p.161 After peace had been declared in 1815, a difficult period of reconstruction began for all Europe. The following years did not bring the immediate prosperity which many had hoped for. Huge stocks of goods which had accumulated during the war were thrown out on the market as soon as peace was declared. But since most people were completely impoverished after all the years at war, the marketing possibilities for all these goods were very poor. This in turn affected the freigh market. The resulting crisis led to a decrease in world tonnage by two percent per year from 1817 to 1823. Then tonnage again began to increase.