians came in their galleys to trade with the men of Cornwall for tin.
Herodotus, (writing 450 years B.C.) mentions the tin islands of Britain under the name of the Cassiterides and Diodorus Siculus, (writing about half a century B.C.), says:
"The inhabitants of that extremity of Britain which is called Bolerion, excel in hospitality, and also, by their intercourse with foreign merchants, they are civilised in their mode of life. These prepare the tin, working very skilfully the earth which produces it."
There is said to be ground for believing that Cornish tin was used in the construction of the temple of Jerusalem. At the present time the men of Cornwall are to be found toiling, as did their forefathers in the days of old, deep down in the bowels of the earth--and even out under the bed of the sea--in quest of tin."

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