there was, however, one cargo that the ship-owners did not have to worry about finding a market for in the sparsely populated new world: people. many of the timber ships turned to carrying immigrants for the return voyage from the british isles to fill this unused capacity. timber ships would unload their cargo and sell passage to those desiring to emigrate. during the early nineteenth century, with the preferential tariff in full effect, the timber ships were among the oldest and most dilapidated in the british merchant fleet, and travelling as a passenger upon them was extremely unpleasant and dangerous. it was, however, very cheap. since timber exports would peak at the same time as conflicts in europe, such as the napoleonic wars, a great mass of refugees sought this cheap passage across the atlantic.