1869:
In 1869 the Concordia departed from Christiania Apr. 18, and arrived at Quebec May 19. She was sailing in ballast, and was carrying 253 steerage passengers and 7 cabin passengers. Two passengers were ill with fever and cold, and an infant died of convulsions. The ship was detained under quarantine of observation. The Concordia was mastered by Capt. Christiansen with a crew of 14.
1870:
In 1870 the bark Concordia departed from Christiania Apr. 18, and arrived at Quebec June 10. She was sailing in ballast, and was carrying 286 steerage passengers. All was well at arrival to Quebec. There were two births on the voyage, on June 9th, Regine Maria, daughter of Ole Haga (32½) and Christine Andreasen (28) and on April 21st, Chr. Cornelius, son of Hans Christensen (33) and Pauline (30). Also this year she was mastered by Capt. Chr. Christiansen, with a crew of 15. Her tonnage was 522 tons.
The 1871 Voyage:
On April 17, 1871, the Concordia departed Christiania (Oslo) in ballast, carrying 2 cabin passengers and 202 steerage passengers under the command of Captain Chr. Christiansen and a crew of 15. The 522-ton ship arrived safely at Quebec on May 23. Among the passengers were 25 single men and 25 single women. All arrived in good health, and one birth was recorded during the crossing.
The 1873 Moisie Ironworks Indenture Controversy:
On April 23, 1873, the Concordia set sail from Christiania once again under Captain Christiansen. This voyage proved highly unusual and illegal under the Norwegian Passenger Act of 1869: none of the passengers had prepaid their tickets. Instead, an arrangement was made by a Mr. Molson, representative of an ironworks in Moisie, a settlement near Sept-Îles in eastern Quebec, for 50 families (215 people total) to pay off their passage through labor upon arrival in Canada. A Christiania-based agent named Sharpe facilitated the scheme and was later fined 50 speciedaler by a Norwegian court for his involvement.
Bypassing the standard port of entry at Quebec, the ship landed directly at Sept-Îles to discharge its passengers at the Moisie Ironworks. A note appended to the passenger list by Thomas Darling, J.P. and manager of the ironworks, confirmed that Captain Christiansen had debarked 217 Norwegian passengers and their "doctoress," noting that all were in apparent good health. Three infant deaths and one birth occurred during the Atlantic crossing. The passenger recorded as the ship's doctor was Olave Frits (42), who traveled alongside her two daughters, Charlotte (13) and Amalie (9). However, Norwegian records confirm that no woman by the name of Olave Frits ever graduated as a physician in Norway. She might have been one of these 'wise women' who frequently assisted in caring for the sick or those giving birth.
Upon landing at Moisie, the immigrants found themselves trap-bound by a company-town system. The ironworks company owned all the surrounding land and housing. The company charged exorbitant rent and living expenses, ensuring that all worker earnings were funneled back into basic accommodation and provisions. As a result, the immigrants faced years of debt bondage just to cover their original passage. Desperate, many workers gradually fled the settlement, though several were captured and imprisoned. The plight of these jailed immigrants triggered significant media attention in Norway and prompted direct intervention from the Norwegian government to resolve the diplomatic crisis.
