Cornish miners to Chile in the 1860s - how?

[philipsearching]

Could any kind Rootschatter enlighten me?

How would Cornish miners have travelled to Chile in the 1860s, and are there any passenger lists?

I can't find anything on FamilySearch or TheShipsList and I have no idea where to look next.

In particular, I am hunting for travel records for two sisters:
Charity (GRAY) PERROW born c1839 Gwennap, died 23 Jul 1872 Coquimbo with her husband Thomas PERROW
Mary Ann (GRAY) INCH born 1847 Gwennap, died 4 Aug 1878 Coquimbo with her husband James INCH (daughter died 17 Mar 1869 Coquimbo)

Census and BMD records show Charity married in 1857 - she is on 1861 census, but not with Thomas.  Mary Ann married 1865 and had two children born 1865 and 1867 in Cornwall.  This gives a time-frame for travel:
Thomas PERROW - after 1857
Charity - after 1861
James INCH - after 1866
Mary Ann - after 1867
Looking at the dates, I think Thomas may have gone out first, followed by the others in c1867-1869.

[osprey]

it's unlikely that there are passenger lists 

http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/help-with-your-research/research-guides/passengers/

As for how they travelled, there were ships leaving Swansea which brought back copper from Chile, so they may have taken people out there as well as the coal that was shipped. Copper was mined in Cornwall & shipped to Swansea for smelting, but when more copper ore was needed than Cornwall could supply, it came from South America.

http://www.walesonline.co.uk/lifestyle/nostalgia/welsh-history-month-professor-chris-3414178
mentions Cornish miners leaving from Portreath and then changing ships in Swansea

[youngtug]

Seems like Falmouth was the main port for Cornish miners going to Latin America.

[youngtug]

 of interest; https://projects.exeter.ac.uk/cornishlatin/mapsandgraphs.htm
 And ;
          https://projects.exeter.ac.uk/cornishlatin/Creating%20the%20Cult%20of%20Cousin%20Jack.pdf

[philipsearching]

it's unlikely that there are passenger lists

I had a feeling that might be the case.

Many thanks for the Swansea info - I didn't know about that. Strange as it may seem, I hadn't got around to wondering where the copper and tin went after my ancestors mined it - coal from South Wales to Cornwall and copper heading the other way makes sense.

youngtug - thank you for those links - I'll read with interest.

Ah well, off to familysearch on the offchance one of the husbands or surviviving child turns up on a BMD or census somewhere.  The hunt goes on!

Thanks again
Philip

[osprey]

sorry to confuse, the coal wasn't going to Cornwall, it was going to South America amongst other places.

[philipsearching]

sorry to confuse, the coal wasn't going to Cornwall, it was going to South America amongst other places.

Not always.  Welsh coal fuelled the fires in Cornish homes.

[youngtug]

A lot of coal was needed for the mining industry. Pilchard oil was used for lamps and some heating amongst other uses.
 http://www.cornwallheritagetrust.org/discover/industry-in-cornwall/

[Hobbie]

Have only just seen your query. I cannot answer it directly but you may be interested to know that I visited the British cemetery in Coquimbo in 1970 and saw the graves of Cornish tin miners. Because of the dry climate the wooden crosses were in good condition and inscriptions were legible. I was struck by how many adults died young and how many babies died.PRUYXX