The Capital Goods and the Role of Natural Resources: In the Case of the Ships of the Line Yu OHNISHI The purpose of this article is to examine the ships of the line as the capital goods in the 'long 18th century', and the role of natural resources, especially timber and iron. Before the Industrial Revolution, the few fixed capital goods, which were required a large amount of natural resources for construction, are ships, notably naval vessels centered on the ships of the line. The ships of the line were the main weapon on the naval combat throughout the Second Anglo- French Hundred Years' War. A First-rate ship of the line, 'Thunderer' as an example, cost ￡39,115 as an initial investment, and cost ￡68,000 as a replacement investment. It is estimated that the Royal Navy as a whole cost ￡ 100,000,000-150,000,000 as an initial investment, and cost ￡100,000,000 as a replacement investment approximately, in the long 18th century. In the process of construction, these naval vessels swallowed natural resources corresponding to this amount of funds (liquid capital). Of particular importance among the required resources, it has been timber and iron. The former was used as a mainly structural material of the hull and mast, the latter as artillery and anchor. With the exception of some oak trees of England, and these resources were supplied from Northern Europe, particularly from the Scandinavian Peninsula. Norway and Sweden supplied timber and iron respectively, and their quality of exported goods were highly appreciated in England. According to the records of the amount of British import, not only ships of the line, but also the construction of cargo ships needed these basic materials. Therefore, imported timber and iron from Scandinavian countries had contributed to economic growth of the Great Britain on the eve of the industrial age.