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| author | www-data <www-data@mail.pglaf.org> | 2026-03-13 18:18:16 -0700 |
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| committer | www-data <www-data@mail.pglaf.org> | 2026-03-13 18:18:16 -0700 |
| commit | a9581ad5ab7bf6dc77072aca3f9c26907fe0af20 (patch) | |
| tree | 0024ff681d53c758a870f1dbbc3633156625eb60 /78205-h | |
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diff --git a/78205-h/78205-h.htm b/78205-h/78205-h.htm new file mode 100644 index 0000000..820a96a --- /dev/null +++ b/78205-h/78205-h.htm @@ -0,0 +1,12321 @@ +<!DOCTYPE html> +<html lang="en"> +<head> + <meta charset="UTF-8"> + <title> + The Mercantile Marine | Project Gutenberg + </title> + <link rel="icon" href="images/cover.jpg" type="image/x-cover"> + <style> + +body { + margin-left: 10%; + margin-right: 10%; +} + + h1,h2,h3,h4,h5,h6 { + text-align: center; /* all headings centered */ + clear: both; +} + +p { + margin-top: .51em; + text-align: justify; + margin-bottom: .49em; + text-indent: 1em; +} + +hr { + width: 33%; + margin-top: 2em; + margin-bottom: 2em; + margin-left: 33.5%; + margin-right: 33.5%; + clear: both; +} + +hr.chap {width: 65%; margin-left: 17.5%; margin-right: 17.5%;} +hr.full {width: 100%; margin-left: 0%; margin-right: 0%; margin-top: 0em; margin-bottom: 0em;} + +div.chapter {page-break-before: always;} +h2.nobreak {page-break-before: avoid;} + +ul.index { list-style-type: none; } +li.ifrst { + margin-top: 1em; + text-indent: -2em; + padding-left: 1em; +} +li.indx { + margin-top: .5em; + text-indent: -2em; + padding-left: 1em; +} + +table { + margin-left: auto; + margin-right: auto; +} +table.autotable { border-collapse: collapse; } + +.tdlp {text-align: left; padding-left:1em;} +.tdl {text-align: left;} +.tdr {text-align: right;} + +.pagenum { /* uncomment the next line for invisible page numbers */ + /* visibility: hidden; */ + position: absolute; + left: 92%; + font-size: small; + text-align: right; + font-style: normal; + font-weight: normal; + font-variant: normal; + text-indent: 0; + color: #A9A9A9; +} /* page numbers */ + +.blockquot { + margin-left: 5%; + margin-right: 10%; +} + +.center {text-align: center;} + +.right {text-align: right;} + +.smcap {font-variant: small-caps;} + +.allsmcap {font-variant: small-caps; text-transform: lowercase;} + +/* Images */ + +img { + max-width: 100%; + height: auto; +} +img.w100 {width: 100%;} + + +.figcenter { + margin: auto; + text-align: center; + page-break-inside: avoid; + max-width: 100%; +} + +.figleft { + float: left; + clear: left; + margin-left: 0; + margin-bottom: 1em; + margin-top: 1em; + margin-right: 1em; + padding: 0; + text-align: center; + page-break-inside: avoid; + max-width: 100%; +} +/* comment out next line and uncomment the following one for floating figleft on ebookmaker output */ +.x-ebookmaker .figleft {float: none; text-align: center; margin-right: 0;} +/* .x-ebookmaker .figleft {float: left;} */ + +.figright { + float: right; + clear: right; + margin-left: 1em; + margin-bottom: 1em; + margin-top: 1em; + margin-right: 0; + padding: 0; + text-align: center; + page-break-inside: avoid; + max-width: 100%; +} +/* comment out next line and uncomment the following one for floating figright on ebookmaker output */ +.x-ebookmaker .figright {float: none; text-align: center; margin-left: 0;} +/* .x-ebookmaker .figright {float: right;} */ + +/* Footnotes */ +.footnotes {border: 1px dashed;} + +.footnote {margin-left: 10%; margin-right: 10%; font-size: 0.9em;} + +.footnote .label {position: absolute; right: 84%; text-align: right;} + +.fnanchor { + vertical-align: super; + font-size: .8em; + text-decoration: + none; +} + +/* Poetry */ +/* uncomment the next line for centered poetry */ +.poetry-container {display: flex; justify-content: center;} +.poetry-container {text-align: center;} +.poetry {text-align: left; margin-left: 5%; margin-right: 5%;} +.poetry .stanza {margin: 1em auto;} +.poetry .verse {text-indent: -3em; padding-left: 3em;} + +/* Transcriber's notes */ +.transnote {background-color: #E6E6FA; + color: black; + font-size:small; + padding:0.5em; + margin-bottom:5em; + font-family:sans-serif, serif; +} + +.fs70 {font-size: 70%} +.fs80 {font-size: 80%} +.fs90 {font-size: 90%} +.fs120 {font-size: 120%} +.fs150 {font-size: 150%} +.fs200 {font-size: 200%} + +.no-indent {text-indent: 0em;} +.bold {font-weight: bold;} +.wsp {word-spacing: 0.3em;} + +h2 {font-size: 130%; font-weight: normal; line-height: 1.6em; word-spacing: .3em;} + +/* Poetry indents */ +.poetry .indent0 {text-indent: -3.0em;} +.poetry .indent1 {text-indent: -2.5em;} +.poetry .indent2 {text-indent: -2.0em;} +.poetry .indent3 {text-indent: -1.5em;} +.poetry .indent4 {text-indent: -1.0em;} + + +/* Illustration classes */ +.illowp100 {width: 100%;} +.illowp15 {width: 15%;} +.illowp85 {width: 85%;} +.illowp45 {width: 45%;} + +.pageborder {width: 350px; border: 1px solid; padding: 10px; margin: auto;} + +hr.double {width: 100%; border-top: 6px double; margin-left: 0%; margin-right: 0%;margin-top: 0em; margin-bottom: 0em;} + + </style> +</head> +<body> +<div style='text-align:center'>*** START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 78205 ***</div> + +<div class="figcenter" style="width: 85%"> +<img src="images/cover.jpg" alt="" data-role="presentation"> +</div> +<br> + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="pageborder"> + <p class="center no-indent fs120"><em>BOOKS ON THE SEA BY</em> + <br> + E. KEBLE CHATTERTON + </p> +<hr class="full"> + +<p class="center no-indent"><em>HISTORICAL</em></p> + +<p class="no-indent"> + Q-SHIPS AND THEIR STORY<br> + SAILING SHIPS AND THEIR STORY<br> + SHIPS AND WAYS OF OTHER DAYS<br> + FORE AND AFT: THE STORY OF THE FORE AND AFT RIG<br> + STEAMSHIPS AND THEIR STORY<br> + THE ROMANCE OF THE SHIP<br> + THE STORY OF THE BRITISH NAVY<br> + KING’S CUTTERS AND SMUGGLERS<br> + THE ROMANCE OF PIRACY<br> + THE OLD EAST INDIAMEN +</p> + + +<p class="center no-indent"><em>CRUISES</em></p> + +<p class="no-indent"> + DOWN CHANNEL IN THE “VIVETTE”<br> + THROUGH HOLLAND IN THE “VIVETTE” +</p> +</div> + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<h1> +THE MERCANTILE MARINE +</h1> + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<hr class="double"> + +<div class="blockquot"> +<p class="no-indent">The Life of Sir Ernest Shackleton. +By <em>Dr. Hugh R. Mill</em>. Demy 8vo. Illustrated.</p> + +<p class="no-indent"> + Price about 21<em>s.</em> net. +</p> +<br> + +<p class="no-indent">The Life & Letters of Walter H. +Page. By <em>Burton J. Hendrick</em>. In two volumes. +Sixth impression. Demy 8vo.</p> + +<p class="right"> + 36<em>s.</em> net. +</p> +<br> + +<p class="no-indent">The Letters of Lord & Lady Wolseley. +Edited by <em>Sir George Arthur.</em> Second impression, +with a new index. Demy 8vo.</p> + +<p class="right"> + 25<em>s.</em> net. +</p> +<br> + +<p class="no-indent">Knole & the Sackvilles. By <em>V. Sackville-West</em>. +With many illustrations. Second impression. +Demy 8vo.</p> + +<p class="right"> + 25<em>s.</em> net. +</p> +<br> + +<p class="no-indent">Woodrow Wilson & World Settlement. +By <em>Ray Stannard Baker</em>. In three volumes. +Demy 8vo. Vols. I & II, 36<em>s.</em> net. Vol. III +(sold separately)</p> + +<p class="right"> + 18<em>s.</em> net. +</p> +</div> + +<hr class="double"> +<br> + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> +<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="a0040_frontispiece_2" style="max-width: 62.5em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/a0040_frontispiece.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + <p class="right fs80">[<em>By courtesy Messrs. T. H. Parker.</em></p> + + <p class="center no-indent">H.E. INDIA COMPANY’S SHIP “WILLIAM FAIRLIE.”<br> + + Commanded by Captain Thomas Blair, leaving the harbour of Prince of Wales’ Island. About 1828.</p> + </figcaption> +</figure> + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> +<p class="center no-indent wsp"> + <span class="fs150" style="color: blue">THE</span><br> + <span class="fs200" style="color: blue">MERCANTILE MARINE</span><br> + <br> + <br> + <span class="fs80">BY</span><br> + <span class="bold fs120">E. KEBLE CHATTERTON</span></p> + <br> + <br> + <figure class="figcenter illowp15" id="title" style="max-width: 9.375em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/title.jpg" alt=""> +</figure> + <br> + <br> +<p class="center no-indent bold wsp"><span class="fs90">LONDON</span><br> + WILLIAM HEINEMANN, LTD. +</p> +</div> + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<div class="chapter"> +<p class="center no-indent fs70"> + <em>First published, 1923</em><br> + <br> + <br> + <em>Printed in Great Britain</em> +</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_vii">[Pg vii]</span></p> +</div> + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> +<div class="chapter"> + <h2 class="nobreak" id="PREFACE"> + PREFACE + </h2> +</div> + + +<p>This volume is an attempt to trace the history of +the Mercantile Marine, and to show the reader how +much we owe to our ancestors for the ingenuity, +enterprise, courage and perseverance by which the +Merchant Service has been built up for the good +of nations, the increase of trade and the spread of +civilisation.</p> + +<p>In other volumes I have endeavoured to trace +the history of ships. The subject here considered +is the birth and growth of a sea service, without +which the navies of the world become useless and +indeed could never have been brought into being. +It is high time that the public appreciated all that +is meant by the term Mercantile Marine.</p> + +<p>The part played by commercial ships as fighting +craft during the recent war does not enter into this +book. This section was largely treated of in my +<cite>Q-Ships and Their Story</cite>, and other writers have +drawn attention to the dangers and difficulties of +freighters and passenger ships carrying on through +the period of hostilities. Those four years form so +small a chapter in the thousands of years during +which the trader has been winning its way across +the seas, that it is unnecessary to deal with them +here. Our aim is rather to consider the progress of +the Mercantile Marine as a whole, from the earliest +times to the latest liner development.</p> + +<p>The story here submitted is the result of many +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_viii">[Pg viii]</span>years of research, travel and ship study. I have +had access to many manuscripts and printed books +too numerous to mention. I desire to return thanks +to Messrs. T. H. Parker, 12<span class="allsmcap">A</span> Berkeley Street, W., +for permission to use some invaluable, rare prints; +and to the Cunard and White Star Lines for certain +other illustrations of a magnificent service.</p> + +<p class="right"> + <span class="smcap">E. Keble Chatterton.</span> +</p> + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> +<div class="chapter"> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_ix">[Pg ix]</span></p> + + + <h2 class="nobreak" id="CONTENTS"> + CONTENTS + </h2> +</div> + + + +<table class="autotable"> +<tr> +<td class="tdr fs70"> +CHAP. +</td> +<td class="tdl"> +</td> +<td class="tdr fs70"> +PAGE +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td class="tdr"> +I. +</td> +<td class="tdlp"> +INTRODUCTION +</td> +<td class="tdr"> +<a href="#Page_1">1</a> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td class="tdr"> +II. +</td> +<td class="tdlp"> +THE DEMAND FOR MERCHANT SHIPPING +</td> +<td class="tdr"> +<a href="#Page_7">7</a> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td class="tdr"> +III. +</td> +<td class="tdlp"> +THE MEDITERRANEAN MERCANTILE MARINE +</td> +<td class="tdr"> +<a href="#Page_17">17</a> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td class="tdr"> +IV. +</td> +<td class="tdlp"> +THE MERCHANT SHIPS OF THE NORTH +</td> +<td class="tdr"> +<a href="#Page_30">30</a> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td class="tdr"> +V. +</td> +<td class="tdlp"> +THE GROWTH OF THE MERCANTILE MARINE +</td> +<td class="tdr"> +<a href="#Page_42">42</a> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td class="tdr"> +VI. +</td> +<td class="tdlp"> +THE MERCANTILE MARINE OF THE SIXTEENTH CENTURY +</td> +<td class="tdr"> +<a href="#Page_53">53</a> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td class="tdr"> +VII. +</td> +<td class="tdlp"> +FISHERMEN AND MERCHANTMEN +</td> +<td class="tdr"> +<a href="#Page_62">62</a> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td class="tdr"> +VIII. +</td> +<td class="tdlp"> +SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY SEAFARIN +</td> +<td class="tdr"> +<a href="#Page_75">75</a> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td class="tdr"> +IX. +</td> +<td class="tdlp"> +MERCANTILE SUPREMACY AT SEA +</td> +<td class="tdr"> +<a href="#Page_90">90</a> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td class="tdr"> +X. +</td> +<td class="tdlp"> +MIGHTY MERCHANTMEN +</td> +<td class="tdr"> +<a href="#Page_103">103</a> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td class="tdr"> +XI. +</td> +<td class="tdlp"> +PACKET SHIPS AND BRIGS +</td> +<td class="tdr"> +<a href="#Page_119">119</a> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td class="tdr"> +XII. +</td> +<td class="tdlp"> +THE SAIL-CARRIERS +</td> +<td class="tdr"> +<a href="#Page_134">134</a> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td class="tdr"> +XIII. +</td> +<td class="tdlp"> +CRACKING-ON +</td> +<td class="tdr"> +<a href="#Page_150">150</a> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td class="tdr"> +XIV. +</td> +<td class="tdlp"> +THE TRIUMPH OF STEAM +</td> +<td class="tdr"> +<a href="#Page_168">168</a> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td class="tdr"> +XV. +</td> +<td class="tdlp"> +THE IRON AND STEEL AGE +</td> +<td class="tdr"> +<a href="#Page_182">182</a> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td class="tdr"> +XVI. +</td> +<td class="tdlp"> +THE MODERN MERCHANT SHIP +</td> +<td class="tdr"> +<a href="#Page_194">194</a> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td class="tdr"> +XVII. +</td> +<td class="tdlp"> +THE RISE AND FALL OF THE GERMAN MERCANTILE MARINE +</td> +<td class="tdr"> +<a href="#Page_208">208</a> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td class="tdr"> +XVIII. +</td> +<td class="tdlp"> +THE AMERICAN MERCANTILE MARINE +</td> +<td class="tdr"> +<a href="#Page_220">220</a> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td class="tdr"> +XIX. +</td> +<td class="tdlp"> +THE MINOR MERCANTILE MARINES +</td> +<td class="tdr"> +<a href="#Page_229">229</a> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td class="tdr"> +XX. +</td> +<td class="tdlp"> +THE FUTURE OF THE MERCANTILE MARINE +</td> +<td class="tdr"> +<a href="#Page_238">238</a> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td class="tdr"> +</td> +<td class="tdlp"> +APPENDIX +</td> +<td class="tdr"> +<a href="#Page_246">246</a> +</td> +</tr> + +<tr> +<td class="tdr"> +</td> +<td class="tdlp"> +INDEX +</td> +<td class="tdr"> +<a href="#Page_249">249</a> +</td> +</tr> +</table> + + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> +<div class="chapter"> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_xi">[Pg xi]</span></p> + + + <h2 class="nobreak" id="LIST_OF_ILLUSTRATIONS"> + LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS + </h2> +</div> + +<table class="autotable"> +<tr> +<td class="tdl"> +</td> +<td class="tdr fs70"> +<em>Facing page</em> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tdl"> +H.E. INDIA COMPANY’S SHIP “WILLIAM FAIRLIE” +</td> +<td class="tdr fs70"> +<em><a href="#a0040_frontispiece_2">Frontispiece</a></em> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tdl"> +SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY DUTCH EAST INDIAMEN +</td> +<td class="tdr"> +<a href="#p0741_ill1">74</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tdl"> +SIGNAL CODE +</td> +<td class="tdr"> +<a href="#p0741_ill2">74</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tdl"> +CAPTAIN THOMAS FORREST +</td> +<td class="tdr"> +<a href="#p0901_ill">90</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tdl"> +BRUNSWICK DOCK, BLACKWALL +</td> +<td class="tdr"> +<a href="#p0921_ill">92</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tdl"> +CAPTAIN HENRY WILSON +</td> +<td class="tdr"> +<a href="#p0981_ill1">98</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tdl"> +CAPTAIN HON. RICHARD WALPOLE +</td> +<td class="tdr"> +<a href="#p0981_ill2">98</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tdl"> +COMMODORE SIR NATHANIEL DANCE +</td> +<td class="tdr"> +<a href="#p0981_ill3">98</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tdl"> +SIR WILLIAM JAMES, BART. +</td> +<td class="tdr"> +<a href="#p0981_ill4">98</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tdl"> +A CONVOY OF EAST INDIAMEN +</td> +<td class="tdr"> +<a href="#p1121_ill">112</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tdl"> +A FINE PIECE OF SEAMANSHIP +</td> +<td class="tdr"> +<a href="#p1181_ill">118</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tdl"> +CAPTAIN W. ROGERS +</td> +<td class="tdr"> +<a href="#p1221_ill1">122</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tdl"> +CAPTAIN JOSEPH HUDDART, F.R.S. +</td> +<td class="tdr"> +<a href="#p1221_ill2">122</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tdl"> +S.S. “NORTHUMBERLAND” +</td> +<td class="tdr"> +<a href="#p1441_ill">144</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tdl"> +AUXILIARY S.S. “KENT” +</td> +<td class="tdr"> +<a href="#p1461_ill">146</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tdl"> +S.S. “NORFOLK” +</td> +<td class="tdr"> +<a href="#p1481_ill">148</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tdl"> +SAILING NOTICE OF THE WHITE STAR CLIPPER “RED JACKET” +</td> +<td class="tdr"> +<a href="#p1561_ill">156</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tdl"> +CRACKING-ON! +</td> +<td class="tdr"> +<a href="#p1581_ill">158</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tdl"> +SPARS AND STAYS +</td> +<td class="tdr"> +<a href="#p1601_ill">160</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tdl"> +PORT OF LIVERPOOL +</td> +<td class="tdr"> +<a href="#p1641_ill1">164</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tdl"> +SCREW S.S. “LADY JOCELYN” +</td> +<td class="tdr"> +<a href="#p1641_ill2">164</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tdl"> +AUXILIARY SCREW S.S. “INDOMITABLE” +</td> +<td class="tdr"> +<a href="#p1661_ill">166</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tdl"> +LORD YARBOROUGH’S YACHT “FALCON” +</td> +<td class="tdr"> +<a href="#p1681_ill">168</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tdl"> +CLIPPER SCREW S.S. “HELLENIS” +</td> +<td class="tdr"> +<a href="#p1701_ill1">170</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tdl"> +S.S. “ORINOCO” +</td> +<td class="tdr"> +<a href="#p1701_ill2">170</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tdl"> +TWO EARLY MAIL STEAMSHIPS +</td> +<td class="tdr"> +<a href="#p1801_ill">180</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tdl"> +S.S. “TRIDENT” +</td> +<td class="tdr"> +<a href="#p1821_ill">182</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tdl"> +THE “ROBERT F. STOCKTON” +</td> +<td class="tdr"> +<a href="#p1841_ill1">184</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tdl"> +AN EARLY CROSS-CHANNEL STEAMER +</td> +<td class="tdr"> +<a href="#p1841_ill2">184</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tdl"> +THE FAMOUS “GREAT EASTERN” +</td> +<td class="tdr"> +<a href="#p1861_ill">186</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tdl"> +THE FAMOUS “GREAT EASTERN” +</td> +<td class="tdr"> +<a href="#p1881_ill">188</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tdl"> +S.S. “OCEANIC” +</td> +<td class="tdr"> +<a href="#p1901_ill">190</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tdl"> +S.S. “SULTAN” +</td> +<td class="tdr"> +<a href="#p1921_ill">192</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tdl"> +S.S. “ORIENT” +</td> +<td class="tdr"> +<a href="#p1923_ill">192</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tdl"> +S.S. “SPAIN” +</td> +<td class="tdr"> +<a href="#p1941_ill">194</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tdl"> +THE “BRITANNIC” +</td> +<td class="tdr"> +<a href="#p1961_ill1">196</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tdl"> +THE “CAMPANIA” +</td> +<td class="tdr"> +<a href="#p1961_ill2">196</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tdl"> +BERTHING A BIG LINER +</td> +<td class="tdr"> +<a href="#p1981_ill">198</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tdl"> +MODERN NAVIGATION +</td> +<td class="tdr"> +<a href="#p2001_ill">200</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tdl"> +S.S. “BERENGARIA” +</td> +<td class="tdr"> +<a href="#p2021_ill">202</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tdl"> +S.S. “OLYMPIC” +</td> +<td class="tdr"> +<a href="#p2041_ill1">204</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tdl"> +S.S. “MAJESTIC” +</td> +<td class="tdr"> +<a href="#p2041_ill2">204</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tdl"> +ON THE BRIDGE OF THE WORLD’S BIGGEST SHIP +</td> +<td class="tdr"> +<a href="#p2061_ill">206</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tdl"> +BIG SHIP MASTERS +</td> +<td class="tdr"> +<a href="#p2081_ill1">208</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tdl"> +STOKEHOLD OF AN OIL-FUEL CUNARDER +</td> +<td class="tdr"> +<a href="#p2161_ill1">216</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tdl"> +STARTING PLATFORM +</td> +<td class="tdr"> +<a href="#p2161_ill2">216</a> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tdl"> +A FAST-DISAPPEARING SHIP TYPE +</td> +<td class="tdr"> +<a href="#p2361_ill">236</a> +</td> +</tr> +</table> + +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_xii">[Pg xii]</span> <br> + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> +<div class="chapter"> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_1">[Pg 1]</span></p> + + + <h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_I"> + CHAPTER I + <br> + <span class="fs80">INTRODUCTION</span> + </h2> +</div> + + +<p>It is curious to observe how thoroughly most of +us are the slaves of habit, how limited we are in +our imagination and sympathies until something +surprising, far-reaching and inevitable upsets our +routine, introduces a new force into our life and +compels us to take note of fresh interests.</p> + +<p>Until the recent war most people took the Mercantile +Marine for granted. In a vague sort of way +the average person believed in it, but rarely if ever +stopped to consider what it meant or whether it +had any history. It was sufficient to concede the +fact that there were steamers running every week +to most parts of the globe, and that passengers and +goods could be carried as convenient. But there was +not the same enthusiasm extended to the Mercantile +Marine as there was to the doings of the Royal +Navies; and unless some new mammoth steamship +advertised herself by her size, speed or luxury, the +Merchant Service was allowed to continue its all-important +work unheeded and almost despised.</p> + +<p>But then came the sudden change, which gave +an entirely different viewpoint. How few of us +ever realise our good fortune until it is taken away +from our hold! The increasing success of the +U-boat campaign, culminating in the enormous +sinkings of merchantmen in April 1917, and the +consequent shortage of food in the British Isles, +caused the inhabitants for the first time in their +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_2">[Pg 2]</span>lives to appreciate all that they owed to the Mercantile +Marine. It was then—and not till then—they +reminded themselves that the food supplies, +which formed the necessities of life, were brought +into the country by a service whose very existence +had almost been ignored.</p> + +<p>Every meal and every food-card, every little inconvenience +in regard to hunger, henceforth turned +people’s minds back to the prime cause; and those +who had been the most ignorant of seafaring matters +now began to think in terms of tonnage. From +that time the average man and woman and school-child +have never ceased to be thankful that we had +a marine, whose duty was not to fight, but to +keep us supplied with the essentials of existence. +Admiral of the Fleet Earl Beatty recently said that +the Mercantile Marine was a branch of that great +sea service without which the British Empire would +cease to exist. In a normal year, he said, the +amount of food supplies forming the necessities of +life which are brought into the British Isles and +taken out consists of 150,000,000 tons. Without +the one service to carry these food supplies, and +the Royal Navy to protect the commercial craft on +their lawful occasions, the reader can now well +imagine how long starvation would be kept away.</p> + +<p>Thus we are about to trace the story of a service +that is not merely well deserving of our interest +and enthusiasm, but is in itself so fascinating that +we shall feel almost ashamed that we never conceded +so much attention until harsh circumstances compelled +us to reflect. In order to maintain our +bread and meat supplies, in order to prevent overseas +trade from utterly vanishing during those +terrible years of hostilities, 15,000 men of the +Mercantile Marine perished. That in itself would +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_3">[Pg 3]</span>be a sufficient reason for inquiring into the history +of their service; but, quite apart from that, there +is the plea that the Mercantile Marine is the older +of the two branches of the sea service, for out of it +grew the fighting service only years after man had +learnt to handle vessels.</p> + +<p>Over those far-distant periods when the ancient +seaman was groping his way towards knowledge we +shall not require to spend much time. In other +volumes I have already traced the evolution of the +ship from a crude creature to a thing of beauty. +Nor shall we need to be concerned with the horrors +of war. Our task is the pleasant and glorious study +of watching brave men creating a peaceable marine +that will be the means of interchanging commerce +over seas at first uncharted; bringing back new +ideas and then taking out civilisation. All the +time it is one big struggle, varying only in kind +and intensity. It is one long, strenuous effort to +achieve; and because it is all so human it demands +our attention all the while, as we sympathise with +the incessant attempts to overcome all sorts of +obstacles.</p> + +<p>The human race springs from the land: consequently +all the arts of the sea have to be learnt +from the beginning, and this means centuries of +experience, many disappointments and enormous +faith and courage. But human aspirations cannot +be gainsaid. Progress will not be denied. Man is +not content to remain where he was, and that +is the basis of the whole story. The Egyptians +created their Mercantile Marine almost exclusively +for the Nile. It was the Phœnicians who felt the +overwhelming desire to traverse the Mediterranean, +and even to go outside the gates we call the Straits +of Gibraltar. The Greeks inherited from the +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_4">[Pg 4]</span>Phœnicians a ship which they modified but little, +as the Phœnicians had from the Egyptians.</p> + +<p>But whereas the Egyptians were a peace-loving +race, and therefore their ships were not built for +fighting, we find the Greeks constructing two distinct +types of craft, and it is important to get this +quite clear at once, as the reader will presently +agree. First there was the swift-moving galley, +relying chiefly on oars. She was built for the purposes +of fighting, and therefore does not enter into +our subject. But secondly there was the slow-moving, +big-bellied craft, relying almost entirely +on her one mast and sail, which was used for the +purpose of trade from spring to autumn, and then +laid up until the good weather returned once more. +Think of her with her great square-sail going across +to Egypt to bring back corn, calling at Rhodes +on the way, getting caught in terrible weather, +but year after year, century after century, doing +the same voyages as a new generation of seamen +grew up.</p> + +<p>So it was with the Roman merchant ships from +every March to November, blundering on their trans-Mediterranean +voyages as corn-carriers. These +seamen were, as always sailors have been and will +be, a race apart. In the mind of most people +nobody but a fool or a madman ever takes up a +seafaring career. Seamen were very scarce and +had to be allowed special privileges; and merchants +who travelled in their ships marvelled that they +could use the stars for finding their way over the +dark waters at night. But the transportation of +goods over the sea had to be done. The shipowners +formed themselves into corporations, and membership +was handed down from father to son, much as +it is in a fishing village to-day.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_5">[Pg 5]</span></p> + +<p>One of the oldest professions is that of piracy. +In those days a pirate was not so much a sea bandit +as a sea adventurer; the Greek word <em>peirates</em> and +its Latin equivalent signifying one who <em>attempts</em> or +<em>tries</em> his fortune on the sea, much as we speak of +the Elizabethan “venturers.” None the less, until +the growth of naval power piracy always was the +great enemy of the merchant ship; and even in +Roman times it at length became so serious that +drastic measures had to be taken to stamp it out, +only to keep on recurring like a cancerous growth +until the age of steam practically wiped it out +except in Chinese waters. Over and over again in +the following chapters we shall see the innocent, +cargo-carrying ship molested in this manner; but, +for all that, the seaman’s spirit remained undaunted, +and the trade of the world continued to be carried +over the seas in spite of these known risks. As it +was in the Mediterranean, so it was later on in the +North Sea.</p> + +<p>From about 580 <span class="allsmcap">B.C.</span> right down to the time of the +Roman conquest, the Liparian Isles were practically +a republic of corsairs. The Ionians and the Lycians +were notorious pirates: the Ægean, the Pontus +and the Adriatic were the corsairs’ cruising grounds. +The Cretans, the inhabitants of the Balearic Islands, +the Cilicians, the Carthaginians, the Illyrians and +others, also, were the piratical terrors to the Mediterranean +merchant ships; and it was only as long +as Rome maintained a strong navy that the cancerous +growth was kept under, though not finally +eradicated. Thus, in those early periods when +there was little enough to encourage it, the Mercantile +Marine of classical times struggled along, +comparatively small in numbers compared with the +fleets of fighting galleys, but historically of the +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_6">[Pg 6]</span>highest importance, since from this small flame was +to burst a great blaze of light that has illumined +the world; spread Christianity and civilisation, +learning, exploration, trade and peace. Those little, +beamy, single-sail, unhandy craft wallowing in the +Mediterranean seas, suffering so much at the hands +of pirates, buffeted about by storms and compelled +to spend such long periods away from their home +ports, were playing a lonely, uphill game; but they +were achieving more than they could ever realise in +the development of the world. Pioneers of the sea, +undertaking the utmost risks, they have made all +subsequent centuries their debtors as long as ships +continue to be built and the seas shall be traversed. +Such, briefly, are the first stage and the very remote +period of the merchant ship in its long and glorious +evolution of usefulness. Let us now see how, influenced +by progressive trade, the Mediterranean +continued to develop its shipping.</p> + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> +<div class="chapter"> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_7">[Pg 7]</span></p> + + + <h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_II"> + CHAPTER II + <br> + <span class="fs80">THE DEMAND FOR MERCHANT SHIPPING</span> + </h2> +</div> + + +<p>In our own age so many amazing developments +have taken place during the nineteenth and +twentieth centuries that we must not be misled. +These are the exceptions and not the rule in +history. Between the merchant ships of the late +Roman Empire and of the next few centuries there +is no evidence to cause us to think the ships +materially altered. On the contrary, what little +evidence we have goes to show that the cargo ship, +with her mast, yard and square-sail, continued to +be much the same in the thirteenth century as she +was in the third, if we add a mizzen-mast and a +lateen sail.</p> + +<p>But all this time the Mediterranean trade had +been developing, and collaterally there was developed +a Mercantile Marine. As the years sped +by, there came greater demands for the merchant +ship. Thus in the epistles of Cassiodorus, who +was prætorian prefect under Theodoric (<span class="allsmcap">A.D.</span> 495-526), +there is a dispatch to the tribunes of the +“maritimi,” or men of the seaboard, bidding them +provide for the transport of wine from Istria to +Ravenna; and there is a reference to the frequent +voyages over the “immense spaces of the sea.”⁠<a id="FNanchor_1_1" href="#Footnote_1_1" class="fnanchor">[1]</a> +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_8">[Pg 8]</span>By the eighth century Venice was becoming a +great trading port, and its merchants were realising +what the sea meant to them in regard to wealth. +Indeed, they even went so far as to sell Christian +men as slaves to the Saracens in Africa, thus +incurring the Pope’s censure.</p> + +<p>To Constantinople Venetian merchant ships +sailed with goods or passengers, as, for instance, +in the year 968, carrying Bishop Luitprand thither. +In fact, by the year 1000 the city of Venice was +pre-eminent in commerce, and its princes were +merchants. Overseas trading was at last recognised +as a means to wealth, and so, inevitably, by +about 1171 the Venetian Navy becomes organised. +That was bound to come as soon as the Mercantile +Marine became important; but it was arranged +rather on the lines of our Naval Reserve. For all +ordinary occasions it consisted of volunteers, for +whose service there was payment, and these +citizens were also entitled to prize money.</p> + +<p>Indeed, throughout nautical history the navies +of the world have always been based on the +Merchant Service. In these early days of Venice, +while Dalmatia, Istria and other communities supplied +the men, Venice provided the ships and +rigging, the rest of the inventory and the crew +being forthcoming from the dependencies. Finally, +in the time of emergency hired seamen were +obtained from foreign countries with whom the +Venetian commercial ships had traded.</p> + +<p>He who visits Venice, or is familiar with Ruskin’s +<cite>Stones of Venice</cite>, or at least has admired in some +gallery the paintings of the great Venetian masters, +must inevitably think of the sea. Those richly +designed palaces, those luxuriant examples of architecture +and art, were expressive of a city grown +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_9">[Pg 9]</span>wealthy by reason of her sea trade. Her merchants +amassed wealth because their ships enabled them +to trade—the sea is, in fact, the greatest road to +riches. And the history of Phœnicia, Egypt, +Greece, Rome, Venice, Portugal, Spain, Holland, +England in the past, and quite recently Germany, +Japan and the United States, is the story of overseas +trade by means of merchant shipping. Most +important of all have always been the sea routes +to the Orient, for Eastern produce has ever fetched +high prices in European countries. As we look +through the centuries of sea trade it was the +fascination of the East which spurred men to +build, fit out and sail ships. It was this which +gave the incentive to make navigation a science; +it was this which created the spirit to explore +unknown seas; it was this which sent Columbus, +later on, to the West in the hope of finding the +East Indies. The whole story of the East India +Company—indeed of our Indian Empire—is built +up on the invaluable products which could be +fetched thence by peaceable shipping.</p> + +<p>It was in the seventh century that the twelve +townships decided to elect one supreme magistrate, +called the “doge.” Venice thus insisted on her +own independence, and her geographical position +enabled her to rise into a consummate commercial +state. Not merely did she eventually dominate +the Adriatic, but step by step she absorbed all the +carrying trade of the world. Keen, enterprising +men of vision and foresight, these Venetian merchants +went far afield, in spite of the difficulties +and dangers of travel. For centuries the Chinese +had been sending merchant ships as far west as +Ceylon, whence Indian ships carried the silk and +other goods a stage further west to the Persian +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_10">[Pg 10]</span>Gulf; and afterwards, as there was no Suez Canal, +a land journey intervened until the Mediterranean +was reached. Thus, by the early years of the +Middle Ages, the Venetian ships of commerce +brought across the Mediterranean and up the +Adriatic the costly skins, the peacocks’ tails, the +purple garments and other enviable articles which +had come from India, the Caspian shores and elsewhere. +In the end, Venice captured the great +trade to India and China, and Constantinople was +left behind in the competition.</p> + +<p>But that was not all. Already by the seventh +century the rise of Moslem power had become +such that in southern Europe Arab dominion +had obtained control of the Levant and Egypt. +Presently the whole of the north African coast, +from the Nile to the Atlantic, fell under this sway, +and during the eighth century the Arabs overran +Spain, southern and central France, until in the +same century they were forced back across the +Pyrenees. How does this affect the rise of +the Mercantile Marine? The answer is this. The +Arabs were excellent sailors who were also expert +navigators, and incidentally the very word “admiral,” +which still survives in the sea service of +all civilised powers, is an Arabic word. The Arabs +took to trading, and that meant the employment +of ships in the Mediterranean; so they introduced +the triangular lateen sail from east of Suez, and to +this day the lateen has survived as the characteristic +local sail of Mediterranean craft. Thus +between Venice and Africa overseas trade was +created, business made still further business, and +that in turn created a demand for shipping and for +men who would use the sea as a career. Later on +it was the Arabs who were to teach the Spaniards +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_11">[Pg 11]</span>and Portuguese so much about navigation that +India and America were discovered.</p> + +<p>In the early years of the Middle Ages, then, we +have the Arabian and the Venetian ships trading +about the Mediterranean, though frequently the +former became corsairs and made havoc of the latter, +even going to the length of raiding the Adriatic. +But so far the peaceable Venetian craft were literally +merchant ships: they existed for the purpose +of carrying merchandise. There enters now another +element—religion. The Catholic faith, trade, +pilgrims, crusades and Arabs—all these influences +had the greatest possible effect on the development +of merchant shipping. It will be remembered +that in the seventh century the Arabs had wrested +the Holy Land from the Eastern Empire, but it +was not until the latter part of the eleventh +century that western Europe was really moved to +action. Finally, in 1095, a holy war against the +infidel was resolved, and there followed the first +crusade; and in this expedition Venetian ships +took part. The most famous crusade of all was +that in which the English king Richard Cœur de +Lion engaged, and this ended in a truce with +Saladin by September 1192, on the understanding +that pilgrims should be permitted to visit Jerusalem +without being interfered with by the Moslems.</p> + +<p>Thus, we have in the fact of the Holy Land a +magnetic attraction for the ship. In order to +carry armies and horses and pilgrims, whether +from England or Venice, to the coast of Syria, +you must needs have large numbers of ships, +and of fair size and seaworthiness. This series of +voyages created also a much larger body of seamen +and amassed a tremendous amount of sea-knowledge +from experience. In a word, then, it was a +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_12">[Pg 12]</span>new and enormous impetus to the development of +the world’s Mercantile Marine, as opposed to the +purely warlike fast-moving naval galley. The +demand now was for tonnage—to carry human +beings as well as goods. Thus, notwithstanding +that the crusades originated from a strictly religious +motive, actually they exercised a most remarkable +stimulus on trade, shipping and travel. Men who +had never been previously outside their own city +or village became acquainted with the sea, strange +ships, new lands and novel ideas. They returned +home with fresh aspirations, the desire to carry +on extended commerce, and the realisation that +shipping was the key to future riches.</p> + +<p>To trace the fitting out of all the crusades +would be to go outside the scope of our immediate +subject, but it is enough if we look for a moment +at the direct effect crusading had on the Venetian +shipping industry. The gates, so to speak, whence +middle Europe could gain access to the Holy Land +were Venice, Genoa and Marseilles. Seven years +after Richard Cœur de Lion had made the truce +with Saladin and left Palestine, a new crusade was +being prepared for; and inasmuch as Venice was so +distinguished a seaport, envoys came to arrange +for large quantities of shipping. Landsmen knew +practically nothing about the sea and ships. They +were no better informed than the farmer of to-day +resident all his life in the middle of the United +States; so they arrived asking for advice, information +and generally to be put in the way of obtaining +tonnage sufficient to carry 4500 knights, 9000 +squires and 20,000 men-at-arms. This was no +small order, even for Venice, quite apart from the +further request for fifty armed galleys to accompany +and protect the expedition. It meant, in fact, the +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_13">[Pg 13]</span>creation of an immense Mercantile Marine at +really quite short notice. Indeed it was comparatively +a much bigger task than the sudden +demand for tonnage in 1917 and 1918, when the +thousands and thousands of soldiers had to be +packed into steamships and brought from North +America to Europe.</p> + +<p>Venice rose to the occasion, for it was not merely +a matter of business to provide the shipping, but +a matter of religion. The Holy Sepulchre was +in the hands of the infidels: that in itself was a +sufficient inspiration. And so about Pentecost in +the year 1202 we can see the hordes of pilgrims +pouring down through the various passes of the +Alps to Venice. It was a huge business, and +action in those days was slow and, to our modern +minds, dilatory. But the Venetians had got the +ships ready for the knights and squires and men +and horses, though it was autumn before they put +to sea. Some of the cloth and provisions had +arrived in Venice in French ships via the Straits +of Gibraltar, and eventually, on October 9, the +galleys and horseboats set forth from the Adriatic +port, and a month later appeared before Zara.</p> + +<p>During the Middle Ages the three great maritime +powers were Venice, Genoa and Pisa, and +between them there was the greatest rivalry, so +that scarcely ever did two of the parties meet than +there was conflict. But Venice, being the pre-eminent, +incurred the greatest amount of jealousy. +The part which Venice and Genoa played in maritime +history is not confined to what they did in any +particular century, but lies rather in the fact that +they kept alive and developed the seaman’s art; +until, at the beginning of the fourteenth century, +the Venetians made a crude map which put into +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_14">[Pg 14]</span>form the ideas that inspired the first Italian voyages +in the Atlantic, and Genoa in the next century +produced Columbus, who, after being wrecked in +a sea-fight with some Venetian galleys off the +Portuguese coast, settled down in Lisbon and +eventually set forth on his historic voyage to the +West.</p> + +<p>Ever since the second Punic War Genoa had +been a big and important seaport. Becoming a +free city in 958, she had suffered much from the +Saracen raids, but when these infidel corsairs seemed +likely to establish themselves in Sardinia at the +beginning of the eleventh century, the Genoese and +Pisan seamen united together against a common +foe, fitted out an expedition and hurled the Arab +chief back to Africa. In 1087 the Genoese and +Pisans were sent by the Pope to dislodge one +Temim, a pirate chief who lived south of Tunis. +The result was important to the shipping industry; +for, having beaten him and captured his stronghold, +the two cities stipulated for the free admission +of their merchant ships to trade with the Tunisian +coast. Thus, in clearing the seas of corsairs for +a time, they also directly stimulated their own +commerce.</p> + +<p>Pisan merchant ships as far back as 1052 had +been trading to Egypt and the Levant, and in +1063 Ingulf, Abbot of Croyland in England, had +returned from a pilgrimage in a Genoese merchant +ship he had found at Jaffa. But it was not until +the year 1090 that the conquest of Sicily was +effected from the Mussulman hands, and thus the +Straits of Messina became safe for shipping, and +the vessels from Genoa and Pisa could go ahead +in safety with their Levantine trade. By the +twelfth century, Genoese, Venetian and Pisan seamen +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_15">[Pg 15]</span>and merchants used to meet at Acre, to their +great financial benefit, though not without manifestations +of commercial jealousy. But we must +dismiss from our minds all thoughts of single ships +sailing across from Italy to the Syrian coast when +they liked. There was hardly a time when there +were not some pirates or corsairs hovering about; +so the seas might be rid of one chief, but rendered +dangerous by the rovings of another. Thus it was +that shipowners had to do exactly what British +mercantile owners were compelled to resort to in +the latter part of the Great War, when the enemy +was attacking so many of our trading craft—the +convoy system had to be employed.</p> + +<p>Thus, from Venice, for instance, at regular +intervals a convoy of merchant ships would sail +for Acre, escorted by as many as thirty or forty +galleys sometimes, as protection against piratical +attack. If the Venice-Acre trade route were cut, +it would mean that the French, the Germans, the +Lombards, the Tuscans and other merchants would +not receive the silks, sugar, pepper and other very +valuable Oriental produce which the Venetians +were bringing across in their ships. Thus the navy +of Venice was charged with the duty of protecting +its merchant fleet from the attacks of Genoese, +Greek or Arab pirates. Just as during our recent +war convoys used to collect at Falmouth and other +ports prior to beginning their ocean voyage, so in +the Middle Ages the convoy—called a <em>mudia</em>—would +collect at Venice, bound for Syria or Egypt. +There were only two convoys in the year, so the +number of ships was large, and well needed the +strong galley protection. One convoy left Venice +in the spring and got back home in September; +the other left in August, spent the winter abroad, +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_16">[Pg 16]</span>and returned in the following May. In addition +to these commercial convoys, there were also the +pilgrim convoys to Palestine. Genoa sent one +convoy a year to Syria and Egypt, but during the +fourteenth century her ships were cruising in the +Black Sea and harassing Venetian craft which had +penetrated the Sea of Azov.</p> + +<p>Sea-travel in those mediæval times was thus +no pleasure cruise: it was comparable only to the +anxious experiences of passengers at the height of +the recent submarine campaign. Except for religion +or trade, no one ever thought of going to sea. It +was too dangerous an undertaking, so punctuated +with storms, and in all respects so thoroughly +uncomfortable, that it was to be avoided as far as +possible. Consequently those who used it as a +living expected to be paid very handsomely. It is +difficult in these modern times, with all the safety +and luxury which a steamship connotes, to realise +the horror with which all seafaring was regarded. +The result was that artists hesitated to depict marine +subjects; and even when they did, it was usually +to show a ship having a dreadful time in heavy +weather. It is for that reason that illustrations of +mediæval ships are so few, either in stained-glass +windows, carvings, devotional books, or paintings. +People had no wish to be reminded of what was +to them a very unpleasant subject, except to those +hardened few who preferred ship-life to agriculture +or trade ashore. Unlike present-day conditions, +the merchant himself was compelled to go to sea. +There was no other means of his reaching his +markets; but he was heartily thankful to get +himself and his goods safe into port.</p> +<br> + + +<div class="footnotes"> +<h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_1_1" href="#FNanchor_1_1" class="label">[1]</a> <cite>The Early History of Venice</cite>, by F. C. Hodgson. London, +1901. I wish also to acknowledge indebtedness to the same +author’s <cite>Venice in the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Centuries</cite>.</p></div> +</div> + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_17">[Pg 17]</span></p> +<div class="chapter"> + <h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_III"> + CHAPTER III + <br> + <span class="fs80">THE MEDITERRANEAN MERCANTILE MARINE</span> + </h2> +</div> + + +<p>It is fortunately possible to obtain from various +sources an insight into life as it was endured in a +mediæval Mediterranean merchant ship, and this +will assist us considerably to form a sympathetic +interest in the development which was going on +towards the ideal craft that was to evolve five or +six hundred years later.</p> + +<p>On a tomb in a church at Milan, a Pisan artist +named Balduccio in the year 1339 sculptured, +fortunately for our knowledge, a merchant ship of +his time, and we may regard her as typical alike +of Venice, Genoa and Pisa. There is remarkably +little difference in essentials between her and a +Roman merchant ship of about <span class="allsmcap">A.D.</span> 200: that is to +say, the trading shipmen, having once found out a +suitable type, stuck to it, just as to-day there is a +more or less standard type of tramp steamer or +steam trawler or steam drifter. Time had tested +and given its approval. Thus in Balduccio’s +illustration we have a round, beamy vessel not +unlike the shape of a very fat banana, and with a +stern sweeping up from the water-line not altogether +unlike that of the so-called modern “cruiser stern.” +The essential difference is that this stern culminates +in two small decks—a stern-castle, in fact, +and a forecastle, much smaller, overhanging the +bows. There is also a fighting-top.</p> + +<p>Although this is emphatically a cargo vessel, +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_18">[Pg 18]</span>these castles and fighting-top are there for the +reasons already indicated by existing conditions at +sea, and in this elaborate castellation with even small +galleries aft we have the half-way house between +the earlier and later Mediterranean merchantman: +between the cargo-carrier of Rome and the carack, +which was to develop into the galleon, thence +into the East Indiaman, and eventually into the +glorious clippers of the late nineteenth century. +Thus this Pisan ship is for us most interesting, +and she still links herself to primitive times by the +use of one single square-sail and the old-fashioned +method of steering by means of a rudder, not aft, +but on the quarter. It is controlled by a tiller, +but supported by tackles fore and aft, for it is now +as heavy as a Thames sailing barge’s leeboards.</p> + +<p>Everything about this Pisan craft indicates that +she was well and strongly built, and that expense +was not spared. The elaborate work in her stern +galleries, the influence of contemporary land architecture +on her forecastle, the stout, thick rubbing +strakes under which the ends of the beam come +flush, the good strong rigging (three shrouds each +side with tackles), the thick cable and the anchor +secured to a shelf outside the hull on the starboard +side—all these details show that the sculptor knew +what he was depicting, and that the ship which +he copied was a real sea-going vessel as used by +genuine sailormen, and not the inaccurate muddled +idea of an imaginative artist. The Pisans, the +Venetians and Genoese were making plenty of +money, and they could afford to send to sea a +well-built, well-designed and well-found craft that +would not cause the merchants to feel nervous +about their valuable Eastern goods in the hold.</p> + +<p>With a mental picture before us of this slow, +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_19">[Pg 19]</span>beamy, stout ship, built specially for seaworthiness +and capacity to carry goods, rather than to excel +in mobility, we can continue our study, and we +shall be able to learn a great deal of the conditions +prevailing in the mediæval Merchant Service if +we examine the legal literature of the time. For +obvious reasons, when there was so much coming +and going and so much money at stake, maritime +law began to assert itself from about the seventh +century <span class="allsmcap">A.D.</span> onwards, until, about six centuries +later, we have practically every contingency catered +for. Between the eighth and the thirteenth +centuries there was very little alteration in the +ships, the navigation and the manner of sea-trading. +The big change comes in the thirteenth +century, when the commercial renaissance begins, +which, thanks to these vessels, made the great +literary and artistic renaissance possible, gave to +the world the new learning, the golden age of art, +and left behind those wonderful achievements in +stone. The merchant ship, therefore, is the basis +of all in life that we respect and venerate.</p> + +<p>By 1255 Venice had its maritime law, though +it was the old so-called Rhodian sea-law,⁠<a id="FNanchor_2_2" href="#Footnote_2_2" class="fnanchor">[2]</a> which +inspired the regulating of the mediæval merchant +ships all the time. The size of a ship was reckoned +not in tons, but in <em>amphoræ</em> or else in <em>modii</em>. An +amphora represented about six gallons, a modios +was the equivalent of about two gallons. Thus a +ship with all her tackle was valued at fifty pieces +of gold for every thousand modii of her capacity, +though this was further varied according to her +age. Port dues at Ancona, for instance, were +calculated on the valuation of the ship.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_20">[Pg 20]</span></p> + +<p>Now it is necessary once more to think of the +conditions of service afloat in those days as something +quite different from those in our modern +Mercantile Marines, where, in spite of trades +unions, the captain is supreme and the crew simply +carry out his orders, and the passengers have to go +wherever he takes them. In those days there was, +comparatively speaking, little knowledge of the sea +except what was obtained by personal experience. +Thus a much-travelled merchant who went backwards +and forwards each year to the East would +be almost as competent as the master of the ship. +Similarly the crew. The result was—and it seems +very strange to us moderns—that the ship was run +not on a well-disciplined principle, as every one +obeying blindly the master’s orders, but on a +communal basis, backed up by the maritime law. +Sometimes, it is true, the sailors were paid fixed +wages, in which case they were also given their +food; but frequently they undertook the voyage +on a profit-sharing basis. Thus the master received +two shares, the steersman one and a half, the +master’s mate one and a half, the boatswain one +and a half, while each sailor got a whole share, and +the cook half a share. It was therefore to the +interest of all to do everything to get the ship +safely from port to port.</p> + +<p>The little difference which existed between +master, officers, men and merchants enabled them +all in an emergency to offer their opinions as to +weather, pilotage and so on, a decision being +arrived at by the vote of the majority. All this +sounds thoroughly unseamanlike to us, but that is +because the seafaring art has long since become so +perfect and systematised, and the division of labour +recognised as a root essential. It was perfectly +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_21">[Pg 21]</span>legal for the merchants, with their valuable goods +on board, to insist on the ship being taken into a +harbour, or to prevent her putting to sea notwithstanding +all the protests of the <em>naukleros</em> or +shipmaster. The identity of ignorance among all +on board, with the casting vote in favour of finance, +bred chaos and ill-discipline, that had to be put +down with a firm hand later on, as soon there arose +competent navigators and specialists in seamanship; +but the time had not yet come.</p> + +<p>No one can possibly envy the life in a merchant +ship of the Middle Ages, with every possible +opportunity for friction and the captain not allowed +a free hand. The passenger came on board in fear +and trepidation, bringing with him his own bed +and bed-coverings, which, as happened in 1278, for +instance, were stolen from him occasionally. A +proper cabin he could not have, the sleeping space +permitted to him being three cubits long and one +cubit wide. Under the Venetian statutes every +merchant or mariner could take on board free one +mattress; the former could also have one trunk, +but this was not allowed to his servant. The +passengers brought with them for the voyage all +their food, wine, cooking utensils, and even their +firewood, but there were special precautions taken +to guard against fire, which was one of the eternal +terrors in all ships even down to the nineteenth +century. Thus there is a curious regulation preventing +passengers in Venetian ships from frying +fish, and another forbidding them to split wood. +Water was supplied free both to passengers and +crew, but this was controlled by measure, for +economical reasons.</p> + +<p>Arrived on board, the passenger would deposit +his gold with the captain for safe keeping. He +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_22">[Pg 22]</span>lived on biscuits, salt meat, vegetables, cheese, +onions, garlic and vinegar, and there was a +Barcelona ordinance of 1258 which compelled the +shipowner to keep a supply of food to last fifteen +days, and this was to include bread, wine, salt +meat, vegetables, oil and water. As regards +victualling, cargo ships found it easier than pilgrim +ships, for the former could usually hug the shore +and put into the land for provisions. Indeed it +was one of the characteristics of a good pilot that +he knew where the ship could obtain fresh drinking +water.</p> + +<p>The merchant, with his costly goods, out of +which he hoped to make big profits, found himself +in the company of rough mariners who were +lacking the innocence of the carved saints in a +cathedral. Thieving was going on all the time +whenever there was a chance. Nowadays you +sometimes hear one seaman describe another as so +dishonest that he would steal the ship’s anchor if +he could. It is an obvious exaggeration, but the +expression was perfectly accurate in the times of +which we are now speaking. There was a passage +in the maritime law which dealt with this species +of theft. Thus, it runs, if a ship not under way +was robbed of her anchors, and the thief was caught +and confessed, he was to be flogged and to make +good twice the damage. Similarly, if a sailor +robbed a merchant or the captain, he was to be +punished, and there are penalties laid down against +swearing, blasphemy and other vices.</p> + +<p>In these wooden ships, which often “worked,” +and had to go through heavy weather, the merchant +would sometimes find his beautiful Oriental +silks ruined; so there was a regulation that when +the water began to rise in the hold the captain was +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_23">[Pg 23]</span>to let the merchants know at once, so that they +could bring their linens and silks up on deck. But +apart from these risks there were those caused by +bad seamanship, the attacks by pirates at sea or +robbers in harbour, the evil men who did not +hesitate to cut the cables of the visiting ship or +waylay the merchants and crew as soon as they +came ashore; and there were the wreckers who +deliberately displayed false lights to lure the ship +into destruction—surely one of the lowest of all +maritime crimes that could be devised by the +cunning of man.</p> + +<p>It was laid down that if a ship “in sail” ran into +another ship lying at anchor, or which had +“slackened sail,” and it was during daylight, the +damage was to be borne by the captain, by those +on board and by the cargo. But if the incident +occurred at night, the man who “slackened sail” +should have lit a fire or have shouted. Be it +remembered that these merchant ships, though the +most seaworthy of any craft then in existence, were +very unhandy and not always under control in +narrow channels. It was impossible for any regulation +of man to prevent them encountering bad +weather and even experiencing shipwreck, but by +laying these ships up in November, and not allowing +them to sail until the following March, the +authorities were following the wise custom which +had been handed down since classical times, and +embodied this practice in their law. Against the +corsair who attacked the ships of his country’s +enemies, and against the pirate who attacked +every ship that came his way, there could be no +absolute guarantee unless the ship was in a convoy +escorted by armed galleys.</p> + +<p>But these corsairs made no false pretence about +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_24">[Pg 24]</span>their work, and when in 1165 the Pisans asked +Trepedecinus, a well-known Genoese corsair, where +he was going, he merely replied that he was going +to capture them, their goods, their persons and cut +off their noses. It was therefore not unusual to +carry in these trading ships some men-at-arms with +swords, shields and helmets. Thus, in a charter-party +of 1236 there is laid down that there are to +be twenty-five mariners on board, of whom ten are +to be in armour. Quite apart from the convoy +system, it was customary for two or more ships to +voyage in company for mutual protection, the +technical term for this being <em>conservagium</em>. It was +an arrangement that was mutual also in quite +another manner, for if one of the ships was sunk, +the loss was spread among the others in the consort—a +still further instance of the sharing-out +principle which was so common at sea in these +times.</p> + +<p>Gradually, then, the Mercantile Marine had +become indispensable to trade and to intellectual +progress, but it was the growth of pilgrim traffic +which made certain landsmen affluent; for now +men called <em>cargatores</em>, or passenger agents, arranged +the business of transporting these devout people +across the sea, and therefore stringent regulations +had to be passed to prevent the travellers from +being fleeced. Thus the <em>cargatores</em> were compelled +to supply the pilgrims with good and adequate +victuals; and, in order to prevent any bribery or +corruption, they were forbidden to enter into +partnership with the shipowner in regard to the +food. Of course this was no small undertaking at +a period of the world’s history when there were no +such things as preserved meats or refrigerating +chambers, especially when the ships were crowded +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_25">[Pg 25]</span>with a lot of sea-sick landsmen who had never +previously beheld the sea. All those who voyaged +from Venice or Marseilles had to carry enough +food to last them for fifty days, and in those rough +ships and the Mediterranean climate you can +imagine the state of the food at the end of seven +weeks. No wonder that a pilgrimage was a real +act of self-denial!</p> + +<p>It was customary in classical times to give names +to the Mediterranean ships, and this survived +through the Middle Ages, where we find such +names as <em>Urso</em>, <em>Oliva</em>, <em>Aquila</em>, <em>Christiana</em>, <em>Cidona</em>, +<em>St. Blazius</em>. The Genoese ship went by the name +of her shipmaster or owner. After she had been +built and fitted out, the greatest care was taken to +see that she was seaworthy and not overloaded. +Thus the internal arrangements, the ballasting and +stowing of goods in the hold were all supervised. +The Venetian statutes kept a very tight control +over their shipping, regulating the places where the +cabins were to be put, where the sail locker should +be, where the ship’s tackle was stored, and the +sleeping arrangements both for the merchants and +the sailors. No detail seems to have been too +small for State supervision.</p> + +<p>The stowing of the cargo in the hold was left to +the discretion of the shipmaster, and there was a +kind of Plimsoll mark used in these Venetian +ships; for this is what happened. On the outside +of the hull a mark was put, the ship was then +loaded and examined officially before setting forth +on her voyage, and she was not allowed to proceed +to sea if this mark was more than a certain depth +below the water-line, this depth varying according +to the ship’s age. If the mark were submerged +too much, a sufficient quantity of cargo had to be +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_26">[Pg 26]</span>taken out until she came up to her marks, and then +the owner was fined. This was the general rule, +but exceptions were made in the case of craft +sailing within the Venetian Gulf or carrying +victuals.</p> + +<p>The ballasting of the merchant ships was done +either by the navigating officer or else under the +direction of a committee composed of this officer +and representatives of owners and merchants. But +when once the vessel had been properly ballasted, +it was forbidden to remove any ballast except for +necessity in entering port, or with the consent +of the merchants or committee, though certain +heavy articles, such as lead, were permitted to be +substituted for ballast. The heavy goods were, +of course, placed as low as possible, though such +articles as wrought silks and other light goods were +allowed to be stowed on the upper deck, where +also food, carpenter’s tools and armour could be +placed.</p> + +<p>The owner of the ship was also at times her +master, but when the owner did not himself go to +sea and himself appointed the master, he contracted +to carry the passengers and cargo, purchased the +tackle and engaged the seamen. Right down to +Elizabethan times the navigation of the ship was +not necessarily carried out by the captain, but by +the pilot, though in the early days of Mediterranean +merchant shipping the masters seem to +have been navigators as well, or, more accurately, +pilots. If the ship got wrecked there was, according +to an old constitution of <span class="allsmcap">A.D.</span> 380, a practice of +obtaining the true facts of the incident in a manner +far more drastic than a modern Board of Trade +Inquiry; for certain members of the crew would +be selected as witnesses, and they were then +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_27">[Pg 27]</span>tortured until they should speak the whole truth +and nothing but the truth.</p> + +<p>The communal idea even went to the length of +having sometimes several skippers on the same +ship, in order that no one should act without the +consent of the others; and what with the interfering +advice and remonstrances of the merchants +and the not too disciplined crews, no mercantile +officer of to-day would find mediæval seafaring +endurable. The mariners could only be kept in +check by the drastic law. Thus, if one of them +injured another, the first was to pay his wages to +the other during the whole time that the sick man +was out of employment recovering. Conversely +the captain was prevented from maltreating his +men, and had to look after them. For instance, if +the ship’s long boat with some of the crew in it +should break adrift from the ship, the captain had +to pay the lost men’s representatives their wages +for a whole year, in those cases where the men +were in receipt of wages instead of a share of the +profits.</p> + +<p>There were plenty of opportunities for disgruntled +mariners to forsake the ship at the ports +of call. In order to check this, the man who +deserted his ship was liable to forfeit double his +wages received or due. The usual custom was to +engage the hands from the 1st of March to the last +day of November, and they received their pay on +the 1st of March, the 1st of June and the 1st of +September. This did not mean that the vessel +necessarily put to sea at the beginning of March, +but in order to be sure of his men the <em>naukleros</em> +hired them before they were actually required. +Having once been engaged, the mariners were +forbidden by statute to leave the city, but at Pisa, +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_28">[Pg 28]</span>when the ship was about to sail, a crier was sent +round collecting the men.</p> + +<p>It was not part of their duty to load or unload +the cargo: that was done by the stevedores, but +it did fall to them to ballast the ship. Each +mariner, on being engaged, took an oath that he +would carry out his duties, and he had to obey the +master. The only occasions on which he could +justifiably quit his ship were if he were made +captain of another ship, or if he had made a vow +to go on a pilgrimage to St. James or the Holy +Sepulchre or Rome. On the other hand, he could +be dismissed for theft, quarrelling, repeated disobedience, +blasphemy or debauchery. At Pisa, if +a mariner made a disturbance on board, the captain +and other officials could put him into irons, and if +he resisted they could strike him even to the +drawing of blood.</p> + +<p>No merchant of the twentieth century sending +his goods across the seas would have need to +inquire into the inventory or seaworthiness of the +ship. Such things are taken for granted; but even +in the carefully regulated conditions of these old +Mediterranean ships, it was customary for merchants +before putting their goods aboard to see +that the vessel was well furnished with sails, yards, +anchors and arms, for she should carry spare yards +and sails of canvas (doubtless for hard weather), as +well as other gear. The merchants were also to +ascertain that the ship was water-tight, and the +skipper was to fill up the seams with tow. The +Venetian statutes prescribed that a ship should +have so many anchors and ropes of a certain length +and thickness. And thus, at last, with anything +from sixteen to forty mariners—according to her +size—with her merchants, their servants, men-at-arms +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_29">[Pg 29]</span>and pilgrims and cooks, the trading vessel +was allowed to go forth.</p> + +<p>Such, then, were the conditions under which the +Mercantile Marine was emerging during these +interesting years. Like other nations, Venice +began to lose her commercial supremacy soon +after the Cape of Good Hope had been discovered +in 1486. The future of the overseas trading was +to be in the hands of Portugal and Spain, then to +pass into the control of the Dutch, the French, and +subsequently into British hands, as some day it +may fall under the direction of the United States. +But the important fact to remember all the while +is that Venice, Genoa and Pisa did demonstrate to +the world that civilisation, progress, literature, art, +riches, exploration all depended on the merchant +ship. Having once proved the truth of this idea, +they have left behind for us in their contemporary +buildings the most striking expressions of the +wealth that is obtained only by means of the sea.</p> +<br> + + +<div class="footnotes"> +<h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_2_2" href="#FNanchor_2_2" class="label">[2]</a> See <cite>The Rhodian Sea-Law</cite>, edited from MSS. by Walter +Ashburner. Oxford 1909. A scholarly and interesting volume.</p></div> +</div> + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_30">[Pg 30]</span></p> +<div class="chapter"> + <h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_IV"> + CHAPTER IV + <br> + <span class="fs80">THE MERCHANT SHIPS OF THE NORTH</span> + </h2> +</div> + + +<p>We can desire hardly any better evidence of the +existence of a Mercantile Marine than the fact +that a body of laws had to be created in order +to regulate that industry. We have seen that +from quite early times there was in the Mediterranean +a sea-law which in course of time was +available for any set of circumstances that might +arise in regard to trading ships.</p> + +<p>In like manner there came into being a code of +maritime laws for western Europe, and this was +known as the Laws of Oleron. The code was +adopted by Alfonso X in the thirteenth century for +the settlement of disputes in maritime affairs. It +was based on the sea-law of Rhodes already referred +to. Now, one effect of the crusade which Richard +Cœur de Lion undertook was that he came into +contact with a number of ships and seamen who +had been sent from the island of Oleron to take +part in the crusade. And among the officers who +had come with the fleet from Oleron was one of +the justiciaries of the navy.</p> + +<p>The nett result was that Richard brought home +a roll of these laws, and ordered them to be +observed in English waters. They had been framed +for the benefit of the Merchant Service, and they +were drastic. Thus if a pilot lost the ship and +the merchants sustained damage, the pilot was to +make full satisfaction, if he had the means; if he +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_31">[Pg 31]</span>had no means he was to lose his head. Now, +based on these laws of Oleron, came into being +what was known as the “Black Book of the +Admiralty,” which contained the “ancient statutes +of the Admiralty, to be observed both upon ports +and havens, the high seas and beyond the seas, +which are engrossed upon vellum in the said book +and written in an ancient hand in the ancient +French language,” as a High Court Judge of the +seventeenth century described them.</p> + +<p>This so-called “Black Book” contains the most +ancient laws of the sea in force in this country, +and continued to be the standard authority in the +Admiralty Court until the end of the eighteenth +century, when it suddenly disappeared, but in +1874 it was accidentally discovered at the bottom +of a chest belonging to a former Registrar of the +Admiralty Court. To-day this book is kept in +a glass-topped, locked table in the room of the +President of the Admiralty Court. It was probably +called black to distinguish it from other books +of reference, but the late Sir Douglas Owen, who +had examined it about the year 1911, said that the +cover was now very much the colour of a worn-out +leather strap. It measures 9½ inches high and 6¼ +inches wide, the leaves being either thin parchment +or a stout tough paper. The first part of the book +is written in archaic French, but it was not all +written at one time nor by one person. In other +words, as the Merchant Marine of England grew +in numbers and importance, as the trade with the +continent got bigger, so the English maritime law +kept up with the progress. The first part of the +“Black Book” belongs to the time of Edward III +or Richard II, the latter part to the time between +Henry IV and Henry VI. Thus, part of the book +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_32">[Pg 32]</span>shows that the English Mercantile Marine was +of sufficient size and importance in the period +between 1327 and 1351 to necessitate a body of laws.</p> + +<p>In character the ships of Northern waters were +based on those of the Norsemen—that is to say, +they were double-ended, long, and propelled by +one large square-sail, or with oars when necessary. +As time went on, these craft became beamier, and +approximated to the cargo ships of the Mediterranean, +the twofold objects aimed at being seaworthiness +and capacity for carrying as much as +possible in their holds. But there is this important +fact to bear in mind, and its value can hardly be +exaggerated, as we shall presently find. The North +Sea has from the earliest records until the present +day been the home of the herring, and on the +herring the nations of the North have prospered, +built their Mercantile Marines, grown rich, created +their navies and expanded commercially. The +fishing fleets have only to put to sea and they +can extract silver fortunes—it is, so to speak, +money for nothing, or for very little. That is the +broad, general statement, though in practice it is +modified by the migrations of the herring, which +did actually alter the trend of history.</p> + +<p>As far back as the third century the inhabitants +of the Hebrides were living on fish and milk, but +ignorant of the cultivation of grain, and even in +the ninth century the Dutch came to Scotland +to buy salted fish. In the tenth century the Norwegians +were fishing with their herring-nets near +Christiania, and off the East Anglian coast our own +fishermen were pursuing the industry on a large +scale. Before William the Conqueror arrived, +Beccles, then a fishing town (but now inland on +the banks of a river), paid as rent to St. Edmund’s +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_33">[Pg 33]</span>Abbey as much as 30,000 herrings. In France by +1030 the herring-fishing was a well-established +occupation, and there were salt works near Dieppe +for preserving the catches. During the twelfth +century our fishermen found herrings very plentiful +off the Tyne. Further north the English, Scotch +and Belgic fishermen were getting the herring +near May Island off the Firth of Forth, and in +this same period the herring was being first fished +for in the Meuse. The Dutch were sending out +small vessels to use their nets in the North Sea, then +later on packing the fish into barrels, preserving +them by cleaning their insides and thus beginning +to acquire wealth from the harvest of the sea.</p> + +<p>Thus the North Sea fisheries were to build up +the Mercantile Marines of the North. We were +exporting herrings, wool, butter, cheese and cattle +to the continent via the Rhine, and already during +the thirteenth century a big Lorraine fleet, carrying +cargoes of wine, used to arrive annually in +England; but it was the impetus given by the +herring that caused the north European countries +to develop the sea instinct. The fishing industry +developed shipbuilding, created a great seamanhood, +spread the fascination of the sea as a career, +and thus handed down from century to century a +great and wonderful school, from which in Tudor +times were to be obtained the crews who ventured +forth with Drake and others. You cannot suddenly +bring into being this seafaring body, as you +can collect armies. And had it not been that for +hundreds of years the Englishmen had been out +fishing, there would have been no expansion of +England either commercially or politically. The +history of the world would, indeed, have to be +rewritten.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_34">[Pg 34]</span></p> + +<p>By the time of Edward III the fishing had +become so important to this country that a law +was passed forbidding any fisherman to give up +his trade; but, in return for this, fishermen and +mariners were exempt from serving in any capacity +other than that to which they had been bred. By +the fourteenth century there were literally thousands +of vessels, each having at least six persons on +board, fishing for herrings between Denmark and +Norway, and more than 300,000 people were in +one way or another engaged in the industry. In +five days no fewer than sixty foreign ships during +one week came into Great Yarmouth for these fish. +Thus, side by side with our fishermen there was +growing up a carrying trade, herrings and woollen +cloth being regularly exported to the continent. +By the fifteenth century ships from the British +Isles, France, Flanders, Zeeland, Holland and +Germany with Scottish herrings used to sail to +the Mediterranean to sell the fish for the faithful +during Lent.</p> + +<p>Throughout the Middle Ages the herring-fishing +of the North Sea was far and away the most important +of western Europe, especially off Scotland, +Sweden and Norfolk, whither the Dutchmen came +both to use their nets and to buy. The trade in +salted and smoked herrings helped to make the +wealth of the Hanseatic and Dutch towns. And +it is here that we find, in the Hanseatic League, a +force which corresponds to that of Venice, Pisa +and Genoa in the south; for in developing overseas +trade it encouraged the ship and seafaring.</p> + +<p>The word “hansa” signifies a guild or association, +and the Hanseatic League was an association +of towns for the purposes of trade, Bergen, London +and Bruges being its principal foreign markets in +the North Sea. From the twelfth to the sixteenth +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_35">[Pg 35]</span>century this trading league existed, and, like +Venice, had its rise to pre-eminence and then +gradually lost its supremacy. And, like Venice, +too, the Hanseatic League kept a tight hand over +its merchant ships. Thus as far back as 1391 +there was an ordinance by the Diet that no merchant +should sail from a North Sea to a Baltic port, +or vice versa, between Martinmas and Candlemas, +and the only exceptions were that ships carrying +beer and herrings might sail as late as St. Nicholas +Day, December 6. For centuries a merchant had +signified a townsman, but when, from the beginning +of the twelfth century, the herring suddenly arrived +in great shoals in the Baltic, the inland dwellers of +Germany came down to the sea, ousted the Slav +and thus began to get rich. The movements and +migrations of the herring are little more understood +nowadays than they were then, but it was sufficient +for the Hanseatics that this silvery wealth had +arrived. Thus Kolberg became a famous emporium +for salted herrings, and this fishing industry was +responsible for the Hansa towns obtaining so much +of their riches and power. And so it went on +until, in 1425, the erratic herring decided to forsake +the Baltic and spawn in the waters of the +North Sea. This at once took away from the +Hanseatics a large portion of their means to wealth, +though they were still busy with their carrying +trade. But what is one country’s loss may be +another’s gain, and it was so with the herring.</p> + +<p>For from the Baltic the herring had moved +down to the Dutch coast, and so the Netherlands +found themselves with the good fortune of a silver +mine outside their own doors. Riches were there +for the asking, and they wisely availed themselves +of the opportunity. They built more ships, and +the whole waterside went forth in clumsy, seaworthy +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_36">[Pg 36]</span>craft, and thus gradually the fishermen +laid the foundation-stone of the Dutch nation. +It is an old saying that Amsterdam was built upon +herrings; and as the Venetian palaces were built on +Eastern pepper and silks, so the Northern capital +arose out of the efforts on sea. It is impossible +to appreciate all that the herring-fishery has meant +to Holland until one has been through all the +picture galleries in the Low Countries and explored +its harbours. In the former you find the +herring busses riding to their nets as the subject +of any number of paintings, for the reason that +it was the most important aspect of Dutch +livelihood; and around the quays to-day you +have only to notice the fine architecture in +order to see the relics of a wealth that came and +passed away by means of the sea high-road.</p> + +<p>There is nothing like trade for the encouragement +of shipping, but it was not until the end of +the thirteenth century that the inland towns of the +continent required for their trade the highway of +the ocean, and thus the ports became important +and the demand for shipping increased. One of +the most important of the Hanseatic sea trade +routes was from Bruges to northern Russia, +whither hundreds of craft sailed every year, owned +by the Baltic merchants. And it was not until the +fifteenth century that the Dutchmen, Zeelanders +and Frisians seriously competed with the Hanseatics, +for the latter was a very close corporation, +whose organisation was kept secret, and its ban +was regal in its effect. By its decree no German +merchant was allowed to go into partnership with +an Englishman, Fleming or Russian, and the result +was that for centuries our shipping was kept out +of the Baltic. All this time the Hanseatic trade +was doing a great deal to encourage its own shipping, +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_37">[Pg 37]</span>for there were needed many craft and seamen +to carry eastwards from Germany to Russia the +produce of the looms and the breweries, returning +with furs, wax, skins, tallow and fat. Similarly +the shipping went across to Sweden to fetch the +copper and iron, while to Bruges and London this +Russian and Swedish produce was brought for +distribution.</p> + +<p>As in the cargo ships of the Mediterranean, so +here in the north, the merchants accompanied +their wares “over sea and sand.” Some of them +would mutually arrange to charter a ship, and in +order to encourage the captain to get the goods +safely across the sea, they would give him an +interest in the sales. Otherwise, as soon as pirates +hove into sight he might feel inclined to hurl the +goods overboard, and a similar desire was thus +checked in the case of the ship labouring in bad +weather. Piracy in the English Channel, Irish +Sea, North Sea and the Baltic went on merrily +during the Middle Ages, and played havoc with +the merchant ship, though, as in the south, this +kind of activity was less a crime than a specialised +form of seafaring. In the Cinque Ports dwelt +a class of seamen commissioned, according to +Matthew of Paris, to plunder all merchant ships +of any nationality other than English as they +passed up and down the Channel; so in the +thirteenth century we find the Scotch, Irish, +Welsh and French all fitting out vessels to cruise +about in readiness for a cargo ship full of valuable +goods.</p> + +<p>The English Channel and the North Sea thus +became full of dangers, and no merchant ship +could put to sea without grave risk of capture. +One nationality was as bad as another, and a kind +of international vendetta went on in revenge for +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_38">[Pg 38]</span>the losses by piracy. It became, indeed, a matter +of high politics, far too serious to be ignored, so +that the kings of England at various dates had to +enter into negotiations with the foreign authorities. +Thus at the beginning of the fifteenth century the +Chancellor of England demanded from the Master-General +of Prussia full restitution and recompense +for “sundry piracies and molestations offered of +late upon the sea.” During the next reign Henry +IV, writing to the same personage, admitted that +both English and Prussian merchants had suffered +by these pirates “roving up and downe the sea.” It +was finally agreed that English merchant ships +should be allowed to enter Prussian ports unmolested, +and that if Prussian cargoes were captured +in the North Sea by English pirates, and this +merchandise was brought into an English port, +the “governour” of the port, if he suspected piracy, +was to have such goods taken out and put ashore +in safe keeping. And between this same Henry +and the Hanseatic towns a similar agreement was +made which bound the cities of Lubeck, Bremen, +Hamburg and others to recompense the injured +parties “for all injuries, damages, grievances, and +drownings or manslaughters” done and committed +by the pirates.</p> + +<p>The following incidents well illustrate the risks +which these merchantmen ran whilst pursuing their +calling. About Eastertide in the year 1394 the +merchant ship <em>Godezere</em>, owned by four Englishmen, +set out from the Tyne for Prussia, loaded +with a cargo of woollen cloth and red wine. She +was a 200-ton ship, her value with that of her sails +and tackle amounting to £400; her cargo, plus +certain sums of money on board, aggregating +200 marks. In the North Sea she encountered a +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_39">[Pg 39]</span>Hanseatic ship who gave the English craft such +a hot time that the <em>Godezere</em> was captured, two +of her crew slain, and the rest of them were +imprisoned for three years. In the same year +the Hanseatic pirates also attacked the Hull ship +named the <em>Shipper Berline of Prussia</em>, belonging +to a Richard Horuse, and from her they took away +goods to the value of 160 nobles. Next year, off +the coast of Norway, they molested a ship called +the <em>John Tutteburie</em>, and relieved her of 476 nobles +worth of cargo. A year later still, these Hanseatic +pirates captured the Hull ship <em>Cogge</em>, belonging to +one William Terry, and took £200 worth of woollen +cloth as well. The pirates were no respecters of +ships so long as valuable goods were being taken +across the North Sea, for Dutch, Zeeland and +English merchantmen and fishing craft were all +made to suffer. If the merchants and crew were +not killed, they were thrown into prison and not +allowed their liberty until ransom was paid, so +altogether the trading ship had quite as exciting +a time in the north as in the southern sea.</p> + +<p>But it was just as bad in the Baltic, where the +pirates found it such a profitable business that they +formed themselves into a corporation, and became +such a serious and powerful force that in 1392 they +were able to burn down Bergen and take the bishop +prisoner. This much is to be said for them: they +had a sense of chivalry, and on occasions actually +gave back the empty ships to merchants after +removing the cargoes, and wished them a happy +return with fresh and fuller freights. But so +mighty a scourge did these sea-raiders become that +for a time they put a stop to all fishing. In the +spring of 1394 these lawless Hanseatics sailed with +quite a large fleet to the town of Norbern in +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_40">[Pg 40]</span>Norway, took the place by assault, captured all +the merchants, together with their goods, burnt +their houses and put their persons up to ransom.</p> + +<p>Matters had now reached a crisis. For three +years all fishing had been stopped and these rovers +had made maritime life impossible, so in 1394, by +means of a tax, the Hanseatic League got together +a fleet of thirty-five large ships and 3000 men, and +by this means broke the power of this pirate confederation—for +a time; for the scourge continued +for years after. It was a fine life for those who +had run through their money and desired adventure, +and it attracted men of noble birth who had +gambled and drunk away their fortunes. Of these +none was more notorious than Stertebeker, who +took part in almost every instance of North Sea +piracy at this time. Hamburg having denied to +this reprobate his knightly armour and forbidden +him the city precincts, he threw in his lot with the +notorious pirates known as the Victual Brothers, +whose leader was Godeke Michelson.</p> + +<p>There was no limit to the depredations of this +band. On one occasion they attacked a ship in +the North Sea named the <em>Dogger</em>, which was lying +at anchor while the crew were fishing. These +Hanseatics took away their fish, beat and wounded +both master and crew, and owing to the damage +done lost the <em>Dogger</em> a whole year’s fishing. Nor +did the daring of the pirates confine itself to the +Baltic and North Sea: they even raided the coast +of Spain. Stertebeker was one of those heavy-drinking +Germans who had a curious method of +dealing with his prisoners; for if among them he +found a poor, strong man he would test the latter’s +powers by resort to drinking. Stertebeker, whose +own mark consisted of two reversed goblets in a +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_41">[Pg 41]</span>cathedral church, would cause his own goblet to be +filled with wine and handed to the prisoner. If +the latter could empty it at one gulp, he was a +man after Stertebeker’s heart, and was accepted +as a comrade, otherwise he was dismissed.</p> + +<p>But there came a time when this terror to the +merchant ships of all nations had reached the limit. +In the year 1422 the Hanseatic League sent a fleet +under Simon of Utrecht to fall upon the pirates, +and having come out from Hamburg, Simon found +the enemy one evening lying off Heligoland. So +near did the Hamburg fleet get to them that one +daring fisherman was able to pour molten lead on +the rudders of certain of the pirate ships, and this +loosened the rudders and rendered the ships uncontrollable. +On the following day the battle began, +and went on for three days and nights, but in the +end Stertebeker was beaten. He and seventy of +his comrades were captured and carried in triumph +to Hamburg, where they were all condemned to +death and executed, to the great relief of the +mercantile mariners. The rest of the pirates had +fled, or been killed or thrown into the sea, and in +the captured ships were found much linen and wax +and cloth, which had been ill gotten from unfortunate +craft. But when the Hamburgers rummaged +the ships all the valuable metals they could find +were a few goblets: until a carpenter broke the +mainmast, which was then found to be hollow, and +full of molten gold. However, this conveniently +indemnified the merchants, and a golden crown +was made and placed on the spire of St. Nicholas +church, Hamburg. Stertebeker’s friend and accomplice, +Michelson, was still at large, but Simon went +after him, got him, and eighty pirates lost their +heads.</p> + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> +<div class="chapter"> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_42">[Pg 42]</span></p> + + + <h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_V"> + CHAPTER V + <br> + <span class="fs80">THE GROWTH OF THE MERCANTILE MARINE</span> + </h2> +</div> + + +<p>Chaucer, who flourished in the fourteenth +century, has left us a description of a merchant +“shipman” of his time. He refers to him as being +a West-countryman living, “for aught I woot,” at +Dartmouth, who wore a gown of coarse cloth +extending to the knee, and had a dagger hanging +on a lanyard. The hot summer had tanned his face +brown, and Chaucer describes him as a good fellow, +who had drawn many a draught of wine while the +“chapman” (or merchant) was asleep. No man +had such skill in reckoning his tides, streams, +dangers; and in his knowledge of harbours, the +state of the moon and pilotage, there was no such +man between Hull and Carthage.</p> + +<div class="poetry-container"> + <div class="poetry"> + <div class="stanza"> + <div class="verse indent0">“Hardy he was, and wys to undertake:</div> + <div class="verse indent1">With many a tempest hadde his berd been shake.</div> + <div class="verse indent1">He knew wel alle the havenes, as they were,</div> + <div class="verse indent1">From Gootlond to the cape of Finistere,</div> + <div class="verse indent1">And every cryke in Britayne and in Spayne:</div> + <div class="verse indent1">His barge y-cleped was the Maudelayne.”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p>From the mere fact that Chaucer said as much +as he did, it is clear enough that English merchant +ships at this time were trading up and down Europe +between Sweden and the Spanish coast, and that as +a regular thing. And some of these seamen were +now also navigators. Chaucer, who died in the +year 1400, has left behind a treatise on the astrolabe +by which a mariner could “knowe the altitude +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_43">[Pg 43]</span>of the sonne, or of other celestial bodies.” An +astrolabe was the ancestor of the sextant, an +instrument which had been used by the Arabs for +long years before it was used by the Christian +seamen of the Mediterranean or the North. As +far back as the eighth century a learned Rabbi +named Messahala had written a treatise on the +astrolabe, and it was chiefly from that author that +Chaucer derived his knowledge on the subject. +During the early Tudor period the cross-staff +began to supersede the astrolabe.</p> + +<p>The growth of the English Mercantile Marine +in the fourteenth century, and the friction which +occurred between these ships and the vessels +belonging to Norway, Prussia, Flanders, Scotland, +Spain and Genoa, led to the assertion by +Edward III that his royal progenitors had been +lords of the English sea “on every side,” and in +1344 he had coined a gold noble whereon he was +represented standing in a ship crowned, with +sword and shield, emblematic of his sovereignty +of the seas. It was a statesmanlike attempt on +behalf of the commercial ships to make the sea +a peaceful highway, when for so long it had been +such a dangerous thoroughfare. It had its counterpart +in the Mediterranean; for the raids by the +Saracens had caused the Pisans to exercise the +rights of commercial and naval supremacy on +the west coast of Italy; and in 1138 the Genoese +had exercised a similar authority in the Gulf of +Lyons. Similarly Venice had claimed sovereignty +over the whole of the Adriatic in the thirteenth +century, though prior to that it had exacted a toll +from vessels passing through that sea.</p> + +<p>England, too, had her pilgrim trade to Santiago +de Compostela, thirty-three miles south of Corunna, +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_44">[Pg 44]</span>where the shrine of St. James caused these travellers +to cross the Bay of Biscay to Spain. By the +fifteenth century this transportation of pilgrims +had become a regular trade, and in 1434 Henry VI +granted a licence to carry no fewer than 2433 such +enthusiasts. Indeed the earliest English sea song +is that which describes the life on board one of +these pilgrim ships. The manuscript is in the +Trinity College Library, Cambridge, and it begins +by saying that “men may leve all gamys, that +saylen to Seynt Jamys,” for when these people +have joined the ship at Sandwich, Winchelsea, +Bristol or wherever it may be, their hearts soon +begin to fail, “for som ar lyke to cowgh and grone, +or hit be full mydnyght.” The cook is ordered +to get food ready, but the pilgrims have “no lust” +for eating, but lie “with they bowlys fast them by” +and complaining that their heads would “cleave +in three”—“splitting,” as the modern martyr to +sea-sickness expresses it. Then the carpenter +comes along and with his gear makes small cabins +for the unhappy passengers to sleep in. A sack +of straw formed the mattress, and in some cases +the pilgrims found they had to sleep near the +pump and bilge-water in the reeking hold. “A +man were as good to be dede, as smell thereof the +stynk.” For there are few odours more objectionable +than the bilge-stench of an aged ship, and in +those days, when refuse was thrown into the hold +and there was little idea of sanitation, a pilgrim’s +voyage from England to Spain, across the boisterous +Bay, could not have been more pleasant +than from Venice to the Syrian shore.</p> + +<p>In this poem just quoted it is interesting to +notice, also, the life on board the merchant ship +as regards the mariners. We see the master at +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_45">[Pg 45]</span>once ordering his “shyp-men” to stand by the +mast and handle their tackle. Then, with the old +expression of the sea (still surviving in sailing +merchant vessels to-day), “Ho! Hissa,” they hoist +away, whilst one man reprimands another for +standing too close to his neighbour to allow him +room to haul. Then one or two boys go up aloft, +out on the yard, and unfurl the square-sail, while +the rest of the crew haul aft the sheets. The +captain then orders the boatswain to stow the +ship’s boat, and next “haul the bowline,” the ship +being now on a wind; but presently “veers the +sheet” to allow her to run before the breeze. The +steersman is sent to the helm and told to sail no +nearer to the wind, after which the master calls +the steward to bring him a pot of beer, which is +promised “with good chere.” It is now time to +haul in the brails of the yard, and one of the crew +is admonished for not hauling; and then see “howe +well owre good shyp sayles.” The steward is told +to get food ready “and tary not so long,” whilst +the ship’s pessimist comes and prophesies a storm +or squall. He is promptly told to hold his “pese” +and not to interfere.</p> + +<div class="poetry-container"> + <div class="poetry"> + <div class="stanza"> + <div class="verse indent0">“Then commeth oure owner lyke a lorde,</div> + <div class="verse indent1">And speketh many a royall worde,</div> + <div class="verse indent1">And dresseth hym to the hygh borde</div> + <div class="verse indent3">To see all thyng be well.”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p>Thus, with the demand for shipping to carry +cargo and pilgrims across the open sea, there was +every chance given to the Mercantile Marine, and +by the fifteenth century the single-masted ship had +begun to be displaced by the three-master, for the +reason that the merchantman was becoming bigger, +and it was necessary to split the sails up for ease +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_46">[Pg 46]</span>in handling. Thus the big cargo ship now has a +small square foresail on her foremast, a big square +mainsail on her mainmast, and a triangular lateen +sail on the mizzen-mast. The mere fact that the +last-mentioned, characteristic, Mediterranean sail +was added to northern ships during the fifteenth +century, is evidence of the influence which the +Portuguese and Spanish ships were having on our +distant-voyaging vessels. Sea transportation was +becoming the rule, and no longer the exception; +trade overseas was increasing; merchants and seamen +were fast becoming imbued with new ideas +seen in strange lands, and in fact the world was +beginning to awake.</p> + +<p>The biggest of the ships carried a main topsail, +and by this time the rudder had been shifted from +the quarter to aft, as it is to-day. The hull is in a +transition state, still feeling the influence of the +Viking type, but not yet a wholesome creature. +The forecastle, sterncastle and main topmast castle +are still there, but they have become amalgamated +with the general design of the hull rather than +being mere additional platforms. There is a contemporary +manuscript which shows such craft +under way, at anchor, and even being towed out of +harbour by the ship’s boat against a head wind, +past a flaming beacon which marks a promontory. +And even at this time there were such things +as pilots’ guides for the coasts of England and +Wales, as well as sailing directions for the Bay of +Biscay.</p> + +<p>But we must turn our attention south to watch +what was going on in the Mediterranean. Briefly +this is what had happened. Already in the +thirteenth century merchant ships had become +more enterprising, for about the year 1270 Malocello +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_47">[Pg 47]</span>had reached the Canary Isles, and in 1281, +Vivaldi had set forth from Genoa to find the East +Indies via the west coast of Africa, but failed. +For you must remember that during the latter +part of the twelfth century the compass, crude +and inaccurate, yet of immense utility, had been +introduced into Europe from the East. Then +comes into our story that great man Prince Henry +the Navigator, son of the King of Portugal, and +nephew of Henry IV of England. Henry devoted +his life to developing the science and art of navigation, +creating an observatory and nautical school +at Sagres, near Cape St. Vincent, and doing all he +possibly could to encourage maritime discovery. +The result of this was that the Portuguese became +great sea-travellers, big shipowners and expanded +in commerce and colonies. Henry the Navigator +was born in 1394 and died in 1460, and to his foresight, +organisation and enthusiastic intellect can +be traced the rapid and marvellous Portuguese +achievements which followed at sea. Thus in 1442 +Madeira and the Azores had been discovered in +the Atlantic, trade with Africa materially increased, +especially on the west coast, and the traffic in black +slaves become very profitable. Then in 1486 the +Cape of Good Hope was rounded and the sea +route at last opened to the East Indies, instead +of the long and perilous overland route to the +Levant which had been used always up till now. +In 1498 Vasco da Gama sailed from Lisbon to +Calicut, and two years later the Portuguese had +landed in Brazil. Thus by the dawn of the +sixteenth century Portugal had reached a wonderful +height of prosperity. The great Eastern trade +was in her hands; Ceylon, the Sunda Islands, +Malacca and Ormuz in the Persian Gulf were +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_48">[Pg 48]</span>hers; and all this pre-eminence had been won by +studying the problems of the sea and then applying +that knowledge in ships manned by practical +navigators and sailors.</p> + +<p>Portugal had risen up by the twelfth century as +a separate kingdom, and Spain had been passing +through a period of complete anarchy, but on +the death of the Spanish Henry IV, Isabel and +Ferdinand had ascended the throne of Castile, and +then law and order were restored, the last Moorish +stronghold was captured in 1492, and a few months +later the Genoese sailor Columbus, under the +patronage of Ferdinand and Isabella, was allowed +to set forth on his historic voyage which discovered +the West Indies. He returned home, went across +the Atlantic again in 1493 and discovered Dominica; +then made his third voyage, in which he discovered +the mainland of South America in 1498, and finally, +on his last voyage, explored the southern shore of +the Mexican Gulf.</p> + +<p>With the discovery of a sea-route both to the +East and West Indies, the whole future of the +Mercantile Marine was altered. Instead of +carrying merchandise and pilgrims across Europe, +there came the demand for great ocean-going +vessels that could carry home large quantities +of rich produce, that would make the European +markets surprised when they beheld these goods. +Thus the Portuguese and Spaniards, like the +Venetians and Genoese, began to amass great +wealth from their merchant ships. Noble caracks +were built, more and more men embarked on a +seafaring career, the art of navigation received +much more careful study, and mercantile maritime +supremacy passed to the Iberian peninsula. Thus +the work of great shipbuilders and sea-carriers, +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_49">[Pg 49]</span>discoverers, colonisers and traders had for a time +passed into other hands.</p> + +<p>But success in one party always breeds jealousy +in another: indeed, if you examine the causes of +all the great wars in history, or look into the +reasons for most private quarrels, you will find +usually that they come under the heading either +of commercial jealousy or religious intolerance. +And when, as was the case in the sixteenth +century, you have both these factors united, you +have the maximum of intense feeling. The +English seamen, perfectly naturally, began to be +jealous and envious of the lectureships and instruction +which were being given to these southern +seamen. At Seville Charles V had founded a +lectureship on navigation in the sixteenth century. +In England Henry VIII founded three guilds, at +Deptford-on-Thames, Kingston-on-Hull and Newcastle-on-Tyne, +for the same purpose, and Edward +VI selected Sebastian Cabot to be Grand Pilot of +England. Henry VII encouraged his shipbuilders +by giving them a bounty on the tonnage built, and +in Henry VIII’s reign dockyards were established +at Woolwich, Erith and Deptford, in addition to +Portsmouth. Books on the sea arts began to be +written in English, so that by the time the full +force of the commercial and religious hatred of the +Spanish and Portuguese was let loose, the English +mercantile mariners were something more than +mere coastal seamen. From their fishing they +had gradually become cross-Channel carriers; from +this they had risen to the ability to trade regularly +with Spain, with an occasional voyage even to the +Mediterranean; but now they were qualified by +their ambition and their greater knowledge to go +wherever the sea existed. And thus we get Drake +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_50">[Pg 50]</span>going all the way round the world; the many voyages +across the Atlantic to the West Indies; the +fights with the Spanish treasure ships; the capture +of the <em>Madre de Dios</em> and <em>San Felipe</em>, thus discovering +the long-kept secrets of the sea-route to India. +From the captured caracks and galleons which had +been built in the Iberian peninsula, the English +shipwright was able to enlarge his ideas and to +learn how to build real ocean-going craft bigger +than most of the Elizabethan ships. The introduction +of cannon had been an additional reason +for making the ship a much stouter, loftier and +more formidable creature. Thus length, and beam, +and draught increased; larger crews and more +officers were needed, and as each expedition came +home with strange products, merchant adventurers +combined to fit out other expeditions to inaugurate +trade even in such remote spots as had not yet +seen a white man.</p> + +<p>And never a ship came home from her voyage +without adding some valuable information in regard +to trade or geography or navigation or pilotage. +You have only to read the travels in Hakluyt, +Purchase and elsewhere to see how keen these +Elizabethans were not to omit a single piece of +knowledge that would be useful for future voyages. +They had been able, almost suddenly, to realise +that, given pluck, determination, enterprise and +endurance, the treasures of the world were theirs. +They could follow the sea for a few long voyages +and then return to build themselves comfortable +mansions in Devonshire. And inasmuch as nothing +succeeds like success, every time the crew came +home and spread the wonderful tales of their +experiences and showed the valuables they had +managed to obtain, other men were anxious to +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_51">[Pg 51]</span>go forth and do likewise. Nobles and gentlemen +and city magnates invested heavily in these trading +voyages, selected the ablest seamen, and thus, incidentally, +were helping to build up the Mercantile +Marine on a grand scale.</p> + +<p>Before Hawkins engaged in his trans-Atlantic +voyages he was a Plymouth shipowner accustomed +to sail to the ports of Spain and the Canary Islands +with trade. At the Canaries he learns a good deal +about the West Indies, then goes further south +to the west coast of Africa, begins transporting +niggers thence to America, returns to England +with plenty of money, and sets every one in the +west of England talking and anxious to have a +share in this great new game. His relative, +Francis Drake, owner of a small brigantine in +which coastal trading has been carried on, is fired +by Hawkins’ success, and accompanies him on one +of his expeditions. Young Francis has learnt his +seamanship in a rough school, having made friends +with a shipmaster trading to the Channel ports +and gone to sea with him, and thus acquired his +knowledge, until finally the shipmaster dies and +leaves him the brigantine in his will. Several +years of coastal work had followed, Drake had +acquired both money and reputation, and in the +end could not resist selling the coaster and buying +the brigantine <em>Judith</em>, fifty tons, and going with +his relative across the Atlantic.</p> + +<p>What followed? Every time the English seamen +came back with terrible yarns concerning the +treachery of the Portuguese and Spaniards, every +time the stories of the gallant fights were told, +every time the jewels and plate and pearls were +seen and handled, the West countrymen were +stirred to their very souls. Religious and commercial +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_52">[Pg 52]</span>jealousy, racial hatred and the love of +adventure, combined with the possibility of becoming +rich—all this created such a fire of +enthusiasm that the English Mercantile Marine +was bound to increase in numbers and aspirations. +The moderate ambitions of the Middle Ages had +passed away for ever: the dawn of a new order +of things had now already come.</p> + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> +<div class="chapter"> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_53">[Pg 53]</span></p> + + + <h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VI"> + CHAPTER VI + <br> + <span class="fs80">THE MERCANTILE MARINE OF THE SIXTEENTH + CENTURY</span> + </h2> +</div> + + +<p>By the middle of the fourteenth century the +merchant ships had begun to outgrow mediævalism; +by the sixteenth they were able to go to +windward and to keep the sea for months on end. +Thus, vessels had at last begun to enjoy the freedom +of the seas and to be independent of the shore. +It was a great achievement, considering how limited +in size and seaworthiness ships had been, and how +limited in knowledge mariners had remained until +they had passed through the Middle Ages and +emerged into the clear, bright light of science.</p> + +<p>Men were getting away from convention and +thinking for themselves, but some of the old habits +were dying very slowly. One very antique custom +was that of waits attending seafaring men. As +late as 1466, and probably even after, at the Cinque +Ports musicians with fifes and trumpets paraded +the town and announced which way the wind +was blowing, so that merchant ships could put +to sea if the wind was fair for them. The use +of the ship’s bell had been introduced into Tudor +ships before the end of the fifteenth century, +for Henry VII’s famous <em>Grâce Dieu</em> in 1485 included +this in her inventory, and the <em>Regent</em> in +1495 had two “wache belles.” In a volume printed +at the beginning of the sixteenth century, showing +a typical merchant ship of the time, with mast, +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_54">[Pg 54]</span>square-sails, and castles from which to attack +pirates and other enemies, the artist has actually +shown, in a rather conventional, but none the less +interesting, manner the skipper at the helm and +the merchants with their bales of goods in the +vessel; but the pictorial information of these early +craft is so slight, and landsmen artists dealing with +technical marine subjects were so very inaccurate, +that it is only by most diligent and careful research +that a nautical student who understands the ways +of a ship can follow the development of the merchant +craft through to the seventeenth century.</p> + +<p>Seamen have very rarely been good authors, +until we come to modern times; and writers have +usually been unacquainted with the technicalities +of seafaring. The difficulty, therefore, has been +great. The only solution is to regard the efforts +of ancient artists and authors critically with the +eyes of a seaman, and to make allowances. With +this concession, realising what a ship can do and +what she never could be asked to do; realising +also that the artist’s intention was not so much to +bequeath to posterity an accurately rigged ship as +to depict an idea—as, for instance, the progress of +a saint, in which a ship appeared incidentally—we +can find all these quaint artistic efforts worth +examining, and yielding up information. So it is +with the writers. Even that fifteenth century +French humorist Rabelais helps us if we allow for +his ignorance of seafaring matters. So long as a +man writes of what he actually saw with his own +eyes, and not what he imagined, we have valuable +and illuminative truth. Rabelais was no seaman, +but his description of the handling of the ship in a +gale is worth preserving. At the approach of bad +weather we see the pilot shortening sail. The +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_55">[Pg 55]</span>terrified Panurge exclaims with horror that the +bitts are broken, the tackle is in pieces, the timbers +are splitting, the mast dipping into the sea up to +the truck. His is the attitude of the “all-is-lost” +landsman who exists through all the ages of the +merchant ship. Thus he goes on: “Alas! alas! +where are our topsails? All is lost, by God! Our +topmast is under water. Alas! to whom will this +wreck belong? Friends, put me here behind one +of these bulkheads. Lads, your top-crane has +fallen.” He hears the rudder-pintle creaking. +“Is it broken?” Eventually the pilot heaves-to +under her main-course, but later the weather +moderates so that the ship can resume her voyage. +“To the main topsail,” rings out an order. “Hoist! +hoist! To the main-mizzen topsail. The rope to +the capstan. Heave! heave! heave! Hands to +the halyards. Hoist! hoist! Clear away the +tacks. Clear away the sheets. Clear away the +bowlines. Port tack. Down helm. Haul taut +starboard sheet. Luff. Full and by. Up helm. +(“Up, it is,” replied the sailors.) Keep her going. +Head for the harbour-mouth.” Thus, with the +steering tackles manned, and the ship sailing close-hauled +on the port tack, the pilot makes the helmsman +keep her out of the wind and straight for their +haven.⁠<a id="FNanchor_3_3" href="#Footnote_3_3" class="fnanchor">[3]</a></p> + +<p>But those who know their Hakluyt well, and take +the trouble to read those wondrous voyages with +imagination, are richly rewarded by the interesting +side-lights thrown on the sixteenth-century seamanship +in the merchant craft. Among the instructions +“for the direction of the intended voyage for +Cathay,” issued by Sebastian Cabot in 1553, the +“captain-general,” “pilot major,” masters, merchants +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_56">[Pg 56]</span>and other officers are first exhorted to be +“knit and accorded in unitie, love, conformitie +and obedience.” Every mariner and passenger +took an oath to be obedient to the captain-general, +and to every captain and master of his ship. But +even as late as the reign of Edward VI, the old +custom of the sea, which we have seen in the +Mediterranean, prevailed. The communal idea +was not yet extinct.</p> + +<p>“Item,” runs the fifth instruction, “all courses +in Navigation to be set and kept, by the advice of +the Captaine, Pilot Major, masters, & masters’ +mates, with the assents of the counsailers and the +most number of them, and in voyces uniformely +agreeing in one to prevaile, and take place, so that +the Captaine generall, shall in all counsailes and +assemblies have a double voyce.” The fleet was +ordered to keep together, the merchants “and +other skilful persons in writing, shal daily write, +describe, and put in memorie the Navigation of +every day and night, with the points, and observation +of the lands, tides, elements, altitude of the +sunne, course of the moon and starres, and the +same so noted by the order of the Master and pilot +of every ship to be put in writing, the captaine +generall assembling the masters together once every +weeke (if winde and weather shal serve) to conferre +all the observations, and notes of the said ships, to +the intent it may appeare wherein the notes do +agree, and wherein they dissent, and upon good +debatement, deliberation, and conclusion determined, +to put the same into a common leger, to +remain of record for the company: the like order +to be kept in proportioning of the Cardes, Astrolabes, +and other instruments prepared for the +voyage, at the charge of the companie.”</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_57">[Pg 57]</span></p> + +<p>Thus the merchants, having financed the voyage, +still had a considerable say in the matter. The +steward and cook of every ship had to render a +weekly account of the flesh, fish, biscuit, meat, +bread, beer, wine, oil and vinegar consumed. If +an officer or seaman were found inefficient, he +could be put ashore anywhere “within the king’s +Majesties realme & dominion.” In order to keep +discipline over the crew—many of them the “bad +hats” of the port from which the ships had sailed—they +were forbidden blasphemy, “ribaldrie, filthy +tales or ungodly talke, neither dicing, carding, +tabling, nor other divelish games to be frequented, +whereby ensueth not onely povertie to the players, +but also strife, variance, brauling, fighting, and +oftentimes murther.” Every morning and evening, +service was to be read in the flagship by +“the minister,” and in the other ships by the +merchant or some other learned person. “No +liquor to be spilt on the balast, nor filthines to be +left within boord; the cook room, and all other +places to be kept cleane, for the better health of +the companie.”</p> + +<p>The merchants were to look after the “liveries in +apparel” given to the mariners, which were not to be +worn except by order of the captain. And there was +also a “slop-chest,” taken care of by the merchants, +from which a seaman could obtain “any necessarie +furniture of apparel for his body, and conservation +of his health at such reasonable price as the same +cost, without any game to be exacted by the marchants.” +Nor could the merchants exhibit for sale +any of their goods to foreigners without consent of +the captains and other officers.</p> + +<p>In this expedition for the purpose of trading there +were three ships, and from these details we have a +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_58">[Pg 58]</span>fair idea of the way the pick of the Mercantile +Marine was being conducted on a grand scale, as +contrasted with the usual small voyages around the +British Isles, or across the North Sea, English +Channel and the Bay of Biscay. Such an expedition +as the one we are considering aimed at big +things: the opening up of a new trade route and +fresh markets. Thus there were three ships in this +venture, the 120-ton <em>Bona Esperanza</em>, which was +the flagship; the 160-ton <em>Edward Bonaventure</em>; +and the 90-ton <em>Bona Confidentia</em>. In the first was +Sir Hugh Willoughby, captain-general of the +squadron, or, as they called it, the fleet. In that +same ship were the master, his mate and six merchants, +together with the master gunner, boatswain, +boatswain’s mate, four quartermasters and their +four mates, two carpenters, a purser, a cook and +his mate, two surgeons and others. Two men were +landed at Harwich for sickness, and one other was +ducked at the yard-arm “for pickerie,” and then +discharged. The <em>Edward Bonaventure</em> carried +Richard Chancellor as captain and pilot major of +the fleet, a master, his mate, two merchants, a +minister, officers and mariners. The little <em>Bona +Confidentia</em> carried only a master, his mate, three +merchants, as well as the usual officers and mariners. +Each of these three ships had a pinnace and a boat. +We know that these ships could never lie nearer +than seven points from the wind by the statement +that “the wind veared to the West, so that +we could lie but North and by West.” Not having +charts of the strange unexplored harbours and +havens, the ship, on approaching the land, used to +send her pinnace ahead to find an anchorage, and +then the big craft could follow in. They used their +lead for sounding, and consulted the globe, which +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_59">[Pg 59]</span>was the only knowledge of geography of distant +countries possessed in many cases. But it was no +unusual thing to find in these exploratory voyages +that “the land lay not as the Globe made mention.” +In this particular expedition, whereon, by the way, +Sir Hugh Willoughby and the company of two of +his ships perished in the bitter Lapland regions, +there were all sorts of anxieties through gales of +winds, leaky ships, shoals, unknown coasts, cold and +general discomfort inseparable from crudely built +vessels. We can but admire the courageous enterprise +which sent them forth, and thus helped to lay +the foundations of our Mercantile Marine and seek +a north-east passage to China.</p> + +<p>But, as we know from writers of the sixteenth +century, the fact was that the commodities and +wares of England were in small request with +the neighbouring countries. Those goods which, +within the memory of the oldest inhabitants, had +been in demand, were now neglected, notwithstanding +that English ships carried the wares into +the harbours of the foreigners. Contrariwise, there +was a brisk demand for foreign goods, and at a +high price. Therefore certain “grave citizens of +London ... began to thinke with themselves +howe this mischiefe might bee remedied.” And +observing that the Spaniards and Portuguese had +wonderfully increased their wealth by the search +and discovery of new countries and trades; and +having taken the advice of Sebastian Cabot, who +was then in London, these wise merchants formed +themselves into a company, and each member put +up £25, so that before long the three ships already +mentioned were bought and fitted out with the +total £6000 thus obtained, and victualled too. +These shrewd Edwardians were doing exactly what +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_60">[Pg 60]</span>modern merchants do in a period of trade depression +and slump—they went out to look for +business in new markets. But the difference was +that the former had first to get the ships and then +fit them out, instead of merely going to the office of +a tourist-agency and purchasing a ticket, and then +voyaging in safety, comfort and with the certainty +of being in a particular place on a fixed day.</p> + +<p>In this north-east expedition, as soon as the +money was obtained the merchants bought exceptionally +strong and well-seasoned planks, and then +the shipwrights set to work with the construction, +caulking and pitching them and covering the +bottom with lead sheathing. That was all comparatively +straight-going, but the difficulty was to +victual the ships with food for eighteen months. +Indeed, after setting out from the Thames, some of +the food by the time they reached Harwich was +already putrid and the hogsheads of wine leaking. +Ships were ballasted with stones, and before the +wind these cumbrous craft would sail well, but on +a wind they made a good deal of leeway. But all +the time these sixteenth-century mariners were +learning, and setting down their records for others +to learn. Thus one finds these pioneers entering +such remarks as “a south moone makes a full sea,” +“Friday I went on shoare and observed the variation +of the Compasse, which was three degrees and +a halfe from the North to the West; the latitude +this day was sixtie nine degrees ten minutes.” And +in 1557, among the instructions given to masters and +mariners of an expedition, it is ordered that notes +and entries be daily made of the navigations, and +that the young mariners and apprentices be taught +and made to learn the same.</p> + +<p>Thus, with every voyage north, south, east or +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_61">[Pg 61]</span>west, with every slump or boom in trade, the +English Mercantile Marine was becoming more +efficient, less unscientific, and the love of seafaring +became greater. Those were the great days when, +though the ships were of wood, the men’s hearts +were of gold, and nothing daunted them. Their +gear was none too good, their ships were roughly +built, and yet no adversity ever overcame their fine +spirits. They were ready to struggle with any +difficulty. Take the case of the Elizabethan ship +which got caught in heavy weather one September. +She hove-to, but was washed down by almost every +sea, and then the rudder was found to be broken +and almost falling off. Next day, as soon as the +weather eased, a dozen of the crew leapt overboard, +remained under water as long as possible, worked +at the rudder-planking, bound it with ropes, and +finally made such a good job of it that it was again +serviceable; but by the time they were got aboard +once more they were more than half dead. These +ships were always losing anchors, cables, boats and +pinnaces; and even when they had charts and +globes, they were finding them full of errors; yet +they “kept on keeping on” and bringing their +seafaring profession out of the dark recesses of +ignorance into the light of knowledge.</p> +<br> + + +<div class="footnotes"> +<h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_3_3" href="#FNanchor_3_3" class="label">[3]</a> <cite>Mariner’s Mirror</cite>, Vol. V. p. 81.</p></div> +</div> + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_62">[Pg 62]</span></p> +<div class="chapter"> + <h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VII"> + CHAPTER VII + <br> + <span class="fs80">FISHERMEN AND MERCHANTMEN</span> + </h2> +</div> + + +<p>Up to the end of the sixteenth century we have +seen the progress of the Mercantile Marine influenced +by the pilgrim and cargo trade in the south +of Europe, and in the Iberian peninsula by the +long ocean voyages east and west for the purpose +of spreading Christianity, trading, and obtaining +greater territory. In the north of Europe we have +seen that the crusades, as in the south, had their +effect, and that pilgrims and merchandise were +regularly carried across the Bay of Biscay.</p> + +<p>But we have seen, too, that the Hanseatic League +and the fishing industry had from early times done +much; nor were these influences yet dead. It is +interesting, as showing the far-sightedness of the +Hanseatics, to note that they were careful to get +into their hands the entire corner of hemp, from +which ropes were made. Everywhere the League +had extended its tentacles as a powerful European +trading combine. The market of Bruges was a +place where you met all the great travellers and +merchants of Europe. Every one who was any +one in commerce sooner or later came here. In +London they had entrenched themselves with +characteristic German astuteness, and their privileges +had been marvellously protected by the +English sovereigns from the twelfth century. +Indeed the Hanseatics became, so to speak, the +Rothschilds of Europe for financing regal schemes. +The Wars of the Roses and the hostilities with +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_63">[Pg 63]</span>France were the means of making the Hanseatics +very useful financially, and they got their reward +in the shape of special privileges, which their depôt +just above London Bridge in Thames Street enjoyed +for many a year. Down to the time of Edward VI +they indeed prospered exceedingly.</p> + +<p>In Portugal the League had established a factory +at Lisbon, and thence they traded with the Italian +commercial republics and also got a hold on the +big Levantine trade. But during the reign of +Elizabeth Englishmen began to realise their own +strength and capabilities at sea. The defeat of +the Armada, and the many fights with the Spanish +and Portuguese, had given them a confidence which +they had never before enjoyed. The English +sailors were to justify their maritime ability not +merely against the southerners, but against these +very powerful and historic members of the northern +league. Consequently they did not hesitate to +seize sixty Hanseatic ships about to enter the +Tagus with grain for the Spaniards. In 1598 the +Hanseatics were turned out of England, and though +they were allowed eventually to come back, and +their property in the city of London was not sold +until 1853, when the Cannon Street railway station +was erected, yet the rise of English sea-power, +expressed not merely in actual fighting, but in the +maritime spirit generally, had given the ancient +league its death-blow. Thereafter it merely +lingered.</p> + +<p>But simultaneously with the decline of the +Spanish and Hanseatic Mercantile Marines was +growing up the Dutch. And it cannot be emphasised +too strongly that this was owing to the +herring having in the fifteenth century begun to +spawn in the North Sea instead of the Baltic, +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_64">[Pg 64]</span>as already mentioned. It seems curious that an +innocent fish should thus be the deciding force +of international history. If you examine modern +Dutch charts you will still see marked channels +and shoals which show the intimate connection +which that country had with fishing. The “haringvliet,” +or mouth of the Maas, and the “Schotsman” +shoal, off the island of Walcheren, at once suggest +the time when the Low Countries were acquiring +wealth by their fisheries and doing a good deal of +trade with Scotland. Then they became more +ambitious, and built those fine great ships, which +you see in the paintings of Vroom and other artists, +that were the means of bringing home from their +East Indies wealth in another form once enjoyed +by the Venetians and Spaniards.</p> + +<p>So invaluable had the fisheries been to the +Dutch, both in regard to shipbuilding and in +creating a fine school of seamanship, that by the +time of Cromwell these Netherlanders were the +“waggoners of the sea,” had the world’s carrying +trade and owned four-fifths of all the merchant +ships that sailed the seas. Now, having regard to +the young, keen sea spirit which had made the +sixteenth century so illustrious, it was hardly surprising +that before long there should be trouble +between the English and the Dutch. It was +analogous to the years which immediately preceded +the Great War of 1914. Collision was certain: it +was a question only of time. Thus, as early as +1608, Grotius, the famous Dutch jurist, wrote his +<em>Mare Liberum</em>, wherein he contended that the +high seas were open to all. Contemporary with +him was living the English jurist Selden, who in +1618 had begun his treatise <em>Mare Clausum</em>. At +the request of James I it was not published for +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_65">[Pg 65]</span>fear of complications with the Danes, but in 1635 +Selden again took up this work at the desire of +Charles I. In the previous year Charles began to +levy ship-money, which really was intended in +order to strengthen the fleet against the Dutch in +the probability of war.</p> + +<p>Legislation is merely the expression of the +nation’s contemporary fears, and in the long series +of maritime Acts from the fourteenth century +onwards we can see the national nervousness of +the time lest the foreigner should dominate the +success of our Mercantile Marine. We have already +seen Edward I styling himself “Sovereign of the +Seas.” Then in the last years of the fourteenth +century we have what was the first of the Navigation +Acts. The basic aim was to exclude the ships, +seamen and trade of the foreigner and to encourage +those of our country. We will not bore the reader +with a legal dissertation, but it will help us to +understand the difficulties of the time if, very +briefly, we show how the State was helping the +subject of our study. During the reigns of Henry +VII, Henry VIII and Elizabeth there was legislation +dealing with the privileges of English shipping. +At a later date the claim to the sovereignty of +the seas was expressed by compelling the Flemish +subjects of Philip, who married our Queen Mary, +to pay a fine and an annual rent of £1000 for +twenty-one years’ lease of the fishing near the +north Irish coast, whilst a similar lease with similar +conditions was granted by Mary to the Hanseatics. +Without a licence foreign subjects were forbidden +to fish in English waters, though with the decline +of English sea-power in the seventeenth century +foreigners ceased to be bound by these claims.</p> + +<p>The doctrine of the “Dominion of the Seas” is +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_66">[Pg 66]</span>inseparably bound up in the growth of our Mercantile +Marine and our fishing industry. Matters +reach a crisis in the dispute, and then the discussion +is settled by an appeal to force in the shape of +war. The Anglo-Dutch wars were fundamentally +caused by the herring fisheries and the Mercantile +Marines of the two nations. Every other reason +was entirely artificial and subservient. Whether +the seas could be free to all everywhere to trade, +whether the fisherman could shoot his nets where +he liked—that is the whole matter in a nutshell. +And the more ships that were built for trade or +fishing, the more serious the crisis developed. Proportionately +the value of a navy becomes greater, +and thus the two services are bound to become less +and less similar, as greater commercial demands +are made on the one and purely warlike requirements +are insisted on for the other.</p> + +<p>The seventeenth century was the crisis in the +career of the Mercantile Marine, for it was struggling +for its very life amid many dangers, but it emerged +with an independence and character of its own. +In any long period of assured peace it reaches +enormous heights of success, as, for instance, during +the nineteenth century. But during the Caroline +period a principle was being insisted upon. The +position was this. Charles I was determined to +compel the Dutch to acknowledge the English +claim to the dominion of the seas, and that was +the reason for the building, in 1637, of that marvellous +and sensational warship the <em>Sovereign of the +Seas</em>, a triumph of Pett’s design, which Van der Velde +depicted for posterity. This 1683-ton “battleship,” +as we should call her nowadays, was an +expression, both in name and character, of the +English attitude in regard to the use of the seas.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_67">[Pg 67]</span></p> + +<p>“We hold it a principle,” Charles had instructed +his Minister at The Hague, “not to be denied, that +the King of Great Britain is a monarch at sea and +on land to the full extent of his dominions. His +Majesty finds it necessary for his own defence +and safety to reassume and keep his ancient and +undoubted rights in the Dominion of the Seas.” +Having forbidden foreigners to fish off our coasts +without licence, Charles’ fleet attacked and put to +flight a Dutch fishing fleet which had infringed +this order. Some of these small craft were thus +sunk by our men-of-war, and many of the rest +took shelter in harbour. Finally the Dutch agreed +to pay Charles I £30,000 for permission to finish +that year’s fishing, and to pay a sum annually for +the like privilege.</p> + +<p>We can well understand the irritation which this +line of action caused so great a maritime power +as the Dutch. Great sea pioneers they certainly +were, and before the first decade after the defeat +of the Armada had passed, they had been the first +country to send out a real Polar expedition. In +1651 came the celebrated English Navigation Act, +which prohibited the importation of goods into +England except in English ships, or in the ships +of the country producing the goods. This was +quite obviously aimed at the great Dutch sea-carriers. +Relations became strained, the war-clouds +gathered, and in the following year the first of +the three Anglo-Dutch wars broke out inevitably +between the English and Dutch republics.</p> + +<p>The Navigation Act of 1651 was confirmed by +that of nine years later, and thus the English +Mercantile Marine had its future settled on sure +foundations. In a word, the disputes as to where +fishermen could shoot their nets to get herrings +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_68">[Pg 68]</span>were the indirect means of giving the merchant +ships their unique opportunity. Holland’s carrying +trade fell into our hands, prosperity came to our +country, the sailing ships of our nation penetrated +everywhere, and, as you can see by the seventeenth-century +architecture in the leading Dutch cities, +the wealth obtained overseas suddenly ceased to +flow in a big way. It is for those who have eyes +a veritable story in stones, which ends suddenly +and dramatically.</p> + +<p>It is to the credit of the rulers of our country +in the seventeenth century that they realised what +the fisheries meant to us. The Act of 1651 was +of great assistance in providing that no fish should +be brought into England or Ireland, or exported +thence to foreign parts, or even carried from one +English or Irish port to another, except fish caught +by English and Irish fishermen in English and +Irish ships. In 1661 the Parliament of Scotland +also passed navigation laws for the encouragement +of their native shipping, and one Act for founding +companies to extend the fishing industry. Very +subtle, too, was the proclamation of James I in +1621 against eating flesh in Lent or on other “fish +days,” the reasons given being “the maintenance +of our navy and shipping, a principal strength of +this island, and for the sparing and increase of +fresh victuals.” This and similar proclamations +considerably helped the fishermen.</p> + +<p>In order fully to appreciate all that the fishing +meant to the Dutch, it is necessary to mention +also that not merely did they seek the herring as far +away as the Thames estuary, the Orkneys, Shetlands +and the Irish coast, but, owing to the +ingenuity and enterprise of one Beuckels, they +had learned how to cure and barrel this fish. In +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_69">[Pg 69]</span>this way they enjoyed a wonderful monopoly in +supplying Catholic central and northern Europe. +In the year 1560, for instance, the value of the +year’s fishing trade to Friesland, Holland, Zeeland +and Flanders amounted to the enormous sum of +£300,000. Just as to-day the steam fish-carriers +go out to fetch the catch home from the fleets +fishing off the Dogger Bank and elsewhere, so the +Dutch in the seventeenth century were using a +fast-sailing type of craft, called “vent-jagers,” to +hurry into port the fresh herrings caught by the +slow, round, tubby “busses.” This practice was +in vogue certainly by 1604.</p> + +<p>It was a statute of 1663, for the encouragement +of our fisheries, which forbade any fresh herrings +being imported into England except in English-built +ships, and no ship could sail for Iceland from +England until March 10, thus protecting the fish +at breeding time. The Act of 1666 prohibited +the importation of herrings caught by foreigners. +And, having done all this, the time came when +those Englishmen who owned capital thought they +saw an opportunity for getting richer. Thus in +1677 a Royal Fishery Company was incorporated, +the Duke of York and many peers and gentlemen +being partners, with a capital eventually increased +to £12,580. This was spent in the construction of +seven busses, but some of these were captured by +the French, who were now growing up as maritime +and commercial people, and were rivals to us in +our fishing. The remainder of the busses were +sold off in 1680 and the company ended in debt.</p> + +<p>Three years later another fishing company was +started, and this failed also, whereas the Dutch +were doing well with their nets, employing 8000 +vessels and 200,000 hands, thus amassing the +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_70">[Pg 70]</span>enormous sum of £5,000,000 a year. During the +time of Charles II the Dutch fishermen had +brought great prosperity to Great Yarmouth, +sometimes as many as 1000 busses and fish-carriers +being off that port, and buying bread, +beer, flesh and butter from the East Anglians. +They used to come ashore and dry their nets, and +the town would find 10,000 of these foreign sailormen +in their neighbourhood. To assuage their +thirst, forty brewers were kept busy in the port. +Any one who has any experience of human nature +and of fishermen, will readily understand that +there were many feuds and quarrellings. Ever +since 1540 the Dutchmen had been herring-fishing +off that port, and the Englishmen were none too +pleased at this visitation; nor were the Scotch, +who in 1532 attacked the Dutchmen and captured +many of their busses, and for nine years prevented +them from using Scottish waters.</p> + +<p>As far back as the thirteenth century the herring +had been caught in great numbers off Great Yarmouth, +and in 1270 the Yarmouth herring fair +was held for forty days. About that date some +Flemish vessels put to sea and killed 1200 English +North Sea fishermen, nor will these international +fishermen’s quarrels ever cease as long as human +nature remains what it is. Before the end of the +thirteenth century Grimsby had begun fishing, and +before the end of the sixteenth century the first +Hull whaler had started out on her special industry, +whaling having begun in England only four years +previously. Few people are more conservative +than the sailor, and of his service the most conservative +of all is the fisherman, who did not take to +steam generally for many a long year after it had +become dominant in the carrying trade. Many of +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_71">[Pg 71]</span>us can still remember the famous “blue” sailing +fishing fleet out of Great Yarmouth; and the +Brixham fleet and others round our coasts still +stick almost exclusively to sail. In the olden +days, wool, wheat, fish and other cargoes were +sold by the “last.” Wool is no longer thus sold, +but a hundred years ago wheat was thus reckoned +at Great Yarmouth, and round our coasts to this +day fish is still disposed of in the old-time manner, +a Yarmouth “last” amounting roughly to 13,200 +herrings or about two and a half tons.</p> + +<p>In our British North Sea fishing craft the busses +have given way very largely to steam drifters, but +off the Dutch shores the Scheveningen “pink” is +much the same craft in hull as were the vessels +which caused so much friction in the seventeenth +century. The very word by which these craft +have been known is in itself symbolical of the +antiquity of the industry. The mediæval Venetians +had “buzi,” and throughout the Romance and +Teutonic languages it has always meant a fishing +boat, the seventeenth-century Englishmen getting +the use from the Dutch North Sea craft.</p> + +<p>The two principal types of fishing craft in the +North Sea were the buss and the “dogger.” With +regard to the former, the earliest illustration I +have discovered is that by Elandts in the Municipal +Museum at The Hague, made in 1664 from a +picture of 1570. This “haring buys” is the +prototype of the seventeenth-century buss, and +consists of two masts, each having a square-sail. +Like the modern drifter, the buss lowered her +foremast and rode to her nets. This Elandts +buss is really nothing more than a large open +boat, with three hands in her; the length of the +craft I reckon not more than about thirty feet. +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_72">[Pg 72]</span>A rather bigger type, similarly rigged but with +three masts, is depicted in the Dutch Waghenaer’s +<em>Speculum Nauticum</em> of 1584 riding to her nets, +with fore and mainmasts lowered. Among the +sixteen ships which Frobisher took with him in +1578, one was the <em>Emmanuel</em> of Bridgewater, and +she is described as a buss. It will be recollected +that this was another attempt to find the north-west +passage to China, and this craft performed +most admirable service, and as she came homeward +discovered an island which had never before been +sighted. Thus, there is no question about the +seaworthiness of this fishing type of craft.</p> + +<p>In the Boijmans Museum, Rotterdam, there is +an interesting painting by Bellevois showing a +mid-seventeenth-century buss of a powerful type, +with three masts, a square-sail on each, and riding +with her mizzen up, but the other sails and masts +lowered. Keymor, who wrote in 1601 on the +Dutch fishing, describes these craft as being from +sixty to two hundred tons, and carrying from forty +to a hundred lasts. The anonymous author of +<cite>Britaine’s Busse</cite>, published in 1615, describes them +as being of from thirty-five lasts or seventy tons, +and measuring fifty feet on the keel, with a beam +of seventeen feet. Her cost, together with her +boat, was £260. There is another fine picture of +these craft by Storck, hanging in the Mauritshuis +at The Hague, the date being 1683, and from the +rounded stern and general lines of the ship it is +easy enough to see that she belongs to the same +family to which the familiar Scheveningen “pink,” +so well known in modern art, belongs.</p> + +<p>Often in the mediæval records one finds reference +to a North Sea fishing type called the “dogger.” +Exactly what these were like, it would be impossible +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_73">[Pg 73]</span>to say, except that they probably had not more than +two masts carrying square-sails, and that they were +line fishers, for cod and ling, and did not use nets, +their size in the seventeenth century varying from +sixty to one hundred tons. It is reasonable to suppose, +from the later illustrations which exist, that +the dogger was in hull and square-sails not very +different from the buss.</p> + +<p>The end of the seventeenth century, then, saw +the British Mercantile Marine both in respect of +its fishing craft and its cargo-carriers, going ahead. +As regards the latter, the finest of all were the +ships of the East India Company of England and +those of the Dutch East India Company, with +their stately hulls, lofty sterns, high freeboard and +two decks of guns. A picture of 1647 shows them +with three masts, as well as bowsprit, and they +even carry topgallant sails on fore and main. Such +craft are, in fact, the connecting link between the +last of the mediæval ships and the first of the +famous clipper ships. The stolid majesty of their +design and build, the elaborateness of their seventeenth-century +carvings, were expressive of that +permanence with which the Merchant Service now +rightly regarded itself. Indeed so prosperous had +the British East India Company become in the +seventeenth century, that by 1681 this corporation +owned about thirty-five ships, ranging in size from +100 to 775 tons, and in customs alone the company +was paying £60,000 a year. They used to take +out to India cargoes of lead, tin, cloth and stuffs, +bringing back home raw silk, pepper and other +Eastern goods. Trade prospered so well, indeed, +that between 1682 and 1689 as many as sixteen +East Indiamen of from 900 to 1300 tons were +built, and all these ships had to be armed; for +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_74">[Pg 74]</span>during the last decade of that century these +merchantmen ran the risk of being attacked by +French men-of-war as well as by privateers, so +that in carrying from thirty to fifty guns these +East Indiamen were very powerful vessels for any +enemy to have to encounter.</p> +<br> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="p0741_ill1" style="max-width: 62.5em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/p0741_ill1.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY DUTCH EAST INDIAMEN. + </figcaption> +</figure> +<br> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="p0741_ill2" style="max-width: 62.5em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/p0741_ill2.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + SIGNAL CODE. + + Used in a British East Indiaman. + </figcaption> +</figure> + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> +<div class="chapter"> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_75">[Pg 75]</span></p> + + + <h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_VIII"> + CHAPTER VIII + <br> + <span class="fs80">SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY SEAFARING</span> + </h2> +</div> + + +<p>Few people realise that the trade routes of the +world are the lanes along which history is constrained +to flow. It is a fascinating study, but we +have little enough room to develop the subject +here. The success of Prince Henry the Navigator’s +influence, the achievement of Vasco da +Gama, completely revolutionised the trade routes +of the world, transformed the European mercantile +system, made the gate of commerce not Venice +but Lisbon, transferred the centre of progress from +the Mediterranean to the Atlantic; and the discovery +of America accentuated this new condition +still further.</p> + +<p>What followed? First, the Dutch, having built +up a shipping industry, so to speak, on the backbone +of the herring, were able to get the trade of +distributing these goods from Lisbon to the north +European countries. This, in turn, caused competition +on the part of the English, who were not +intending to be left out of the new fortune. +Secondly, the Dutch and English began themselves +to voyage to the East. And thirdly, the +discovery of the rich possibilities of the East and +West not merely made the Mediterranean commercially +of little future account, but gave to the +nations of the European Atlantic coasts an impetus +to progress and a reason for strife which had never +yet occurred. The history of the seventeenth to +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_76">[Pg 76]</span>the twentieth centuries is confined to the struggle +for the dominion of the seas—that is, maritime +commercial supremacy, caused by the flow of +trade taking a new route. The wars with the +Dutch, the French and the Spanish were at heart +the struggle for possession of overseas commerce, +and the recent war with Germany was animated +by the same cause.</p> + +<p>It is impossible to emphasise this trade route +influence too much, for without a clear appreciation +of its place in history the sequence of events +becomes meaningless, and the rise and development +of the Mercantile Marine seem arbitrary. Prince +Henry the Navigator started a wonderful sea +contest, and it has never stopped during the +ensuing centuries. As soon as one keen competitor +drops out, another comes in to keep up the +running. That has been the impelling influence +in the history of the English Mercantile Marine. +When Spain falls out, the Dutch take her place. +When they cease to be competitors, the French +become the pacemakers, to be followed by the +Germans; and now that the latter have disappeared +almost entirely from the sea, the United States +ships of commerce will maintain this ancient +contest. And so it will go on, unless air routes +cause another revolution in the transport of merchandise, +and give another sudden twist to the +flow of history.</p> + +<p>The seventeenth century, then, saw a wonderful +incentive to the English Merchant Navy just +because the East was calling. And, as a result of +this, there followed in due succession the creation +of the East India Company, the wonderful and +famous East Indiamen built chiefly at Blackwall; +then, after the long monopoly came to an end, the +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_77">[Pg 77]</span>famous Blackwall sailing ships of the Wigrams +and Greens, the historic clippers, and finally the +Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company. +From the year 1582 for the next three +hundred years from Blackwall, on the River +Thames, sailing ships year after year made their +way to the Orient, and it is to my mind one of the +most remarkable continuities in the history of +human things. It is certainly one of the most, if +not the most, critical of periods in the development +of the commercial marine. What Portsmouth has +been to the British Navy, the village of Blackwall +has been to the British Mercantile Marine. From +the Blackwall yard were launched hundreds of +East Indiamen; from here came improved and +novel designs for the sailing ships that were to +win and retain against all competitors commercial +supremacy at sea for the British nation. But for +these craft the trend of English history, of the +world’s history, would be entirely different.</p> + +<p>There would have been neither the cause nor +the means of a powerful navy; nor of Colonial +expansion; nor would the position which Britain +possesses financially have been possible. I am +omitting intentionally for the present the development +of the American trade, for that came later. +It was the Eastern overseas trade in the merchant +ships of the seventeenth, eighteenth and nineteenth +centuries which was responsible for an enormous +part of the national wealth, many of our costliest +buildings and institutions, the founding of illustrious +families, and indirectly the awakening of Japan. +All this dates back to Prince Henry and Vasco da +Gama—to the finding of a sea route to the East.</p> + +<p>It was in April 1582 that the first ship left for +the East—when the <em>Edward Bonaventure</em> sailed +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_78">[Pg 78]</span>from Blackwall, joined the flagship <em>Leicester</em> at +Southampton, and, four weeks out from the +London river, accompanied the two other ships. +They made a futile attempt to reach India west +about, and because the Spanish Fleet were in the +neighbourhood of the Magellan Straits, had to +return to England. In 1595 Holland sent four +ships round the Cape of Good Hope, and two +years later the expedition came back, after making +a treaty with the King of Bantam and thus opening +up the Indian archipelago. In 1599 a number of +merchants in London petitioned Elizabeth for +permission to have a monopoly to trade with the +East Indies, and on the last day of the following +year this privilege was granted for fifteen years, +and thus the first East India Company began.</p> + +<p>A small squadron of ships left the Thames in +1601 with iron, lead, tin and presents for the +Indian princes, doubled the Cape of Good Hope +on November 1, and reached Sumatra on June 5, +1602. By September 11, 1603, the flagship <em>Red +Dragon</em> anchored in the Downs, after a most +successful voyage, bringing home 1,030,000 lbs. of +pepper in the four ships. And thus the beginning +of Anglo-Indian commerce started so profitably +that matters went ahead. The monopoly was +extended and prolonged, until as a fact it was not +abrogated until 1833. Expedition after expedition +was sent out, until it became the normal routine; +the ships of the East India Company were a kind +of bridge between the Thames and the Orient. +The Merchant Navy was thus on the way to +becoming something different from the fighting +service, though it was not until many years had +passed, not until wars had ceased, privateers and +pirates had ended their activities, that the former +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_79">[Pg 79]</span>could afford to give up mounting guns and carrying +gunners. Nineteenth century peace thus gave a +basis for separating the two types of ships and the +two kinds of personnel; and thereafter the Royal +Navy and the Mercantile Marine developed on +divergent lines. But, up to that stage, the East +Indiaman differed little enough from many of her +contemporary men-of-war. Although formally the +separation came earlier, it is from after 1815 that +the real separation takes place, and the amalgamation +never occurred again for a hundred years, +when, temporarily, the ships and men of the +Merchant Service came to join up with the +Royal Navy as fighting units during the Great +War.</p> + +<p>We need not follow in detail the events of the +great East India Company’s rule—by far the most +extraordinary monopoly which Europe has ever +had with an overseas country. It is important, +however, to note the effect of this in stimulating +shipping affairs. The Dutch and English began +to improve their ships as well they might for so +long an ocean voyage. As to the former, the +picture galleries in such places as Middelburg, and +Rotterdam, and Amsterdam show what truly +magnificent craft they were, with their t’gallant sails, +high poops, stern galleries and ornate decoration. +They were the embodiment of wealth. In +the first decade of the seventeenth century there +was built in England the <em>Trades Increase</em>, for the +English Company’s Indian trade. She was of +about 1100 tons burthen, and was the biggest +merchant ship which had ever been built in this +country. But she was really too big for the +knowledge of naval architecture then existing. +Clumsy, unwieldy and top-heavy, she got out to +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_80">[Pg 80]</span>the East, but at Bantam, whilst she was being +careened to have her sheathing examined, she fell +over on to her side and became a total loss, the +date being 1613.</p> + +<p>Nevertheless, shipbuilding did receive a great +stimulus, and this growing interest caused the +formation of the Shipwrights Company, its incorporation +taking place in 1612; Phineas Pett, +whose family for two hundred years had been the +greatest English naval architects, becoming its +first master. By this date of 1612 the yard at +Blackwall, which was to be during the next two +and a half centuries so famous, was already well +established, and twenty years later almshouses were +established at Poplar for invalided petty officers +of the East India Company’s ships.</p> + +<p>For when we think of the Merchant Service in +England during the seventeenth and eighteenth +centuries, it is almost exclusively of the East +Indiamen. It begins gradually, and becomes more +important as time goes on and the grip on the +East gets tighter. The great port was London, +for it was not until the opening up of the trade +with America in 1756 that Liverpool began in any +way to compete as a great shipping centre, though +actually it was not until 1815 that the Lancashire +port made great strides. Nevertheless we must +not get a false impression. The Tudor awakening +had created comparatively few big ships, and even +in 1615 there were only ten craft of more than +200 tons burthen belonging to the Port of London. +Still, it was the eve of brilliant developments, the +like of which the world had never before known. +Though they could not have foreseen it, the +Blackwall shipwrights were preparing the way for +the coming of the most perfect sailing ships +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_81">[Pg 81]</span>which the world has ever seen, or probably ever will +see—the clippers of the mid-nineteenth century.</p> + +<p>In 1661 Pepys goes by barge to the Blackwall +yard to see the new wet dock, the largest in +England, and the “brave new merchantman +<em>Royal Oake</em>,” which was nearly ready for launching. +In the following year Evelyn refers to +accompanying the Duke of York to an East India +vessel at Blackwall, and going aboard her where +they drank punch and “canary that had been +carried to and brought from the Indies, which was +indeed incomparably good.”</p> + +<p>But before the East India Company had offices +in the Blackwall yard and superintended the building +of its ships, they had a yard of their own at +Deptford. This dates from the year 1607, where +they soon found employment for five hundred +carpenters, caulkers, joiners, and others. Here +there existed a wonderful organisation; large stocks +of timber, masts, yards, canvas, and other stores. +There were such officials as the ship’s husband, the +clerk of the stores, the buyers, the clerk of the +yard, the master shipwright, the master pilot (who +had to survey the ships both here and at Blackwall), +the boatswain-general, treasurers, purser-general, +the clerk of the cordage, the surgeon-general, clerk +of the slaughter-house (to look after the victuals), +and so on. It was a hive of great activity, and by +the year 1621 they had built so many ships that +the company owned 10,000 tons of shipping. +They had exported from England in their vessels +£319,211 worth of woollen goods, lead, iron, tin +and other commodities, and had brought home +from the East £875,288 worth of cargoes, which +were sold in England for the immense sum of +£2,044,600. The average profit made by the first +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_82">[Pg 82]</span>twelve voyages amounted to not less than 138 per +cent.</p> + +<p>But after leasing the Deptford yard for twenty +years, it was found to be so costly that it swallowed +up too much of the capital, which could be employed +more profitably in hiring ships. Therefore the +Blackwall yard became responsible for the building +of practically all the East Indiamen. The +company went on from prosperity to wealth. In +1681 they owned thirty-five ships of from 100 to +775 tons, and two years later a £100 share would +sell for £500. In 1667 was imported the first +cargo of tea, which in the nineteenth century was +to be the means of bringing into existence those +wonderful tea-clippers.</p> + +<p>And now let us see something of the kind of +existence which the merchant sailor led during +the seventeenth century. He and his mode of +life were regarded by the landsman as something +strange, something abnormal. Contrariwise, the +sailor realised that his art was almost beyond the +landsman’s comprehension. That spirit, even in +this twentieth century, is anything but dead, and +between the two avocations there must always +exist a big gulf. But we have to remember that +in the seventeenth century seafaring was still such +a modern and rare career (though yearly increasing +in popularity) that he who made a profession of it +was an unusual being. “The sea language,” wrote +the seventeenth-century Sir William Monson in +his <cite>Naval Tracts</cite>, “is not soon learned, much +less understood ... a boisterous sea and stormy +weather will make a man not bred on it so sick, +that it bereaves him of legs and stomach and +courage ... when he hears the seamen cry starboard, +or port, or to bide alooff, or flat a sheet, or +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_83">[Pg 83]</span>haul home a cluling, he thinks he hears a barbarous +speech, which he conceives not the meaning of.”</p> + +<p>Similarly John Lyly, the dramatist who died +in 1606, in his <cite>Gallathea</cite>, gives a dialogue between +a mariner and three sons of a miller in which this +difference is indicated. The landsmen will never +go to sea again, for the bread is hard and the meat +salt, and the mariner is pitied for being “pinned in +a few boards, and ... within an inch of a thing +bottomless.” The mariner, however, rather delights +in showing his superiority over them. “I +can shift the moon and the sun,” he exclaims, +“... the lodestone that always holdeth his nose +to the North, the two and thirty points for the +wind, the wonders I see—would make you blind. +You be but boys. I fear the sea no more than +a dish of water.” He then tries to teach them +the points of the compass, but they cannot learn +them. “O dullard,” he remarks in disgust, “is +thy head lighter than the wind, and thy tongue so +heavy it will not wag?”</p> + +<p>Richard Braithwait, who wrote during the seventeenth +century, published in 1631, in his <cite>Whimzies</cite>, +an essay on the contemporary sailor, whom he +admires for his pluck, disregard of danger and for +his hardihood. He looks upon him as a desperate, +hearty good-natured fellow of dissolute habits +when ashore. “The bredth of an inch-boord is +betwixt him and drowning, yet hee swears and +drinks as deeply as if hee were a fathom from +it.... Hee is most constant to his shirt, and other +his seldome wash’d linnen.... What a starveling +hee is in a frosty morning, with his Sea frocke, +which seems as it were shrunke from him, and +growne too short, but it will be long enough ere +hee get another.”</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_84">[Pg 84]</span></p> + +<p>The English writer Sir Thomas Overbury, who +was arrested and confined in the Tower, and died +in 1613, has left behind a study of the character of +the sailor at this time. He wittily describes him +as “a pitched piece of reason, caulked and tackled, +and only studied to dispute with tempests.... A +fair wind is the substance of his creed, and fresh +water the burden of his prayers.... In a storm +’tis disputable whether the noise be more his or +the elements’, and which will first leave scolding.... +His language is a new confusion, and all his +thoughts new nations. His body and his ship are +both one burden. Nor is it known who stows +most wine, or rolls most—only the ship is guided.”</p> + +<p>The references to life at sea in the seventeenth-century +merchantmen are not many, but here and +there one comes across mention of some ship +or experience. Pepys, whilst sailing down the +Thames estuary on Sunday, April 8, 1660, writes +in his diary: “We had a brave wind all the +afternoon, and overtook two merchantmen that +overtook us yesterday, going to the East Indies.” +But there are two interesting passages in English +literature which show that going to sea in the ships +of this period was a terrible business. The first is +found in the autobiography of Edward, Lord +Herbert of Cherbury, an English historian and +diplomatist, who describes his experience of +crossing the English Channel in a French ship +in the year 1609. The second is taken from +Jonathan Swift’s famous <cite>Gulliver’s Travels</cite>. +There is no need to ask why fiction should be +dragged into history; for Swift borrowed this +descriptive account of an East Indiaman in a +storm almost word for word from James Love’s +<cite>The Mariner’s Jewel</cite>, and it gives us a glimpse +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_85">[Pg 85]</span>into the seafaring of the beginning of the eighteenth +century that bears the stamp of authenticity. +And it is such peeps into the past that are so +invaluable to us in reconstructing the life led by +the rough seaman at this time, who was learning +by his mistakes, risking much by his ignorance, +but doing so much for the great Merchant Service +that was to spread all over the world.</p> + +<p>Herbert, together with Sir Thomas Lucy returning +from France, took ship from Dieppe early +in February and spent the night in the Channel +during a gale of wind. “The master of our ship,” +he wrote, “lost both the use of his compass and +his reason. For, not knowing whither he was +carried by the tempest, all the help he had was +by the lightnings, which, together with thunder +very frequently that night, terrified him, yet gave +the advantage sometimes to discover whether we +were upon our coast to which he thought, by the +course of his glasses, we were near approached.” +That is to say, the master was anxious about his +dead reckoning, which was kept by guessing the +distance run every hour. The time was kept by +means of hourly and half-hourly glasses from +Elizabethan times even to the eighteenth century +aboard ship, according to the number of times the +sand ran through.</p> + +<p>Towards daylight the ship sighted Dover and +the master made for it. Here the local seafarers +were in great numbers by the shore on the look-out +for wreckage, for the gale had blown down their +own barns and trees. But the French skipper was +either a very bad seaman, or his ship was extremely +unhandy, for the craft went smack up against +Dover pier and split, whereupon the Frenchman +cheerfully announced: “Mes amis, nous sommes +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_86">[Pg 86]</span>perdus.” Herbert, though in the toils of sea-sickness, +then emerged from his cabin, climbed +part of the way up the mast and waved his sword +for help. A local six-oared boat then came off, +into which Herbert was the first to enter. Lucy +was half dead with sea-sickness, but was lifted +from the cabin to the boat, and thus they were +saved. Other boats rowed off the rest of the men +and the horses. The ship, concluded Herbert, +“was wholly split and cast away, insomuch that +in pity to the master, Sir Thomas Lucy and +myself gave thirty pounds towards his loss, which +yet was not so great as we thought, since the tide +now ebbing, he recovered the broken parts of his +ship.”</p> + +<p>Dean Swift, in <cite>Gulliver’s Travels</cite>, refers to the +ship <em>Adventure</em> riding in the Downs at the end +of June 1702. She was commanded by Captain +John Nicholas, a Cornishman, and bound for +Surat. At the Cape of Good Hope they landed +for fresh water, but other reasons detained them +until the end of March. A good passage was then +made till north of Madagascar, when bad weather +was encountered. The spritsail (the square-sail +set on a small mast at the end of the bowsprit) was +therefore taken in, the mizzen was handed, and the +guns secured. Rather than heave-to, the captain +decided to run before the wind—“spooning” is the +technical expression—the foresail was reefed, the +fore-sheet hauled aft, the helm put hard aweather, +and “the ship wore bravely.” But the foresail +became split, and the yard was hauled down. “It +was a very fierce storm; the sea broke strange and +dangerous. We hauled off upon the lanyard of +the whip-staff, and helped the man at helm.” For +there was no steering wheel in use yet, and this +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_87">[Pg 87]</span>was not introduced until about fifty years later. +The tiller from the rudder was controlled by a +vertical bar or lever, called a “whip-staff,” and the +lanyards would naturally enough be used, as it is +employed to this day for assisting the helm of +sailing yachts.</p> + +<p>After scudding before the storm, the weather +at last eased up. Then the ship set her foresail +and mainsail and hove-to, and finally set the +mizzen, main-topsail and fore-topsail, and with +the wind S.W. ran a course E.N.E. Then they +“got the starboard tacks aboard” and headed +S.S.E. “We cast off our weather braces and +lifts. We set in the lee braces and hauled forward +by the weather bowlines and hauled them +tight and belayed them, and hauled over the +mizzen tack to windward and kept her full-and-by +as near as she could lie.” That is to say, +the ship was now trimmed to sail on a wind, the +bowlines, which were connected by bridles to the +leech of the sail, being used to keep the weather +edge well hauled out tight, to make the canvas set +properly. The mizzen, of course, was still a triangular, +fore and aft sail. Finally on June 3, 1703, +a boy on the topmast sighted land.</p> + +<p>It is a little difficult in this highly specialised +twentieth century to appreciate the slight difference +which existed between a merchant ship and +a man-of-war. Between the men of the Merchant +Service and those of the Navy there was thus little +to choose. From the Elizabethan days most merchant +ships of any size had to be armed for their +own defence. Moreover the merchantman was as +much privateer or pirate as he was freighter. He +had to be a fighting man, whatever else he might +be. Thus there was always at hand a reserve of +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_88">[Pg 88]</span>crews which could be “imprest” into the Navy. +During the first quarter of the seventeenth century +the merchants were paying their crews thirty shillings +a month, whilst the men in the Royal ships +were receiving less than half this amount. The +result was that for a time the merchant ships +attracted the best seamen.</p> + +<p>It was from the Merchant Service that some +of the most distinguished officers of the Royal +Navy graduated. Admiral Benbow, for instance, +had been an apprentice in the Merchant Service, +and was eventually given command of a naval ship +such as was usually given to a lieutenant. He +was promoted later to captain and to flag rank. +This caused jealousy and bad feeling, and the +reader will remember that this Admiral, when +attacking the enemy in 1702 in the West Indies, +was basely deserted by some of his captains, but +he carried on a running fight almost single-handed +for five days.</p> + +<p>Other names could be mentioned, too. Neither +masters nor mates were exempt from being impressed; +and these rough, daring merchantmen, +who fought as hard as they drank, who despised +the enemy as heartily as they despised cowardice, +were the very life-blood of the nation that was +growing up to prosperous adolescence. England +was just realising what was the meaning of the +word sea. As Francis Bacon wrote in his essay: +“To be master of the sea is an abridgment of a +monarchy.... Surely, at this day, with us of +Europe, the vantage of strength at sea (which is +one of the principal dowries of this kingdom of +Great Britain) is great; both because most of the +kingdoms of Europe are not merely inland, but +girt with the sea most part of their compass; and +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_89">[Pg 89]</span>because the wealth of both Indies seems in great +part but an accessory to the command of the seas.”</p> + +<p>It takes time for a nation to appreciate all that +maritime progress connotes. We in this twentieth +century have seen that it required the Great European +War to enable the United States to realise +this, and the present American mercantile shipping +activity and development are the practical results +of this appreciation. The Merchant Navy to a +country is the basis on which her fighting Navy +is built. It is the avenue along which her +commerce must flow out and home.</p> + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> +<div class="chapter"> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_90">[Pg 90]</span></p> + + + <h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_IX"> + CHAPTER IX + <br> + <span class="fs80">MERCANTILE SUPREMACY AT SEA</span> + </h2> +</div> + + +<p>The end of the seventeenth century saw the +British Mercantile Fleet as the world’s leading +traders. The disappearance of their Spanish and +then Dutch rivals in sea commerce was brought +about not by battle, but by the steady pressure of +sea-power, as in the recent European War the +continuous pressure of the Grand Fleet throttled +the Germans. Just as the Battle of Jutland failed +to bring about the downfall of our late enemies, so +the defeat of the Armada did not succeed in breaking +Spain; so, too, no single battle in the Anglo-Dutch +wars brought the maritime progress of the +great Dutch Republic to a dead stop.</p> +<br> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp85" id="p0901_ill" style="max-width: 50.3125em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/p0901_ill.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + <p class="right fs80">[<em>By courtesy Messrs. T. H. Parker.</em></p> + <p class="center no-indent">CAPTAIN THOMAS FORREST.<br> + Navigator and Surveyor, who formed in 1770 for the H.E. India Company a new settlement + at Balambangan.</p> + </figcaption> +</figure> +<br> + +<p>This sea pressure having fulfilled its purpose, the +English merchantmen were able to scoop up from +exhausted nations the world’s maritime commerce; +and the voyages of discovery, notably those of +Dampier, Anson and Cook, together with the +enterprising penetration of the East Indiamen, +and to a smaller extent the West Indiamen (who +enjoyed the benefits of free trade), opened up fresh +avenues of commerce. The fighting fleets had +opened up the oceans for the mercantile ships to +bring home riches. By the year 1688 the annual +clearance outwards from Great Britain was 191,000 +tons of English shipping and 95,000 tons of foreign +shipping. In a hundred years the nation had +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_91">[Pg 91]</span>become supreme, simply because our forefathers, +like any great business man, had possessed the +imagination to see that the ocean was the road to +wealth, and they had also not lacked the courage +to put their maritime belief to the test.</p> + +<p>Thus in the year 1701-1702 its Mercantile Marine +consisted of 3281 vessels of 261,222 tons, armed +with 5660 guns and giving employment afloat to +27,196 men. During the eighteenth century wet +docks had to be made both in the Thames and the +Mersey, the first Marine Insurance Company came +into being, and Lloyd’s Register of Shipping was +started. The history of Lloyd’s is indicative of the +progress of the Mercantile Marine. In the seventeenth +century a number of underwriters used to +meet in Edward Lloyd’s coffee-house in Tower +Street for their business. In 1692 this coffee-house +was removed to Lombard Street, and then, in +1774, Lloyd’s gave up the coffee-house and went +to their premises in the Royal Exchange, where +they have remained ever since.</p> + +<p>It is clear from Lloyd’s Register of Shipping +that from 1764 to the end of that century most of +the British ships were of not more than 300 tons; +but we have to bear in mind two important facts. +Firstly, the East Indian monopoly prevented competition, +and therefore any stimulus to build anything +larger; and secondly, from 1775 to 1815, +with only small patches of peace, there was a long +series of wars. These hostilities naturally caused +the tonnage of commercial shipping to drop, but +every time that peace was restored the figures +began to go up again; so that in 1793, when war +broke out with France, Great Britain possessed +16,079 merchant ships as compared with the 3281 at +the commencement of the century. It was therefore +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_92">[Pg 92]</span>an amazingly live industry, which required +only a fair opportunity for its development.</p> + +<p>This development was, as might be expected, +accurately reflected at the Blackwall yard, in spite +of the fact that the slips and shipwrights had +largely during those forty years to be employed for +building men-of-war for the Navy. By the middle +of the century this yard had a wet dock, three dry +docks and a number of slips. It was the biggest +private dockyard in the country, and only the +Royal yards could rival it. Here the East Indiamen +continued to be built, the direct ancestors of +the great liners of to-day. In the period 1750-1752 +was here constructed the East Indiaman <em>Falmouth</em>. +She was a fine three-masted, full-rigged ship of +668 tons burthen, measuring 108 feet 9 inches on +the keel, and having a beam of 34 feet. She +carried topsails and t’gallant sails and, with her large +figure-head and rather wasteful, ornate design at +bow and stern, maintained her close connection with +the ship architecture of the seventeenth century.</p> +<br> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="p0921_ill" style="max-width: 62.5em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/p0921_ill.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + <p class="right fs80">[<em>By courtesy Messrs. T. H. Parker.</em></p> + <p class="center no-indent">BRUNSWICK DOCK, BLACKWALL.<br> + Built especially for the use of the H.E. India Company’s ships, and begun in 1789. + It could accommodate sixty of these vessels.</p> + </figcaption> +</figure> +<br> + +<p>During the next thirteen years were launched +such East Indiamen as the 642-ton <em>Osterley</em>, the +642-ton <em>Tilbury</em>, the <em>Valentine</em> and <em>Ajax</em>, each of +655 tons. In 1768 no fewer than five such ships +of 670 tons were constructed and fitted out, and +then, a couple of years later, ships of 700 tons +began to be built. The East India Company used +to charter such ships practically as long as they +were seaworthy; and Blackwall in those days was +able to do everything that the monopolists required; +for here not only were the ships built, +rigged and laid up, but ashore the houses were the +homes of seafaring families, shipwrights, caulkers +and every trade concerned in the building of these +craft. And then in 1789 was launched from this +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_93">[Pg 93]</span>yard the big 1612-ton <em>Bombay Castle</em>, a powerful +vessel of seventy-four guns, which the East India +Company presented to George III. There is a +picture by Dodd which shows as many as four +other big ships on the slips at this time, together +with four or five similar craft fitting out in the +stream. It is comparable only to the Clyde in the +height of its twentieth century shipbuilding.</p> + +<p>With the increase in the number of these ships +came, of course, the greater need for docks where +the vessels could lie in tiers in safety and convenience; +so in 1789 the Brunswick Basin was +begun in the east end of the Blackwall yard. Two +years later the first ship was masted here. This +was the <em>Lord Macartney</em>, and you may guess of +the keenness and smartness of the men when you +learn that her bowsprit and all her masts were +raised and fixed in the remarkable time of three +hours and forty minutes. To-day, with all the +modern appliances of cranes and labour-saving +devices, this record is worth noting. Two years +later was launched from this yard the famous East +Indiaman <em>Warren Hastings</em>, which, as will be seen +presently, was destined to become famous for her +achievement in 1806.</p> + +<p>These East Indiamen, the backbone and beauty +of the British Marine, were frigate-built, and +stately rather than fast sailers, badly designed, +requiring much ballast, and essentially but little +improved since the sixteenth century. For during +the latter part of the eighteenth century it was the +French who were the finest naval architects. But +two names become associated with the history of +this yard before the close of the eighteenth century, +and it is with these two families that the golden +age of the sailing ship will ever be remembered. +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_94">[Pg 94]</span>In another chapter we shall see how much the +Wigrams and Greens did to make the British ships +unique in the annals of sail. It is therefore worth +mentioning that in the year 1764 comes the first +mention of Robert Wigram. His father had been +master of a privateer. After his death the young +Robert came to London and was apprenticed to +a surgeon. Two years later Wigram took his +surgeon’s diploma and then sailed in that capacity +in one of the East India Company’s ships. This +was the <em>Admiral Watson</em>. Subsequently he also +served in the <em>Duke of Richmond</em>, but about 1770, +after acquiring valuable knowledge of the Eastern +trade, he became a merchant, and later one of the +proprietors of this yard, his son William afterwards +becoming one of the directors of the East India +Company. It was in 1782 that George Green was +apprenticed to the yard, and owing to his ability +and other circumstances, was destined also to +become later one of the partners. It is interesting +also to mention that young Wigram, during his +voyage in the <em>Admiral Watson</em>, formed a friendship +with the second officer, whose name was W. T. +Money. We thus see the first association of those +three names, Money, Wigram and Green, which +are inseparable from the finest fleet of sailing ships +in its most historic period.</p> + +<p>But the time has not arrived to discuss the +Victorian ships. The Mercantile Marine of the +eighteenth and the first part of the nineteenth +century had first to go through most trying times +before the blessings of permanent peace should +arrive. We who are now alive have not forgotten +that for four years during the recent Great War +the merchant shipping of the Allies was subject to +the attacks of our enemies. But in the past it was +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_95">[Pg 95]</span>for forty years, as we have already seen, the British +mercantile vessels had to endure this danger, and it +is our duty to observe how our seafaring forefathers +carried on during those trying times. The fighting +spirit was by no means confined to the Navy, and +even apart from those forty years, there hardly +seemed a long period when the trading ship could +proceed upon her lawful occasions without fear of +being attacked. If it was not a pirate, it was a +privateer or a warship of some kind. But the +merchantman still went about her business all the +same, undaunted and undismayed.</p> + +<p>We are familiar with ancient works on naval +tactics, but there is in the British Museum a rare +and somewhat damaged volume, printed in the +year 1702, called <em>The Art of Seafighting</em>, written +by a retired merchant mariner named Robert Park +of Ipswich. It was undertaken on behalf of the +Merchant Service at a time when the privateers +were so active. Park was a “whole-hogger,” who +knew no difference between foolhardiness and +courage. He was a real “hard-case” sailorman, +typical of his time, who had no use for luxury, but +was a firm believer in trade and liberty. In this +volume he tells his readers how to prepare the ship +for close-fighting, by making the bulkheads musket-proof, +and so on. He tells them how a ship can +be worked under fire without showing a man on +deck, gives valuable hints on gunnery and the +importance of sobriety in the duties of a gunner. +In the third part of the book he gives the very +same advice which the British Admiralty in the +recent war used to issue to the steamship captains. +Park sensibly reminds his brother seamen that they +are merchantmen, that they are sent to sea not to +fight, but to get their cargoes to port, and if +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_96">[Pg 96]</span>possible they are to avoid engagement. Nevertheless +it was a wicked crime to leave an attacked +consort to become a prey to the enemy.</p> + +<p>He gives seamanlike hints on how a three-masted +ship should escape. He shows the ship +stations and duties when preparing for battle, +where the master is to take up his position, where +the gunner is to be stationed, what the mate and +the carpenter are to be doing. He gives the best +tactics with regard to the enemy’s boarding, and +even discourses on the handling of a fleet of +merchantmen, incidentally maintaining that for +them the weather-gauge is not usually advantageous. +He prefers having a fleet in double, +treble or even quadruple line, and gives diagrams. +It is a quaint book, of human as well as practical +interest, and well indicates the fine spirit of our +eighteenth century merchantmen. Those who read +it must have found it extraordinarily useful.</p> + +<p>It may be as well, before proceeding further, to +make quite clear the meaning of the two expressions +“privateer” and “Letter of Marque.” +Legally there was no difference, but in practice a +privateer was a vessel which took out a licence +for the purpose of cruising against the enemy’s +merchant ships. In order to send the prizes into +port she necessarily carried a large crew. A +“Letter of Marque” was a merchant ship with a +cargo bound for her port in the usual manner, but +possessing this licence which exempted her from +convoy, nominally protected her crew from being +impressed, and gave her the right to attack an +enemy merchantman without having to wait until +the latter attacked her. In a word, she was +primarily a merchantman, whereas the privateer +was a fighting merchant cruiser.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_97">[Pg 97]</span></p> + +<p>But these British merchant captains were as +clever as they were brave. Take the following +incident, which occurred at the end of January +1797 off the east end of Java. Here the French +Rear-Admiral Sercey, with a squadron of six +frigates, was at sea when five homeward-bound +British East Indiamen came in sight. These five +were all richly laden, and their first duty was certainly +to get their cargoes to England and fight only if +inevitable. The names of the British ships were +the <em>Woodford</em>, <em>Ocean</em>, <em>Taunton Castle</em>, <em>Canton</em> and +the <em>Boddam</em>. These five were in charge of the +senior officer, Captain Charles Lennox. The latter +took the situation in at once, and realised that it +would be useless to run away. Moreover the mere +act of so doing would indicate the inferiority of his +squadron; so he did a very smart thing. He +hoisted the flag of Rear-Admiral Rainier at the +mizzen, and made the other four ships hoist pendants +and ensigns as if they were men-of-war. +Furthermore, in order to maintain this gigantic +piece of bluff, he actually detached two of his ships +to give chase and reconnoitre the French squadron, +and as these daring craft approached the <em>Cybèle</em>, +the latter crowded on sail to join her consorts and +made the signal at her masthead: “L’ennemi est +supérieur aux forces Françaises.” Thereupon the +French Admiral also made sail. He certainly +thought it curious that when another of his frigates, +the <em>Forte</em>, carried away her maintopmast the +British did not continue the chase, but the captain +of <em>Cybèle</em> hailed him, whilst passing, that he had +made out the enemy to consist of two line-of-battle +ships and four frigates! Admiral Sercey +therefore continued his retreat, and the East +Indiamen were never engaged. It was not till +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_98">[Pg 98]</span>a month later that he realised how he had been +fooled.</p> + +<p>The mere fact that a French naval officer should +have taken East Indiamen for line-of-battle ships +is at once a proof of the stateliness and formidable +appearance which the company’s ships possessed. +It shows the great similarity which existed at that +time between the ships of war and of commerce. +But finer even than this exploit was the following +brilliant achievement, which is one of the brightest +incidents in the whole story of the Merchant +Service. It was on January 31, 1804, that sixteen +East Indiamen set forth from Canton for Europe. +They were all of a size of from 1200 to 1500 tons +register, their names being the <em>Earl Camden</em>, +<em>Warley</em>, <em>Alfred</em>, <em>Royal George</em>, <em>Coutts</em>, <em>Wexford</em>, +<em>Ganges</em>, <em>Exeter</em>, <em>Earl of Abergavenny</em>, <em>Henry +Addington</em>, <em>Bombay Castle</em>, <em>Cumberland</em>, <em>Hope</em>, +<em>Dorsetshire</em>, <em>Warren Hastings</em>, and <em>Ocean</em>. The +senior officer present was Captain Nathaniel Dance, +in the <em>Earl Camden</em>, and so was Commodore of all +these ships. But it was a fleet rather than a +squadron, for, in addition to the above sixteen, +forty more vessels were also put under his charge +to convoy them as far as their courses remained +the same. A convoy of forty sailing ships! What +a magnificent sight they presented, most of them +carrying royals and staysails, and the massive hulls +with their stern galleries and ornate figure-heads +and painted ports heeling over gracefully to the +wind!</p> +<br> + +<figure class="figleft illowp45" id="p0981_ill1" style="max-width: 47.8125em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/p0981_ill1.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + CAPTAIN HENRY WILSON,<br> + + <span class="fs80">A commanding officer in the H.E. India + Company, who was wrecked in the company’s + ship “Antelope.” About 1788.</span> + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<figure class="figright illowp45" id="p0981_ill2" style="max-width: 47.25em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/p0981_ill2.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + CAPTAIN HON. RICHARD WALPOLE,<br> + + <span class="fs80">Who commanded the H.E. India Company’s + ship “New Houghton.” About 1805.</span> + </figcaption> +</figure> +<br> + +<figure class="figleft illowp45" id="p0981_ill3" style="max-width: 47.9375em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/p0981_ill3.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + COMMODORE SIR NATHANIEL DANCE,<br> + 1804.<br> + + <span class="fs80">A very gallant mercantile officer. + (See p. <a href="#Page_98">98</a>.)</span> + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<figure class="figright illowp45" id="p0981_ill4" style="max-width: 48.25em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/p0981_ill4.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + SIR WILLIAM JAMES, BART.,<br> + <span class="fs80">Commodore in the H.E. India Company, + Chairman of the Court of Directors, etc. + About 1805.</span> + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<div style="clear:both;"></div> + +<p class="center no-indent fs80">(<em>By courtesy Messrs. T. H. Parker.</em>)</p> +<br> + +<p>For Commodore Dance it was a most responsible +task. This fleet was carrying many thousand +pounds’ worth of goods. There was the danger of +pirates and the possibility of falling in with the +French men-of-war; and there was the ever-present +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_99">[Pg 99]</span>danger of collision. But those were the days of +seamanship, and where would you find to-day any +mercantile or naval officer who could handle a fleet +of forty sail? We know all too well how difficult +it was to handle much smaller convoys of steamships +during the recent war; and with engines it is +mere child’s play compared with dependence on +wind and sail. To Commodore Dance, then, I +suggest the greatest compliment is due for his +leadership and tactical seamanship alone. But +that was not all.</p> + +<p>Through night and day for a fortnight he kept +his fleet under way without mishap, and then at +daybreak one February day when the fleet was +E.N.E. of Pulo-Auro, which was visible, the +<em>Royal George</em> made a signal that she had sighted +four strange sail to the south-west. Commodore +Dance therefore signalled the <em>Alfred</em>, <em>Royal George</em>, +<em>Bombay Castle</em> and <em>Hope</em> to go down and examine +them. It happened that in the Commodore’s ship +there was a passenger named Lieutenant Robert +Fowler, R.N., lately in command of a ship that +had been wrecked. He now offered to go in the +fast-sailing brig <em>Ganges</em>, which was in the convoy. +The Commodore assented, and she went away also +to examine the strange vessels. Before long the +look-out ships signalled that the strangers were +actually a French squadron consisting of a line-of-battle +ship, three frigates and a brig.</p> + +<p>At 1 p.m. the British Commodore signalled his +scouts to return, and formed the line of battle in +close order. Admiral Linois, who was in command +of the French squadron, as soon as he could fetch +in the wake of the East Indiamen, put about. +The Commodore expected his rear to be attacked, +but at nightfall the enemy, preferring a daylight +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_100">[Pg 100]</span>action, hauled close to the wind. The British +ships lay-to all night, the men at their quarters, +ready for action, and at daybreak the enemy were +seen also lying-to, but were three miles to windward. +Both forces now hoisted their colours, and +as the whole of the China fleet had been only +recently painted, they presented a wonderful sight +with their clouds of canvas. Admiral Linois’ flag +was in the 74-gun ship <em>Marengo</em>, his other units +being the 40-gun frigate <em>Belle-Poule</em>, the 36-gun +frigate <em>Sémillante</em>, the 22-gun <em>Berceau</em>, and the +16-gun <em>Aventurier</em>. It was no chance meeting, +for the French Admiral was on the look-out for +this China fleet, of whose strength and time of +departure he had been informed.</p> + +<p>At 9 a.m., as the enemy showed no intention of +engaging, Dance formed the order of sailing and +continued his course, his fleet being under easy sail +on the starboard tack; whereupon the French +filled and edged towards the merchantmen. Four +hours later, as it was obvious that Linois was trying +to cut off the rear of the fleet, Dance signalled his +fleet to tack in succession, bear down in line ahead, +and engage on arriving abreast of the enemy. This +manœuvre was perfectly carried out, the <em>Royal +George</em> leading, all of them in close order and under +t’gallant sails.⁠<a id="FNanchor_4_4" href="#Footnote_4_4" class="fnanchor">[4]</a> At 1.15 p.m. Linois opened fire +upon the <em>Royal George</em> and leading ships, but this +was returned in a very determined manner. For +about three-quarters of an hour the two enemies +blazed away at each other. The brunt was borne +by the <em>Royal George</em>, but the <em>Ganges</em>, <em>Earl +Camden</em>, <em>Warley</em> and <em>Alfred</em> were all hotly engaged. +These five ships gave the French such a hot time +that by two o’clock <em>Marengo</em> and her consorts +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_101">[Pg 101]</span>ceased firing, hauled their wind, broke off the +engagement and stood away under all sail to the +eastward. The French warships had been beaten +by British merchantmen and especially by clever +tactics. But that was not all.</p> + +<p>Dance now made the signal for a general chase, +and for two hours these merchant ships chased the +warships; and then, remembering that his first duty +was to his ships and their valuable cargoes, Dance +feared that further pursuit would take his fleet too +far from the mouth of the Malacca Straits, so +ordered his fleet to tack, and eventually entered the +straits. The <em>Royal George</em> had one man killed, +one wounded, and she received some shot holes in +her hull and sails; the other British ships were +practically untouched. The sixteen East Indiamen +carried from thirty to thirty-six guns each, though +not one of these ships was armed better than the +<em>Aventurier</em>, and this point is to be remembered, +that a warship is always more or less ready to fight, +whereas these East Indiamen were full of cargo +and the decks were greatly lumbered. The +Commodore by his determination and promptitude +had saved the whole fleet, and it is to the credit +of these sixteen merchantmen that their smart +appearance, the regularity of their manœuvres, and +their bold advance made the French Admiral +wonder whether, after all, these were not British +men-of-war escorting the others.</p> + +<p>For this remarkable victory the Commodore, +officers and crews were liberally rewarded. The +Patriotic Fund Committee, which had originated +in Lloyd’s coffee-house in 1803, presented the +Commodore with a sword of the value of £100 +and a silver vase of the same worth. Captain +Timmins of the <em>Royal George</em> also received a +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_102">[Pg 102]</span>sword, as did the other captains and Lieutenant +Fowler. The directors of the East India Company +set aside about £50,000, and rewarded their +Commodore with 2000 guineas and a piece of +plate valued at 200 guineas. Captain Timmins +received 1000 guineas and plate, the other captains +receiving 500 guineas each and a piece of plate. +The chief officers each received 150 guineas, the +second officers 125 guineas, and so on through the +ship, each seaman receiving six guineas.</p> + +<p>Dance was given also £5000 by the Bombay +Insurance Society. He was offered a baronetcy, +but declined it and accepted a knighthood, and +thus concludes one of the finest incidents in the +history of the Merchant Service. This action showed +that the ships and men were not merely magnificent +for their own particular job, but that they could +tackle any emergency that came along.</p> +<br> + + +<div class="footnotes"> +<h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_4_4" href="#FNanchor_4_4" class="label">[4]</a> For list of an East Indiaman’s sails, see Appendix.</p></div> +</div> + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_103">[Pg 103]</span></p> +<div class="chapter"> + <h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_X"> + CHAPTER X + <br> + <span class="fs80">MIGHTY MERCHANTMEN</span> + </h2> +</div> + + +<p>Most of the vessels in this fleet of East Indiamen +had been built at the Blackwall yard, or at +least refitted there. In the year 1789 the East India +Docks were brought into being, or rather begun, +for they were not opened for another couple of +years. This wet dock had become very necessary, +for the East Indiamen had no accommodation provided +for them now that they had become so big. +And as long as they lay out in the river a good +deal of their valuable cargoes was subject to +pilfering. A joint-stock company was formed with +a capital of £200,000, and it was decided that the +hatches of every ship arriving from either India +or China should be locked down before the ship +reached Gravesend, and that the captain and one +officer should remain on board until the ship was +moored in the docks and the keys of the hatches +handed over to an officer of the East India +Company.</p> + +<p>At the beginning of the nineteenth century the +price of building these ships was £13 12<em>s.</em> 6<em>d.</em> a ton. +By 1803 it had gone up to £19. Five years later +there were ten of these ships lost; in fact the +first decade of the new century was unfortunate +generally. There were losses owing to disasters +at sea, and the French war paralysed the Indian +trade. But the Blackwall yard was kept busy, +and in 1813 it built ten frigates for the British +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_104">[Pg 104]</span>Government of from 1078 to 1571 tons, owing +to the lessons which had been learnt from the +American frigates. Having built so many East +Indiamen, this mercantile yard was eminently fitted +for constructing such craft. And now that the +firm consisted of Sir Robert Wigram, George +Green, Money Wigram and Henry Loftus Wigram, +we can see the time approaching when the famous +Blackwall frigates were to make their appearance, +though we shall not come to them immediately.</p> + +<p>In 1814 was launched for the East India Company +the 1263-ton <em>Lady Melville</em>, and the firm of +Wigrams & Greens was now making a great deal +of money. Three years later came the fine 1325-ton +<em>Waterloo</em>. The only other port in the kingdom +that in any way rivalled London was Liverpool. +In 1751 there were only 220 ships belonging to +Liverpool, but the opening of the American trade +five years later gave it a great impetus. Then +came those years of war which checked this, but +on the resumption of peace in 1815 the Mercantile +Marine received a wonderful impetus which has +culminated in the magnificent Atlantic liners of +to-day. There was the great industrial awakening +in Yorkshire and Lancashire, a big trade was to +be built up with America, and the haven of the +Mersey was geographically suitable for the exports +and imports. Britain was supreme at sea, foreign +shipping had almost disappeared, the demand for +tonnage was increasing rapidly, and the Mercantile +Marine was very much encouraged. In fact, from +1815 to 1860 the service passed through the most +popular days of its long career.</p> + +<p>The first thirty years of the nineteenth century, +just before the Indian monopoly was lost, saw the +East India Company ships at their very best. We +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_105">[Pg 105]</span>have spoken of the “Merchant Service” as a +generic term, for convenience; but, strictly speaking, +it pertained to the service in the ships of the +East India Company, to distinguish it from service +in the Free Traders and the Royal Navy. During +this time to be able to get into the company’s +service was about as good as a commission in the +Navy. The ships themselves were as fine as any +naval corvette, with similar discipline and similar +personnel. Run like men-of-war, owned by a very +ancient and wealthy company of unique character, +the officers were of a social status equal to their +cousins and brothers in His Majesty’s vessels. It +was only when this old monopoly was taken away, +and the romantic mixture of trade and sea-adventure +gave way to keen competition in the race +for wealth, that ships, officers, men and methods +became of a different standard for a time. But +this is always excepting the famous Blackwall frigates, +which were destined to keep up the fine +traditions of the old Indiamen.</p> + +<p>An officer in the East India Company was made +to realise that he was being honoured to be allowed +to enter such a service. The captains and first +four officers were always sworn in before being +allowed to proceed to duty on board. They enjoyed +the very lucrative privilege of being able to participate +in the company’s monopoly. The captain +of a 755-ton ship and upwards, for instance, was +allowed as much as fifty-six tons for his private +trade, and he could even do better than this by +using as dunnage bamboos which could be sold in +London. From China he could bring home +9336 lbs. Therefore, although his pay was only +£10 a month—and we must not forget that a +sovereign in those days was worth very much +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_106">[Pg 106]</span>more than it is to-day—the captain was able to +make very nice profits. The officers were also +allowed a liberal amount of wine, beer, butter, +cheese, spirits and groceries. No wonder that an +officer was so often able to retire after a very few +voyages and buy a ship for himself.</p> + +<p>The 1200-ton East Indiaman carried a captain, +six mates, surgeon, purser, boatswain-gunner, +master-at-arms, midshipmen, caulker, cooper, +cooks, carpenters, quartermasters, sailmaker, +armourer, butcher, baker, poulterer, officers’ servants, +stewards; the crew numbering a hundred +and thirty. No one could become captain unless +he had voyaged to and from India or China as +chief or second mate. These officers were better +seamen than navigators, but navigation was still +crude and somewhat unscientific in those days. +The full uniform of the captain was a fine blue +coat with black Genoa velvet round the cuffs, +black velvet lapels, black velvet panteen cape. +The gilt buttons bore the company’s crest. Whenever +officers appeared before the Court of Directors +they were compelled to wear full uniform, but +undress uniform when appearing before the +Committee.</p> + +<p>Strict instructions were given to the captain +that his new hands were to wear the clothes provided +by the company. The pay of the “foremast +men” was £2 5<em>s.</em> a month, but in addition to this +they were entitled to a pension from what was +known as the Poplar Fund. Any captain, officer +or man who had served aboard these ships for eight +years and had regularly contributed to the fund +was entitled to a pension. The size of the pension +was based on the amount of capital which an officer +possessed. Thus, if a captain said he was not +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_107">[Pg 107]</span>worth £2500, or £125 a year, he received a pension +of £100. Allowances were made to the widows +and orphans of those who had served the company +for seven years, and if a man had been wounded +or maimed so as to be incapable of further sea +service he was qualified for a pension even if he +had not served eight years.</p> + +<p>We mentioned some time back the fine East +Indiaman <em>Warren Hastings</em>. In the engagement +which is to be described she lost her purser and six +men, and thirteen were wounded, including her +chief, third and sixth officers and surgeon’s mate. +Therefore, although these were really merchant +ships, built to carry cargoes, with neither the facilities +nor the crew of a man-of-war, yet there was +always the possibility of the personnel being killed +or disabled for life. In the case of the <em>Warren +Hastings</em>, extra special trouble had been taken to +enable her to defend herself against any French +frigate she might meet. She mounted twenty-six +18-pdrs. on her main or lower deck, fourteen on +her upper deck, and four 12-pdrs. on her poop. +She left England in February 1805 and reached +China, then left again for home, but in a less suitable +condition of defence; for of her main-deck +ports four had been caulked up so as to give space +for a storeroom, and the four guns had been placed +in the hold. Of her crew, forty Chinamen remained +at Canton, and a British man-of-war had +pressed eighteen of her English seamen. Four of +her upper deck guns had also been stowed below. +She therefore now mounted only thirty-six guns.</p> + +<p>It was on June 21 at 7.30 a.m., when the ship +was in Lat. 26° 13’ S., Long. 56° 45’ E. that <em>Warren +Hastings</em>, steering W. by S. before a strong breeze +from N.E. by E., under a press of sail, sighted to +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_108">[Pg 108]</span>the south-west a strange ship under treble-reefed +topsails and courses. This was the French 40-gun +frigate <em>Piémontaise</em>, 1093 tons, with a crew of 385, +and able to fire a broadside of twenty-three guns, +against the <em>Warren Hastings</em>’ eighteen. The latter +had a tonnage of 1856, but a crew of only 138. +The Frenchman had twenty-eight 18-pdrs. on her +main deck. She also carried eighteen other guns +on her quarter-deck, a total of forty-six carriage-guns. +But she also carried swivels and musketoons +in her tops and along her gunwales. On each fore +and main yard-arm there was a tripod to contain +a 5-cwt. shell, so that if she got alongside her +enemy its fusee could be lit by a man lying out on +the yard, and it would then be allowed to fall on +the enemy’s deck, and after its explosion the French +would be able to rush on board. It was thus in +idea a revival of mediævalism. The historian +James even went so far as to refer to the Frenchmen +as being “armed more like assassins than +men-of-war’s men; each having, beside the usual +boarding weapons, a poniard struck through the +button-holes of his jacket.”</p> + +<p>Thus, in every respect except tonnage the East +Indiaman was a more powerful vessel, and the +preliminary tactics are interesting. At 9 a.m., +when the Indiaman was well on her weather-quarter, +the Frenchman shook out the reefs from +her topsails and stood towards the merchantman, +who held on her course. Half an hour later the +frigate set her t’gallant sails and stuns’ls, and at +10 a.m. hoisted the British blue ensign and pendant. +There was nothing wrong in this <em>ruse de +guerre</em>, and often during the war of 1914-1918 +British ships hoisted neutral colours <em>before</em> opening +fire on German submarines. <em>Warren Hastings</em> +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_109">[Pg 109]</span>suspected the frigate was not a British man-of-war, +but hoisted her colours and made her private signal. +For, in order that East Indiamen might be able to +make themselves known on the high seas to British +men-of-war, a special code of signals was always +arranged by the Admiralty during war-time. This +code was sent sealed to the Secret Committee +of the company and then handed over to the +commanding officer of each ship.</p> + +<p>The Frenchman took no notice of the signals, +continued rapidly to approach, so that at 11 a.m. +the Indiaman shortened sail and cleared for action: +it was quite obvious now what was going to happen. +At noon the frigate took in her stuns’ls, staysails +and mainsail, and then hauled down British colours +and hoisted French. After opening fire and disabling +part of the Indiaman’s rigging, the Frenchman +again attacked, this time killing and wounding +several of the merchantman’s crew, badly damaging +the foremast, cutting away all the foreshrouds on +the port side and the ensign. The latter was +quickly hoisted again at the maintopgallant masthead.</p> + +<p>A third attack followed, during which the <em>Warren +Hastings</em>’ foremast was finally crippled. Thus, +owing to the wind and heavy sea, the latter could +carry sail on only her main and mizzen masts, and +now opened fire. A hot engagement followed, and +unfortunately her mainmast was now damaged as +well as her standing and running rigging, besides +the further loss of men killed and wounded. The +fifth attack found her with only the main topsail +set, and the enemy poured in a terrible fire, which +knocked the spanker boom into splinters and carried +away the mizzen-mast, which, falling forward, disabled +every remaining effective gun on the upper +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_110">[Pg 110]</span>deck. Troubles came not singly, for the lower +deck was on fire, the rudder was rendered useless, +and whilst the surgeon was operating, a shell +entered and destroyed all his instruments. For +four hours and a half the Indiaman had sought to +defend herself, but in spite of the zeal and perseverance +of her officers and men she was compelled +in her crippled state to lower her colours.</p> + +<p>Then, being thoroughly unmanageable, the Indiaman, +with the heavy sea running, happened to fall +off, and crashed alongside the <em>Piémontaise</em>, who +was to leeward. Thereupon a number of Frenchmen +leapt aboard the merchantman with daggers +and threatened to kill the lot, dragged the captain +about the ship and accused him of having tried to +ram the frigate so as to cripple her masts; and then +stabbed the captain, whereupon he fainted through +loss of blood. The second officer, surgeon, and a +midshipman and boatswain’s mate were similarly +stabbed. Presently this fury died down, the +Frenchman took the Englishman in tow and both +arrived at the Isle of France on July 4.</p> + +<p>Thus, life in these merchant ships, although +well rewarded, was at any time during those long +years of hostilities liable suddenly to become most +exciting. Ships and men were sent to the bottom +or taken captive, but the service went on. Lest +the reader should imagine these incidents isolated +events, let the following be related. On May 2, +1809, a small squadron of homeward-bound Indiamen +had cleared the Sandheads of Bengal River, +escorted by H.M. sloop <em>Victor</em>. After three +weeks the latter, in dark and squally weather of +the night of the 24th, parted company. By the +30th, owing to stress of weather, two ships had left +the convoy, and there now remained only the +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_111">[Pg 111]</span><em>Streatham</em>, <em>Europe</em> and <em>Lord Keith</em> in company. +The first two were 820-ton craft; the third was a +vessel of 600 tons. The first two carried thirty guns +apiece; the <em>Lord Keith</em> had not more than twelve.</p> + +<p>At five-thirty on the morning of May 31, when +in Lat. 9° 15’ N., Long. 90° 30’ E., these three +were on the starboard tack with the wind S.W. +by S. when a strange ship was seen seven miles off +to the west of south. This was the French 40-gun +frigate <em>Caroline</em>, which mounted forty-six guns in +addition to her swivels. She had been cruising +off the Sandheads and had captured a few ships. +Subsequently she had learned from an American +ship, the <em>Silenus</em>, which had sailed from the Sandheads, +of the number and probable route of the +Indiamen. But when first sighted the <em>Caroline</em> +was taken by the Indiamen for the <em>Victor</em>. +<em>Streatham</em>, being the senior ship, made the private +signal about 6 a.m., but having got no answer +from the Frenchman, signalled the other two to +form into line, <em>Lord Keith</em> leading, followed by +<em>Streatham</em> and <em>Europe</em>, but the two last mentioned +were a considerable distance apart. Half an hour +later the <em>Caroline</em> hoisted colours and attacked +<em>Europe</em>, who quickly returned the fire. At the +end of half an hour the latter was disabled. Most +of her guns were put out of action, yards, foremast, +sails and rigging cut to pieces and hull +damaged in several places. And then the enemy +raked her from forward and proceeded to deal with +<em>Streatham</em>, which by eight o’clock was so utterly +crippled that she had to lower colours. Meanwhile +<em>Lord Keith</em> and <em>Europe</em> had been firing at +<em>Caroline</em>, who now recommenced the action with +the last mentioned. Presently <em>Europe</em> closed +<em>Streatham</em>, but on learning that the latter had +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_112">[Pg 112]</span>surrendered, and that <em>Lord Keith</em> had escaped, +running before the wind, also determined to up +helm. Then <em>Caroline</em>, after securing <em>Streatham</em>, +went in chase and captured <em>Europe</em>. On account +of the leaking condition which the two prizes were +now in, it took three days to get them in a seaworthy +condition, but on July 22, with their +valuable cargoes, they were brought by <em>Caroline</em> +and anchored in the Bay of St. Paul, Isle of +Bourbon. It had been a heavy loss to the East +India Company, though the gallant merchant +captains, with their ill-armed and badly-manned +ships (the crews consisting partly of cowardly +Portuguese and lascars), had done all that was +possible. The one consoling feature was that +<em>Lord Keith</em> managed to get right away, and +actually arrived safely back in English waters.</p> +<br> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="p1121_ill" style="max-width: 62.5em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/p1121_ill.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + <p class="right fs80">[<em>By courtesy Messrs. T. H. Parker.</em></p> + <p class="center no-indent">A CONVOY OF EAST INDIAMEN.<br> + H.E. India Company’s ship “Inglis” leaving St. Helena in July 1830, with H.M. Frigate “Ariadne” and the H E. India Company’s ships + “Windsor,” “Waterloo,” “Scaleby Castle,” “General Kyd,” “Farquharson” and “Lowther Castle.”</p> + </figcaption> +</figure> +<br> + +<p>Similarly on July 3, 1810, three outward-bound +Indiamen, the <em>Ceylon</em>, <em>Windham</em> and <em>Astell</em>, each +of them of 800 tons, were about thirty miles west +of the island of Mayotta on a northerly course +with a fresh S.S.E. breeze when three ships were +sighted close-hauled on the port tack. These were +the two French frigates <em>Bellone</em>, <em>Minerve</em>, and the +recaptured ship-corvette <em>Victor</em>, about nine miles +distant, and it was about six o’clock, just as the +day was dawning. Half an hour later the senior +Indiaman <em>Ceylon</em> made the private signal, and, as +no answer was returned, the merchant ships prepared +for action. Presently, as <em>Astell</em> signalled +she was overpressed, the other two shortened sail. +Captain Meriton made the following signal from +<em>Ceylon</em>: “As we cannot get away, I think we had +better go under easy sail, and bring them to action +before dark.” To this <em>Astell</em> replied: “Certainly.” +<em>Windham</em> answered: “If we make all sail and get +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_113">[Pg 113]</span>into smooth water under the land, we can engage +to more advantage.”</p> + +<p>The wind increased so much that the Indiamen +were compelled to heave-to, and took in the third +reef of their topsails. It was not an ideal day for +an engagement, as the ships heeled over so that +they could not keep open their lower-deck ports. +Captain Meriton formed his ships in line abreast, +<em>Ceylon</em> in the centre, and at 2.15 p.m. <em>Minerve</em> +opened fire on <em>Windham</em> and <em>Ceylon</em>. There was +a heavy sea running and the action became general. +During the afternoon Captain Hay of <em>Astell</em> was +severely wounded, and the command was taken +over by the chief mate. <em>Windham</em> had her sails +and rigging considerably damaged, and about 4.30 +p.m. a temporary lull occurred, when <em>Minerve</em> +carried away her main and mizzen topmasts. And +then Captain Meriton was wounded, so the command +of <em>Ceylon</em> devolved on her chief mate, who +a few minutes afterwards was himself wounded +and was succeeded by the second mate. This ship +had received great punishment throughout the +engagement: her masts, sails and rigging were +badly damaged, many of her guns disabled, her +hull so injured that she was making three feet +of water an hour; six of her people were killed +and twenty-one wounded. Therefore before half-past +seven she hauled down her colours and was +taken prize. <em>Astell</em>, already much injured, put out +her lights, made sail and escaped during the extreme +darkness of the night. <em>Windham</em> was now left +alone, and finding that she was too damaged to +make sail, continued the action to help <em>Astell’s</em> +escape, and then hauled down her colours and was +taken captive.</p> + +<p>The captains, officers and men had fought very +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_114">[Pg 114]</span>gallantly against the French, who were in superior +force, and the East India Company, who always +could afford to treat their servants handsomely, +awarded each of the three captains the sum of £500, +with a fine reward for the officers and men. On +Captain Hay of the <em>Astell</em> the company also settled +a pension of £460 a year, and distributed £2000 +among the officers and crew. Furthermore, the +Admiralty, to show their appreciation of the ship’s +gallantry, granted to the crew a protection from +impressment for three years. One of the men, +Andrew Peters, had bravely nailed the pendant +to the maintop masthead, and having done so was +killed while descending the rigging.</p> + +<p>It is fine to read of the resource, the able seamanship +and great gallantry of these wonderful +old ships right through two centuries until well +into a third. But there was a new era coming, +and the final link with Tudor romance and +mediæval shipping ideas was just about to be +severed. Looking back on events, it seems to us +moderns perfectly amazing that the East India +Company should have enjoyed so rich and enormous +a monopoly so long, and in the year 1814 they lost +this privilege so far as India was concerned. The +result was that a new impetus was given to shipbuilding +and shipowning, and the element of competition +was introduced with free trade and no +favour. In the task of making the Mercantile +Marine of Britain such a solid, dignified, stately +and honourable service for all those years the +company did much; nor is this influence by +any means dead, for it set a high standard for +subsequent independent shipowners to follow, and +it permeates the big shipping lines of to-day. What +the Orient had meant in a small way to the Tudor +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_115">[Pg 115]</span>and Stuart seamen and merchants, it was to mean +on a much bigger scale to the traders of the nineteenth +century, and the wealth of Great Britain +was to benefit thereby.</p> + +<p>From 1814 the owners of the Blackwall yard +began to build East Indiamen for themselves to +own and manage. In 1824 they built the <em>Carn +Brae Castle</em>, 570 tons, which was the first ship +expressly built for the passenger trade to Calcutta, +and the finest ship of her day. She was lost rather +unnecessarily by the officer of the watch allowing +her to stand too close into Freshwater Bay, Isle +of Wight, one day when the captain and passengers +were at dinner. In that same year Mr. Green had +purchased the <em>Sir Edward Paget</em>, which was the +first of the well-known passenger ships to India +and Australia. She was elaborately fitted and +made quite a sensation. She was commanded by +Captain Geary, R.N., and in this connection the +following true anecdote is recorded. The house +flag which she wore was a white ground with a +red St. George’s cross through the centre. One +day, after arrival at Spithead, the Admiral at +Portsmouth sent his lieutenant off to inquire what +ship was wearing an admiral’s flag, and on learning +that she was a merchant ship, at once ordered it +to be hauled down. A blue handkerchief was then +sown on the centre of the flag, and as this satisfied +the lieutenant it was allowed to be hoisted again, +and continued to be the distinguishing flag of the +Wigram and Green ships until, some years later, +the partnership in the firm was dissolved.</p> + +<p>After this ship returned to Blackwall from her +first voyage, Mr. Green proceeded on board to +make his usual inspection, and, much to his dismay, +was received with manned yards, with a salute, +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_116">[Pg 116]</span>and the ship’s band playing “The Conquering +Hero.” But the <em>Sir Edward Paget</em> was not a +man-of-war and Mr. Green was not an admiral; +and it was all very fine, but not suitable. He +resented this kind of reception, and the general +man-of-war appearance everywhere on board so +astonished him, that he was not surprised also to +find that when the accounts of the voyage were +balanced the style was not financially profitable. +The result was that a new captain came to the +ship and there was a new set of regulations before +she went on her second voyage.</p> + +<p>In 1825 a couple of 1325-ton ships were launched +by the yard, and here we get the final resemblance +to the ships of the Caroline period, for the figure-head, +poop, decorations and so on have been considerably +modified. By the year 1830 the firm had +ceased to build any more vessels to be employed +by the East India Company; for although that +corporation had lost its Indian monopoly, as already +stated, it still retained a like privilege in regard to +China. But the public mind was opposed to this +being continued; in 1832 Parliament had to face +the question, and in April of 1834 the company +lost its commercial charter for ever. But, seeing +this revolution was approaching, individual firms +had in the meantime been preparing to compete +in this Eastern trade. Not merely did the Greens +and Wigrams from 1830 build ships for themselves, +but they ordered them from the Tyne firm of +T. & W. Smith, and this firm also began to own +East Indiamen themselves in competition with the +Greens and Wigrams.</p> + +<p>In 1831 the Blackwall firm consisted of George +Green, Money Wigram, Henry Loftus Wigram, +Richard Green and Henry Green, but they were +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_117">[Pg 117]</span>to pursue a strange policy, which, if good for the +Mercantile Marine, was destined to ruin the firm. +The owners of the Blackwall yard began to build +ships not for the firm, but for individual members +of the firm—so many for the Green family and so +many for the Wigrams, but especially for the +former. Thus it came about that a Green fleet +competed with a Wigram fleet, whilst by the year +1841 the ships owned by the firm itself numbered +only two. Finally in 1843 the partnership was +dissolved.</p> + +<p>But in 1832 they launched the 577-ton <em>London</em> +for Money Wigram, and this was the real pioneer +of the celebrated Blackwall frigates of which we +shall speak in a later chapter. We thus enter on +that last stage of ship development which was to +precede the golden age of the sailing ship, when +the clippers made eternal fame for themselves. +This yard was still the biggest private concern in +Europe, though Liverpool as a great port was now +going ahead. The beginning of the American War +in 1812 had given it a serious set-back, but after +peace came in 1814 there was a new era as well for +the Atlantic shipping as for the East. For America +was going ahead. She had shown that she knew +how to build during the war frigates of an improved +kind, and in peace she was now producing better-designed +merchantmen than ourselves.</p> + +<p>In 1816 was inaugurated the famous Black Ball +Line of New York packets, which were the precursors +of the present-day Atlantic liners. These +Black Ball liners were full-rigged ships of from +300 to 500 tons register, with full bodies and bluff +bows, and yet they averaged at first only twenty-three +days on the outward voyage to Liverpool +and forty-three days homeward-bound. This was +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_118">[Pg 118]</span>the only means of communication in those days +between America and Liverpool, and in 1836 was +started the Dramatic Line, consisting of 700-ton +sailing ships. The world’s trade was increasing, +industrialism was prospering, the markets of the +whole world were now open to all, and there was +a long spell of peace ahead. Transatlantic shipping +was encouraged so that these packet ships increased +in tonnage, and in 1846 the 1400-ton <em>New World</em> +was built, being then the largest sailing ship in the +world. Other famous vessels were the <em>Isaac Webb</em>, +<em>Albert Webb</em> and <em>Guy Mannering</em>. The ships of +these two lines were exceedingly fine craft, and +made remarkable passages across to England, the +Black Ball liners eventually averaging twenty-one +days and the Dramatic liners twenty and a half +days. The nineteenth century in regard to the +sailing ship alone was certainly a most wonderful +period.</p> +<br> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="p1181_ill" style="max-width: 62.5em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/p1181_ill.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + <p class="right fs80">[<em>By courtesy Messrs. T. H. Parker.</em></p> + <p class="center no-indent">A FINE PIECE OF SEAMANSHIP.<br> + The “Chesterfield” packet (Captain Robert Lea Jones) rescuing the crew of a sinking ship. About 1795.</p> + </figcaption> +</figure> + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> +<div class="chapter"> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_119">[Pg 119]</span></p> + + + <h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XI"> + CHAPTER XI + <br> + <span class="fs80">PACKET SHIPS AND BRIGS</span> + </h2> +</div> + + +<p>As far back as the reign of Elizabeth a State +post-office was instituted for foreign letters, for the +reason that the merchants now required it. Owing +to England’s geographical position, this, of course, +connoted the employment of sailing ships. By +1635 the weekly continental service was doubled +and accelerated. This arrangement improved +during the seventeenth century, and there were +packet stations at Dover for France, Harwich and +Yarmouth for Holland and Hamburg, and at +Holyhead and Milford for Ireland.</p> + +<p>But it was Falmouth which became the headquarters +for the post-office packet service as far back +as 1688. The reason for this is obvious when you +consider its location in regard to the Bay of Biscay, +and the facility with which even those unhandy +sailing craft could come in and out in all weathers +and practically all winds. A very safe harbour, with +plenty of room and water, right at the western end +of the English Channel and easy of access, it was +ideal for the departure of travellers and mails for +Spain and the West Indies. The result was that, +as the service became more numerous, shipyards +were created in Falmouth, inns were built for the +travellers, and a seafaring population grew up.</p> + +<p>The North Sea packets were of about sixty tons, +but the Falmouth packets were of 200 tons and +heavily armed. They were not owned by the post-office, +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_120">[Pg 120]</span>but hired by private contract, as the East +India Company used to charter their ships. In +fact, never did the post-office own the ships, although +the officers and men were its servants, and not the +contractor’s. The Falmouth packet service began +in a quiet way in 1688 with the hiring of two craft, +and for years it was run at a loss. But there were +political reasons for keeping up connection with +Spain, and during the eighteenth century both the +Spanish and West Indian trades became important; +and even by 1702 packet ships from Falmouth were +running to Barbados, Jamaica, the southern States +of North America, to Corunna in Spain, and in +1704 also to Lisbon. It was a separate method of +causing to grow up a body of fine seamen; it was +one of the best schools for encouraging navigation, +which was still in a most crude position; and +generally it was one of the great influences towards +building up the Mercantile Marine. It was not +until Cromwell’s time that any real naval fighting +service as distinct from the Merchant Navy had +come into being, and right up to the Napoleonic +Wars the two services were closely allied and +practically interchangeable. We have to remember +also that merchantmen and packet ships had to +fight enemy warships whenever required. Of a +peaceful voyage there was hardly such a thing.</p> + +<p>Such incidents as that of May 16, 1744, when the +<em>Townshend</em> packet fought against the Spaniards; +or of July 25, 1759, when the packet <em>Fawkener</em> +was attacked by a large French sloop between +Barbados and Antigua, are by no means isolated. +Indeed, although they were forbidden to seek +engagements and were reminded that their first +duty was the safety of the mails, yet if they saw a +chance of obtaining wealth at sea by attacking a +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_121">[Pg 121]</span>likely ship, they did so in spite of any authority. +These men were, like the age in which they lived, +a hardy, rough, corrupt lot of dare-devils.</p> + +<p>They carried cargoes of their own, contrary to +regulations; they stole, they smuggled, they +mutinied—but we cannot go through the whole +decalogue. On the other hand, they were real +sailormen, and the rule that a packet was to put to +sea from Falmouth immediately on receiving the +mails, whatever the wind might be, provided only +she could carry a double-reefed topsail, was maintained. +The regularity of their voyages was the +nearest thing to the running of a modern steamship. +In 1798 there were sixteen packet ships to keep up +the Falmouth to West Indies service, and “on the +quiet” captains, officers and crews would take out +quantities of cheese, potatoes, boots, shoes and so +on, sell them on commission for English merchants, +and then bring back such goods as wines, lace, +tobacco, brandy, which would be smuggled ashore +and then sold all over the country by special men. +This went on until 1810, when the Lisbon and +West Indian packets were strictly forbidden to +carry on these trades. The order brought the +crews up with a round turn, and a terrible moan +went about in disgust. Their wages were certainly +too low, and this was the means of remunerating +themselves. Anger and indignation finally +culminated in a mutiny.</p> + +<p>And yet the captains used to make no meagre +living, even reckoned in the money of the nineteenth +century. They were paid £8 a month +during war-time and £5 in peace; but besides this +they received large sums in respect of the fares of +passengers. One captain alone was making £1000 a +year by this means, and then there were the fees for +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_122">[Pg 122]</span>carrying bullion, to say nothing of their commission +for selling goods, both exports and imports. For +instance, they were paid thirty-five guineas by +every passenger who proceeded from Falmouth to +Gibraltar. By the year 1808 there were thirty-nine +packets at Falmouth—quite a fine fleet for +any one port in those days. Every week one sailed +for Lisbon, one for San Sebastian or other part of +the north Spanish coast, whence communication +with the British Army in the Peninsula was maintained. +Each week, too, one packet sailed for the +West Indies, whilst others at longer intervals set +forth towards the Mediterranean, Brazil, Surinam, +Halifax and New York. People were beginning +to travel, and between 2000 and 3000 passengers +thus passed through Falmouth to and from these +ships yearly. It was a very encouraging factor for +the Mercantile Marine, especially as the Falmouth +packets alone kept 1200 men permanently employed +afloat.</p> + +<p>Contemporary artists of the early nineteenth +century have left for us paintings showing some of +the North Sea packet ships. Turner’s well-known +picture in the National Gallery of the English +packet arriving in Calais in 1803 is an instance. +These craft were never bigger than about eighty +tons, and during the French wars ran for a time +between Yarmouth and Hellevoetsluis in Holland. +But a West Indian packet such as the <em>Duke of +Marlborough</em> with her 1804 tons and brig-rigged, +was a very different sort of ship. And in the very +year when Commodore Dance put Admiral Linois +to flight, this packet ship, whilst bound for the +Leeward Islands, was in the month of April chased +by a schooner and captured.</p> +<br> + +<figure class="figleft illowp45" id="p1221_ill1" style="max-width: 53.8125em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/p1221_ill1.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + CAPTAIN W. ROGERS,<br> + + <span class="fs80">Of the “Windsor Castle” packet. About 1808.</span> + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<figure class="figright illowp45" id="p1221_ill2" style="max-width: 54.125em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/p1221_ill2.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + CAPTAIN JOSEPH HUDDART, F.R.S.,<br> + + <span class="fs80">Who served in the H.E. India Company’s service for ten years. + He lived 1741-1816, and was a celebrated hydrographer.</span> + + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<div style="clear:both;"></div> + +<p class="center no-indent fs80">(<em>By courtesy Messrs. T. H. Parker.</em>)</p> +<br> + +<p>As mentioned in the last chapter, the famous +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_123">[Pg 123]</span>American packets which ran from New York to +Liverpool, came out in 1816. This famous Black +Ball Line was for years the pioneer, and began +with five 400-ton ships. During the first ten years +these vessels averaged twenty-three days on the +eastward and forty-three days on the westward +voyage, the fastest eastward being the passage of +<em>Canada</em> in fifteen days eighteen hours. These +ships were flush-decked. Between the foremast +and mainmast was the galley, and in the long-boat +were carried the sheep and pigs and fowls for the +ship’s food. A cow was also carried in a house +over the main hatch, and the passengers’ cabins +were aft.</p> + +<p>These liners carried a black ball painted on the +foresail and were commanded by real hard-case +captains who had caused much anxiety to British +shipping whilst in command of privateers during +the war of 1812. In these ships passengers, mails +and bullion were conveyed, two vessels leaving each +month. In 1821 two more lines were started, one +of which was the Red Star Line of packets to +Liverpool. After the Dramatic Line was founded +in 1836 the packet ships gradually increased to +about 1000 tons, and the competition had become +keener, packets now running from North America +to Liverpool, Havre and London. Captain A. H. +Clark, in his interesting volume The <em>Clipper Ship +Era</em>, states that all packet ships carried a white +light at the bowsprit cap from sunset to sunrise; +but of course side-lights had not yet come in. It +is interesting to remark in this connection that +probably the first institution of side-lights was in +1834, for from January 1 the City of Dublin Steam +Company began to use a white light at the foremast +head, a red on the larboard bow and a white +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_124">[Pg 124]</span>on the starboard bow, the two latter being attached +to the houses forward of the paddleboxes. Then +for a few years there was a diversity in practice, +each company doing what it thought best in this +respect to minimise risk of collision at sea.</p> + +<p>Up to 1846 the system in use by the British +packet ships of Liverpool was to have a white light +under the cross-trees below the foot of the foresail, +with a red light on the port paddlebox and a white +light on the starboard paddlebox, but apparently +the Milford steam packets carried a red light on +the starboard bow, a green light on the port +bow and a “common light” (presumably white) +at the foremast head. It is claimed that this +was also the fashion adopted by the P. & O. +Company. In 1846 the Royal Mail Steam Company’s +ships carried masthead and bow lights, but +colourless. The subject is a little difficult to elucidate, +but it is certain that there were in existence +different usages as late as this date, and it was not +until at least two years later that any sort of +uniformity came in. It has been stated by another +authority that it was only as a result of the collision +between the Collins liner <em>Arctic</em> and the French +ship <em>Vesta</em> on September 21, 1854, when the former +foundered with the loss of 323 lives out of 368, +that the carrying of side-lights was made compulsory +and not optional.</p> + +<p>Even in the American packets most of the crew +were British, and often enough gaol-birds of the +worst type, but the captains were pretty tough and +accustomed to handling men as well as ships, and +the mates were of the same order. These ships +could reel off their twelve knots pretty regularly, +and sometimes did the voyage in sixteen days. +With their high-steeved bowsprits, their black hulls +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_125">[Pg 125]</span>and square painted ports, and carrying plenty of +canvas, even to skysails and stuns’ls in summer +weather, they used to race against each other, +sometimes even for very high stakes. For quite a +long time the Atlantic packet ships were able to +laugh at the steamships, but gradually from 1840 +the progress of the marine engineer and shipbuilder +wore down the competition. Regularity and reliability +of running with increased comfort were +bound to have their influence on the carrying of +mails, passengers and merchandise.</p> + +<p>Ralph Waldo Emerson in his <em>English Traits</em> has +left on record an account of his passage across the +Atlantic from Boston in 1847 aboard the packet ship +<em>Washington Irving</em>. She was of 750 tons register, +the mainmast measured 115 feet from deck to truck, +and the length of the ship from stem to stern on +deck was 155 feet. “The shortest sea-line,” he +goes on to remark, “from Boston to Liverpool is +2850 miles. This a steamer keeps, saving 150 +miles. A sailing ship can never go in a shorter +line than 3000, and usually it is much longer. Our +good master keeps his kites up to the last moment, +studding sails alow and aloft, and by incessant +straight steering never loses a rod of way.... +Since the ship was built, it seems, the master never +slept but in his day-clothes whilst on board.... +Hour for hour, the risk on a steamboat is greater; +but the speed is safety, or twelve days of danger +instead of twenty-four.”</p> + +<p>In one week the <em>Washington Irving</em> made 1467 +miles, but to Emerson, as to most passengers in +those days, this form of travel was anything but +pleasant. “I find the sea-life an acquired taste,” +he sums up rather sadly, “like that for tomatoes +and olives. The confinement, cold, motion, noise +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_126">[Pg 126]</span>and odour are not to be dispensed with. The floor +of your room is sloped at an angle of twenty or +thirty degrees, and I waked every morning with +the belief that someone was tipping up my berth. +Nobody likes being treated ignominiously, upset, +shoved against the side of the house, rolled over, +suffocated with bilge, mephitis and stewing oil. +We get used to these annoyances at last, but the +dread of the sea remains longer.... Such discomfort +and such danger as the narratives of the +captain and mate disclose are bad enough as the +costly fee we pay for entrance to Europe; but +the wonder is always new that any sane man can +be a sailor.” Emerson found the worst inconvenience +was the lack of light in the cabin, but the +fifteen days from the time they left soundings were +to him long, joyless and severe.</p> + +<p>The American poet James Russell Lowell has +left us a character sketch of a chief mate whom he +describes as “not an American, but I should never +have guessed it by his speech, which was the purest +Cape Cod, and I reckon myself a good taster of +dialects.... He used to walk the deck with his +hands in his pockets, in seeming abstraction, but +nothing escaped his eye.... He is as impervious +to cold as the polar bear. On the Atlantic, if the +wind blew a gale from the north-east, and it was +cold as an English summer, he was sure to turn +out in a calico shirt and trousers, his furzy brown +chest half bare, and slippers without stockings. +But ... he comes out in a monstrous pea-jacket +here in the Mediterranean when the evening is so +hot that Adam would have been glad to leave off +his fig-leaves.... He ... always combs his hair, +and works himself into a black frock-coat (on +Sundays he adds a waistcoat) before he comes to +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_127">[Pg 127]</span>meals, sacrificing himself nobly and painfully to +the social proprieties. The second mate, on the +other hand, who eats after us, enjoys the privilege +of shirt-sleeves, and is, I think, the happier man of +the two.”</p> + +<p>But besides the shipping engaged in the East +Indian, West Indian, American, Spanish, Mediterranean +and North Sea routes, the Mercantile Marine +was being built up by the fishermen and coasters, and +we should be providing an inaccurate picture if we +did not consider them. In an earlier chapter we saw +how important were the fishing fleets down to the +end of the seventeenth century, and what a backbone +they have always been to the navies and +Mercantile Marine. In 1704 Queen Anne reorganised +the various laws relating to the herring +fishery and permitted the use of all harbours and +shores for landing fish on payment of reasonable +dues. A certain number of foreigners were being +employed by the British to help with the fishing, +but in 1747 the Dutch still had 3000 herring +vessels and were employing 40,000 fishermen. +This was a great falling off since 1679, but still +it was a considerable industry, and bringing in +£5,000,000. Not without reason these Hollanders +called their herring fisheries their gold mine, and +in the mid-eighteenth century they were employing +over 1000 Englishmen in their craft. Thus each +nation learned a good deal of each other’s methods, +and this standardisation has continued to this day.</p> + +<p>Somehow the English fishery companies continued +to be unsuccessful, for in October of 1750 +one more was incorporated, but the craft and gear +were purchased at expensive rates, more fish were +obtained than could be sold, and thus the company +failed. But it was not merely the Dutch who +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_128">[Pg 128]</span>were rivalling the English and Scottish fishermen. +During the latter half of the century the Swedes +and the Danes were very active. In fact, British +men-of-war had to be requested to afford protection +against the encroachments of foreigners. The +British fishing craft were often badly built, of ill +design and not well-found, but legislation was +introduced to assist them. In 1771 a bounty of +thirty shillings a ton for seven years was granted +to all decked vessels of from twenty to eighty tons, +provided they were of British origin and ownership +and engaged in the herring fishery. These craft +were to meet for fishing at Yarmouth, Leith, +Inverness, Bressay Sound, Kirkwall, Oban, Campbelltown +and Whitehaven. But it is rather curious +that the Scottish fishing was abandoned to +foreigners, who brought in the catches, and then +the fish were exported to the British West Indies +as food for slaves; but from 1809 the Scottish +fishing began to prosper once more. During the +nineteenth century the rights of the European +States over their territorial waters were defined, +for the constant quarrels between the French and +British fishermen as to where they could dredge +for oysters off the coast were somewhat of a +nuisance.</p> + +<p>It is since the Sea Fisheries Act of 1868 that all +fishing vessels have been compelled to be registered +and licensed, and then in 1886 was instituted a +Fishery Department in the Board of Trade. The +twentieth century has been notable for the way +steam and motors have gradually begun to take +the place of sailing craft. The steam drifters are +able to follow the herring down the coast, but the +big steam trawlers are the principal fishing craft in +the British Isles to-day. During the war most +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_129">[Pg 129]</span>of the British steam fishing craft were taken up by +the Admiralty for mine-sweeping or anti-submarine +work, but by the year 1921 the national fishing had +recovered so much that the total landings amounted +to over £16,000,000. It is from the North Sea +trawlers that most of the fish still comes, and of +this a considerable quantity is caught by the +trawlers from Hull and Grimsby. One unfortunate +result of the war has been the loss of the Russian +and much of the German trade; for in 1913 the +United Kingdom exported £5,500,000 worth of +cured and salted herring, of which Russia and +Germany together took 80 per cent. To-day from +Hull alone there are about 250 steam trawlers +fishing and employing about 3000 hands aboard. +If you add to this the number of steam, motor and +sailing fishing craft from the other ports, it is at +once obvious that these fleets form a very considerable +portion of the Mercantile Marine.</p> + +<p>We may take Hull as representative of modern +fishing, but it is only as the result of centuries +of experience. Certainly as far back as 1535 the +quantity of fish there landed was considered so +important as to require an Act of Parliament to +regulate the trade. Perhaps the least known was +the very important Hull whaling trade, which was +carried on for two and a half centuries until about +1868, when, owing to the scarcity of whales, the +industry died out, the last whaling voyage being +made by the <em>Truelove</em>, which had been built +in Philadelphia 104 years previously. This vessel +made seventy-two whaling voyages, during which +she took about 500 whales, and besides these +activities filled in the time by general trading, in +the Oporto wine trade, and even as a “Letter of +Marque.” Other whalers also went to the Arctic +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_130">[Pg 130]</span>from Whitby, Scarborough and London. You +may guess how important was the industry when +we state that in the year 1821 no fewer than sixty-one +whalers left Hull, thirty-two for the area +between Greenland and Spitzbergen, and twenty-nine +for the Davis Straits.</p> + +<p>But there was still another school for seamanship, +and it was one of the most important sections of +the Mercantile Marine, for two reasons: it not +merely trained some of our finest officers and men, +but it was until late in the nineteenth century a +wonderful fleet of coasters, which passed away only +at the coming of the steam collier. We refer to +those brigs which used to bring coal from the Tyne +to the Thames. These little two-masted vessels +were manned by crews who were paid by the +voyage. The result was that they were interested +in making a quick passage. A contemporary writer, +who was himself a privateer for a time, regarded +these collier crews as the most perfect in working +their ships in narrow channels, as the East Indiamen +were the finest in the open seas.</p> + +<p>This was in the eighteenth century, but from +the time of the Stuarts these <em>Geordie</em> brigs had +been plying their trade and building up a fine body +of seamen who formed a kind of pool from which +ocean-going ships could obtain officers and crews +for bolder enterprises. In this branch of the +Mercantile Marine the famous discoverer, Captain +Cook, learnt his seamanship, which was to lead to +such important events. You may remember that +whilst still in his teens he became apprenticed for +three years in 1746 to the Whitby owners of the +450-ton vessel which carried coal from Newcastle +to London, and after two years he served for a +time in the 600-ton collier <em>Three Brothers</em>. He +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_131">[Pg 131]</span>then served aboard her in the Norwegian and +Baltic trades. In the seventeenth century these +“coal cats,” as they were called, were sometimes +three-masted vessels with square mainsail, square +foresail, lateen mizzen, and sometimes a main topsail, +but of course no triangular headsails, which +did not come in until later.</p> + +<p>Captain H. Y. Moffat, who was born in 1844 +and served as a boy in the collier-brig <em>Premium</em>, +has published some interesting facts illustrating +this kind of seafaring. His pay was £8—not a +week, nor a month, but a year. The second year +he was to have £10, and the third year £12. Each +of these brigs carried a couple of boys, though the +rest of the crew were still paid by the voyage. +They lived in a dirty, dark, small fo’c’sle, and +during the summer the brig would often run coals +across to Hamburg and Rotterdam, but in the +winter to London from South Shields. If the +surroundings were hardly ideal for a boy, and +the pay utterly inadequate, it was a splendid +chance for him to learn his seamanship in a rough +school. If the brig had a head wind anywhere +between Yarmouth and London—that is to say, +among all those shoals, these lads were kept busy +heaving the lead all the time night and day; for +in those times there were no gas-buoys.</p> + +<p>As to the men, they knew their job perfectly, +but they could neither read nor write. They went +aboard the ship with their marlin-spike, pricker, +palm, rubber, sail-hook, needles, etc., and even with +a well-scrubbed handspike for the windlass. Many +of the modern, dry-nursed steamship seamen, better +educated and better fed though they are, would have +no right to be reckoned in the same category of +efficiency as these rough mariners, who still used +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_132">[Pg 132]</span>the old-fashioned hour and half-hour sand-glasses +in their brigs. It was one of the most glorious +sights to see a fleet of these colliers beating up the +Thames. A waterman was always employed to +assist each brig working up the river, and he would +come aboard anywhere between Woolwich and +Greenwich. If they were beating up with the +flood tide, there might be fifty or a hundred brigs +all of a bunch, and it would often happen that a +brig could not fore reach because of the colliers +just ahead. The waterman would therefore put +the helm down, let her come up into the wind, and +shake, but not so long as to lose way. This was +known as a “waterman’s nip,” and with great care +he could make the brig take as long to reach from +one side of the river to the other as would allow +the crew time to eat their dinner. The collier +crews were the smartest men afloat for breaking +out the anchor, for the reason that in working their +way in and out of so many narrow channels they +frequently had to bring up. It was always said +that whenever an ex-collier’s crew shipped aboard +another vessel the windlass required only half the +men to work it.</p> + +<p>Thus, everywhere the mariner in his own particular +sphere was an expert at his job, and though +he could never suspect it, he was making history, +helping on the development and civilisation of the +world. It was a lawless, irreligious, even blasphemous +age in which he lived, and it is easy enough +to criticise him for his wild excesses. But, having +regard to the morals of the time, his poor pay, the disgraceful +conditions of service, and the hard life which +he was compelled to endure, is it to be wondered +at that when he came ashore he was dragged into +debauchery? The responsibility rests largely on +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_133">[Pg 133]</span>those who enriched themselves by his bravery, his +seamanlike skill and devotion to duty. There is +not one of us to-day who is not a debtor to these +old-time mariners for what they have done on our +behalf, no matter what their ship.</p> + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> +<div class="chapter"> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_134">[Pg 134]</span></p> + + + <h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XII"> + CHAPTER XII + <br> + <span class="fs80">THE SAIL-CARRIERS</span> + </h2> +</div> + + +<p>If you set aside the forty years from 1837 to +1877 you cover the period which is unsurpassed +for the glories of the sea. It is a period when the +Mercantile Marine in every ocean rose to such a +standard of seamanship as was never seen before nor +will ever be witnessed again. It is a time when +the triumph of the shipwright and the skill of the +sailor combined to bring about the golden age. +Every log-book, ship-illustration or reminiscence +that bears on this epoch should be regarded with +the utmost care and preserved for the wonderment +of posterity, for at present we are living so close +to this epoch that we hardly appreciate its worth. +Those who come after us will rightly envy us for +having seen at least some of the ships and spoken +with those who handled them. For it was a +time when wooden ships were run by men of +iron.</p> + +<p>The traditions inherited from the old East India +Company after the latter had lost its monopoly in +India and China were too noble and inspiring to +be dissipated at once. The high grade of officers +and men remained for a long time a standard, especially +when the captain of an East Indiaman even +as late as about 1830 was making anything between +£6000 and £10,000 a voyage. So, too, the Blackwall +yard still retained its name for building the +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_135">[Pg 135]</span>best ships. And though they had ceased to construct +the stately but slow vessels which had been +good enough as long as the monopoly lasted, a big +advance came in the year 1837, when Richard +Green launched the 818-ton <em>Seringapatam</em>. She +was, in fact, the first of a new order of things. In +her the double stern and galleries were abandoned, +and owing to her finer lines she became famous for +her quick and regular passages to the East, and +was destined to be the model for many vessels to +follow. It was such men as Green, Wigram, +Somes, Dunbar, Baines and others who built up +the Mercantile Marine after the East India Company +left the sea; for these men saw their grand +opportunity, and seized it. Most of these purchased +some of the best of the company’s ships. +The <em>Earl of Balcarres</em>, for instance, was sold for +£10,700, and she voyaged for fifty-two years before +she became a hulk. The same price was paid for +that fine ship the <em>Thames</em>; the <em>Lady Melville</em> +fetched £10,000, the <em>Buckinghamshire</em> £10,550 and +others realised between £4000 and £10,000. In +certain cases the company, seeing their approaching +fate, began to sell as far back as 1830.</p> + +<p>Some of the captains, officers and men from the +honourable company were now taken on by these +enterprising new shipowners about to enjoy the +benefits of free trade. But not more than one-fifth +of these “old-timers” changed over to the new +régime, at any rate straight away. Why? Firstly, +these private owners were not too anxious to +employ a personnel who had been accustomed to +work in ships where expense had not been of the +first consideration. Secondly, some officers thought +it beneath their dignity to serve in “free trade” +vessels, and in any case their remuneration could +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_136">[Pg 136]</span>not be as high as had been possible during the +company’s extravagant existence. So the captains +and officers appealed to their late employers for +pensions. They had entered the East India Company’s +service expecting provision for life, but now +they found themselves awkwardly placed. Not +without reluctance the company eventually decided +to grant compensations to all commanders +and officers who had been in their employ for five +years from April 22, 1834. Every commanding +officer therefore received £1500 and the other +officers received proportionate amounts. But, in +addition to this, each commander also received +£4000 for three unexpired voyages, £3000 for two +voyages and £2000 for one voyage, which they +would have made had they continued in the +service. Nor was that all; for those commanders +who had served for ten years were given a pension +for life of £250 a year, the chief mates getting £160 +a year, and so the scale ranged down to the carpenters +and gunners. The only condition was that +these assured the company of their inability to +obtain further employment, and that any income +which they possessed was to be in abatement of +these pensions. Thus, to the very end, the old +East India Company treated its officers and crews +very handsomely, especially when we remember the +value of a sovereign in those days.</p> + +<p>The <em>Seringapatam</em> was the first of those famous +Blackwall frigates which were the direct descendants +of the defunct East India Company. The +last of the series, also built by Green’s Blackwall +yard, was the <em>Melbourne</em> (afterwards well known as +the <em>Macquarie</em>), launched in 1875. Most of this +historic fleet were built at the Blackwall yard, at +Smith’s Tyne yard, at Sunderland or in India, +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_137">[Pg 137]</span>but especially at Blackwall. They were all high-class +ships which were run in a high-class manner. +The discipline was strict, the personnel was excellent, +and they were in every way worthy successors +of the old monopolists. If you talk to any of the +officers still alive who served in these Blackwallers, +or read their reminiscences, you will understand at +once that it was thought an honour to be allowed +into this new service.</p> + +<p>These ships differed from any other merchant +vessels in that they carried midshipmen and not +apprentices. These midshipmen were drawn from +the same families who supplied officers to the +Royal Navy, and were known as “young gentlemen.” +Very often in the case of a country rector +who had two sons, you find the eldest going into +the Navy and the younger into a Blackwall frigate. +If a guardian could get a boy into one of these +ships, there was no further cause for worry: a fine +career was assured. He went to sea in what were +happy ships and he gradually rose in his profession +until he was making about £5000 a year in the case +of the best captains. The guardian or parent had +to pay a premium of £60 a voyage for the young +midshipman, but those were the days when the +commanding officers were the finest navigators in +the world and had time to instruct the aspirant. +It was a life totally different from that of a modern +apprentice.</p> + +<p>For some time the officers in these ships were +allowed to wear the lion and crown of the East +India Company on their uniform buttons, but +eventually the house flags of the companies were +substituted. A great deal of the old dignity and +semi-naval routine were retained in this new +service, with action stations and sail-drill. For +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_138">[Pg 138]</span>they were frigate-built and carried guns, so that +they could readily be turned into corvettes and be +useful fighting units. In an interesting little book +entitled <cite>Reminiscences of a Blackwall Midshipman</cite>, +published some years ago, Mr. W. I. Downie +remarked with pride: “It was a fine service and +afforded a good opening for younger sons, whose +elder brothers were in the Army or Navy, but +whose parents could not very well spare the means +to dispose in the same way of all their sometimes +numerous progeny.” He himself joined up in the +’sixties, having considered himself disappointed at +not entering the Royal Navy, but lucky to obtain +a berth as midshipman in Green’s Blackwall frigate +<em>Trafalgar</em>, and bound to India. This ship was +built in the year 1848, and was of 1038 tons, her +construction being of teak.</p> + +<p>When lying at anchor with a few guns on her +maindeck and her boat-booms swung out and +boats in the water, she might be taken for a frigate, +even by a seafaring man, but for the house flag +at her main. She had painted ports, square yards +and enormous whole topsails. In such a ship no +officer or man dared address a superior on duty +without saluting. It was because of this excellent +discipline and semi-naval character that these well-found +ships created such a fine pride of service +among its personnel. We shall speak presently +of the other development in shipping which was +to proceed collaterally with the Blackwallers, but +it may be mentioned here that the latter frequently +used to race in the ’sixties against the clippers met +on the high seas. Downie mentions that these +frigates often were able to hold the clipper ships, +especially in hard winds, for though the Blackwallers +had high bulwarks and heavy sterns, which +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_139">[Pg 139]</span>made them in comparison look clumsy, yet underwater +they had fine lines.</p> + +<p>Every known device was resorted to in the effort +to squeeze out an extra half-knot, and the third +mate of the Blackwaller would be sent down with +a gang of men to roust the lee cable out of the +chain locker and range it along the weather side +of the deck. The fourth mate would take another +gang to pump fresh water out of the lee tanks +into those of the weather tanks that were empty. +In light winds the hose would be taken aloft to +wet the sails—the old dodge of making the canvas +hold the wind better. Nor did they hesitate to +race even against such flyers as the crack clippers +<em>Taeping</em> and <em>Fiery Cross</em>, and in one instance they +competed with another sailing ship and beat her +home by twenty-four hours; and this after racing +for 16,000 miles! Yes, they were sail-carriers in +those days. The Mercantile Marine was full of +expert seamen.</p> + +<p>This <em>Trafalgar</em>, for instance, carried, besides her +commander, five mates, several midshipmen, a full +crew, a bo’sun and his two mates, carpenter, sail-maker, +fiddler and cooper. The last two would +seem strange to a modern apprentice, but the +former used to sit on the capstan and fiddle while +the hands were heaving up the anchor with an +endless “messenger,” and would provide the music +for hornpipes danced in the second dog-watch. +The cooper was a necessary rating, for casks and +barrels were used a good deal, and when not +wanted were taken to pieces and reconstructed +as required. The midshipmen received their +occasional invitations to dine with the captain, as +to-day in the naval service. Sundays and Thursdays +were the occasions when there was champagne +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_140">[Pg 140]</span>at the captain’s table, and a midshipman thought +himself lucky if his turn to be invited occurred on +one of these days.</p> + +<p>The voyage was begun by the ship being towed +out of dock down to Gravesend, where she brought +up for twenty-four hours to enable the crew to get +over their final shore carouse. The captain—in +this case a tall, thin man wearing an eyeglass, himself +a scientist and a great authority on the law of +storms—would come on board, and the tug would +take the ship down to the North Foreland and then +cast off. If it was a fair wind the Blackwaller +would then carry on down Channel. If it was +foul she would anchor and wait for a slant in the +Downs. In spite of their sailorlike, alcoholic weakness, +these hands were very fine fellows, specially +selected, who had sailed in the old East Indiamen +or Blackwallers since boyhood, and very rarely did +they ever serve in other ships. There was, then, +practically continuity of employment, and it is the +lack of this which in the twentieth century is the +weakest element of the Mercantile Marine.</p> + +<p>In these ships there was nothing slovenly, and +every one had to be correctly and smartly uniformed. +The officers’ cap in those days had the +old-fashioned peak at right angles, like that still +worn by the officers of the Dutch Navy to-day. +Every morning the captain’s steward would convey +to the midshipmen the instructions as to what rig +was to be worn, as, for instance, in fine weather +blue jackets, white waistcoats and trousers. In many +other merchant ships there was trouble with the +crew, which consisted of a mixture of pier-jumpers, +gaol-birds and the riff-raff of all the European +ports; but it was seldom that the Blackwall men +gave any trouble. Every Sunday there was service +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_141">[Pg 141]</span>on the poop in fine weather, or in the saloon when +the weather was bad, and all hands were supposed +to attend. In harbour the Blackwall ships always +looked smart and clean, with yards squared to +mathematical precision like a naval frigate.</p> + +<p>As a sign of mourning the custom was to paint +all the white parts of the ship a pale blue, such as +the white ribbon round the hull, the lower masts, +the boats, and so on. There were some ships in +which the discipline was stricter than in others, +according to whether the captain was more disposed +towards man-o’-war fashion. Those ships which +ran to India were more strict in their discipline +and more formal in their routine than the vessels +which sailed to Australia. In the former the +passengers consisted chiefly of Army officers and +their families, or civil servants going out to take +up their appointments, or of consumptives voyaging +for their health. But in the Australian ships +life was more easy-going, with concerts, theatricals, +dances, and even bazaars. In both ships there was +a good deal of fraternising and philandering between +the younger officers and the eternal feminine, which +was natural enough during those long voyages.</p> + +<p>The late Captain W. B. Whall, who died not +long since, served as a midshipman in the Blackwaller +<em>Hotspur</em> during the ’sixties, and fortunately +has left behind in his <cite>School and Sea Days</cite> some +interesting recollections. The commander of this +famous 1000-ton East Indiaman was Captain Henry +Toynbee, F.R.G.S., F.R.A.S., uncle of Arnold +Toynbee, the social economist and philanthropist. +Whall describes how, after the <em>Hotspur</em> had +anchored off Gravesend, the captain would be +received on board in true naval style. This commanding +officer, who, by the way was uncle to +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_142">[Pg 142]</span>Sir Robert Baden-Powell, the famous scout, will +always be remembered for his amazing skill as a +navigator. Captain Whall said he recollected on one +occasion when the <em>Hotspur</em> had been ninety days +out of sight of land, and had sailed over three +oceans bound for Calcutta direct, Toynbee came +up on deck about 8 p.m. and told the chief officer +to send a man up to the foretopsail yard and to +order him to look two points on the starboard bow, +and he would then see the Lower Floating Light. +The hand had barely got his head over the sail +when he cried from aloft: “Light two points away +on starboard bow.” And this was without having +sighted anything since the Lizard!</p> + +<p>In contrast to this fine ability of an East Indiaman +navigator must be placed the rough-and-ready +methods of those fine but ignorant skippers of the +fruit-trade schooners which were built and sailed +like yachts and went down as far south as the +Azores. Often when full-rigged ships were blown +by easterly gales from the western end of the +English Channel as far west as the Fastnet, these +splendid little fore-and-afters would be able to +make excellent passages to windward. In old +waterside inns of the West country you may still +see pictures of these ships with the canvas cut in +realistic fashion to obtain verisimilitude. They +made wonderfully fast passages, and they were +most perfectly handled, but the captains, not being +capable always of working out their longitude, used +to hail any passing ship and hang out a blackboard +with the question: “What is your longitude?”</p> + +<p>Such a ship as the <em>Hotspur</em>, well manned, well +navigated, would go round the Cape and land her +forty passengers in Calcutta within three months. +They would come aboard at Gravesend with their +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_143">[Pg 143]</span>own cabin furniture, but included in the fare was +an ample supply of liquor. Often the charge for +a stern cabin for a man and wife would be £300 +from Calcutta to England, and the ship would +have also probably 500 troops aboard, or a total +of 600 souls. The decks would be encumbered +with sheep, hay, potatoes, bananas, hen-coops, and +yet if any disaster had occurred there was accommodation +in the boats for not more than about 100. +Whall, who served in these ships for ten years, +never once saw a Blackwaller heave-to in a heavy +gale. But that was because they were well found +and so well manned under the best commanders. +In those days the sailor ashore loved his grog too +much, and when he left the ship at the end of a +voyage with probably £40 on him, he would proceed +to get drunk, then perhaps some one in the +East End would drug him, and finally, when he +awoke up next day he would find himself without +so much as a penny. But at sea he was the best +fellow in the world, well-disciplined, able to go +aloft in the heaviest weather to hand or reef a sail +and lay out on a yard. He was an expert at the +wheel or with the lead or marlin-spike, and a +captain knew that his men could be relied upon +from the moment the ship left Gravesend. It was +thus that such ships as <em>Flying Cloud</em>, <em>Sovereign of +the Seas</em>, <em>James Baines</em> and <em>Marco Polo</em> could on +occasions reel off their eighteen knots, or 420 knots +in the twenty-four hours. In fact during the +’fifties the sailing ships could make passages as +fast as any mail steamer afloat.</p> + +<p>Every one who has had command of vessels and +men realises how important is the spirit of emulation +and the pride of ship and service. Whall, +the son of a rector, remarked that all who served +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_144">[Pg 144]</span>in these ships looked down on the officers of the +Liverpool contemporary sailing ships as being less +polished and wearing no uniform, though he admitted +they were perhaps smarter sailormen than +the Blackwallers. In his memoirs <cite>My Life at Sea</cite>, +that experienced mercantile officer, Commander +W. C. Crutchley, R.N.R., says of a certain renowned +clipper ship: “The officers and men of +that craft considered themselves very superior +beings to those who had not the good fortune to +sail under the blue St. Andrew’s Cross; but they, +in their turn, were looked down upon by the men +sailing in the ships of Green, Dunbar, Wigram +and Smith. In those days it would have required +a very careful M.C. to give the varying grades +of the Merchant Services their due order of +preference.”</p> + +<p>It was the same at Southampton at one time +between the officers of the Royal Mail and the +P. & O. Lines, who would not foregather on any +account, owing to their mutual jealousies. But +those were the days when ship-love and pride of +service were more accentuated than to-day. And +yet in even some of the contemporary crack steamships +there was plenty to find fault with, and +Crutchley, who served in the Union liner <em>Roman</em>, +which ran to South Africa, complains that even +in that ocean steamship there was neither engine-room +telegraph nor standard compass; for orders +were shouted down the engine-room skylight, and +the ship was steered from right on the poop, with +a binnacle on either side, that on the starboard +being the one used for navigating.</p> +<br> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="p1441_ill" style="max-width: 62.5em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/p1441_ill.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + <p class="right fs80">[<em>By courtesy Messrs. T. H. Parker.</em></p> + <p class="center no-indent">S.S. “NORTHUMBERLAND.”<br> + 2,180 tons, 500 horse-power. Henry Skinner, Commander. About 1871. She was one of Money Wigram & Sons’ Australian steamships. + The famous house flag will be seen at the main.</p> + </figcaption> +</figure> +<br> + +<p>We have digressed from our main theme in +order to show the spirit which actuated the Mercantile +Marine at that important period which +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_145">[Pg 145]</span>followed the abolition of the monopoly and saw +the numbers of shipyards, ships and mariners +rapidly increasing, thanks to freedom and competition. +It is now time for us to watch this +progress in detail. If we compare the <em>Seringapatam</em> +with one of the East India Company’s ships +of say 1826, we can see indeed more points of +resemblance than of difference. Both are frigates, +each has a bluff bow and heavy stern that remind +us of the Stuart ships, yet in the new type inaugurated +by <em>Seringapatam</em> it meant a daring +advance to omit the heavy double stern and +quarter galleries. She still retained her ship rig, +her white ribbon, her square ports and her high-steeved +bowsprit, but in her was the first break, +architecturally, with the olden times. The sailing +ship was now in a new era.</p> + +<p>Even in the very year of Queen Victoria’s accession, +Money Wigram launched for the Australian +trade the 293-ton <em>Emu</em>, for this was beginning to +open as an important lane of commerce. And in +that same year the yard built such different ships as +the 461-ton whaler <em>Active</em> and the 621-ton steamer +<em>Neptune</em>, the latter for the General Steam Navigation +Company. It was a couple of years later +that they launched the 852-ton <em>Earl of Hardwicke</em> +for Richard Green. This ship was originally fitted +with paddles and 100-horse-power engines to be +used in calms, but they were found unsuitable and +removed in the following year. And then in 1839 +they launched the <em>Owen Glendower</em>, which was +such a splendid sailing ship that foreign merchantmen +used to salute her with the respect as for a +man-of-war. She was a sister ship of the <em>Earl of +Hardwicke</em>. In that year, too, they built the +Opium clipper <em>Moa</em> for Jardine, Mattheson & +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_146">[Pg 146]</span>Co., though we shall come to the clipper ships +presently. Three years later the Blackwall yard +launched the two magnificent 1223-ton flush-decked, +frigate-built sister ships <em>Queen</em> and <em>Prince +of Wales</em>, as well as the 449-ton <em>Sylph</em>.</p> +<br> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="p1461_ill" style="max-width: 62.5em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/p1461_ill.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + <p class="right fs80">[<em>By courtesy Messrs. T. H. Parker.</em></p> + <p class="center no-indent">AUXILIARY S.S. “KENT.”<br> + 2,300 tons. G. Fairles Gibbs, Commander. Built and owned by Money Wigram & Sons. About 1876.</p> + </figcaption> +</figure> +<br> + +<p>And here we come to another severing of olden +ties, for this was the last ship which was ever +built by the firm of Green, Wigrams & Green. +In the following year the partnership expired, a +wall was built through the yard, and the western +portion was made over to Money Wigram & Sons, +whilst the eastern half became the property of +Richard and Henry Green. Sentimentally it +seemed a pity that after all those years the +separation should have taken place; but, as +already foreshadowed, it was bound to come, +owing to the difference in interests. The firm +had become <em>individually</em> interested in shipowning, +and not collectively. Thus Wigram never +owned so large a fleet as Green, and where a +firm is divided against itself obviously it must +come to an end before long. Richard Green and +Henry Green went on building and increasing +their ownership until the discovery of gold in +Australia, when they launched many ships to cope +with the rush. Richard Green did not die until +1863, and just before his death one of his ships had +made a voyage to China. In his life he did much +to improve the Mercantile Marine, and it was he +who was the chief mover and first chairman of +what was originally known as the Thames Marine +Officers’ Training Ship, better known to-day as +H.M.S. <em>Worcester</em>. In the year 1922 this ship +celebrated its sixtieth anniversary, and during its +existence has been able to turn out 3000 officers +for the Mercantile Marine, of whom so many +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_147">[Pg 147]</span>distinguished themselves during the Great War. +Thus, directly through the Blackwall yard there +is an intimate connection between the merchant +ships of the time of Queen Elizabeth and those +liners of to-day.</p> + +<p>The two finest ships in the Mercantile Marine +of 1851 were the East Indiamen <em>Marlborough</em> and +<em>Blenheim</em>, owned by Messrs. T. & W. Smith, who +had begun running ships to the East soon after the +monopoly had gone, in competition with Green +and Wigram. It was the gold-diggings of South +Australia and Victoria from 1851 onwards which +made a sudden demand for shipping passengers +out from England: in fact by 1853 the demand +was greater than the supply. But the only suitable +vessels available for first- and second-class +passengers were these famous Blackwall frigates, +and the Greens were thus in a position to transfer +some of their large fleet from the Calcutta to the +Australian trade. Money Wigram, not having +yet become a large shipowner, began to build for +this Melbourne trade.</p> + +<p>The Blackwall frigates were devoid of sheer, had +long poops, short maindecks, and were beautifully +built of picked teak and oak. Green’s ships were +not as sharp-ended as Smith’s or Wigram’s, but +Somes’ and Dunbar’s were real old-fashioned, +clumsy-bowed craft. The fastest of Green’s ships +were the <em>Alnwick Castle</em>, <em>Clarence</em>, <em>Windsor Castle</em> +and <em>Anglesey</em>. The fastest of Wigram’s fleet was +the <em>Kent</em>. The old East India Company’s influence +for a time so dominated these Blackwall +frigates that dignity, comfort and safety first were +rather the mottoes of the fleet, unlike the clipper +ships, always snugging down for the night. Some +of the best-known Green ships were the 835-ton +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_148">[Pg 148]</span><em>Madagascar</em>, built in 1837, the 852-ton <em>Earl of +Hardwicke</em>, already mentioned, built in 1838, but +afterwards wrecked on the South African coast in +1863; the <em>Owen Glendower</em>, built in 1839, the +<em>Agincourt</em> (958 tons), in 1841, the <em>Prince of Wales</em> +(1223 tons), in 1842, the <em>Monarch</em> (1444 tons), in +1844, the <em>Alfred</em> (1291 tons), in 1845, the <em>Barham</em> +(934 tons), in 1846. The <em>Prince of Wales</em> and +<em>Queen</em> of 1842 were both 1223-ton ships, the +former built for Green and the latter for Wigram +at the Blackwall yard. Pierced for fifty guns and +flush-decked, they were ready with their crew of +seventy-eight each to be turned into naval corvettes +at once.</p> + +<p>The <em>Anglesey</em>, built in 1852, of 1018 tons, holds +the record for having made the biggest day’s run +by a Blackwaller. This was 380 miles, and her +passage from Melbourne to the Start in seventy-nine +days with a crew of forty-six was a remarkable +achievement. Wigram’s 927-ton <em>Kent</em>, built in +1852, was invaluable during the gold rush to +Australia. She was one of the crack sailing ships +in history, and actually beat the tea-clippers. It +was a great innovation when, in 1866 and 1868 +respectively, the Blackwall yard built the 1451-ton +<em>Superb</em> and the 1458-ton <em>Carlisle Castle</em>, for both +were of iron, and owing to Richard Green’s prejudice +against iron the firm had to wait until after +his death to discard teak. The former became a +popular passenger ship to Melbourne; and the last +of these famous Blackwall frigates was the <em>Melbourne</em>, +built for the Greens at the Blackwall yard +in 1875 as the finest iron passenger sailing ship in +the world. Of 1857 tons and 269·8 feet long, her +passenger accommodation was excellent—a great +difference from the old East Indiamen.</p> +<br> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="p1481_ill" style="max-width: 62.5em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/p1481_ill.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + <p class="right fs80">[<em>By courtesy Messrs. T. H. Parker.</em></p> + <p class="center no-indent">S.S. “NORFOLK.”<br> + 3,196 tons, 2,500 horse-power. J. Pyne O’Callaghan, Commander. + One of Money Wigram & Sons’ Australian ships. About 1879.</p> + </figcaption> +</figure> +<br> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_149">[Pg 149]</span></p> + +<p>Until 1887 <em>Melbourne</em> sailed regularly to the +Australian port of the same name, and was then +bought by Messrs. Devitt & Moore, who changed +her name to <em>Macquarie</em>. In 1897 she was used as +one of this firm’s cadet ships, six years later she +was sold to the Norwegians and changed her name +to <em>Fortuna</em>, and these owners eventually sold her, +so that now she is used as a hulk in Australia. So +ended one interesting period in one of the most +important developments of the Mercantile Marine. +The combination of personal interest on the part +of builder and owner; the great pride in the ship +not merely as a money-maker, but as a thing of +beauty and queen of the sea; the ability of officers +and men serving under a captain who was anxious +to maintain the dignity of his line—all these +brought about a high standard of seafaring which +was thoroughly let down when owners without +consciences sent crews to sea in ill-found steam +coffin-ships. The fine, historic reputation of the +Merchant Service received a shock, the best men +were attracted by other walks in life, and so for a +while the standard deteriorated. There are many +who believe, rightly, that the Mercantile Marine +of any country could and should be run with fixity +of employment and the same lofty standard as the +fighting navies. If that were done, the grade of +officers and men would be as high as it was in the +days of the East Indiamen. Let it be realised +what a nation’s merchant ships mean to the +country, and then the public will concede it proper +respect and give to that service its best sons.</p> + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> +<div class="chapter"> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_150">[Pg 150]</span></p> + + + <h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XIII"> + CHAPTER XIII + <br> + <span class="fs80">CRACKING-ON</span> + </h2> +</div> + + +<p>We have seen in the development of our subject +that it was only after many centuries that the +accommodation of the passenger aboard ship was +ever considered. We have noticed how the ship +was built primarily not for speed, but for carrying +the maximum of cargo with the greatest safety. +But now there comes into our story the desire for +speed as the dominating factor, far more important +than any other consideration, and it is in the clipper +ships that we get the first merchant vessels that +were constructed to cross the seas with the utmost +despatch.</p> + +<p>It is to North America that this is due. Whilst +our bluff, dignified, heavy East Indiamen were +slowly making their last voyages before the China +monopoly was to come to an end, a remarkable +ship, built by her owner regardless of cost, was to +appear in Baltimore. This was the <em>Ann McKim</em>, +of 493 registered tons. This flush-decked vessel +came out in 1832. She was very fast, but had +small carrying capacity, and was the first clipper +ship ever built, and having regard to the daring +improvement which America had made in frigates +and privateers, it is not surprising that this fast +type of merchant ship should come from the same +country. The contrast, indeed, between the old +East Indiamen and the young clippers is exactly +what exists between the Old World and the New. +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_151">[Pg 151]</span>Convention was put aside, shipbuilders thought out +problems for themselves and had the courage to +put their convictions into hulls.</p> + +<p>But the first real out-and-out clipper ship was +the <em>Rainbow</em>, which was launched at the beginning +of 1845 in New York. She was a 750-ton vessel +with hollow lines at the bows, and her greatest +breadth much further aft than had been thought +practicable. When constructed, she turned out to +be a handsome vessel, exceptionally quick, and she +was the fastest vessel in the world. But after +trading some time out to China, she was lost in +1848, probably off Cape Horn. Now the cause of +attraction towards China at first was the trade in +opium. It is not to the credit of British, American +or Parsee firms that this pernicious drug was imported +into China, where it had been declared +illegal by the Government as far back as 1796; +but this illicit trade certainly did much to develop +fast-sailing ships.</p> + +<p>But besides the opium, there was the China tea +trade after the East India Company’s monopoly +had run out, and happily this did even more than +the opium to improve the evolution of the quickest +fleet of ships under sail that the world has ever +seen. In 1846 the 890-ton <em>Sea Witch</em> was launched +in New York, and she made a wonderful series of +voyages to China and back, her best day’s run being +358 miles, which was far superior to that of any +contemporary steamer. Then came such celebrated +American clippers as the <em>Samuel Russell</em>, 940 tons, +the <em>Memnon</em>, 1068 tons, and others. The American +trade with China was so important that in one year +forty-one ships with tea, silk and spices reached +New York from China. The American clippers +were certainly the fastest ships of the period, and +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_152">[Pg 152]</span>the <em>Sea Witch</em> was still to hold the record for a +long time.</p> + +<p>But now come two important events which were +to have noteworthy results on the Mercantile +Marines of the world. The first of these was the +repeal of the British Navigation Laws in 1849, and +the second was the rush in that same year to +California, caused by the discovery there of gold in +1848. We will deal briefly with these factors and +pass on. Considerable opposition was made to +this repeal, and indeed the first result was that the +tonnage of British shipping entering British ports +largely decreased and that of American shipping +increased. After a few years this competition +proved a stimulus to both countries, but especially +it caused British owners to wake up in the Atlantic, +as the introduction of competition into the Eastern +route had already done so much good.</p> + +<p>During the ’forties and ’fifties the American +Mercantile Marine was in many respects superior +to the British, for the reason that the baneful +monopoly had caused a kind of self-satisfaction, +and therefore no progress to speak of. The long +series of Navigation Laws beginning in 1651, and +the steady, comfortable, close trade to the East, +had lulled British shipping into a kind of stupor. +It was only when competition was thrown open to +the world that British shipping really got going. +The first American ship to carry tea from China to +England was the <em>Oriental</em>, which left China in +August 1850 and reached the London River +ninety-seven days out from Hong-Kong with 1600 +tons. This was the fastest passage which had yet +been made to England. As a beautiful, powerful, +speedy, well-found ship the like of her had never +been met with in the Thames. Those who had +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_153">[Pg 153]</span>never seen anything but the East Indiamen were +amazed at the innovation by the United States +Mercantile Marine. But the shock did a world of +good. The arrival of tea, in an American ship, in +record time, from a country where there had been +a British monopoly for so long, caused shipowners +and builders furiously to think.</p> + +<p>The result was that two ships were ordered to be +built at Aberdeen, for during the last few years +Messrs. Hall of that port had been building some +fast schooners. The <em>Stornoway</em> and <em>Chrysolite</em> +were thus launched, and have been called the first +British tea-clippers, though they were less beamy +and powerful than the American clippers. The +first ship sailed out to Hong-Kong in 102 days, the +<em>Chrysolite</em> also went out during 1851 in the same +time, and on her way home her best day’s run was +320 miles, and she even reached fourteen knots. +She got to Liverpool in 103 days, after a very fine +maiden voyage. Then came increased competition +as the result of <em>Chrysolite’s</em> achievement, for the +American Navigation Club challenged the British +shipbuilders to a race with cargo on board from +England to China and back for £10,000 a side. +This stake was even doubled, but the challenge +was unfortunately never accepted by British shipowners +until Richard Green in 1852 built the tea-clipper +<em>Challenger</em>, which in that year went out to +China, and after loading tea at Shanghai, fell in +with the American clipper <em>Challenge</em>, three times +the size of the British ship. From Anjer they +raced home with their tea, and <em>Challenger</em> beat the +<em>Challenge</em> into the dock in London by a couple of +days. It is only fair to add that British naval +architects had an opportunity of learning from +American progress in a very direct manner. For +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_154">[Pg 154]</span><em>Oriental</em> had been previously placed into the +Blackwall dock and her lines taken off; and now +<em>Challenge</em> went in for the same purpose. Thus, +the American clipper ships, with their original +design, did have a very powerful effect on the +future of British shipping.</p> + +<p>The competition in the China tea trade continued, +the British clippers of this time made the +rivalry very keen, and it is always a matter of +regret that there never was another real race +between the two countries. But now we must see +how the California gold affected the clipper. +Briefly these are the facts. In 1848 San Francisco +was a mere hamlet, but this sudden discovery of a +means to wealth caused a tremendous flow of +emigration to the West. Every one wanted to +go, and every one wanted to get there in the +quickest possible time. Leaving out the difficulties +in those days of transcontinental travel, the only +way possible was by means of ships. The American +clipper was thus the solution, and they were therefore +built in great numbers and in a small space of +time. In fact within four years 160 were launched, +and they sailed from New York to San Francisco +in the remarkable time of 100 to 120 days. Here, +then, was yet another incentive to the increase of +the Mercantile Marine, to the shipbuilders and to +those attracted by the sea. It is comparable only +to the impetus which we have seen was received +by the Elizabethan seamen. There has seldom +been in history such an extensive and speedy +migration of people, all anxious to get rich quickly. +Once again the ship was invaluable in the service +of man.</p> + +<p>In the year 1849 over 90,000 passengers landed +in that San Franciscan hamlet from ships. On the +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_155">[Pg 155]</span>other hand, it became most difficult to get crews +to bring the ships back; for the seamen, too, had +gone gold-seeking as soon as the ship had anchored. +The California clipper period, as Captain Clark +says in his <em>The Clipper Ship Era</em>, covers the period +1850 to 1860, and it is during the first four of these +years that nearly all the 160 ships were built, most +of them being constructed in the neighbourhood of +New York and Boston. It is claimed for them that +they were the fastest sailing ships which the world +ever saw, and the skippers cracked-on because these +vessels were able to earn enormous rates if only the +passengers could be landed at their port in the +quickest time. Every one was making money—the +shipowner, captain, crew and then the gold-seekers. +Ashore the riggers, shipwrights, painters, +sail-makers, metal workers, spar-makers, pump-makers, +blacksmiths, carpenters, caulkers were in +such demand that there was prosperity for all, and +plenty of it. And it is to this period that a good +many of the fast-dying sea-chanties can be traced.</p> + +<p>What of the crews that manned the American +clippers? “The history of men before the mast +on board American ships,” says Captain Clark, “is +not a history of American sailors, for strictly +speaking there have never been any American +merchant sailors as a class; that is, no American +merchant ship of considerable tonnage was ever +manned by native-born Americans in the sense +that French, British, Dutch, Norwegian, Swedish, +Spanish or Danish ships are manned by men born +in the country under whose flags they sail.” This +statement was written in 1910, and of course requires +some modification to-day. But the advent +of the Californian clippers necessitated getting men +from anywhere—some sailors, many others not, +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_156">[Pg 156]</span>and a whole lot of “bad hats” among them. Of +the Californian clippers built in 1851 one was the +celebrated <em>Challenge</em>, already referred to, a vessel +of 2006 tons, one of the largest clippers ever built, +though absolutely the biggest was the <em>Great +Republic</em>, built in 1853. This was constructed by +Donald McKay, the famous Nova Scotian builder. +She was of 4555 tons register, and was the first +ship to have an engine merely for hoisting the +yards and working the pumps. Rigged with four +masts, she had the misfortune to get on fire when +nearly ready for sea, but was rebuilt, being the +largest merchant ship of her time, though registering +now only 3357 tons.</p> + +<p>The famous American clipper <em>Dreadnought</em> came +out in 1853, and voyaged between New York and +Liverpool, and on one occasion made this passage +in fifteen days twelve hours, and on another +occasion in thirteen days eight hours, though she +was wrecked eventually off Cape Horn. But the +Australian gold discovery in 1851 had the same +effect on shipping that the China tea trade and the +California gold rush had created. The fastest +vessels were required, competition became keen, +and there was no time to waste. Those owners, +therefore, who had ships that could carry passengers +were in a splendid position from the first, for about +300,000 or 400,000 people each year for the next +three or four years had to be transported. From +America no less than from England these ships +sailed away, and there was the same difficulty in +Melbourne with the crews as there had been in +San Francisco.</p> +<br> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp85" id="p1561_ill" style="max-width: 43.1875em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/p1561_ill.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + <p class="right fs80">[<em>By courtesy the White Star Line.</em></p> + <p class="center no-indent">SAILING NOTICE OF THE WHITE STAR CLIPPER “RED JACKET.”<br> + (See p. <a href="#Page_157">157</a>.)</p> + </figcaption> +</figure> +<br> + +<p>For British shipowners the difficulty was that +there was but little accommodation in most ships, +so they thought of the American clippers, which +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_157">[Pg 157]</span>had been doing such fine work. James Baines & +Co. of Liverpool therefore had the clipper <em>Marco +Polo</em> built at St. John’s, New Brunswick. She +was a very handsome ship of 1622 tons, with considerable +rise of floor, very fine aft, and she carried +a very large spread of canvas. This was the +pioneer of the clipper ships for the Australian trade +and the first of the Australian Black Ball Line, +her passenger accommodation being a great improvement +on the ships usually trading to Australia. +She left Liverpool in July 1851, and made a record +passage in sixty-eight days to Melbourne, and +during the ensuing years of the gold rush was a +very popular and successful ship. The British lines +running out to Australia at this time were the +White Star (twenty years before they entered the +Atlantic steam competition) and James Baines & +Co.’s Australia Black Ball Line, just mentioned.</p> + +<p>These two firms both had clippers which were +built in New England, and one of these, the <em>Red +Jacket</em>, was for the White Star Line. Named +after a noted Indian chief, with a full-length figure-head +of him at her bow, this fine ship was one of +the most famous of the clippers, and made a fine +passage from New York to Liverpool in thirteen +days, one hour, when she first came out in February +1854, and on one of the days made 413 miles. +During that same year she sailed from Liverpool +to Melbourne in sixty-nine days. In his recently +published <cite>Reminiscences of a Liverpool Shipowner</cite>, +Sir William B. Forwood has left an interesting +account of a voyage he made in this magnificent +sailing ship of 2006 tons, three years after she came +out. “On the morning of the 20th November, +1857,” he says, “I embarked by a tender from the +Liverpool pierhead. It was nearly the top of +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_158">[Pg 158]</span>high water. The crew were mustered on the +forecastle, under the 1st Mate, Mr. Taylor. An +order comes from the quarter-deck. ‘Heave up +the anchor and get away.’ ‘Aye, aye, sir.’ +‘Now then, my boys, man the windlass,’ shouts +the Mate, and to a merry chantie:</p> + +<div class="poetry-container"> + <div class="poetry"> + <div class="stanza"> + <div class="verse indent0">“‘In 1847 Paddy Murphy went to Heaven</div> + <div class="verse indent2">To work on the railway, the railway, the railway,</div> + <div class="verse indent2">Oh, poor Paddy works upon the railway.’</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p>“‘The anchor is away, sir,’ shouts the Chief +Officer. ‘Heave it a-peak and cathead it,’ comes +from the quarter-deck, and the tug <em>Retriever</em> +forges ahead and tightens the tow-rope as we +gather way. Bang, bang went the guns, and twice +more, for we were carrying the mails, and goodbye +to old Liverpool, and the crowds which lined +the pierhead cheered, for the <em>Red Jacket</em> was +already a famous ship, and it was hoped she would +make a record passage.</p> + +<p>“Next morning we were off Holyhead, with a +fresh westerly breeze and southerly swell. We +were making but poor headway, and shortly the +hawser parted. ‘All hands on deck,’ was shouted +by Captain O’Halloran, and a crew of eighty men +promptly appeared on deck, for we carried a double +crew. ‘Loose sails fore and aft; hands in the +tops and cross-trees to see that all is clear and to +overhaul gear; let royals and sky sails alone.’</p> + +<p>“The boatswain’s whistle sounded fore and aft +as the men quickly took their positions and laid +hold of the halyards and braces.</p> +<br> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="p1581_ill" style="max-width: 62.5em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/p1581_ill.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + <p class="right fs80">[<em>Photo, Henry Hughes & Son, Ltd.</em></p> + <p class="center no-indent">CRACKING-ON!</p> + </figcaption> +</figure> +<br> + +<p>“‘Mr. Taylor, loose the headsails.’ ‘Aye, aye, +sir.’ The topsail, courses and topgallant sails were +all loose and gaskets made up. ‘Now then, my +men, lead your topsail halyards fore and aft, and +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_159">[Pg 159]</span>up with them.’ Away the crew walk along with +the halyards, and then with a long pull and a pull +all together the topsail yards are mastheaded to +the chantie:</p> + +<div class="poetry-container"> + <div class="poetry"> + <div class="stanza"> + <div class="verse indent0">“‘Then up the yard must go,</div> + <div class="verse indent4">Whiskey for my Johnny,</div> + <div class="verse indent2">Oh, whiskey for the life of man,</div> + <div class="verse indent4">Whiskey, Johnny.’”</div> + </div> + </div> +</div> + +<p>With the man at the wheel, keeping his eyes on +the weather-luff of the foreroyal, and allowing the +sail to be just on the tremble, so as not to lose an +inch to windward, the <em>Red Jacket</em> went tearing +through the seas, throwing them on either side in +a sparkling cascade. By evening the wind had +increased, and the captain ordered life-lines to be +run fore and aft, and the decks to be sanded and +the scuppers to be free. The clipper plunges +along, the man at the wheel eases her a few spokes +when a squall strikes her, and then bang goes +the second jib, blown out of the bolt ropes with the +report of a gun. With seas coming in over +the forecastle, the hands set another jib, and by +this time the clipper is indeed travelling, for by the +log she is doing eighteen knots.</p> + +<p>During bad weather the fifty saloon passengers +and 600 steerage were kept below and the atmosphere +was stifling. There was none of the comfort +or luxury of a modern steamship, and the clipper +was heeling over in a way that would alarm many +travellers to-day. But at last, after sixty-four +days, the <em>Red Jacket</em> had made Port Philip Heads, +and so a record voyage to Australia. Those were +the days when travelling by sea was romantic and +not as monotonous as a railway journey. With +the captain cracking-on to make a fast trip, with +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_160">[Pg 160]</span>sails carrying away, spars and gear as well, there +was always some sport, some adventure. Between +1850 and the following ten years Prince’s Dock, +Liverpool, was crowded with fine clippers raising +their lofty masts and crossing their great spars. +And those were the days of wonderful feats of +seamanship. Sir William Forwood says that he +remembers seeing the 600-ton Brocklebank sailing +ship <em>Martaban</em> come sailing into George’s Dock +Basin under all canvas. Her halyards were then +let go and sails clewed up so smartly that the ship, +as she passed the pierhead, was able to throw a +line on shore and make fast. Could you beat this +for seamanlike skill and discipline?</p> +<br> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="p1601_ill" style="max-width: 62.5em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/p1601_ill.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + <p class="right fs80">[<em>Photo, Henry Hughes & Son, Ltd.</em></p> + <p class="center no-indent">SPARS AND STAYS.<br> + Looking for’ard along the decks of a sailing ship.</p> + </figcaption> +</figure> +<br> + +<p>But it is with the celebrated China tea-clippers +from about 1860 onwards that this skill reached +such heights of proficiency. British shipowners +no longer found it necessary to have their clippers +built in America, and the Merchant Shipping Act +of 1854, together with the enterprise learnt in a +hard school, as the result of competition, enabled +British shipping to go ahead. The California +boom, which had produced America’s finest clippers, +was dead. The great quantities of American +timber would soon be not wanted for shipbuilding, +now that iron was coming in and steam was +replacing sails. But that which gave the final +character to the American Mercantile Marine was +the outbreak of civil war in 1861 between the +North and South. From that it never recovered +until the new efforts, begun in 1917, to rebuild a +service that had been such a keen competitor +during the clipper-ship period. In the meantime, +during the ’sixties and onwards, the British Mercantile +Marine, by the enterprise of the shipowners, +the assistance of legislation, the protection of the +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_161">[Pg 161]</span>British Navy, the scientific progress of shipbuilders +and engineers, and by the skill and endurance of +its officers and crews, regained its supremacy after +a stiff fight, and opened up new trade routes in all +parts of the world. And this not merely in regard +to the big lines, but especially in respect of the +tramp steamers going out with coal and bringing +back all sorts of essential produce.</p> + +<p>The Clyde was gradually beginning to take the +place of the Blackwall yard, and this became still +more so as the need for coal and iron increased, +owing to the fact that the Thames is not convenient +to coalfields. It was in 1855 that Steele +of Greenock built his first tea-clipper, the <em>Kate +Carnie</em>, about 600 tons, and thereafter he built, +among other beautiful and eye-pleasing ships, the +historic <em>Taeping</em>, <em>Serica</em>, <em>Ariel</em> and <em>Sir Lancelot</em>, +all under 900 tons, yet exceedingly fast. From +1855 to 1881 is the comprehensive period of these +China tea-clippers, and their evolution should be +compared with that of the Blackwall frigates +already dealt with. The Steele clippers had a full +midship section and fine ends, but some of the +other clippers were fined away like the hulls of +schooner yachts. Unlike the obstinate Blackwallers, +many tea-clippers had a certain amount of +sheer. From 1863 both the Clyde and Aberdeen +firms launched composite-built clippers, and these +were so beautifully tight as to require practically +no pumping, and so the cargoes of tea arrived in +perfect condition.</p> + +<p>The British tea-clippers of the period under +consideration were smaller than the American +clippers, had less sheer, less freeboard, and were +more slim and graceful, with decks unencumbered +except with small houses; with less heavy spars, +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_162">[Pg 162]</span>less beam, and were designed to carry small cargoes +of tea with the utmost despatch. They were a +small fleet in numbers, but their excellence was +rather in a sustained average speed throughout +their voyages than in hourly or daily runs. The +longest day’s run by a tea-clipper was 363 miles, +and this record was made by <em>Cutty Sark</em>, and the +only other clipper that could rival her was the +<em>Thermopylae</em>. These tea-clippers were economical +to run, handled by magnificent British seamen, +and commanded by captains of great experience, +courage and enterprise. The composite construction +of wooden planking and iron frames gave +these little ships unusual strength, they were ballasted +with shingle, and in light weather could +utterly outsail a Black Baller, a Californian clipper +or a Blackwall frigate. But because of their comparative +smallness it is not to be imagined that +in heavy weather they could compete with the +American clippers of much greater tonnage and +freeboard. <em>Cutty Sark’s</em> rival, <em>Thermopylae</em>, being +of her own nationality, on one occasion did 358 +miles, and <em>Ariel</em> 340 miles, in the twenty-four +hours.</p> + +<p>But these tea-clippers needed proper handling, +like sensitive horses, and required to be humoured. +Those were the days when the love of ships by +owners, captains and crews was something real, +when clippers were treated like human beings and +given everything they wanted; and their loss often +meant the breaking of the owner’s heart. The +personal relationship between the owner, his ship +and captain was something very different from to-day. +Before the advent of limited liability companies +and telegraph cables, instructions were given +personally by the owner, who would himself come +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_163">[Pg 163]</span>down to see his ship start. In many cases the +captains were financially interested in the ships, +and it must be remembered that the best clipper-ship +captains were hard to find. Remembering +that an owner required neither a mere dare-devil +nor one who merely played for safety, but a captain +who would crack-on without losing ship or gear, +and whilst getting the last ounce out of the ship +would know instantly when to ease up, it is obvious +that an ideal commander would be a mixture of +courage, iron nerve, initiative, driving power, sound +judgment based on experience, consummate seamanlike +ability and great physical endurance.</p> + +<p>It was when such skippers got command of these +lovely little ships that the tea was raced home in +such splendid time. They had to watch their +ships from hour to hour during the three months’ +race from China to England, rarely going below, +getting very little sleep, and the result was that +many eventually broke down. But we must think +of them as the keenest lot of captains who ever sailed +the seas, and up to every dodge to get the ship +home quicker than the other fellow. They looked +for risks and accepted them freely, but they were +not foolhardy, and they knew just how much their +ships could stand. Backed up not by mutinous +crews, as was often the case in the American +clippers, but by thorough seamen, all British, a +captain knew that he could rely on them to aid +him in getting the most out of his ship; for they +were not less keen than himself, and were betting +against the other ships. It meant hard work, but +no sailorman will ever grouse at this if he is in +tune with the reason. They took a pride in their +vessels and were jealous of a ship’s honour. Could +the same be said nowadays of the crews of steamships? +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_164">[Pg 164]</span>Sentiment in seafaring has a tremendous +practical value if only it is appreciated and properly +trained.</p> + +<p>In his volume <em>The China Clippers</em>, Mr. Basil +Lubbock says that “in the heyday of the racing, +Foochow was the loading port par excellence, and +the Pagoda anchorage, just before the tea came +down the river, showed perhaps the most beautiful +fleet of ships the world has ever seen. The crack +ships, which were always the first to load, began +to assemble about the end of April; and until the +tea came down were all engaged in painting, +varnishing and smartening themselves up, and in +other ways, such as sheathing over their channels, +preparing for the fray. Then what a sight they +made when all was spick and span, with their +glistening black hulls, snow-white decks, golden +gingerbread work and carving at bow and stern, +newly-varnished teak deck-fittings, glittering brass +and burnished copper. Every ship, of course, had +her distinctive mast and bulwark colours.”</p> +<br> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="p1641_ill1" style="max-width: 62.5em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/p1641_ill1.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + <p class="right fs80">[<em>By courtesy Messrs. T. H. Parker.</em></p> + <p class="center no-indent">PORT OF LIVERPOOL.<br> + In 1798.</p> + </figcaption> +</figure> +<br> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="p1641_ill2" style="max-width: 62.5em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/p1641_ill2.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + <p class="right fs80">[<em>By courtesy Messrs. T. H. Parker.</em></p> + <p class="center no-indent">SCREW S.S. “LADY JOCELYN.”<br> + 1,800 tons, 300 horse-power. Owned by General Screw Steam Shipping Co.</p> + </figcaption> +</figure> +<br> + +<p>The tea-clipper <em>Fiery Cross</em>, launched in 1860 at +Liverpool and wood-built, was to become famous +for her fast passages home. It was customary in +those days for the first vessel who landed the new +teas in England to receive a premium. This vessel +won the premium on four occasions. Then in +1863 Steele built the <em>Serica</em> and <em>Taeping</em>, two +of the most famous clipper ships. The former +was wood-built and of 708 tons. The latter was +composite-built and of 767 tons, and it was in 1865 +that two more Steele composite tea-clippers were +launched, also to become famous. These were the +853-ton <em>Ariel</em> and the 886-ton <em>Sir Lancelot</em>. Very +beautiful craft they were, and no ship-lover can +regard the existing pictures of these handsome +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_165">[Pg 165]</span>craft without a thrill of emotion. Symmetry, +grace, proportion, curves, easy lines as to hull; +a good sail-plan, tall masts and fine spars; carrying +in light winds all sorts of kites and fancy sails, the +supreme test came in the ever-memorable race of +1866, which is one of the greatest events in the +whole history of merchant ships under sail. On +May 28, 1866, there was a whole fleet of these +clippers loading at Foochow. At 5 p.m. <em>Ariel</em> +began her voyage, by dropping down and anchoring +for the night; and then followed the <em>Fiery +Cross</em>, <em>Taeping</em>, <em>Serica</em> and <em>Taitsing</em>, at intervals. +On August 12 <em>Ariel</em> passed the Cape Verde +Islands, next day came <em>Taeping</em>, <em>Fiery Cross</em> and +<em>Serica</em>, the <em>Taitsing</em> not passing until the 19th, +but she had made up these three days by September +1. On September 5 <em>Ariel</em> picked up the +Bishop Light, sighted <em>Taeping</em>, and the two raced +up Channel, doing their fourteen knots. <em>Ariel</em> got +her pilot at six the next morning off Dungeness, +followed immediately by <em>Taeping</em>. In the Downs +<em>Taeping</em> got the more powerful tug, and thus +reached Gravesend nearly an hour sooner, and +finally docked twenty minutes before <em>Ariel</em>. It +was a near thing after racing for three months +from one end of the world to the other. <em>Serica</em> +docked on the same tide, <em>Fiery Cross</em> was only +about a day later, and <em>Taitsing</em> arrived in the +river on September 9. And there were plenty +more of these races, for the skippers cracked-on +and made these clippers do marvellous things +through the water.</p> + +<p>But in 1868 there was built at Aberdeen the +famous clipper <em>Thermopylae</em>, 947 tons, a bigger +and more powerful ship than the Steele clippers, +and a veritable witch at sailing, whether on the +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_166">[Pg 166]</span>wind or to windward, and a wonderful sea boat, +too. In November 1868 she started on her maiden +voyage from Gravesend, and reached Melbourne in +sixty-three days. Mr. Downie, already quoted, +whilst a midshipman in a Blackwaller, happened +to be in Melbourne when <em>Thermopylae</em> came in, +and went aboard to look over this new wonder +ship. “She had immensely square yards,” he says, +“and most beautiful lines, fore and aft. Her +apprentices told me her skipper had driven +her all the way, carrying on tremendously, but +her spars and rigging were all new, and of the +best material, and stood the severe strain in +splendid fashion.”</p> + +<p><em>Thermopylae</em> broke records, and in 1869 got +home from Foochow in ninety-one days, though +<em>Sir Lancelot</em> less than a fortnight later arrived +after a voyage of only eighty-nine days. But then +came the splendid <em>Cutty Sark</em>. She is the only +one of this long line of tea-clippers still afloat +and at work. In the autumn of 1921 she came +into the London river, and I was able to go all +over her. But she had changed her name to +<em>Ferreira</em> and was Portuguese-owned and rigged +as a barquentine. For all that, and the disappointing +way in which she was being kept up, +she was in excellent condition, with a yacht-like +hull, every line of which suggested grace and speed. +Composite-built, this 921-ton vessel was a little +bigger than <em>Thermopylae</em>, and was launched in +1869. Under Captain Moodie this vessel cracked-on, +and she could do her seventeen and a half +knots, and anyone who has examined her bow and +stern will readily believe this.</p> +<br> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="p1661_ill" style="max-width: 62.5em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/p1661_ill.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + <p class="right fs80">[<em>By courtesy Messrs. T. H. Parker.</em></p> + <p class="center no-indent">AUXILIARY SCREW S.S. “INDOMITABLE.”<br> + 1,170 tons. Owned by R. James Brown, Sunderland.</p> + </figcaption> +</figure> +<br> + +<p>And here, in the height of their glory, we must +now leave these clippers; for the opening of the +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_167">[Pg 167]</span>Suez Canal told owners pretty plainly that the +future for them was to leave sail and go in for +steam. In 1881 <em>Thermopylae</em> made her last passage +as a tea-carrier, and all the other clippers had +either gone or were out of the running, and used +in other trades. Crews began more frequently to +go into steamships, famous captains retired, and +the younger men, like the crews, preferred the +more comfortable life in a mechanically-propelled +vessel. But for years the American and British +clipper ships were the glory of the Mercantile +Marine, as at one time the old East Indiamen +had been before the days of healthy competition. +The influence of the scientific French architects +on the American builders of frigates and privateers +is traceable through the clipper ships which +followed. Thus mutually one nation is linked +with another in the development of that great +service which has meant so much for the good +of the world.</p> + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> +<div class="chapter"> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_168">[Pg 168]</span></p> + + + <h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XIV"> + CHAPTER XIV + <br> + <span class="fs80">THE TRIUMPH OF STEAM</span> + </h2> +</div> + + +<p>The speed of life, the rate of progress, and the +development of new ideas have since the beginning +of the nineteenth century been so rapid that all +the previous history of the Mercantile Marine, as +in other spheres of activity, seems ridiculously slow +and unduly protracted until we realise that a ship +could not become efficient until she had the right +type of hull and the correct distribution of sails, +nor be able to steam until suitable engines had +evolved by invention and long practice.</p> + +<p>It is a cliché to speak of the “wonderful” nineteenth +century, and yet in regard to its effects on +the sea services it is but expressing a literal truth. +The amazing fact is, that just as the sailing ship +was becoming perfect the steamship was beginning +to take its place; and just as the clippers had +definitely created the golden age of sail, steamers +had become reliable, indispensable and destined to +make sailing vessels out of date. If steam and +iron, and then steel, had not been introduced into +marine progress for another hundred years, and +the clippers had been allowed to have the seas to +themselves, it would have seemed but fair and +natural, having regard to the centuries and centuries +which had been necessary to bring about, at last, +so perfect a creation of man’s science, art and +bitter experience.</p> +<br> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="p1681_ill" style="max-width: 62.5em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/p1681_ill.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + <p class="right fs80">[<em>By courtesy Messrs. T. H. Parker.</em></p> + <p class="center no-indent">LORD YARBOROUGH’S YACHT “FALCON.”<br> + 351 tons. Off Cowes. About 1829. Afterwards used as a merchant ship.</p> + </figcaption> +</figure> +<br> + +<p>But it was not to be. The story of the steamship, +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_169">[Pg 169]</span>like that of the sailing ship, is one of evolution; +but compressed into a few years instead of +many centuries. As early as 1736 a steam vessel +had been patented by Jonathan Hulls, to be used +as a steam tug. It is even said that such a craft +was built and experimented with in the following +year; but at any rate the experiment was not +continued. The essential idea was the use of a +single paddle at the stern. Now follows the trend +of invention. In 1783 a two-paddle-wheel steam +craft, turned by a single horizontal steam cylinder, +constructed by the Marquis de Jouffroy, actually +went ahead for some time against the current of +the Saône. For some time Patrick Miller had +been experimenting with the old idea of propelling +craft by hand-worked paddle-wheels. In 1787 +William Symington had obtained a patent for a +new steam-engine, and he was now asked to design +an engine that would turn these paddle-wheels. +Thus in the autumn of 1788 the engine was put +into a double-hulled vessel, no bigger than the +smallest yacht, measuring 25 feet long, with 7 feet +beam, the engine being geared with chains and the +two paddle-wheels being placed between the two +hulls, one wheel astern of the other. This curious +vessel was actually tried on Dalswinton Loch and +was able to do her five miles an hour.</p> + +<p>Then in 1801 was built the stern-wheeler <em>Charlotte +Dundas</em> at Grangemouth, having engines supplied +by Symington. She also had a double stern with +two rudders controlled by a steering-wheel. She +proved her efficiency to the extent of towing a +couple of 70-ton, loaded vessels for nearly twenty +miles along the Forth and Clyde canal; but as the +owners of this waterway feared for the damage +done to the banks of the canal, the ship was condemned. +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_170">[Pg 170]</span>We have to look upon these as hardly +anything more than interesting experiments, but +six years later we see the first real steamship, not +in England nor Scotland, but in North America, +yet produced by a combination of British and +American brains. This was the <em>Clermont</em>, measuring +133 feet long and 18 feet beam, and was produced +by Robert Fulton, an American engineer, born in +Pennsylvania of Irish parentage. In 1797 he came +to Paris, where he devoted his attention to steam +navigation, and in 1803 built a small steamboat +which went up the Seine. Three years later he +went back to America, having seen the trial trip +of the <em>Charlotte Dundas</em>. He arranged with the +British firm Boulton & Watt to make for him the +principal portions of a suitable engine, and these +were sent across the Atlantic to him and fitted into +the wooden ship <em>Clermont</em>. The result was that +in 1807 this craft travelled by steam power from +New York to Albany up the Hudson, a distance +of 150 miles, in thirty-two hours. This was a +veritable triumph, and definitely settled the question +as to whether steam vessels would ever become of +practical utility. It is, indeed, one of the landmarks +of history, and when we look on the ocean +to-day and see such mighty steamships as <em>Olympic</em>, +<em>Aquitania</em>, <em>Majestic</em> and <em>Berengaria</em>, to say nothing +of the many thousands of smaller steamers all +over the world, it is nothing short of remarkable +that in little more than a hundred years such a +stupendous change should have come about. The +advancement of the ship seems suddenly to have +been telescoped.</p> +<br> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="p1701_ill1" style="max-width: 62.5em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/p1701_ill1.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + <p class="right fs80">[<em>By courtesy Messrs. T. H. Parker.</em></p> + <p class="center no-indent">CLIPPER SCREW S.S. “HELLENIS.”<br> + 755 tons, length 206 ft. Owned by the Anglo-Ionian Steam Navigation Co., Ltd. + Built at Stockton. In 1861.</p> + </figcaption> +</figure> +<br> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="p1701_ill2" style="max-width: 62.5em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/p1701_ill2.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + <p class="right fs80">[<em>By courtesy Messrs. T. H. Parker.</em></p> + <p class="center no-indent">S.S. “ORINOCO.”<br> + 2,250 tons, 800 horse-power. Lieut. G. M. Chapman, R.N., Commander. + Owned by Royal West India Mail Company.</p> + </figcaption> +</figure> +<br> + +<p>But the successive stages were not easy, and +there was much to be learnt. In 1811 on the +Clyde was launched the <em>Comet</em>, a clumsy little +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_171">[Pg 171]</span>thing of 40 feet length on the keel, and able to +steam five miles an hour by means of one paddle +on each side, as in the case of the <em>Clermont</em>. During +the next few years paddle-steamers began to be +built and introduced on the Clyde, Thames and +Mersey. By 1817 a steamer called the <em>Caledonia</em> +had been taken from the Clyde to the Thames, +whence, after receiving new engines, she steamed +to Rotterdam. A year later came the 90-ton <em>Rob +Roy</em>, constructed by William Denny and engined +by Napier with thirty nominal horse-power. After +running for some time between Greenock and +Belfast, she was transferred to the Dover-Calais +route, but in the meantime steamer development +was proceeding in other parts of Europe. For in +1815 a small craft called the <em>Elizabeth</em> was running +on the Neva, another steamer was carrying passengers +between Cronstadt and St. Petersburg, +whilst in Germany the first vessel of this kind to +be built was the <em>Prinzessin Charlotte</em>, a double-hulled +thing with a single paddle-wheel between +the hulls. She was running on the Elbe and Spree +as early as 1816.</p> + +<p>Thus far small steamers had shown their utility +for inland waters and for short sea passages; but +now comes another important event. In the year +1818 there was built in New York the 350-ton +full-rigged ship <em>Savannah</em>, but she was also fitted +with a low-pressure engine of ninety horse-power, +and a couple of paddle-wheels, one on each side. +These were so arranged that they could be hoisted +on board. In the following year she crossed the +Atlantic to Liverpool in thirty days, but this was +largely a sailing passage, for she did not use her +engines except for eighty hours, and by the time +she had reached the Irish coast she had consumed +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_172">[Pg 172]</span>all her fuel. On her return to America her engines +were removed and she became a sailing ship simply. +Still, for the first time in history a ship had been +driven by steam in the Atlantic, and it showed +what could be expected presently.</p> + +<p>And then came a surprise. In that yard which +had been building nothing else but sailing ships +since the time of Elizabeth, in that yard where the +flower of the British merchant fleet had always +been constructed, there was now actually being +made a steamer! It seemed incredible, but it +was true, and it caused a great sensation at the +time. In 1820 had been formed the first steamship +company, under the title of the General Steam +Navigation Company, and they gave the order +for their first steamer to the Blackwall yard of +Wigram & Green. This ship was the 401-ton +paddler <em>City of Edinburgh</em>, for the Edinburgh +trade, and she was launched in 1821, the same +year as the yard also launched the 1333-ton East +Indiaman <em>Duchess of Atholl</em>, one of the finest sailing +ships of the time. It was significant of the +big change that was coming over the Mercantile +Marine, though for many a year most of the officers +and men heartily despised any one who deserted +sail for steam.</p> + +<p>In the following year this same yard launched +the 180-ton paddler <em>King of the Netherlands</em> for +the same owners, and in 1823 they built three +more steamers of from 244 to 510 tons. The <em>City +of Edinburgh</em> had been launched in March, and had +caused so much interest that the future William IV +and Queen Adelaide went to look over her and +were surprised at the magnificence of her passenger +accommodation. The engines were of only 100 +horse-power, yet the Press at the time referred to +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_173">[Pg 173]</span>them as “extremely powerful.” Then in the following +June was launched at Port Glasgow the 420-ton +three-masted schooner <em>James Watt</em>, which had +a long, narrow funnel, about as tall as her mainmast, +and a paddle-wheel on either side of the +ship driven by engines of the same horse-power as +those for the <em>City of Edinburgh</em>.</p> + +<p>The steamship had thus got a good start, though +as regards ocean work the engines were auxiliary +rather than the main propelling power. In 1825 +the 176-ton auxiliary <em>Falcon</em> reached Calcutta via +the Cape, and the 470-ton <em>Enterprise</em> made the +same voyage in 113 days, but for 103 days she +used steam. This was the biggest test which +marine machinery had so far endured. It proved +a good deal, and therefore it is not surprising that +two years later there were eighty steamers classed +in Lloyd’s Register, and five years later there +were 100. But the Atlantic had not yet been +conquered by steam, and when we realise that +<em>Aquitania</em> was not in commission until 1914, we +can well appreciate the rate of progress that was +afterwards made. In 1831 a vessel named the +<em>Royal William</em>, 176 feet long, was built in Quebec, +and fitted with engines made by Boulton & Watt +that had been sent across the Atlantic. Two years +later this ship crossed the ocean to Cowes, having +done the 2500 miles in seventeen days, yet there +is some doubt as to whether she used her engines +throughout the whole voyage.</p> + +<p>But the year 1838 was to be remarkable in the +story of the Atlantic, for on April 4 there started +from Cork the 703-ton paddler <em>Sirius</em>, which +reached New York on April 22. She had steamed +all the way, but it had been a near thing, for her +fuel gave out and she had even to burn some of +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_174">[Pg 174]</span>her spars. At one stage of the voyage her captain +had to quell a mutiny, for the crew began to +assume that the ship would never get across. +Twelve hours after her arrival came into New +York the four-masted paddler <em>Great Western</em>, +which had left Bristol on April 7. She was a +much larger ship, of 1321 gross tons, and had +been specially designed by that engineering genius +Brunel to withstand Atlantic weather. On the +return voyage she took fifteen days, and <em>Sirius</em> +seventeen. <em>Great Western</em> was a most successful +ship, both technically and commercially. At the +end of the first year she earned a dividend of 9 per +cent., thirty-five guineas being the fare, and she +carried 152 passengers. She was not broken up +until 1847.</p> + +<p>So far no steamer had crossed from Liverpool +to New York, though the sailing ships were still +doing the voyage in about three weeks, but in +1838 a second <em>Royal William</em> accomplished this. +She was hardly the kind of paddler to choose for +Atlantic work, and had really been built for the +Liverpool-Kingstown route. Built and engined at +Liverpool, being 3 feet shorter but 2 feet wider +than <em>Sirius</em>, she was thus the first of those steamers +to maintain the communication between Liverpool +and New York, which has meant so much to the +mutual commerce and development of ideas in the +two countries. On April 2, 1839, the three-masted +paddler <em>British Queen</em> left Portsmouth and reached +New York on April 16, or three days quicker +than the first <em>Royal William</em> had done the journey +in the opposite direction under sail and steam. +Encouraged by the success of <em>Sirius</em>, which had +been chartered because the <em>British Queen</em> was not +yet ready, the British Queen Steam Navigation +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_175">[Pg 175]</span>Company had also built the sister ship <em>President</em>, +1863 tons and 700 horse-power; but after sailing +from New York on March 11, 1841, with a few +passengers, <em>President</em> was never heard of again, +and thus the company came to an end.</p> + +<p>We have now reached a stage when a change +was coming over the Mercantile Marine slowly +but without a doubt. A new competition was +beginning, yet so far sail was ahead and improving +all the time. But from the number of new shipyards +which were springing up, and the interest +which they and owners were taking in the steamship, +it was obvious even soon after Queen Victoria’s +accession that in the steamship lay the future of +the trading and passenger ship. It is to be noted +that during the time of the Honourable East India +Company their ships were primarily and essentially +freighters. They earned their profits by carrying +valuable exports and imports. The few passengers +who travelled were officials going out to India in +the service of the company, or returning home. +To-day the finest merchant ships in the world are +not freighters, but passenger ships. It is the tramp +which has succeeded to the carrying trade of those +pioneer ships; and after the Indian monopoly had +disappeared, and there came a need for people to +go out East, it was quite an innovation to provide +more accommodation for passengers. Then the +same thing happened in regard to China, but especially +with the emigration to Australia. Gradually +this element increased, people began to travel all +over the world, for business, for administrative +reasons, for pleasure; and as the number of passengers +increased so the amount of cargo space was +encroached upon. Especially was this the case in +the transatlantic ships, so that to-day the principal +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_176">[Pg 176]</span>liners on that route carry practically no cargo +beyond mails and the passengers’ luggage. Thus, +within a hundred years, the needs of the public +have entirely altered the characters of the shipping.</p> + +<p>It was natural enough that the East should for +so long have instigated all the improvements in +shipping, for the reason that travellers went to the +Orient long before America was discovered, and +the East India Company had a continuous need +for the best ships. But since the introduction of +steam and the rapid progress of the United States, +it is the West, and not the East which has always +seen the greatest enterprise in shipping. Bigger +and better vessels, compound engines, twin screws, +triple screws, quadruple screws, turbines, oil fuel, +increased speed, luxurious accommodation—all +these most important and progressive factors in +the Mercantile Marine have come as a result of +the Atlantic, and not the Oriental trade.</p> + +<p>In reality it is all traceable to the year 1840, +though the establishment of Lloyd’s Register in +1834,⁠<a id="FNanchor_5_5" href="#Footnote_5_5" class="fnanchor">[5]</a> the founding of the Marine Department of +the Board of Trade in 1846 and the repeal of the +Navigation Laws in 1849 have also to be reckoned +as having powerfully contributed to the improvement +of British shipping. Some time since I had +in my hands the log of the sailing ship <em>Elizabeth</em>, +which sailed from the Thames in the spring of +1833, arrived in China the following January, left +there in March, called at St. Helena in June, +then crossed the Atlantic and reached Halifax in +August. She was, I believe, the last of the ships +owned by the Honourable East India Company to +leave China before the monopoly ended. Now, as +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_177">[Pg 177]</span>showing the interlocking of human affairs, it is +interesting to observe that at Halifax she went +alongside Mr. Cunard’s wharf, for he was the East +India Company’s agent in that port. Curiously, +five years previously, in reply to a letter sent to +his firm by Messrs. Ross & Primrose, Cunard had +written: “We have received your letter of the +22nd inst. We are entirely unacquainted with the +cost of a steamboat, and would not like to embark +in a business of which we are quite ignorant. +Must, therefore, decline taking any part in the one +you propose getting up.”</p> + +<p>Now in those days the arrangements for postal +contracts were in the hands of the British Admiralty, +who were so impressed by the wonderful steamship +achievements of 1838 that they proceeded to +issue circulars inviting tenders for the carrying of +American mails by steamers. It so happened that +one of these circulars fell into the hands of Samuel +Cunard of Halifax, who owned a number of sailing +ships trading between Boston, Newfoundland and +Bermuda. He had been one of the shareholders +of the first <em>Royal William</em>, which had crossed in +1833 from Nova Scotia to Cowes. Having read +the circular and made up his mind, he came to +London in order to raise the required money, but +the merchants would have nothing to do with the +scheme. From the secretary of the East India +Company he obtained a letter of introduction to +Mr. Robert Napier, a Clyde shipbuilder and +engineer, who in turn introduced him to Mr. +George Burns, and the latter introduced him to +Mr. David MacIver. Each of these two last +mentioned was an expert in the shipping business, +and in a few days the necessary capital of £270,000 +was subscribed. A tender was then made to the +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_178">[Pg 178]</span>Admiralty for the conveyance of Her Majesty’s +mails once a fortnight between Liverpool, Halifax +and Boston. This was accepted in competition, +and a contract was signed for seven years. It was +agreed that the service was to be carried on by +four ships, that fixed dates of sailings should be +adhered to, and that the company should be +subsidised to the extent of £81,000 a year.</p> + +<p>Thus the famous Cunard Company was founded. +Cunard came to London, Burns to Glasgow and +MacIver to Liverpool, and to these three men we +owe a great deal of the subsequent development +of Atlantic shipping and the progress of the +Mercantile Marine. The company was at first +known as “The British and North American Royal +Mail Steam Packet Company,” and in the year +1840 these four wooden ships were built on the +Clyde and supplied with engines by Robert Napier. +The first was the <em>Britannia</em>, followed by the +<em>Acadia</em>, <em>Caledonia</em> and <em>Columbia</em>. They were +propelled by paddle-wheels, carried 115 cabin +passengers and 225 tons of cargo, and they were +all approximately 1154 tons, and 207 feet long. +Regardless of superstition, <em>Britannia</em> began her +maiden voyage on a Friday, which happened to be +July 4, a day which commemorated another kind +of Independence. After a fine trip of eleven days +and four hours she reached Halifax, and thence +proceeded to Boston, just a fortnight plus eight +hours out from Liverpool. The citizens of Boston +celebrated the historic event with banqueting and +enthusiasm, and thus was forged one of those links +which have bound the two nations together for so +many years ever since.</p> + +<p>Following the precedent of the Cunard Company, +the Royal Mail Line in March 1840, obtained a contract +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_179">[Pg 179]</span>to carry the mails in at least fourteen “good +substantial and efficient steam vessels” to the +West Indies, whither previously the mails had been +carried in gun-brigs. The contract was for ten +years from December 1841. All the ships were +named after British rivers, and they used to depart +from Falmouth, the voyage taking from seventeen +to eighteen days. It is evidence of the great +spread of shipbuilding already that these fourteen +ships were built at Northfleet on the Thames, +Greenock, Dumbarton, Leith and even Cowes. +The fleet cost about £1,000,000 sterling, but the +Government gave them a subsidy of £240,000 a +year. The undertaking was very successful, and +presently Southampton took the place of Falmouth. +Then in 1851 the Royal Mail Line extended their +service to South America. Gradually the heavy +subsidy dropped to £85,000 a year, and was finally +abolished in June 1905.</p> + +<p>As further evidence of the solid belief which the +steamship had now won, it is only necessary to +refer to the Pacific Steam Navigation Company, +which received its charter in 1840. It is now +amalgamated with the Royal Mail Line, but in +those days, whilst the latter served the east side +of South America, the Pacific Steam Navigation +Company served the Pacific coast of that continent +by going round through the Magellan Straits. +Their two ships the <em>Chile</em> and <em>Peru</em> were in fact +the first two steamers which ever passed through +those straits. What a wonderful change since the +time of Drake’s ships!</p> + +<p>But there is still one more important event +which belongs to the year 1840, for this was the +date when there was incorporated by royal charter +the Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_180">[Pg 180]</span>Company. The foundation of the Peninsular +Company dates back to 1837, and a regular service +of mail packets was instituted from London to +Lisbon and Gibraltar, though even a little prior +to this date its ships had begun running to the +Peninsula. The first steamship owned by the +Peninsular Company was the 209-ton paddler +<em>William Fawcett</em>, built in the year 1829, and +she ran from London to Lisbon and Gibraltar. +In 1840 the line was extended to Malta and +Alexandria, and its title changed from Peninsular +to Peninsular and Oriental. There was as yet no +Suez Canal, so from Alexandria passengers and +goods were sent by the Mahmoudieh Canal to the +Nile, whence they proceeded by steamer to Cairo, +and from there travelled through the desert on +camels as far as Suez. It was thus a laborious +business, 3000 camels being employed for transporting +a single steamer’s loading, every package +requiring three separate transfers; and for nearly +thirty years this continued until the Suez Canal +was opened in 1869.</p> +<br> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="p1801_ill" style="max-width: 62.5em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/p1801_ill.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + <p class="right fs80">[<em>By courtesy Messrs. T. H. Parker.</em></p> + <p class="center no-indent">TWO EARLY MAIL STEAMSHIPS.<br> + This picture of 1842 shows two of the General Steam Navigation Company’s vessels at Rotterdam. The 600-ton “Ocean” leaving, + and the 500-ton “Giraffe” arriving.</p> + </figcaption> +</figure> +<br> + +<p>But this company first sent a steamer to India +via the Cape in 1842. This was the 1800-ton +<em>Hindostan</em>, with 500-horse-power engines. In +1844 the P. & O. undertook the mail service from +England to Alexandria, and thus from Suez to +Ceylon, Calcutta and China. The service between +Suez and Bombay was carried on by the East +India Company, in order to keep alive their navy, +but in 1854 this service was absorbed by the +P. & O., who in 1852 had also started a branch +line from Singapore to Australia. Then in 1869 +came the opening of the Suez Canal, and thus was +broken down the last barrier which separated +India from the trader. A tremendous impulse was +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_181">[Pg 181]</span>given now to shipping; for the first time vessels +need not go round the Cape of Good Hope, and +so once again the Mediterranean ceased to be a +backwater and the route to the East was now more +like what it was before the Portuguese, Dutch +and Elizabethan English had begun to undertake +their Oriental voyages. It is interesting to remark +that in the same year which saw the opening of +the Suez Canal the two fastest clipper ships which +ever sailed were both afloat—<em>Thermopylae</em> and +<em>Cutty Sark</em>. The latter made her maiden voyage +in the following February. Thus, at a time when +sailing ships were passing the Cape at a record +speed, the canal was being opened and putting +an end to the sail-driven vessel’s usefulness after +so many centuries, linking it up with Vasco da +Gama and earlier.</p> +<br> + + +<div class="footnotes"> +<h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_5_5" href="#FNanchor_5_5" class="label">[5]</a> By the amalgamation of the Register of Shipping (1760) +and the New Register Book of Shipping (1799).</p></div> +</div> + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_182">[Pg 182]</span></p> +<div class="chapter"> + <h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XV"> + CHAPTER XV + <br> + <span class="fs80">THE IRON AND STEEL AGE</span> + </h2> +</div> + + +<p>In a very few years, then, the increasing success +of the steamer, together with the opening of the +Suez Canal and firm establishment of several +steamship companies carrying mails east, west and +south, gave the glorious sailing ships a blow from +which they have never since recovered. Mechanically-propelled +craft were now seen everywhere. +In 1841 the Blackwall yard launched the 666-ton +paddler <em>Princess Royal</em> and the 875-ton paddler +<em>Trident</em> for the General Steam Navigation Company. +The latter craft was one of the fastest +vessels afloat, and on Queen Victoria’s first visit to +Scotland this ship so far surpassed the royal yacht +in speed that <em>Trident</em> was chartered for Her +Majesty’s party on the return voyage.</p> +<br> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="p1821_ill" style="max-width: 62.5em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/p1821_ill.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + <p class="right fs80">[<em>By courtesy Messrs. T. H. Parker.</em></p> + <p class="center no-indent">S.S. “TRIDENT.”<br> + Of the General Steam Navigation Company, arriving at Woolwich on September 13, 1842, with Queen Victoria on board after her visit + to Scotland. “Trident” was of 875 tons.</p> + </figcaption> +</figure> +<br> + +<p>From 1840 to about 1860 the Cunard ships had +practically a monopoly of the Atlantic steamship +trade, though as long as they used paddle-wheels +they were not very serious competitors with the +sailing craft. It was the advent of iron and steel, +of the high-pressure and compound engines which +was to give the steamships the virtues of economy +and efficiency and thus a superiority over the old-fashioned +craft. From 1850 for the next eight +years there was in the North Atlantic a certain +amount of opposition from a steamship company +called the Collins Line, which had been subsidised +by the United States Government. After a burst +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_183">[Pg 183]</span>of keen rivalry, the Collins Line withdrew from the +contest. In 1850 came the Inman Line, which +kept up the running for many years until in 1893 +it was reorganised and became merged in the +American Line. In 1866 was founded the Guion +Line, which certainly had a great influence for a +time in accelerating the development of the big +steamship. And then in 1870 came the White +Star Line, which, excepting the Cunard Line and +a temporary influence of the two German lines, has +done more for the improvement in design and +speed and comfort in regard to steamships than +all the other companies put together.</p> + +<p>We must now see how this all came about. It +depended really on two things: first, the use of +iron, and subsequently steel, for the building of +bigger hulls; and secondly, the invention of the +screw propeller to take the place of the old-fashioned +paddle-wheel. Briefly how this came +to pass is as follows. As far back as 1821 a +Mr. Aaron Manby had built an iron craft 120 feet +long and 18 feet wide, and she steamed from +London to Paris, being employed for the next +twenty years on the Seine. She was thus the first +iron ship to put to sea, and was called the <em>Aaron +Manby</em>, after her builder. Then in 1832 Laird & +Co. of Birkenhead built the 148-ton paddler <em>Lady +Lansdowne</em> for the trade between England and +Ireland. But it was not until 1843 that the first +really large iron ship, the famous <em>Great Britain</em>, +was built, intended as an improvement on the +<em>Great Western</em>.</p> + +<p>But before we speak of the <em>Great Britain</em> we +must see something of the way the propeller +came in, for the two subjects are intimately connected. +At its best the paddle-wheel, except for +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_184">[Pg 184]</span>excursion steamers and certain kinds of tugs, is a +very clumsy means of driving a ship through the +water. It is the most obvious, because historically +it is analogous to the action of the duck, of the +first primitive man who paddled his small craft, or +of the later Egyptians who rowed with oars down +the Nile. But for open sea work the paddle-wheel +is an awkward encumbrance, and apart from +tugs and pleasure steamers it was last seen, in +European waters at least, in the mail steamers +running from England to Flushing and Ostend +comparatively recently.</p> +<br> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="p1841_ill1" style="max-width: 62.5em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/p1841_ill1.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + <p class="right fs80">[<em>By courtesy Messrs. T. H. Parker.</em></p> + <p class="center no-indent">THE “ROBERT F. STOCKTON.”<br> + (Captain Ericsson, 1839.)</p> + </figcaption> +</figure> +<br> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="p1841_ill2" style="max-width: 62.5em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/p1841_ill2.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + <p class="right fs80">[<em>By courtesy Messrs. T. H. Parker.</em></p> + <p class="center no-indent">AN EARLY CROSS-CHANNEL STEAMER.<br> + This picture of 1855 shows the English and French Royal Mail Steam Packets + “Queen” and “Empress.”</p> + </figcaption> +</figure> +<br> + +<p>But for a long time there had been efforts made +to introduce the screw propeller. As far back as +1804 John Stevens crossed the Hudson in a little +vessel driven by a screw propeller, but it was not +until thirty-two years later that John Ericsson, a +Swedish engineer, reintroduced the screw and +patented it. In 1837 his propeller was successfully +tried in the 45-foot <em>Francis B. Ogden</em>, and in the +following year the Lairds built at Birkenhead +the 63-foot <em>Robert F. Stockton</em>, which obtained the +extraordinary speed of thirteen knots on the +Thames, going with the tide, and she afterwards +went across the Atlantic, where she was turned +into a tug. But in England Francis Smith was at +work on the screw problem and obtained a patent +in the same year as Ericsson, and his invention was +tried with success in a 6-ton boat. Smith’s patent +was bought by a syndicate; and in 1838 was +launched the 240-ton three-master <em>Archimedes</em>, +fitted with Smith’s screw, and after she had +steamed round Great Britain and across the Bay +of Biscay, the prejudiced and “old-timers” began +to believe in the new idea. Next year was +launched the much larger <em>Novelty</em>, which was the +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_185">[Pg 185]</span>first cargo ship to be fitted with a screw, and she +proceeded from London to Constantinople and +back. She was also the first ship to be fitted with +an iron mast.</p> + +<p>We have thus arrived at the stage when the iron +ship and the screw propeller had become practicable, +and thus the future of the steamer was +moulded. Wood was all very well until the +demand for increased tonnage arrived, but when it +was proposed to construct the 3618-ton <em>Great +Britain</em> there was nothing for it but to use iron. +Here was a ship to be 822 feet long with 50½ feet +beam, able to carry 260 passengers and 1200 tons +of cargo. As no contractor could be found willing +to build such a ship, the Great Western Steamship +Company at Bristol constructed her themselves. +She was designed by Brunel, but she turned out to +be an awkward, ill-fated monstrosity. Launched +in July 1843, she was unable to enter the river +until December of the following year, owing to +delay in the alteration of the dock. It was +originally intended to fit her with the usual paddle-wheels, +but the arrival of the <em>Archimedes</em> in the +port caused Brunel to modify the designs, so that +his ship should be driven by a six-bladed propeller. +She was a curious, six-masted craft with a bowsprit +and painted ports, and in July 1845, after making +a trip to London, left Liverpool with sixty +passengers and 600 tons of cargo, reaching New +York after a voyage of fifteen days. On the return +journey her best day’s steaming was 287 miles. +One night during September of the following year, +after leaving the Mersey, she ran ashore off the +Irish coast in Dundrum Bay, where she remained +for eleven months exposed to all weathers. Brunel +cleverly had a wooden breakwater, loaded with +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_186">[Pg 186]</span>stones, built round her, and she was eventually +refloated and taken into Liverpool. She was now +sold for a quarter of her original cost of £100,000, +was turned into a full-rigged ship for the Australian +trade, and eventually became a coal hulk.</p> + +<p>But in spite of her failure this ship showed that +an iron hull and a screw as propeller were a +practicable combination. She was divided into +five water-tight compartments, she was fitted with +bilge-keels to minimise rolling, and instead of the +heavy wooden bulwarks possessed by contemporary +ships and inherited from the time when the Tudor +ships mounted their cannon, <em>Great Britain</em> had +iron rails with netting, so that any seas shipped +could get away easily. Thus, this unfortunate +vessel, in spite of her ill-luck, did introduce new +ideas into the Mercantile Marine. It was in 1856 +that the Cunard Company built the <em>Persia</em>, of iron. +She was a 3300-ton ship, but had paddle-wheels, +and then, six years later, came their <em>Scotia</em>, which +was the last and finest paddle-ship ever built for the +Atlantic service. She had seven water-tight compartments +and a double bottom, thanks to the +influence of <em>Great Britain</em>, and she lowered the +record of crossing the Atlantic to just two hours +under the nine days. The sailing ship as a +passenger-carrier across that ocean was now definitely +beaten, and the future simply consisted in +the more thorough perfecting of the steamships; +there was no going back now, notwithstanding the +fact that in the Eastern trades the full-rigged ships +were still making such wonderful passages.</p> +<br> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp85" id="p1861_ill" style="max-width: 54.3125em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/p1861_ill.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + <p class="right fs80">[<em>By courtesy Messrs. T. H. Parker.</em></p> + <p class="center no-indent">THE FAMOUS “GREAT EASTERN.”<br> + After her launching in 1858.</p> + </figcaption> +</figure> +<br> + +<p>The advance of engineering and science, the +amount of valuable data which had been obtained +during these years of steam propulsion, had already +brought steamship building to be no rule-of-thumb +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_187">[Pg 187]</span>method, but a highly technical art. About the +middle of the century, John Scott Russell, for +instance, made some valuable researches regarding +the resistance of a ship’s hull passing through the +water, and in 1860 Sir Edward Harland, founder +of the famous Belfast yard of Harland & Wolff, +introduced steamers into the Mediterranean with a +length of ten times their beam. This novel idea +was so successful that when he came to build the +White Star steamships he carried out that same +idea, which was yet another important influence in +the evolution of the modern Atlantic liner. But +even in 1852 a tremendous improvement was seen +in the hull of the <em>Victoria</em>, which was built of iron +to the design of Brunel & Scott Russell for the +Australian Royal Mail Steam Navigation Company. +She was designed to embody the wave-line +theory and for a speed of ten knots, and instead +of the clumsy, ponderous hulls, you find in the +<em>Victoria</em> smoothness, gracefulness and sweet lines. +It is therefore not altogether surprising that she +won the £500 prize offered by the Colonies for +the fastest voyage to Australia, her time from +Gravesend to Adelaide being sixty days, including +two days’ delay at St. Vincent. She was propelled +by a two-bladed screw.</p> + +<p>Thus in the fewest possible years a remarkable +change had come over the Mercantile Marine, +and though the old die-hards—those fine artists of +the marlin-spike—still heartily despised every kind +of steamship, yet others could see well enough that +an entirely new order of things had begun owing +to the advance in engineering. The ship, as in +regard to other creatures, had to advance with the +times. The first settlement in Australia had taken +place as far back as 1788, and now required better +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_188">[Pg 188]</span>lines of communication. So, too, with the East +and the great strides which North and South +America were making. Pioneers, emigrants, business +men were exercising a pressure which could +be met only in bigger and faster ships. Thanks +to the peace and prosperity of the mid-Victorian +era, new ideas were emerging. Gone were the +days of monopolies and worn-out rules: the last +trace of mediævalism in shipping had been severed, +and men were thinking out freely and unfettered +the problems of transport.</p> +<br> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="p1881_ill" style="max-width: 62.5em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/p1881_ill.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + <p class="right fs80">[<em>By courtesy Messrs. T. H. Parker.</em></p> + <p class="center no-indent">THE FAMOUS “GREAT EASTERN.”<br> + Also known as the “Leviathan.” Length 680 ft., beam 83 ft.; beam across paddle-boxes 120 ft.; depth (deck to keel) 58ft.; 22,500 tons; + draught (laden) 30 ft.; paddle engines 1,200 horse-power; screw engines 1,800 horse-power. Accommodation for 4,000 passengers.</p> + </figcaption> +</figure> +<br> + +<p>It was quite a remarkable achievement that in +1853 the <em>Himalaya</em> was built at Blackwall for the +P. & O. line. Here was an iron vessel of 4690 +tons, which succeeded in making a record run to +Gibraltar at an average speed of thirteen and a half +knots. No wonder that the year after she was +built she was purchased by the British Government. +And then came that wonder of the world, +the historic <em>Great Eastern</em>, which was the biggest +ship ever built for nearly fifty years, until the +White Star <em>Baltic</em> came out in 1905. The <em>Great +Eastern</em> is best described as a costly freak, but she +shows the marvellous courage and enterprise of +the Victorian age. It was Brunel’s idea that a +ship should be built so as to carry a very large +number of passengers and an enormous cargo all +the way to Australia without having to coal anywhere +on the voyage. She was to be 679 feet +6 inches long, with 82 feet 8 inches beam, of +18,915 tons, and driven by both paddles and a +screw. This five-funnelled, six-masted giantess +was built by Scott Russell on the Thames. She +began to be built on May 1, 1854, but she was not +launched at Millwall until the last day of January +1858, the first attempt to persuade her to enter the +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_189">[Pg 189]</span>water being unsuccessful. As a financial speculation +she was a failure. The attempts to launch her +and the ensuing delay ran into thousands of pounds, +and the company which owned her had to be wound +up, but she was sold to a new company for £160,000. +She was unfortunately now put on the Atlantic +route, where she was a financial failure also; then +from 1865 to 1873 she was used in laying the +Atlantic submarine telegraph cables, for which she +was found suitable, and finally in 1888 she was +beached and then broken up. Though in a commercial +sense she had never succeeded, the <em>Great +Eastern</em> did prove that she was perfectly sound +structurally, and never exhibited any signs of weakness +in spite of her enormous length. But she was +really years before her time.</p> + +<p>To have built this, or indeed any big ship, of +wood could not have been possible. What rendered +practicable the increased length of ships, able +to carry high-powered engines with much space for +passengers and cargo, was the invention of the +rolling-mill, which had been brought about by +Henry Cort, who died in 1800. Before this was +introduced, the iron after leaving the furnace had +to be hammered into shape. But nowadays iron +and steel can be turned out into suitable plates, so +that shipbuilding really consists in riveting together +so many plates as to form a steel box with shaped +ends. Instead of the soft sounds of the adze and +caulking chisel and the wholesome smell of tar, +the shipyard of to-day is a pandemonium of +monotonous, buzzing pneumatic riveting hammers. +There is no loving selection of timbers and +planking: the steel plates and girders are just +there ready to be put into position. It is highly +unsentimental, but inevitable that development +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_190">[Pg 190]</span>should proceed along these lines. During the +’seventies steel had been used for shipbuilding more +or less tentatively, but it was not until the Allan +liner <em>Buenos Ayrean</em> that a steel ship was seen in +the Atlantic.</p> + +<p>Mild steel, because of its ductility and strength +and lightness, became much more suitable than +iron, and opened up another era in the story of the +steamship. With the exception of yachts, lifeboats +and certain fishing craft, this is now used +universally for constructing hulls. In 1873 the +French had employed steel in building their warships, +and in 1881 the Cunard <em>Servia</em> came out +thus constructed. She was the largest and most +powerful ship then built with the exception of +<em>Great Eastern</em>, her measurements being 515 feet +long, 52 feet beam and 7392 tons gross. She +lowered the Atlantic voyage to seven days, one +hour, thirty-eight minutes.</p> +<br> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="p1901_ill" style="max-width: 62.5em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/p1901_ill.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + <p class="right fs80">[<em>By courtesy the White Star Line.</em></p> + <p class="center no-indent">S.S. “OCEANIC.”<br> + The first White Star Line steamship. Launched 1870. She measured 420 ft. over all. She was the first of the modern steamship era.</p> + </figcaption> +</figure> +<br> + +<p>But a most important influence on the future of +the Mercantile Marine was created when the +White Star Line began their competition in the +Atlantic trade. Previously their flag had flown +at the masthead of a fine fleet of sailing clippers. +In 1867 the managing owner of the White Star +Line retired, and Mr. T. H. Ismay took over +control. He began by using iron for his Australian +clippers instead of wood, and two years later gave +an order to Harland & Wolff, Belfast, to build +steamships for the Atlantic. In August 1870 was +launched the first of the fleet. This was the +<em>Oceanic</em>, 420 feet long, her beam being only one-tenth +of her length. That proportion was a radical +departure in shipbuilding, and very different from +the beamy old “waggons,” as the old sailing ships +were sometimes called. This <em>Oceanic</em> is really the +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_191">[Pg 191]</span>first of the modern steamships, and contained so +many new ideas as to make all the other steamships +old-fashioned. For instance, she introduced the +practice of having the saloon extending the entire +width and placed in the middle of the ship instead +of aft. The state-rooms were placed forward and +abaft the saloon, instead of opening out on to it, +which had been the custom derived from the +sailing ships. Moreover, the introduction of glass +side-lights on a much larger scale made the interior +of the ship lighter and more pleasant. In fact, +what with this, the revolving chairs instead of the +hard seats, the oil-lamps instead of the spluttering +candles, and other details of comfort, the passenger +saw that he was so well looked after that the +White Star became at once a popular line. Ever +since that time one company has vied with another +to give the Atlantic passenger the maximum +amount of pleasure and luxury. How little do +many of them appreciate the contrast between the +crack steamships of to-day and of fifty or sixty +years ago, when everything had to be learned by +hard and costly experience!</p> + +<p>The <em>Oceanic</em> was a 3808-ton vessel, and became +the fastest steamship afloat, her four-cylinder compound +engines enabling her to average fourteen +and a quarter knots. The first Atlantic line to +build all its steamers of iron had been the Inman +Line, which from 1850 to 1892 was one of the +chief competitors in that ocean. Founded by +William Inman, its successful policy was to capture +the emigration trade which had been carried on by +the sailing ships. Their first ships had been the +<em>City of Glasgow</em> and <em>City of Manchester</em>, built of +iron and propelled by a single screw. They inaugurated +the custom of calling at Queenstown, +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_192">[Pg 192]</span>and began running to New York instead of +Philadelphia. The first so-called Atlantic “greyhound” +was built by the Guion Line. In 1879 +came their <em>Arizona</em>, which unfortunately ran at +full speed into an iceberg, but her water-tight +bulkhead enabled her to get into St. John’s, +Newfoundland. Her advent was followed by the +<em>Oregon</em>, built in 1882, and she created a sensation +by making the run from Queenstown to New York +in six days, fourteen hours. This was a 7375-ton +ship, which, with her speed of nineteen knots, made +her the fastest vessel afloat, and was purchased by +the Cunard Company; but she in turn was eclipsed +by the two famous Cunarders, <em>Umbria</em> in 1884 +and <em>Etruria</em> in the following year. These two +wonderful craft were to be used as armed cruisers +if required, and never were more satisfactory ships +built to give their owners so little trouble. In +respect of speed, also, they broke all records, +<em>Etruria</em> crossing from Queenstown to New York +in six days, six hours and thirty-six minutes in +1885, while seven years later <em>Umbria</em> surpassed +this by maintaining an average of over nineteen +and a half knots.</p> + +<p>And whilst all this activity was proceeding in +the Atlantic, ships driven by steam were running +regularly to the East, though the competition in +this sphere was not keen. In 1877 the Orient +Line was founded. One of their ships, the <em>Austral</em>, +launched in 1881, was lying in Sydney Harbour +with her scuttles open, but owing to a heavy list +caused through unequal coaling the water poured +in and she sank in fifty feet of water. She was, +however, refloated several months later.</p> +<br> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="p1921_ill" style="max-width: 62.5em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/p1921_ill.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + <p class="right fs80">[<em>By courtesy Messrs. T. H. Parker.</em></p> + <p class="center no-indent">S.S. “SULTAN.” + 2,225 tons, 240 horse-power. J. Maddison, R.N.R., Commander. About 1873.</p> + </figcaption> +</figure> +<br> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="p1923_ill" style="max-width: 62.5em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/p1923_ill.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + <p class="right fs80">[<em>By courtesy Messrs. T. H. Parker.</em></p> + <p class="center no-indent">S.S. “ORIENT.” + About 1879. Owned by Orient Steam Navigation Company. 5,386 tons, 5,400 horse-power, length 460 ft., beam 46 ft. 6 in.</p> + </figcaption> +</figure> +<br> + +<p>Up till the ’eighties it was customary for the +crack liners to carry three and even four masts +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_193">[Pg 193]</span>with yards and both a fore staysail and square-sails. +It was a practice which exhibited the last +suspicion of steam, for it was argued that if the +propeller should become damaged, or the shaft +break there would at least be canvas enough for +her to get along. But, with the introduction and +general adoption of the twin-screw, masts became +fewer, yards and canvas disappeared, and the +seaman who had been brought up to go aloft and +lay-out along a yard found himself a mere deckhand. +He had seen the golden age of the full-rigged +pass away, and the last resemblance in the +steamship to the Blackwall frigates and the clippers +remained only in the clipper bows of the Inman +Line, who for so long kept up the useless but +ornamental bowsprit even as late as the ’nineties. +It is with the launch of their <em>City of New York</em> +and <em>City of Paris</em>, the latter in 1888, that twin +screws of a large size were introduced into the +Mercantile Marine, and here begins the final chapter +in the steamship’s development, for it gave her +an independence and increase of efficiency which +never before has she possessed nor since lost.</p> + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> +<div class="chapter"> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_194">[Pg 194]</span></p> + + + <h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XVI"> + CHAPTER XVI + <br> + <span class="fs80">THE MODERN MERCHANT SHIP</span> + </h2> +</div> + + +<p>The dominating factors which now influenced +the development of the Atlantic liner were speed +and comfort. Owing to the rapid increase of +commerce between the United States and Great +Britain, the West had long since taken the place +of the Orient as a magnetic attraction for the +shipowner. It is the Atlantic and not the route +to India which has seen the great improvements +in the modern ship, and even if there had been +keener competition to the East, it would not have +been possible to increase much the size of steamships +for the reason of the limitations imposed by +the Suez Canal. It is conceivable, however, that +some day the route to Australia round the Cape +may become a lane of keen rivalry to the advantage +of ship development.</p> +<br> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="p1941_ill" style="max-width: 62.5em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/p1941_ill.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + <p class="right fs80">[<em>By courtesy Messrs. T. H. Parker.</em></p> + <p class="center no-indent">S.S. “SPAIN.”<br> + 5,000 tons register. Of the National Line (New York to London).</p> + </figcaption> +</figure> +<br> + +<p>The struggle for the speed supremacy of the +North Atlantic went on. The <em>City of Paris</em> was +a flier. She could do her nineteen and twenty +knots. But the White Star Line replied with the +<em>Teutonic</em> and <em>Majestic</em>, both launched in 1889. +They, too, were fliers, for the former broke the +record by steaming from Queenstown to New +York in five days, eighteen hours, eight minutes, +while the latter did it in five days, sixteen hours, +thirty-one minutes. They were, of course, twin-screw +ships, but of only 9984 tons, which in this +advanced twentieth century seems quite small for +a crack liner. The competition was continued by +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_195">[Pg 195]</span>the Cunard Company launching in 1892 the <em>Campania</em>, +and in the following year the <em>Lucania</em>, fitted +with twin screws and triple-expansion engines. +Beautiful ships these were, with lovely lines and +an amazing turn of speed. Steel had, of course, +long since taken the place of iron, and in the +building of these two wonderful vessels the plates +were made of unprecedented size, and so they +required a smaller number of rivets. These were +600-feet ships, and it was their length which helped +to give them the 22-knot speed. <em>Campania</em> made +the run between Queenstown and New York in +five and a half days, and averaged just under +twenty-two knots for a whole year’s east-bound +voyages. This was a truly remarkable performance, +for the real criterion of efficiency is that a ship +should be able not merely to make one spectacular +hour’s run, nor break the record for one day or one +voyage, but to keep on doing this all the time. +Here is the test of good steamship management +ashore, perfect organisation aboard and the reason +for the highest praise to her officers and crew.</p> + +<p>The point we have now reached represents the +era of keen competition for the best-equipped and +speediest steamships in the Atlantic, and therefore +of all the Mercantile Marines in the world. In +this race the Collins Line, though subsidised by +the American Government, had already disappeared, +the reorganised Inman Line, which had +been absorbed in the American Line, in spite of +its fine ships, ceased to be a dangerous competitor. +In the end it became a contest between the two +British lines, the Cunard and the White Star. +The German liners now entered the Atlantic as +very serious competitors. It will be more convenient +to deal with the German Mercantile +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_196">[Pg 196]</span>Marine in a separate chapter, but it may be said +here that it was the wonderful achievements of +<em>Campania</em> and <em>Lucania</em> which created such emulation +that the North German Lloyd Company +scrapped their old-fashioned ships and in 1897 +produced the <em>Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse</em>, which +by her mean speed of 22·81 knots beat the +Cunarders, and thus for the first time Germany +won the “blue riband” of the Atlantic, as the +expression was in the ’nineties.</p> + +<p>In 1899 came the British reply in size though +not in speed. This was the White Star <em>Oceanic</em>, +13 feet longer than the memorable <em>Great Eastern</em>, +measuring 705 feet, as against the German’s 648 +feet 7 inches. <em>Oceanic’s</em> 28,500 tons displacement +showed the extraordinary development which had +taken place in the shipbuilding art in the fewest +years, and she was able to maintain a speed of +twenty knots. The Cunard’s next ships were two, +<em>Ivernia</em> and <em>Saxonia</em>, each of about 14,000 tons +gross—that is to say, roughly the size of the +German champion, but with an average speed of +fifteen and a quarter knots. They were comfortable +and economical rather than record-breakers. But +the <em>Ivernia</em> was the first Atlantic liner to break +away from the triple-expansion and use the +quadruple-expansion system. The White Star +Line, in 1901 and 1908, respectively, brought out +two enormous but slow ships in the <em>Celtic</em> and +<em>Cedric</em>, the former being 20,880 tons and the +latter 21,034 tons, with an average speed of sixteen +knots, and at this time also came their 15,801-ton +<em>Arabic</em>, with the same speed.</p> +<br> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="p1961_ill1" style="max-width: 62.5em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/p1961_ill1.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + <p class="right fs80">[<em>By courtesy the White Star Line.</em></p> + <p class="center no-indent">THE “BRITANNIC.”<br> + This White Star liner was built in 1874, and broke the record for speed. She + measured 468 ft. long. Speed 16 knots; 5,000 tons.</p> + </figcaption> +</figure> +<br> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="p1961_ill2" style="max-width: 62.5em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/p1961_ill2.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + <p class="right fs80">[<em>By courtesy the Cunard Line.</em></p> + <p class="center no-indent">THE “CAMPANIA.”<br> + Launched for the Cunard Company in 1892. Length 600 ft.</p> + </figcaption> +</figure> +<br> + +<p>There was therefore a kind of lull in British enterprise, +and in 1903 the Germans caused another sensation +by the <em>Kaiser Wilhelm the Second</em>, which was able +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_197">[Pg 197]</span>to do her twenty-three and a half knots as an average +speed from New York to Plymouth. But a new +development was again to take place. Competition +was so keen in the steamship world, there was such +an impetus to the builder, and so many clever minds +were working on the problems of propulsion, that +it was inevitable that all these wonderful changes +should come about in such rapid succession. In +the year 1886 the triple-expansion engine had come +into general use. This had been followed by the +quadruple-expansion, as already mentioned, and +now came a still further change. For some time +the turbine engine had been employed for driving +electric dynamos on land, for pumping stations, +colliery fans and so on. But in 1894 this type was +installed experimentally in the 44-ton craft called +the <em>Turbinia</em>, which was seen racing along Spithead +at thirty-four knots. It was a wonderful sight, +but it was not until 1905 that this type of engine +was introduced into merchant ships, when the +Atlantic ships <em>Virginian</em>⁠<a id="FNanchor_6_6" href="#Footnote_6_6" class="fnanchor">[6]</a> and <em>Victorian</em> of the +Allan Line were fitted with Parsons’ triplicate +turbines driving three propellers. In the same year +the Cunard produced their first turbine liner, +<em>Carmania</em>, which on her trial attained a speed of +twenty knots. She was built of a strength in +excess of Board of Trade requirements, no fewer +than 1,800,000 rivets being used in her construction, +each plate being 32 feet long. But for the excellence +of her construction she would never have been able +to emerge successfully from her famous duel when +she sank the <em>Cap Trafalgar</em> off the South American +coast during the first autumn of the recent Great +War.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_198">[Pg 198]</span></p> + +<p>Events happen so quickly, and one sensation +follows so rapidly on another, that we are apt +sometimes to get quite a wrong perspective. To +me the <em>Carmania</em> is one of the most interesting +ships afloat. For nine years before the war she +did most excellent work as one of the finest +passenger ships, carrying many thousands of people +across the Atlantic in comfort and luxury. Then +came the war, and <em>Carmania</em> became an armed +merchant cruiser and was sent into South American +waters. She met the Hamburg-South America +liner <em>Cap Trafalgar</em>, a very similar ship, also armed +as a merchant cruiser, off the island of Trinidada, +and then fought a terrific duel which lasted eighty +minutes, during which the Cunarder was pierced +by seventy-nine shells, set seriously on fire and +generally made desolate. But she sank the <em>Cap +Trafalgar</em>, and to-day, and since the war, <em>Carmania</em> +has resumed carrying her thousands across to New +York in perfect luxury again, with verandah cafés, +costly furniture, palm trees and the rest, just as if +nothing serious had ever happened. Truly the +modern ship is an amazing creature.</p> +<br> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="p1981_ill" style="max-width: 62.5em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/p1981_ill.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + <p class="right fs80">[<em>By courtesy the Cunard Line.</em></p> + <p class="center no-indent">BERTHING A BIG LINER.<br> + The “Mauretania,” assisted by tugs, coming alongside the quay at Southampton.</p> + </figcaption> +</figure> +<br> + +<p>During the war 56 per cent. of the Cunard ships +were sunk, including the memorable <em>Lusitania</em>; +and the White Star Line, owing to the same reason, +lost close on 150,000 tons. The <em>Mauretania</em> and +<em>Lusitania</em> had followed the <em>Carmania</em>, and were +the outcome of an agreement made with the British +Government to produce two ships capable of maintaining +a minimum average ocean speed of from +twenty-four to twenty-five knots in moderate +weather. This has not only been maintained, but +surpassed. <em>Mauretania</em> was built in 1907, with +turbines, a length of 790 feet, and her tonnage is +31,000 gross. In spite of all her running before +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_199">[Pg 199]</span>the war, during the war, and since, she still holds +the record not merely for the Atlantic, but for all +seas in respect of merchant ships. The test accepted +by most shipping experts is two-fold: the highest +average speed for the whole voyage, and the fastest +passage in days, hours and minutes. On this +reckoning <em>Mauretania</em> still leads, in spite of her +younger sisters, for as recently as 1922 she averaged +25·29 knots eastward-bound in June. Her fastest +passage in July of that year of five days, eight +hours, nine minutes, entitles her still more to +possession of the “blue riband” of the Atlantic. +But as showing the remarkable consistency in +running, if we take her three consecutive passages +eastward across the Atlantic in June and July 1922, +there are only <em>five</em> minutes difference between the +fastest and the slowest. It is superfluous to comment +on this achievement. At a time when her +fighting sister <em>Indomitable</em> is being broken up, this +powerful merchantman still goes on beating +records. Recently fitted to burn oil-fuel, this +turbine-driven, quadruple-screw, twenty-five knotter +will long be remembered in maritime history as +<em>Lusitania</em> will in naval history.⁠<a id="FNanchor_7_7" href="#Footnote_7_7" class="fnanchor">[7]</a></p> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_200">[Pg 200]</span></p> + +<p>The next famous Atlantic ships were the two +White Star liners <em>Titanic</em> and <em>Olympic</em>. The tragic +end of the former, when she foundered during her +maiden voyage, is too well remembered to need +relating again. The <em>Olympic</em> left Southampton on +her maiden voyage in June 1911. She is a triple-screw +vessel of 46,489 tons gross register, and thus +much bigger than <em>Mauretania</em>, but not quite so +fast. Those of us who remember passing <em>Olympic</em> +at sea during the war, zigzagging through the +submarine zone with 5000 soldiers on board and +the ship’s boats swung out, will never forget the +sight. One hears many impossible yarns about +certain claims, but apart from her magnificent work +in bringing armies from America to Europe safely, +this ship did definitely sink a German submarine. +This may be regarded as some compensation for +the loss of that new triple-screw White Star +<em>Britannic</em>, a vessel of 48,158 tons gross register, +which was destined never to cross the Atlantic, +for which she had been constructed. The reader +will remember that on November 21, 1916, after +much excellent service as a hospital ship, she was +sunk by enemy action in the Zea Channel, Ægean +Sea.</p> +<br> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="p2001_ill" style="max-width: 62.5em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/p2001_ill.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + <p class="right fs80">[<em>By courtesy the Cunard Line.</em></p> + <p class="center no-indent">MODERN NAVIGATION.<br> + Captain Sir James Charles, K.B.E., C.B., R.D., R.N.R., and officers of the “Aquitania” taking the sun’s altitude.</p> + </figcaption> +</figure> +<br> + +<p><em>Olympic</em> came out as the world’s biggest ship, +and she is one of the fastest. On one occasion +coming up Channel she recently touched 27·82 +knots for a brief spell, but her best average speed +for a whole voyage is 22·55 knots, and her quickest +passage is five days, nineteen hours, 12 minutes. +For the consideration of the big German liners +who were competing with these efforts the reader +is referred to the chapter dealing with the rise and +fall of the German Mercantile Marine, but the +next British mammoth was the <em>Aquitania</em>, which +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_201">[Pg 201]</span>was put into the Cunard service just before the +war began. She is over 900 feet long, she can +steam at a little more than twenty-three knots, +and her best passage, east-bound, has been five +days, nineteen hours, forty-one minutes. Her gross +tonnage is 47,000.</p> + +<p>I watched <em>Aquitania</em> being built, from the time +when she was a mere mass of steel, and finally saw +her take the water in the Clyde, and walked all +over her half an hour before this impressive event +took place. She was barely ready for her intended +work than she was turned into an armed merchant +cruiser and joined Admiral Phipps Hornby’s +Cruiser Squadron on the Atlantic trade route. But +it was rather like putting a race-horse to do the +work of a cart-horse. <em>Aquitania</em> was then, like +other merchantmen, coal-burning, and her endurance +was only six days, for she was built for the +purpose of rushing across the Atlantic, then filling +up and returning as fast as she could. She was +thus not suitable for patrolling, and after colliding +with a Leyland liner, whilst under the command +of a naval officer, <em>Aquitania</em> terminated her engagement +as a warship, and then did far more useful +work during the time of hostilities, until she again +took up her peaceable service.</p> + +<p>This was the last British-built merchant ship to +be constructed of mammoth size that is still afloat. +The White Star <em>Homeric</em>, which joined the Atlantic +service in the spring of 1922, is an ex-German +vessel. This ship is neither as big nor as fast as +<em>Aquitania</em>, but she is the largest twin-screw steamer +afloat. Her best average speed for a whole trip is +18·69 knots, and her best voyage is six days, nineteen +hours, twenty-two minutes. But the slump +which followed the war and the depression which +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_202">[Pg 202]</span>came over the shipping trade made it undesirable +to lay down any more of these leviathans for the +present, and there was still another reason.</p> + +<p>In Germany were two such vessels, one of which +was already built and had been running for a year +or two, and the other, a still bigger ship, was not +yet finished. These two ships were handed over +to Great Britain, the former being the <em>Imperator</em>, +52,022 tons, launched in 1912, which used to call +at Southampton on her way from Germany to +New York. The other ship was the 56,551-ton +<em>Bismarck</em>, whose keel had been laid by the Kaiser +in the year 1914. The <em>Vaterland</em>, as mentioned +in another chapter, measuring 950 feet and 52,282 +tons, was acquired by the United States. The +<em>Imperator</em> now became the <em>Berengaria</em>, and was +taken over by the Cunard Company; the <em>Bismarck</em> +became the <em>Majestic</em>, and was put into the White +Star service in the spring of 1922. She was built +at the Blohm and Voss yard, Hamburg, and with +her enormous tonnage and length of 956 feet is the +biggest ship in the world.</p> +<br> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="p2021_ill" style="max-width: 62.5em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/p2021_ill.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + <p class="right fs80">[<em>By courtesy the Cunard Line.</em></p> + <p class="center no-indent">S.S. “BERENGARIA.”<br> + This Cunarder is the ex-German “Imperator,” 52,022 tons, launched 1912. She measures 919 ft. long.</p> + </figcaption> +</figure> +<br> + +<p>Though built in Germany, which learned the art +from Great Britain, these two ships are now the +pride of the British Merchant Fleet, and they are, +together with the <em>Mauretania</em> and <em>Aquitania</em>, consumers +not of coal, but of oil. The <em>Berengaria</em> +measures 919 feet long, is practically 100 feet in +beam, and represents an enormous amount of +capital; but she was laid aside for six or seven +months so as to have a complete overhaul and to +be converted from coal-burning. With that fuel +she had been able to do a little over twenty-three +knots, and her best average speed has since been +23·38 knots for the whole voyage; her fastest trip +being five days, eighteen hours, forty-seven minutes. +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_203">[Pg 203]</span>You can imagine the responsibility of her captain, +handling such an enormous steel island. Let us +forget for a moment such things as her new ballroom, +able to accommodate 250 dancers. Let us +forget, too, the cafés, gymnasia, palm courts, +Turkish and swimming-baths and the numbers of +private suites, the velvet carpets, and baronial +halls; let us just think of her as a ship.</p> + +<p>Eighty-five feet above the water is the sun-deck +promenade, and away above that again rises the +bridge. Here are all sorts of gadgets, such as a +bell that rings automatically when the temperature +of the sea drops below a certain degree, and so the +warning is made to the officer of the watch that +icebergs are about. Tell-tale lamps act as fire-indicators, +and another bell rings to call attention +to the fact that there is smoke in some section of +the ship. Steam pressure is then made to drive +water down a pipe to spray around the particular +compartment. There are telephones galore, from +the bridge to the engine-room, boiler-rooms, baggage-hold, +purser’s office, engineer’s office and, via +the ship’s central exchange, to all parts of the ship.</p> + +<p><em>Berengaria</em>, like <em>Vaterland</em>, had a good deal of +trouble with her water-tube boilers, which were +similar to the German naval pattern, but in <em>Majestic</em> +British engineers introduced some modifications +whilst she was still being completed at Hamburg. +The point is this. Whereas these water-tube +boilers are all right for a man-of-war, which normally +steams at fifteen knots and only occasionally +is whacked up to twenty-one and above, the liner +is driven hard all the time, and has to maintain +her full speed day and night until she gets across +the ocean. The amount of oil-fuel required for +<em>Berengaria</em> to cross the Atlantic once is about +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_204">[Pg 204]</span>6000 tons, and this is carried in side or wing-bunkers. +A hundred tons an hour can be supplied +to each of the four boiler-rooms, and the engines +are, of course, turbines.</p> + +<p>It is said that £1,000,000 was the price the +White Star Line paid for the <em>Majestic</em>, and she +was a great bargain at that, for she would cost four +times that amount to be built to-day. There are +forty-eight boilers, and she can carry enough oil-fuel +for the round voyage Southampton-New York-Southampton. +This means not merely greater +efficiency in regard to steaming, but saves time and +expense in bunkering and cleaning ship, for it takes +only six hours and very few men to get the 7000 +tons on board. Her best average speed in a passage +is over twenty-four knots, and her quickest voyage +five days, nine hours, forty-two minutes. When she +was handed over to the Reparations Commission +under the terms of the Peace Treaty her speed was +returned as twenty-three knots. But the White +Star officials were not a little surprised to find, +while bringing the ship to Southampton from Hamburg, +that her turbines would develop much more +power than they were credited with, and that she +was really a 25-knot ship. In fact, on one occasion +she did an average of twenty-seven knots for over +five hours eastward-bound.</p> +<br> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="p2041_ill1" style="max-width: 62.5em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/p2041_ill1.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + <p class="right fs80">[<em>By courtesy the White Star Line.</em></p> + <p class="center no-indent">S.S. “OLYMPIC.”<br> + This 46,439-ton White Star liner was completed in 1911. During the war she sank + a German submarine.</p> + </figcaption> +</figure> +<br> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="p2041_ill2" style="max-width: 62.5em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/p2041_ill2.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + <p class="right fs80">[<em>By courtesy the White Star Line.</em></p> + <p class="center no-indent">S.S. “MAJESTIC.”<br> + This 56,551-ton White Star liner is the ex-German “Bismarck,” and is the biggest ship + in the world. The illustration shows her coming out of dock at Southampton.</p> +</figcaption> +</figure> +<br> + +<p>It is significant that more than half the length +of the ship is taken up with the propelling +machinery. Never were such large machinery and +boiler plant installed in one vessel. If you think +of an eight-roomed house and multiply this by 400, +you get some idea of her interior space. She is +practically a floating town, with its smart hotel, +suites, clubs, and so on located on her nine steel +decks; and four propellers to keep this town hurrying +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_205">[Pg 205]</span>across the Atlantic. Swimming-bath, two +royal suites, 1245 state-rooms, a restaurant, palm +court, foyer, lounge—there is no end to her +luxurious internal arrangement. And yet there +are all sorts of cunning devices to ensure safety. +To guard against fire, the steel bulkheads have +been coated with fireproof material; the main staircases +are so arranged that they can be isolated and +thus ensure a means of escape to the upper decks. +There are 450 fire alarms distributed throughout +the ship, which indicate automatically to the officer +on the bridge.</p> + +<p>There are three wireless stations. The largest +enables her to maintain permanent connection with +both the Old and the New World during the whole +voyage. The second is for use over a distance of +800 miles, and the third is for emergency. There +are anti-rolling tanks, submarine signalling gear, +and indeed every ingenious device that the wit of +man could invent for the safety and welfare of the +4000 passengers she takes care of each trip. During +Cowes week 1922 King George V paid to her, and +through her to the British Mercantile Marine, a +singular honour in going aboard to inspect her. +His Royal Standard was broken out at the main, +and this is one of the very few occasions during the +last four hundred years when a merchant ship, +serving as such, has legally hoisted this flag. It +did occur in the year 1913, when His Majesty +inspected the <em>Mauretania</em> at Liverpool; and on +that day a Harbour Board tug while taking the +King to and from the liner flew the Royal Ensign. +But prior to that I think we have to go right back +to the year 1495, when Henry VII granted to +John Cabot and his sons the right to fly the royal +banners and flags during their voyages of discovery.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_206">[Pg 206]</span></p> + +<p>From the <em>Majestic</em> to the earliest merchantmen +of the Mediterranean, even looking back a hundred +years to the time when the old East Indiamen of +1000 tons were wallowing along, or the Falmouth +packets were braving the Atlantic, seems to us a +period of time that is hardly believable. In spite +of wars and every kind of crises, never has the +merchant ship so utterly and marvellously transformed +herself within such a few years. It is a +triumph of man over matter that he can build up +such a creation as a 50,000-ton ship, but there are just +two things which always seem to me more wonderful +still. The first is that you can ever launch +such a mass of steel safely from the land down the +ways into the water; and the second is that, having +fitted her out for sea, she can be made obedient to +the mind of her commander—checked, spurred on, +controlled and moved about across the sea at will, +with confidence and remarkable regularity. It is +an interesting experience to control finance, it is +a great task to control men, and it is a responsible +task to control the ship of State. But to control +the biggest ship in the history of the world, costing +over £1,000,000 sterling and containing several +thousands of travellers, from quay to quay, through +any kind of weather that may come along—this to +me seems, above all, a full-sized man’s job. It is +one that brings forth everything that is best and +noble in the calling of a sailor—courage, coolness, +organising ability, leadership, self-reliance, dependability, +tact, discipline.</p> +<br> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="p2061_ill" style="max-width: 62.5em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/p2061_ill.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + <p class="right fs80">[<em>By courtesy the White Star Line.</em></p> + <p class="center no-indent">ON THE BRIDGE OF THE WORLD’S BIGGEST SHIP.<br> + Captain Sir Bertram Hayes (third from the right), with the Second Captain and other officers of “Majestic”.</p> + </figcaption> +</figure> +<br> + +<p>Below are the saloons, orchestra, dancing, +laughter, luxury and thousands of brilliant lights. +On the bridge the silent darkness of a black, starless +night; just the glimmer from the bowls of the +gyro-compass repeaters, the quartermaster at the +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_207">[Pg 207]</span>wheel, a couple of messengers standing by, and +the officer of the watch. And always the wild +roar of the wind as the ship tears on her way at +twenty odd knots; while forward is the swish of +the sea as the fine bows throw each bursting wave +aside. It is a study in contrasts, just that immeasurable +gulf which has always existed between +the life of the landsman and the sailor from the +earliest days of history until the present-day. To +the former “the wonder is always new that any +sane man can be a sailor,” as Emerson put it. But +it was the same philosopher who admitted that +“the sea is masculine, the type of active strength.”</p> + +<p>And, happily, there is such a contagion as sea-fever. +Without it there would have been no +Phœnician, Venetian, Spanish, Portuguese, Norse, +mediæval or later mariners; no new worlds to discover—nothing +but a very restricted communication +and the minimum of progress. It would have +been a very stunted, dull existence. There would +have been no fine merchantmen of the sea and +none of that glorious breed of seamen, virile, strong +and masculine. Let us be thankful for all that +the sea has taught us.</p> +<br> + + +<div class="footnotes"> +<h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_6_6" href="#FNanchor_6_6" class="label">[6]</a> Now owned by the Swedish-American Line and named the +<em>Drottningholm</em>.</p></div> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_7_7" href="#FNanchor_7_7" class="label">[7]</a> The speeds given for <em>Mauretania</em>, <em>Majestic</em>, <em>Berengaria</em>, +<em>Aquitania</em>, <em>Olympic</em> and <em>Homeric</em> are from New York to Cherbourg +Breakwater or to the Eddystone Light. The passages quoted +are really not faster than what was previously accomplished on +the Liverpool to New York route before these big liners were +transferred to the Southampton to New York route. Thus the +fastest Atlantic voyage ever made was by <em>Mauretania</em> when she +steamed from Queenstown to New York in four days, ten hours, +forty-one minutes. <em>Lusitania</em> accomplished this in only sixty-one +minutes longer. The best average speed ever made by a liner +for one day was 27·10 knots by <em>Lusitania</em>, eastward-bound; +but the best average speed for a whole voyage was made by +<em>Mauretania</em>, before being converted to oil. She kept up 26·06 +knots.</p></div> +</div> + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_208">[Pg 208]</span></p> +<div class="chapter"> + <h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XVII"> + CHAPTER XVII + <br> + <span class="fs80">THE RISE AND FALL OF THE GERMAN + MERCANTILE MARINE</span> + </h2> +</div> + + +<p>For about seventy years the German Mercantile +Marine had an interesting career. It began in +quite a small way, it was conducted with courage, +enterprise, far-sightedness and, eventually, with an +astute cunning which many people would describe +under a stronger term. Its rise was meteoric, and +its descent at the time of its zenith was swifter still. +It is just because the true value of the sea began to +be appreciated, that Germany was able to build up +such a vast and highly efficient service within one +generation. The result was that on the eve of the +Great War she was second only to the British +Empire as a big owner of steamships.</p> + +<figure class="figleft illowp45" id="p2081_ill1" style="max-width: 45.4375em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/p2081_ill1.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + <p class="right fs80">[<em>By courtesy the Cunard Line.</em></p> + <p class="center no-indent">Captain C. A. Smith, C.B.E., R.D., R.N.R., of the “Berengaria.”</p> + </figcaption> +</figure> + +<figure class="figright illowp45" id="p2081_ill2" style="max-width: 45.375em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/p2081_ill2.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + <p class="right fs80">[<em>By courtesy the White Star Line.</em></p> + <p class="center no-indent">Captain Sir Bertram Hayes, K.C.M.G., D.S.O., R.N.R., + of the “Majestic.”</p> + </figcaption> +</figure> +<div style="clear:both;"></div> +<p class="center no-indent">BIG SHIP MASTERS.</p> +<br> + + +<p>At that date 60 per cent. of Germany’s shipping +was in the hands of ten lines, working together +with a solidarity that amounted practically to a +shipping union. These ten were the Hamburg-America +Line, the North German Lloyd, the +Hamburg South-American Line, the Hansa Line, +the German Australian Line, the Kosmos Line, +the Roland Line, the German East Africa Line, the +Woermann Line and the Hamburg-Bremen-Africa +Line. A month before the outbreak of war +this huge organisation comprised 3,194,000 gross +tons, to say nothing of the German Levant Line +of 155,000 tons. Well organised, reaching to +every part of the world, subsidised by the +German Government to the extent of £107,950 +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_209">[Pg 209]</span>a year, this association was extremely successful +in obtaining an enormous amount of the world’s +carrying trade and in furthering Germany’s political +aspirations. It was able to put up the +severest competition and to draw away from the +United Kingdom a good deal of carrying trade, +and in their fight with the British companies of +steamships the Germans were helped not merely +by subsidies, but by attractive through-rates over +their railway system. It was their unity and +energy in organisation, their ability to cut rates, +and their attention to the smallest details which +gave them their vast success.</p> + +<p>It is important to emphasise one great distinction. +The British Isles depend for their supplies +and overseas trade on the tramp steamer. +Of the British tonnage before the war 60 per cent. +represented tramp tonnage and only 40 per cent. +liners, and it was essential for the nation to have +a large amount of “loose” tonnage able to trade +at short notice to any part of the world, taking out, +for instance, cheap coal and coming back with cargoes +of grain, cotton, wool, rice and so on. This +policy was the exact opposite of Germany, which +built up its Mercantile Marine on liner trades, and +especially in the Atlantic, their interest in tramp +steamers being quite small. Now of those ten +German lines just mentioned the Hamburg-America +and the North German Lloyd, owning +on the eve of war 1,093,000 and 716,000 gross +tons respectively, were at once the creative forces +and the mainstays of German shipping. Therefore +if we consider their history we have before us +practically the whole evolution of the German +Mercantile Marine.</p> + +<p>The Hamburg-America Line at the time war +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_210">[Pg 210]</span>broke out was the largest merchant steamship +enterprise in the world, owning between 400 and +500 ships, with seventy-five distinct services, its +vessels calling at 400 of the leading ports of the +world and carrying over 400,000 passengers a year. +It was thus an enormous corporation, that makes +the old Honourable East India Company look +ridiculous. As a means of providing national +wealth and the ready transportation of German +goods into the remotest corners of the globe it was +invaluable. It was founded on May 27, 1847, with +a capital of 465,000 marks, and it ordered three +sailing ships in England of about 717 tons each, +which carried a score of first-class passengers and a +couple of hundred emigrants and a little freight. +These were full-rigged, three-masted vessels, with +heavy quarters, the white riband and painted +square ports and the high-steeved bowsprit so +familiar in English shipping. The average trip +from Hamburg to New York took forty days, and +twenty-nine days on the return voyage. These +three ships were the <em>Deutschland</em>, <em>Nordamerika</em> and +<em>Rhein</em>.</p> + +<p>In 1854 the company had already prospered so +much, thanks largely to the emigrant traffic, that +it decided to go in for steam. The screw was +replacing the paddle in British ships and iron was +being used instead of wood. They therefore gave +an order to Caird of Greenock to build a couple +of 2026-ton screw steamers having a speed of about +twelve knots. The first of these was the <em>Borussia</em>, +a three-masted vessel with sails, clipper bow and +one funnel. She made her appearance in 1856. +Hitherto British and other seamen had been +largely employed for crews, but now only Germans, +dressed in uniform, and disciplined after +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_211">[Pg 211]</span>the custom of a man-of-war, were allowed. The +German Mercantile Marine was beginning to exist +by itself.</p> + +<p>The best speed obtained with these ships was +sixteen days, and in 1858 came the <em>Saxonia</em> and +<em>Austria</em>, which reduced the passage eastward-bound +to a little over twelve days, the firm’s fleet now +consisting of eight sailing ships and four steamers. +Presently the former were all sold, and a fortnightly +service to New York was instituted, and other +steamships were added. At the outbreak of the +American Civil War this line was carrying the +United States mails and calling at Southampton, +and, after leaving the English port, New York was +reached in ten days. By the early ’seventies the +fleet already numbered twenty-five steamships, and +was also running to the Spanish Main, Mexico and +West Indies.</p> + +<p>The White Star and the Hamburg-America +were the first Atlantic lines to adopt the twin-screw +system for passenger ships. It was in 1887 +that the latter ordered the two steel, twin-screw +ships <em>Columbia</em> and <em>Auguste Victoria</em>. The former +was built at Birkenhead by Lairds, but the latter +was constructed at Stettin, and this was the first +time a German yard had attempted a ship of such +a size, for she measured over 500 feet long, and she +was of 8430 tons burthen. These two vessels were +immediately followed by two others, similar in +type, of which one was built on the Clyde and one +at Stettin. With their three funnels, high speed, +improved ventilation, commodious cabins, bathrooms, +suites of rooms and general high standard +of comfort, this quartette made a sensation. It was +the introduction of the German floating palaces into +the Atlantic.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_212">[Pg 212]</span></p> + +<p>Reference to the previous two chapters in this +volume will show that the British Atlantic companies +were meeting this competition, but if you ask +how was it that, notwithstanding the fact that the +German Empire had been proclaimed as recently +as 1871, this new Mercantile Marine had been able +to build up such a trade in so few years, the answer +is this. The repeal of the British Navigation Laws +in 1849 enabled the Prussian ships to have the +opportunity which came at the right moment. +But, secondly, it was the enormous increase of +emigrant passengers anxious to leave the European +continent and try their fortunes in the New +World. I have no wish to weary the reader with +statistics, but the following few figures will substantiate +this argument. They are derived from +a Board of Trade analysis based on information +afforded by the United States Immigration Bureau, +and are therefore beyond dispute.</p> + +<p>Bearing in mind that the first Hamburg-America +ship sailed in 1847, we find that whereas the average +annual emigration from Germany to the U.S.A. +had been only 19,000 up to 1844, during the next +ten years it jumped to 95,000, dropped during the +next decade to 49,000, but then rose to 113,000 in +the decennial period ending 1874, was 109,000 up +to the year 1884, then dropped to 28,000 by 1904, +but rose to 34,000 in the decade ending 1914. +But in addition to these figures must be added +others. By reason of her geographical position +Germany was most favourably placed for capturing +the emigrant traffic from the rest of the continent, +and of this she made the best advantage. It was +not until the decade ending 1874 that the Russians, +for instance, began pouring out from their own +country to North America, and gradually the +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_213">[Pg 213]</span>German ships carried most of these. How valuable +such a traffic was can be at once realised. +Beginning with an average of 2000 Russian emigrants +to the United States, this figure in ten +years had increased to 10,000, then to 38,000 and, +finally, just before the war averaged 199,000.</p> + +<p>In 1894 the German Government erected what +were known as control stations at various places +on the Russian frontier, ostensibly to prevent the +spread of cholera by Russian emigrants travelling +through Germany. The erection and management +of these controls were vested in the Hamburg-America +and North German Lloyd Lines. But +whatever was their original purpose, these stations +came to be used by the German steamship companies +for confining the increasing stream of +emigrants to their own lines, who made it as +difficult as possible for persons not travelling by +those lines to get through the control stations. +In addition to this, the German Government so +legislated as to make it very awkward and more +costly for emigrants to get to America in British +ships. Thus, Germany, by doing everything from +intimidation and bluff to legislation, did succeed in +obtaining a most valuable emigrant traffic, and so +was able, quite apart from her own increasing +exports, to build up a thoroughly up-to-date and +steadily improving Merchant Navy.</p> + +<p>It is not to be wondered at that now she had learnt +to construct steel steamships for herself she made +a bold bid for Atlantic merchant ship supremacy. +By the year of the Paris Exhibition in 1900 this +line had fourteen twin-screw steamers to carry +passengers across. The latest was the celebrated +<em>Deutschland</em>, which was to win the “blue riband” +of the Atlantic; for this record-smasher succeeded +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_214">[Pg 214]</span>in lowering the voyage between New York and +Plymouth to five days, seven hours, thirty-eight +minutes, and on one trip averaged 23·51 knots. +This four-funnelled ship was of 16,502 tons and +measured 686 feet long. She was certainly an +eye-pleasing vessel, for it was before the practice +of building lofty superstructures had become the +fashion. Her biggest day’s run was 601 knots, +and the sumptuousness of her passenger comfort +made her a very popular ship. In 1906 came the +<em>Kaiserin Auguste Victoria</em>, 24,581 tons, 687 feet +long, and able to carry 4000 passengers and crew. +She was at the time the biggest steamer in the +world.</p> + +<p>But before we mention the mammoth German +liners we must see briefly how the North German +Lloyd grew up. Their first transatlantic steamer +was the <em>Bremen</em>, built by Caird of Greenock in +1858, but their real progress commences with the +year 1881, when the first German “express” +steamer entered the line. This was the 4510-ton +<em>Elbe</em>, a four-masted screw ship built on the Clyde, +and during the next ten years Glasgow built <em>Ems</em> +and seven other British-made vessels, whose speed +varied from sixteen to eighteen knots. They were +able to carry 1200 passengers. But when we come +to the ’nineties the passenger trade was so good +that the North German Lloyd could afford to +scrap its old-fashioned craft and build the twin-screw +<em>Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse</em>. This was to +become an historic ship.</p> + +<p>She measured 14,349 gross tons, and appeared +in 1897. The Germans were jealous of the achievements +which had been made by the Cunard <em>Campania</em> +and <em>Lucania</em>, and by attaining a mean speed +of 22·81 knots on her trip from New York to +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_215">[Pg 215]</span>Europe did outstrip the Cunarders’ fine record; +and thus for the first time the “blue riband” of +the Atlantic temporarily passed to Germany. She +was “made in Germany”—at Stettin—and this +triumphant voyage did a great deal to encourage +the German Mercantile Marine and German shipbuilders. +She had been constructed on the understanding +that if during the trial trip across the +Atlantic she did not come up to the requirements +of the contract, the North German Lloyd were to +be allowed to reject her. Actually she surpassed +the builders’ undertaking.</p> + +<p>In 1907, whilst coming across the Atlantic in +October weather eastward-bound, this handsome +ship fractured her rudder; but instead of taking +her into Halifax, the nearest port, her captain held +on for Plymouth and thence to Bremerhaven, the +ship having been manœuvred by means of her +twin screws. It was a fine achievement, but some +ships are born to be adventurous. At the beginning +of the Great War the <em>Kaiser Wilhelm der +Grosse</em> was in Germany. She was fitted out as +a raider, left Hamburg on August 4, 1914, evaded +the Grand Fleet, passed round the north of Iceland, +and on August 7 sank a British trawler, then proceeded +down the Atlantic, sank a couple and +molested two more ships, and finally went into +the Rio de Oro, a lonely anchorage in Spanish +territory in North-West Africa. But on August +26 arrived H.M.S. <em>Highflyer</em>, and as the German +refused to leave territorial waters, the British +cruiser opened fire and destroyed her. Thus, after +nearly twenty years’ service, this former Atlantic +greyhound ended her days as an armed merchant +cruiser.</p> + +<p>The North German Lloyd’s <em>Kaiser Wilhelm II</em> +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_216">[Pg 216]</span>was the next ship of this line to cause a sensation. +This was in 1903, and she was certainly a triumph +for the Stettin builders. Of 20,000 registered tons, +she was a little faster even than the <em>Kaiser Wilhelm +der Grosse</em>, for she kept up an average speed of +23·58 knots between New York and Plymouth +in one voyage. Very useful was this speed to +become eleven years later, for she was in the North +Atlantic when war broke out, and got safely into +New York on August 6. The <em>George Washington</em>, +of 26,000 gross register tons, was launched as the +biggest of all the ships in the German Mercantile +Marine, though, with the speed of eighteen and a +half knots, by no means the fastest. She was added +to the N.D.L. in 1908, and was able to carry just +under 3000 passengers for her owners when the list +was full. A very useful and luxurious ship she +turned out to be, but on the day after the war +began she arrived in New York, was interned, and +is now one of the ships in the American Mercantile +Marine. The <em>Berlin</em>, another N.D.L. steamer, +passed into the owners’ hands in 1909. She was +of 19,200 gross tons, and originally could do her +eighteen knots. In the autumn of 1914 she laid +the big minefield off the north coast of Ireland, on +which H.M.S. <em>Audacious</em> and other ships foundered. +<em>Berlin</em> afterwards scurried north and interned +herself in Norway.</p> +<br> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="p2161_ill1" style="max-width: 62.5em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/p2161_ill1.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + <p class="right fs80">[<em>By courtesy the Cunard Line.</em></p> + <p class="center no-indent">STOKEHOLD OF AN OIL-FUEL CUNARDER.</p> + </figcaption> +</figure> +<br> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="p2161_ill2" style="max-width: 62.5em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/p2161_ill2.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + <p class="right fs80">[<em>By courtesy the Cunard Line.</em></p> + <p class="center no-indent">STARTING PLATFORM<br> + Of the engine-room in a Cunarder.</p> + </figcaption> +</figure> +<br> + +<p>Such, then, was the progress of these two main +supports of the German Mercantile Marine until +the coming of the mammoth Atlantic liners. The +ships of the Hamburg-America and the North +German Lloyd were admittedly as good, and sometimes +better than, their competitors, the Cunard +and White Star; and during the period immediately +preceding the war, competition was very keen not +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_217">[Pg 217]</span>merely on the New York route, but in the trade +with Central America, South America, East Africa +and Australia. The German Mercantile Marine +was everywhere, and cutting rates in an alarming +manner. Her sea-borne trade was increasing, but +the bulk of her shipping still remained, on the eve +of war, in the ten powerful companies; and her +main strength was still in the Atlantic trade of the +two big lines we have just been considering.</p> + +<p>The North Atlantic had long since earned the +title of the cockpit where the mercantile supremacy +at sea was to be fought out. Germany’s final bid +was a great effort. For in the year 1912 was built +the 23½-knot <em>Imperator</em>, a stupendous creature of +52,022 tons, with her swimming-bath and super-luxury. +In 1914 was put into service the 26·75-knot +<em>Vaterland</em>, which was bigger still, for she +measured 950 feet long, against <em>Imperator’s</em> 905 +feet, and her tonnage worked out at 52,282. The +former at the outbreak of war was lucky to be in +Germany, where she remained until after hostilities. +She was handed over to the Cunard Company, who +changed her name to <em>Berengaria</em>. The <em>Vaterland</em> +got into New York on the day war was declared +between Great Britain and Germany, and was +interned. She was eventually used for carrying +American troops to Europe, and after the war she +passed into the American Mercantile Marine, who +changed her name to <em>Leviathan</em>. When she was +seized from Germany there were no plans of her +available. The United States Shipping Board, +on making inquiries from her German builders +as to the price of these plans, were asked the +enormous sum of $1,000,000. This was declined, +and the colossal task of preparing these plans from +the ship herself was successfully undertaken. But +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_218">[Pg 218]</span>you may imagine what it means to run a ship +of this size when it cost the American Mercantile +Marine $50,000 a month merely to keep her +efficient whilst laid up. Finally there was finished +in Germany during 1922 the third mammoth, of +56,000 tons. Originally intended to be called the +<em>Bismarck</em>, she was handed over to the White Star +Line, who changed her name to <em>Majestic</em>.</p> + +<p>Before the war Germany’s Mercantile Marine, +according to the Managing Director of the Hamburg-America +Line, consisted of 5,459,000 gross +tons. Of this amount approximately she lost +owing to war operations 2,700,000 tons. By +reason of the Treaty of Versailles she lost a further +2,900,000 tons approximately, leaving her about +400,000 tons.⁠<a id="FNanchor_8_8" href="#Footnote_8_8" class="fnanchor">[8]</a> If we select the spring of 1922 we +are neither too near the ending of the war nor too +far removed from it to notice the efforts which are +being made to revive a merchant fleet which so +suddenly vanished from its high position. The +Hamburg-America Line in 1922 had but forty-three +vessels of 165,707 gross tons, and the North +German Lloyd only twenty-five ships of 127,098 +gross tons. A mighty contrast to the summer of +1914. But both these and other lines were going +ahead with their building, and it was unofficially +estimated that the German Merchant Fleet on +May 31, 1922, consisted of 1,546,000 gross tons.</p> + +<p>In accordance with the Peace Treaty all German +merchant ships of any importance were handed +over to the Entente Powers. This, in part, was as +compensation for the loss of tonnage during the +U-boat campaign. But Germany recompensed her +shipping companies for the merchant vessels thus +surrendered and gave them every encouragement +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_219">[Pg 219]</span>to build up once more the fleets which meant so +much to her, financially and politically. For +the Shipping Redemption Agreement of 1921 +indemnified these companies, provided labour for +the shipyards, and ensured co-operation of the +industries inland. The money paid to the companies +was taken from the national funds, but its +distribution and the supervision of the building +programme have been entrusted to a Shipowners’ +Trust Company. Thus Germany still realises all +that a Mercantile Marine means to her, and she has +every intention of building it up again during the +coming years.</p> +<br> + + +<div class="footnotes"> +<h3>FOOTNOTES:</h3> + +<div class="footnote"><p><a id="Footnote_8_8" href="#FNanchor_8_8" class="label">[8]</a> That is, tonnage built during the war.</p></div> +</div> + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_220">[Pg 220]</span></p> +<div class="chapter"> + <h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XVIII"> + CHAPTER XVIII + <br> + <span class="fs80">THE AMERICAN MERCANTILE MARINE</span> + </h2> +</div> + + +<p>Throughout the course of this story the reader +will have observed many references to the American +Mercantile Marine. Let us now consider how +it began, developed, waned and again revived. We +have seen how the enterprise of the New England +builders was to have a profound effect on British +shipping, but we desire now to regard the subject +as a whole.</p> + +<p>So long as a country, wherever situated, has a +seaboard, it is very evident that its civilised community +will soon begin building craft of some kind. +The early colonists in America built a 30-ton +vessel as far back as 1607, and it is from this +<em>Virginia</em> that we must trace the American Mercantile +Marine. Seven years later a small ship was +launched at New Amsterdam, as, of course, New +York was then called, and by the second decade of +the seventeenth century there were over 1000 ships +in colonial waters; for numbers of shipwrights had +come over from England. During the eighteenth +century at Portland, Maine, and elsewhere were +built square-rigged ships, privateers, and the first +schooners as well as brigantines. This was quite +apart from the shipping and timber sent to England, +and during the year 1769 the twelve colonies +launched 389 ships, representing 20,000 tons.</p> + +<p>In few countries of the world has the relation +between war and mercantile shipping been so +accurately reflected, as we shall see as we go on. +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_221">[Pg 221]</span>The immediate result of the American revolution +was to throttle the Atlantic trade, and five of the +first eleven Acts of Congress were laws to encourage +American shipping. In 1789 the State gave +special privileges to shippers engaged in the East +Indian and China trades. Many of these shippers +and owners were located in Massachusetts, and +made fine profits, as, for instance, the <em>Mount Vernon</em> +of Salem, which in 1799 made a profit of $100,000 +in a single round trip to China; and one ship +made 700 per cent. on a cargo of pepper from +Sumatra.</p> + +<p>The registered American tonnage in the foreign +trade grew from 123,893 tons in 1789 to 667,107 +tons in 1800; for during the wars growing out of +the French Revolution the American Mercantile +Marine actually became the principal carriers of +Europe, as at one time the Dutch and the English +had been. Thus for a second time the marine +showed how sensitive it was to the effect of war. +But the war of 1812 caused severe losses to American +merchant ships, yet, on the other hand, American +privateers played havoc with English shipping. +The effect, even in those days of comparatively few +ships, is at once seen by looking at the port of Liverpool, +the natural haven for American ships arriving +in Europe; for whereas in 1810, 6729 ships entered +that port, only 4599 came in during the year 1812. +On the other hand, as soon as peace returned these +figures jumped up, and from 1815 to 1860 shipping +went ahead quickly.</p> + +<p>For the United States were fast developing their +industries, opening up trade, and therefore had +every need of a Mercantile Marine. The legislation +of Congress in 1828 opened up American ports +to cargo-carrying British ships from any country +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_222">[Pg 222]</span>where American vessels were on a similar footing +to British ships, and two years later the West +Indies were opened to American shipping. In +1849 Great Britain adopted the Free Trade policy, +and full reciprocity was established between British +and American merchant vessels. The history of +the clipper ships and the competition between +Great Britain and the United States for the ocean-carrying +trade has already been related in this +volume. It is only necessary once more to emphasise +that war had yet again a good deal to do with +the future of the American Mercantile Marine, for +the Civil War of 1861 took away any chance which +remained to American ships of continuing as the +great sea-carriers. The American mind had to +concentrate on fighting. Meanwhile, much of the +tonnage had passed under other flags, while in +Great Britain the accessibility of coal deposits, the +cheapness of labour, the successful introduction of +iron for shipbuilding, the great advances in ship +construction, and especially the wonderful progress +of the steamship, had been able to give back to +Great Britain her supremacy as a Mercantile +Marine. And when the Civil War was over, +America was too interested internally to pay a +maximum amount of attention to ocean trading.</p> + +<p>For the riches of the country were only beginning +to be developed. Mines and manufactures, railroads +and so on were now needing all the available +capital. The New England shipyards, which for +many years had been so valuable owing to the +ample supplies of timber ready to hand, became +unwanted in proportion as the Clyde, with its +adjacent coalfields, was becoming more important +for building ships of iron and then steel. It would +be untrue to say that America ignored the building +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_223">[Pg 223]</span>of iron ships, and in the early ’seventies she was +interested in a mild way. The ’eighties passed +without much enthusiasm for the subject, and then +in 1894 and following year the Cramp shipyard +launched the two fine transatlantic liners <em>St. Louis</em> +and <em>St. Paul</em>, both being constructed of steel. +There were many other steel ships built, and +orders were received from abroad, but, broadly +speaking, and in strict reference to merchant ships +and not warships, America was not even now a +shipbuilding country.</p> + +<p>Those splendid schooners with which the port of +Gloucester is for ever associated, and those other +sailing craft along the American coast do not alter +the statement, nor do the vessels on the American +lakes and rivers. We are thinking of ocean-going +ships, which are the essential feature of any Mercantile +Marine. The trade between the Atlantic +and Pacific ports still remained for the old full-rigged +clippers, because there were not enough +cargoes east-bound to make it worth while for the +steamship. And so America went on, content to +allow her Merchant Service to be comparatively +small and unprogressive.</p> + +<p>But once again it required a war to call the +national mind to consider what a Mercantile +Marine means to a country. The Spanish war of +1898 did this to the extent that there was aroused +a strong support for the Panama Canal project. +The Act permitting this dates from 1892, and it is +really from this year that the new phase begins, +though only gradually. If you make direct and +shorter roads on land leading to important trading +centres, you obviously at once attract trade. If in +the same manner you shorten communications by +sea, it will have a similar effect. Quite apart from +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_224">[Pg 224]</span>its warlike strategic value, which is outside our +subject, the theory of the Panama Canal was based +on the fact that it would reduce the sea route from +New York to San Francisco by most of 8000 miles, +and to Sydney and Yokohama by about 4000 miles. +The 1892 Act also authorised admission to American +registry of foreign-built vessels not more than +five years old.</p> + +<p>Then again came another war, the Great War, +which began on August 4, 1914, the year in which +the canal was opened. Too late America had +begun to learn the value of a Mercantile Marine, +and now she foresaw that there would be an inadequate +supply of shipping to carry her trade across +the ocean. Immediately she tried to make up for +this by passing a law a fortnight after the outbreak +of war removing the age limit in the Act of 1892. +And now it becomes necessary to look into the +matter somewhat closely, otherwise what followed +is not intelligible.</p> + +<p>When the European War broke out, America, +having regard to her population, wealth, overseas +trade and length of littoral, was in a curious +position. The following figures are for June 1914, +and are eloquent. In that month, of all the world’s +<em>sea-going</em> steel and iron steam tonnage the British +Empire owned 47·7, Germany 12, Scandinavia 8·7, +France 4·5, the United States 4·3 and Japan 3·9 +per cent. As the war went on America realised +at last that 71 per cent. of the world’s steamships +were in the hands of belligerents, and therefore the +means of transport for American exports and imports—in +other words, the exchange of wealth—had +been taken away. Even farmers and cotton-growers +who had never seen the sea in their lives +began to take an interest in the subject when they +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_225">[Pg 225]</span>suffered losses. It took the Great War to wake +up the great American nation, as it had taken the +American clippers to make our sailing shipowners +become active.</p> + +<p>Shipbuilding in America suddenly began to +revive, for from the end of 1915 ships were required +by Britain, France and Norway. Mines +and submarines had caused losses to the two first, +while the third required more ships than ever for +the profitable trade she was doing with Great +Britain and France. Moreover, the American +Mercantile Marine needed ships for herself; and +the result was that in 1915 there was a net increase +of nearly 500,000 tons added to its commercial +service, including shipping which had been transferred +to it. The position in the carrying trade +outside America was this. A large number of +ships were interned in various ports, some thousands +of tons had been sunk by the German mines +and submarines, and yet the Allies were now +requiring more for maintaining food for nations and +supplies for the armies in the field. In addition to +this, many ships had been taken from the Merchant +Service for purely naval purposes and other +objects, such as supply-vessels to the Fleet. And +the unrestricted submarine campaign which Germany +began in April 1917 was to make matters +considerably worse; for in April of that year +545,282 tons of British merchant shipping alone +were lost by enemy action.</p> + +<p>It was on September 7, 1916, that Congress +passed a law creating the United States Shipping +Board, the original aim of which was to develop +more effectively the American Mercantile Marine. +A very few months later, on April 6, 1917, the +United States declared war on Germany, and on +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_226">[Pg 226]</span>May 4 the first American warships to reach Europe, +consisting of six destroyers, steamed into Queenstown +harbour. It is a day firmly fixed in my own +memory, as the vessel I was then commanding was +the first to go alongside them, north of Daunt’s +Rock lightship. Now with America a participant +in the war, and about to send armies to Europe +together with necessary military supplies, the need +for American merchant tonnage became positively +acute. In the whole of the United States there +were not more than sixty-one shipyards, of which +only thirty-seven were building steel craft.</p> + +<p>But America realised that ships must be built at +once, regardless of cost, both very quickly and in +large numbers. Thus in a strange and romantic +manner there came unexpectedly a revival of the +wooden ship. An American writer has pointed +out that of the entire transportation of American +troops about 48¼ per cent. were carried in +British ships, and 43 per cent. in American Navy +transports. But, with a fine patriotic effort, shipbuilding +of all kinds now went ahead, and soon +there were 341 shipyards building sea-going craft. +Actually 1284 launching ways were now occupied. +It was a remarkable lesson which war +had taught in respect of the Mercantile Marine. +There is no room to go into details, but it is +sufficient to call attention to this exceptional effort, +which showed what could be done. Fabricated +ships, that is, vessels constructed by assembling +the standardised plates made in the engineering +shops, rendered possible only through the existence +of numerous steel rolling mills, began to take the +water; and if some of these craft were not always +well built, we must remember that they were a +temporary measure, and not intended to last.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_227">[Pg 227]</span></p> + +<p>The total construction of ships in the United +States during the years 1910-1916 had averaged +450,000 tons a year. In 1917 it was nearly 1,000,000, +in 1918 it was 3,223,506 tons, but in 1919 it was +6,558,823 tons, up to the end of the year in each +case. These figures are given for the purpose of +showing what can be done in a country which +makes up its mind to have a commercial marine. +America had been a long time learning its +lesson, but there was no question that she had +learned. Therefore it is not to be expected that +she will let this hardly-acquired realisation be +forgotten. Indeed, the evidence is strongly the +other way. On June 5, 1920, was approved the +Merchant Marine Act for the promoting and maintaining +an American Merchant Marine. It is +sufficient evidence merely to read the declaration +of policy as stated by Congress: “That it is necessary +for the national defence and for the proper +growth of its foreign and domestic commerce that +the United States shall have a merchant marine of +the best-equipped and most suitable types of vessels +sufficient to carry the greater portion of its commerce +and serve as a naval or military auxiliary in +time of war or national emergency, ultimately to +be owned and operated privately by citizens of the +United States; and it is hereby declared to be the +policy of the United States to do whatever may be +necessary to develop and encourage the maintenance +of such a merchant marine.”</p> + +<p>With the failure of any immediate benefits of +this policy it is not necessary here to deal. But of +all the many results of the Great War, few historically +are more interesting than this revival. +Competition between British and American shipping +is inevitable, but it is merely a repetition of +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_228">[Pg 228]</span>what happened in the clipper era; and we have +seen that in the long run this spirit of emulation +has always benefited the Merchant Service. Comparing +the figures given above for June 1914, let +us place alongside them those for June 1921, which +are as instructive as the first. For now we find in +the percentage of the world’s total sea-going steel +and iron steam tonnage that the British Empire +owns 39·3, the United States 22·7, France and +Japan each 5·6, but Scandinavia 7·7. Thus to +have leapt from 4·3 to 22·7 in so short a space of +time, and to have become second only to the British +Empire, is a remarkable achievement.</p> + +<p>The future remains to be seen. But we have +noticed that the absence of competition caused the +East Indian portion—and that was the greater part—of +the British Mercantile Marine to get into a +rut. It was only the opening up to all of the +East, the free and unfettered rivalry there and in +the Atlantic, which brought about progress and +improved conditions both for the trader and the +passenger. In the face of the lessons of history, is +it not better to welcome competition rather than +to endeavour to hinder, by a series of laws which +may do good, but may also cause international +friction, more dreadful wars, and do little for the +advancement of civilisation and the attainment of +noble aims? The practical value of history is that +we are able to see at a glance the mistakes of our +forefathers. If it is not that, it is a mere academic +study. The world now realises that an adequate +merchant fleet is as necessary as an adequate +fighting Navy. But it has required to be confronted +with big events before it could thoroughly grasp +that essential fact.</p> + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> +<div class="chapter"> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_229">[Pg 229]</span></p> + + + <h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XIX"> + CHAPTER XIX + <br> + <span class="fs80">THE MINOR MERCANTILE MARINES</span> + </h2> +</div> + + +<p>One important result of the war was to readjust +the respective positions of the nations of the world +in regard to their merchant fleets. Considering +only steel and iron steam tonnage, the nations +were in the following order of precedence immediately +prior to the war: British Empire, +Germany, Scandinavia, France, the United States; +Japan, Holland, Italy, Austria-Hungary, Spain, +Greece. But to-day the following is the order: +British Empire, United States, and then there is +an immense drop to Scandinavia, France, Japan, +Italy, Holland, Spain, Germany and Greece about +equal, and no Austro-Hungarian merchant ships.</p> + +<p>Whilst Scandinavia still occupies the third place, +she represents only 7·7 of the world’s steam tonnage +as against the United States’ 22·7 and the British +Empire’s 39·3. Outside the belligerents the Scandinavians +were the most important merchant fleet +throughout the period of hostilities, and Norway +was more important than Sweden. From the +earliest times in European history the sea-spirit +has been a real influence in Scandinavia, and some +of the finest sailormen in the world have come +from there. It is that spirit which has built up the +Scandinavian merchant fleets, not merely through +the sailing-ship days, but after. To them were +sold many of Britain’s clippers and other vessels +as steam gradually became dominant; and even +now they purchase obsolete British steamships, give +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_230">[Pg 230]</span>them another name and put them into service +again. The Allan liner <em>Virginian</em>, the first +Atlantic turbine steamer, for instance, is now +running in the Swedish-American Line.</p> + +<p>The war found the Scandinavians with a comparatively +large merchant fleet, not merely of +steam vessels, but of sailing craft. Only those +who were in the North Sea at that time could +realise this fact, and as the years went on it became +still more emphasised. For they were able to sell +their agricultural produce to Germany for high +prices, and they sold, also at a high rate, large +supplies of food and of timber to Great Britain. +The result was that the enormous demand for +merchant ships brought great wealth to these Northmen. +They placed a large number of orders with +British shipbuilding firms prior to peace, and in one +area alone these orders amounted to 450,000 tons. +But then came the slump, ships were not wanted, +because trade became bad, many shipowners were +soon in financial straits and merchant captains +found themselves without employment. The result +is, that notwithstanding the boom, they owned in +June 1921 only 7·7 as against 8·7 in June 1914 of +the world’s sea-going steam tonnage. On the other +hand, they have shown considerable enterprise in +evolving the ocean-going motor ship. But whereas +the Baltic meant so much to their shipping, the +revolutionary upheavals in Russia and Germany +have thoroughly disorganised that most important +section of their trade. To take one instance alone, +before the war, and even during those years, +Sweden used to export in small steamships large +quantities of iron ore to Germany, but now these +exports have considerably diminished. Nevertheless, +the possession of these Scandinavian merchant +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_231">[Pg 231]</span>fleets, consisting as they do principally of small +rather than big ships, is a strong factor to be +considered in the future.</p> + +<p>To-day the French Mercantile Marine is of the +same strength as Japan, owing to the last-mentioned +country having gone ahead rather than the former +having gone astern. The acquisition of a number +of ex-German liners after the Armistice was something +of a windfall, though it was a long time +before some of the big craft were requisitioned. +The Messageries Maritimes, for example, took +over from the French Government the <em>Lucie +Woermann</em> (4836 tons) and several bigger ships. +But as an influence in the shipping world, France +is very different from what she was during the time +of Louis XIV and after. The naval architects and +shipbuilders in France during the seventeenth and +eighteenth centuries were in many cases as good, +and frequently better than, those of England or +Holland or Spain. But this supremacy had long +since left them by the time the steamship became +prevalent.</p> + +<p>During the war the French Mercantile Marine +was used entirely for the prosecution of the one +great cause, but France lost during that period +1,129,000 out of 2,556,000 tons of merchant shipping +with which she commenced hostilities. This has +been more serious for France, because whilst +during hostilities the shipyards of Great Britain, +the United States and Japan were able to carry on +building, the French yards were almost exclusively +engaged in manufacturing for their armies. In +fact, they were unable to launch more than 143,000 +tons throughout the war, though afterwards about +a hundred ships were ordered in Great Britain, +representing nearly 500,000 tons.</p> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_232">[Pg 232]</span></p> + +<p>The French Mercantile Marine to-day consists +of between 3,000,000 and 4,000,000 tons. Of this +the fine big Atlantic liners running to New York +make up a fair proportion, especially when we +think of the 34,568-ton <em>Paris</em>, one of the largest +liners afloat, and a singularly impressive ship to +behold. As a result of the war Germany had to +hand over to the Allies 521 ships, of nearly +3,000,000 tons displacement; and of these France +was allotted 116, amounting to about 500,000 tons. +But the greater part of her merchant fleet is based +on the Mediterranean, running from Marseilles to +the Black Sea, and her possessions in Asia and +the Pacific, West Africa, and to North and South +America. Most of her exports go to her colonies; +and the short voyages across the Mediterranean to +Algeria and Morocco, transporting corn, wine, sheep +and vegetables, will ever be a valuable means of +employing small tonnage ships. But it has needed +a war to teach France that the whole of her shipbuilding +and marine transportation required overhauling +and revising. Her shipping industry was +based rather on the policy of making profits out of +other industries than of becoming a means of +creating new trade routes and fresh avenues to +wealth. It is only now that she is realising the +riches of her colonies which merely wait to be developed +fully. To France, curiously enough, belonged +the honour of owning the largest and finest +sailing ship in the world. This was the <em>La France</em>. +Fitted with auxiliary motors in the early days of +the combustion engine, these were afterwards removed. +She sailed out to the Pacific in 1922, but +had the misfortune to pile up on a New Caledonian +reef close to her destination and became a total +wreck. Thus perished the last link France had +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_233">[Pg 233]</span>with its former race of brilliant designers of sailing +ships.</p> + +<p>In the rise of nations few phenomena are more +striking than the way the Japanese merchant fleet has +leapt into prominence in so few years. Even before +the war she possessed only 3·9 of the world’s steam +steel tonnage, and was the sixth power in the world +as a sea-carrier; to-day she is actually bracketed +fourth with France, and owning 5·6 of the percentage +of tonnage. The Japanese are essentially +copyists, and practically everything they know of +shipbuilding or shipping in the modern sense has +been derived from Great Britain. The war came +as a grand opportunity to them, and as soon as the +Germans vanished from the Eastern trades, the +Japanese stepped in and took what they wanted at +a time when our traders were busy with other +matters. Thanks to the heavy subsidies granted +by their Government, they have put up a keen +competition, including the Indian coasting trade. +Both geographically and economically Japan is +well situated so as to expand her merchant fleet +throughout the Orient and the Pacific, and all the +evidence points to her intention to take every +advantage of her opportunities.</p> + +<p>According to the most recent figures, the Japanese +merchant fleet contained nearly 800 steamships of +over 1000 tons, representing nearer 3,000,000 than +2,000,000 tons. The purchase of a large number +of second-hand ships from other countries at a time +when, owing to the slump, they could be bought +for less than half their cost in Japan, is one of the +latest instances of her enterprise. The Italian +proportion of ownership in steamships has increased +a point as a result of the war and after, and the +addition in 1921 of the big <em>Giulio Cesare</em> was a +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_234">[Pg 234]</span>considerable acquisition to such a small marine. +Built in England, this 22,500-ton (gross) steamer +was the largest vessel the Wallsend yard had +launched since they constructed the <em>Mauretania</em>. +She can do her nineteen knots and more, and being +intended for the Genoa-Buenos Ayres route, was +fitted with ample luxury to tempt the South +Americans. But there is also a big emigrant trade +from this port westward, and more than half the +accommodation in the ship is intended for them. +The outcome of the war brought Trieste, Austria’s +only port, into the hands of Italy, and this may +have an important effect on Italian shipping in the +future. It used to be to Austria what Fiume was +to Hungary, and both States used to give large +subsidies to their Mercantile Marines and encourage +transport to and from these ports. Just before the +war the Austro-Hungarian merchant ships represented +only slightly over 1 per cent. of all the +world’s sea-going steel steamers, but now this +amount has dropped to nothing. Fiume was the +port whence emigrants by the thousand poured +from their Slav, Teuton and Magyar homes on +board the liners bound for the United States. It +was Hungary’s only port, and then the World +War put an end to its glory and made it a source +of grave international anxiety.</p> + +<p>But its close connection with the Mercantile +Marine prosperity can be seen at once. For one +steamship line alone used to take from there +30,000 emigrants annually. They used to run +three steamships a month during the winters when +bad harvests had caused the people to leave their +homes for the New World, and each of these ships +was carrying most of 2000. Then, having made +$500 in America, they would for the most part +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_235">[Pg 235]</span>return, and thus there was still further traffic for +the shipping. The Austrian Lloyd Company +owned about eighty steamships, though chiefly of +small tonnage, but some were built in Trieste of +about 4000 tons. With one steamship company +the Hungarian Government actually entered into +a contract, to last ten years, by which the former +were to be guaranteed 30,000 emigrants a year; +and a bonus of a hundred francs was to be paid for +every passenger short of that number. It cannot +be too much emphasised that the emigrant traffic +has been one of the foundations of some steamship +companies.</p> + +<p>During the war the direct services from Scandinavia +to America were strengthened; but the French +emigrant traffic has never been great. Before the +war the Italian steamship lines were largely under +German influence. No emigrants could be carried +to or from Italy except in a licensed ship; and a +vessel more than three years old, not previously +employed in the Italian service, could not receive +a licence unless her speed was at least eighteen +knots. But from the European continent by far +the greatest emigrant traffic went from Bremen +and Rotterdam in the two big German lines.</p> + +<p>The present position of Holland and Spain, +almost at the bottom of the list, shows pathetically +that a country which in its day has been the +greatest sea-carrier, which owned and built the +finest ships in the world, may in a century or +more be pushed out of the struggle unless her +fighting fleet is able to secure free passage for the +merchant vessels. Holland, at least, owns a small +fleet of first-class liners, principally for the North +American trade and to the Dutch East Indies. +With regard to the former, Rotterdam has been to +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_236">[Pg 236]</span>them a useful port for attracting a good many +emigrants every year. Prior to the war the +German lines were too wise to compete against +the Dutch, preferring not to separate forces in +concentrating against the Cunard and White Star +Lines. Most Dutch steamship lines enjoy a +measure of support from the Dutch railways, but +in the past there was also a good deal of support +from Germany.</p> +<br> + +<figure class="figcenter illowp100" id="p2361_ill" style="max-width: 62.5em;"> + <img class="w100" src="images/p2361_ill.jpg" alt=""> + <figcaption> + <p class="right fs80">[<em>Photo, Henry Hughes & Son, Ltd.</em></p> + <p class="center no-indent">A FAST-DISAPPEARING SHIP TYPE. + Steam and motors have almost banished the full-rigged ship from the Mercantile Marine, but a very few still survive.</p> + </figcaption> +</figure> +<br> + +<p>The future of Mercantile Marines is the future +of trade itself; for shipping not merely takes goods +to market, but actually creates those markets in +localities hitherto undeveloped. The sailing ship +as an ocean-carrier is certainly fast disappearing, +and everything now is reckoned on a basis of +economy, but with strict regard to speed and +efficiency. The need for shipping, apart from +temporary slumps in the cycle of trade through +prosperity to depression, must increase as the resources +of the world become greater. If the tramp +steamer forces her way up a shallow river and finds +an abundance of a certain commodity which by +some sudden turn in social life is much in demand +in London or New York, this new trade will go on +and on until a town is built on the banks, the river +is dredged, and eventually liners call there not for +cargoes, but to bring passengers. The town needs +its regular mail service, the inhabitants require costly +manufactured goods from England or America; and +so, in the end, it grows to be a colony with its own +special exports and imports. The arrival of every +ship increases the trade, agents from commercial +corporations land and start a new vein of development. +Finally, after a couple of centuries, perhaps, +the colony decides to have its own merchant fleet, +and after it has got thoroughly used to this, and +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_237">[Pg 237]</span>had some risk of war, it realises that its Merchant +Marine must be protected by a fighting Navy. +To-day Australia has its own liners, and Navy, and +yet it was only in 1788 that the first thousand +settlers landed there. In the exchange of wealth +the sea is, so to speak, the counter across which +the deal is done. You may live inland and forget +all about the sea; you may hate it or you may fear +it; but it is there all the time, and it means +everything to any ambitious community. It is +by means of the merchant ship that the sea is, +partially at least, controlled for the sake of land +development and the convenience of communities.</p> + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> +<div class="chapter"> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_238">[Pg 238]</span></p> + + + <h2 class="nobreak" id="CHAPTER_XX"> + CHAPTER XX + <br> + <span class="fs80">THE FUTURE OF THE MERCANTILE MARINE</span> + </h2> +</div> + + +<p>If the attention of the reader has been thus far +secured, he will have appreciated the fact that to +any nation owning a seaboard the possession of a +Mercantile Marine is as important as having a +fighting Navy. We have seen that Great Britain, +the United States, France, Germany, Japan—not +to mention the rest—all realise more than ever +the prime importance of an efficient and adequate +merchant fleet. You find this in the official statements +as well as in the remarks by their shipping +experts. As we said at the beginning of this +volume, it has taken a great war to cause this +right thinking, but you may be assured that from +now onwards the merchant fleets are coming into +their own, and the service is going to be regarded +before long with some of the old respect that was +ascribed to it in the palmiest days of the sailing ship.</p> + +<p>It is sea-borne trade which makes a Mercantile +Marine. It is the great coalfields conveniently +near big harbours that have helped to build up +the modern British marine after her shipping +was temporarily eclipsed by the American. The +development of the world consequent on the coming +of the industrial age, the great increase of +overseas trade therefrom resulting, caused a loud +and universal call for cheap maritime carriage. +The steamer satisfied that call, for the reason that +she was built economically near to the coalfields, +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_239">[Pg 239]</span>and economically propelled because she had cheap +coal. She could therefore afford to carry goods +cheaply. Then, as we have also seen, this tramp +is the forerunner of the liner, and so the story goes +on like a stone gathering momentum as it comes +down the mountain.</p> + +<p>So it all depends on cheap fuel quite as much as +on cheap labour. The Scandinavians have had the +latter for years, but it never enabled them to build +up such a merchant fleet as one might have +expected. The world’s greatest shipping centre +to-day is the Port of London, notwithstanding the +great set-back it received during the war, when +the presence of German submarines in the English +Channel diverted much of its ancient trade to +western ports. Had it not been for the possession +of an enormous merchant fleet, consisting of a large +proportion of small and moderate-sized steamers, +the Allied cause would most certainly have been +lost, irrespective of the Army in the field or the +Navy at sea. The British and German blockades, +though exerted in the one case by big ships and +in the latter by submarines, had the same effect: +the paralysing of the merchant fleet. Take the +blockade away and the war could have gone on as +long as a couple of men were alive. The pivot of +the whole thing is therefore the merchant ship, and +she in turn depends on her fuel.</p> + +<p>The fuel of the future will be oil, and you will +find only a minority of experts to deny this. +Whether aircraft will ever become the principal +passenger-carriers over the world is possible, but +remote. For the carriage of goods the dependence +will remain on merchant shipping, and one of the +incentives to the use of oil-fuel will be brought +about by increased competition. Oil is the more +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_240">[Pg 240]</span>economical fuel, for the reason that, other things +being equal, one ton of oil-fuel as now used in +Diesel engines drives a vessel three times as far +as one ton of coal burnt under the boilers of a +steamship. And yet oil is twice as efficient as +coal when the ship has water-tube boilers and +geared turbines. This is the statement of Sir +Westcott Abell, the Chief Ship Surveyor of +Lloyd’s Register. The biggest liners have now +been converted into oil-burning, and it is conceivable +that before long we may have Diesel-engined +Atlantic leviathans instead of steamers. The +absence of boilers will mean more room for +passengers and cargo, therefore increased earning +capacity.</p> + +<p>Whether we think of oil as used for Diesel or +for steam engines, it certainly looks as if the future +Mercantile Marines of the world will be in the +main oil-driven. In that case the outlook for +the British Mercantile Marine, which has been +based on cheap coal, may cause some anxiety. +The possession of ample oil-wells in other parts +of the world may, and probably will, get over the +difficulty; but it is one thing to have coalfields at +home, and quite another consideration to fetch oil +from the other end of the earth. Moreover the +commercial fight for oil-areas may conceivably lead +to international strife, and the prolongation of the +war might depend on how long the supplies of oil +could be maintained for the shipping. In any +forecast of the world’s Mercantile Marines due +regard must therefore be paid to the use and +supply of oil.</p> + +<p>The introduction of oil-fuel into the modern +Atlantic ships has done away with the old, +laborious work of stoking, and necessitated from +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_241">[Pg 241]</span>the fireman a higher skill, more technical knowledge +and keener concentration; and he has to +be on the move continually in order to see that +the burners are in good order and the flame is +continuous. During bad weather, or fogs, fires can +be extinguished, and thus economy gained. More +bunker-fuel is being consumed on the ocean at the +present than ever, and although during the last +twenty years a complete revolution has been made +in the engine-room by the use of turbines and +geared turbines, it is only with the introduction +of oil-fuel that the stokehold has become more +progressive. In many cases ex-naval men are now +employed in the British oil-fuel liners. Their +experience of years in oil-fuel ships well fits them +for this skilled “stoking” in the modern merchantmen. +And here may be the beginning of another +improvement. It is well known that the crew’s +accommodation in most men-of-war is superior to +that in most merchantmen, especially in regard to +cleanliness. During the war it was surprising to +naval officers commanding armed merchant cruisers +that such conditions were allowed in liners which +would never be tolerated in fighting ships. One +British admiral, in particular, was so impressed as +to express his opinions afterwards in print. Now, if +the introduction of highly skilled ratings from the +Navy continues, it may be taken as certain that +the standard of life in the crew’s quarters will +become higher and thus a high-grade type of man +will be attracted. There is going to be a general +levelling up in the Mercantile Marines of the +world, so long as there is peace assured. The +world is wearied of war, and asks only to be +allowed to develop its resources in peace. Every +one nowadays is interested in commerce, and the +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_242">[Pg 242]</span>time will come when the practice which existed +in the East India Company’s ships will be reverted +to. Only the sons of the best families will be +thought to be good enough for the national +merchant ships: only the best sons will offer +themselves for the honour of controlling the ships +which maintain the country’s life-giving trade. In +the time of the Elizabethans, before the East India +Company; in the Spanish and Portuguese and +Venetian trade supremacies, the pick of the nation +were engaged in overseas commerce; and in the +twentieth century, when so much technical knowledge, +so much responsible capability are required +of a man, none but the best types of officers and +men should be accepted or offered. Permanent +employment, good pay, pride in ship and service, +high standard of accommodation, and the most +careful selection of candidates will go a long way +towards bringing about this desired end.</p> + +<p>In the olden days the sailor was a very gallant +fellow, whose job it was to go aloft and lay out +along a yard and handsail in the foulest weather. +At sea he was heroic; on shore he was often a +drunken reprobate. Things have altered. The +modern shipman is just as gallant, as we know +from his exploits afloat during the war. But he +is better educated, uses his head more and his fists +less. He reads and thinks and reasons for himself, +and if he knows nothing of the old seafaring, he is +highly skilled in the working of the hundreds of +wonderful appliances which are essential to the +modern merchant ship. To him the shore is not +always symbolical of debauch. He is better treated +than his ancestors, and his undoubted rights have +begun to be respected. The result is that there +is a general improvement going on through the +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_243">[Pg 243]</span>Mercantile Marine not merely in regard to the +ships themselves, but in the personnel.</p> + +<p>The romance of the sailing-ship days has to be +merged to-day in the bigger romance of sea-borne +trade. It is ridiculous to say, as one lecturer +recently stated, that the Mercantile Marine has +no fine traditions like the Navy, and therefore +there is no enthusing force at the back of it. To +make such a statement—and I regret to say that +it was uttered by a distinguished merchant ship +captain—is to be ignorant of sea history. During +the recent war, during all the previous wars, +through the ages of peace, back and back as far as +we have any records, you will find the marine +merchantman doing fine things, piling up the finest +traditions. If that is not so, the whole purpose of +this volume has been missed. I have endeavoured +to show what the Mercantile Marine has done for +the world throughout time in all kinds of ships. +Sailors are a conservative race, and there is at +heart very little difference between the best of +each century. To them we all owe more than +we can ever repay or even realise.</p> + +<p>Whether the average merchant ship of the future +is to be the cruiser-stern vessel with oil-fuel and +geared turbines, or with Diesel engines, matters +less than the spirit which animates the officers and +men. In the British Mercantile Marine the officers +are drawn from many sources, but the chief training +establishments are in the <em>Worcester</em>, lying in the +Thames, the <em>Conway</em>, lying in the Mersey, and in +the Nautical College, Pangbourne. It is to these +three institutions especially that we look for the +future mercantile officer, on whom great responsibilities +rest for the upholding and carrying on of +the magnificent heritage of tradition. In the +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_244">[Pg 244]</span>United States this preparation for the sea is being +carried out with that thoroughness which was +shown during the war for making sailors out of +raw landsmen. The recruiting for the American +Mercantile Marine, according to the latest official +report to hand, already consisted of a personnel +which was 68 per cent. American. Its Sea Training +Bureau has training stations and training ships, +and in the first three years turned out between +30,000 and 40,000 unlicensed ratings. In addition, +there are the Navigation and Engineering Schools +and advanced courses for men already holding +licences. Such subjects as the operation, repair, +adjustment and general upkeep of marine turbines, +and matters dealing with electricity and oil, are +included in the last-mentioned curricula. The +result was that in four years licences were granted +to over 10,000 graduates as masters, first, second +and third mates, chief engineers, first, second and +third assistant engineers. And by means of a Sea +Service Bureau maintained at various Atlantic, +Gulf and Pacific coast ports, during one year over +100,000 officers and men were placed in United +States ships.</p> + +<p>Thus, with glorious traditions behind them, and +an equally glorious future in front, the Mercantile +Marines of the nations of the maritime world have +every reason to be proud of their respective services. +Competition there assuredly will be, not merely +between British and American, but, presently, +German merchant fleets. That is all for the good +of the services concerned and for the world in +general. The lesson from past history is that +maritime legislation in the long run is better +omitted except where it is necessary as a reply +to that of another country setting up unfair +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_245">[Pg 245]</span>competition. The real freedom of the seas is to allow +the merchant ship to pursue her way freely, unhampered; +and to find her trade where she can, +and be allowed to develop that trade as it has been +in the past by Venetian, Spaniard, Dutch, Briton, +American and others. To interfere with this +system is to court trouble which in the long run +fails to benefit the very organisation it was intended +to protect. Navigation laws are all very well in +intention; but far better still is it to allow free +trading over the seas, free flow of emigrants and +commerce, fair opportunities for all. The best +must win in the last instance, but why not let each +marine go about its own business as each trading +concern ashore is allowed to carry on its own affairs? +The merchant fleets mean too much to be controlled +by the State in any country, except +under exceptional circumstances and with the +most weighty excuse. That is one of the lessons +in the history of our subject, and we may leave it +at that.</p> + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> +<div class="chapter"> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_246">[Pg 246]</span></p> + + + <h2 class="nobreak" id="APPENDIX"> + APPENDIX + <br> + <span class="fs80">SAILS OF THE <em>ESSEX</em> EAST INDIAMAN</span> + </h2> +</div> + + +<p>The following is a list of the sails which the +<em>Essex</em> could set, and it is worth placing on record +now that the sailing ship is so rapidly becoming +a rarity. These details have been taken from a +contemporary manuscript which has been kindly +sent me by Colonel E. B. Urmston, C.B., whose +great-grandfather served in East Indiamen from +the time when he joined as a midshipman in 1763, +and afterwards commanded several of these ships +between 1783 and 1803. In 1795 he brought home, +as Commodore, a fleet of thirty East Indiamen +without a convoy of any of H.M. ships, and later +in the same year was Commodore of the East +Indiamen fleet which accompanied Sir Ralph +Abercrombie’s expedition to the West Indies. +His eldest son, Sir James Urmston, joined the +company’s service as a “writer” in 1798, and +became President of the company’s factory and +affairs in China.</p> + +<p>This memorandum, already turning yellow with +age, was made in 1816, at the time Lady Urmston +came home in the <em>Essex</em>, and with the aid of +existing pictures of East Indiamen it would not +be impossible to reconstruct a model on fairly +accurate lines. It will be seen that she was able +to set twenty-seven sails on her foremast, twenty-one +on her mainmast, and seventeen on her mizzen: +<span class="pagenum" id="Page_247">[Pg 247]</span>total sixty-five. It is interesting as showing that +at least one of these Indiamen was a real sail-carrier. +She was commanded by Captain Nisbett.</p> + + +<table class="autotable fs90" style="width: 100%"> +<tr> +<td class="tdl" style="width: 33%"> +ON THE FOREMAST 26. +</td> +<td class="tdl" style="width: 33%"> +ON THE MAINMAST 21. +</td> +<td class="tdl" style="width: 33%"> +ON THE MIZZENMAST 17. +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tdl"> +Fore course +</td> +<td class="tdl"> +Main course +</td> +<td class="tdl"> +Square cross jackyard +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tdl"> +” <span style="padding-left: 1em">topsail</span> +</td> +<td class="tdl"> +” <span style="padding-left: 1em">topsail</span> +</td> +<td class="tdl"> +Mizzen topsail +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tdl"> +” <span style="padding-left: 1em">t’gallant sail</span> +</td> +<td class="tdl"> +” <span style="padding-left: 1em">t’gallant sail</span> +</td> +<td class="tdl"> +” <span style="padding-left: 1em">t’gallant sail</span> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tdl"> +” <span style="padding-left: 1em">royal</span> +</td> +<td class="tdl"> +” <span style="padding-left: 1em">royal</span> +</td> +<td class="tdl"> +” <span style="padding-left: 1em">royal</span> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tdl"> +” <span style="padding-left: 1em">skysail</span> +</td> +<td class="tdl"> +” <span style="padding-left: 1em">skysail</span> +</td> +<td class="tdl"> +” <span style="padding-left: 1em">skysail</span> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tdl"> +” <span style="padding-left: 1em">moon-raker</span> +</td> +<td class="tdl"> +” <span style="padding-left: 1em">moon-raker</span> +</td> +<td class="tdl"> +” <span style="padding-left: 1em">moon-raker</span> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tdl"> +” <span style="padding-left: 1em">cloud-scraper</span> +</td> +<td class="tdl"> +” <span style="padding-left: 1em">cloud-scraper</span> +</td> +<td class="tdl"> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tdl"> +” <span style="padding-left: 1em">star-gazer</span> +</td> +<td class="tdl"> +” <span style="padding-left: 1em">star-gazer</span> +</td> +<td class="tdl"> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tdl"> +” <span style="padding-left: 1em">storm staysail</span> +</td> +<td class="tdl"> +” <span style="padding-left: 1em">staysail</span> +</td> +<td class="tdl"> +Driver +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tdl"> +” <span style="padding-left: 1em">topmast staysail</span> +</td> +<td class="tdl"> +” <span style="padding-left: 1em">topmast staysail</span> +</td> +<td class="tdl"> +Ring-tail +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tdl"> +Jib +</td> +<td class="tdl"> +” <span style="padding-left: 1em">middle</span> <span style="padding-left: 1em">”</span> +</td> +<td class="tdl"> +Watersail +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tdl"> +Inner jib +</td> +<td class="tdl"> +” <span style="padding-left: 1em">t’gallant</span> <span style="padding-left: 1em">”</span> +</td> +<td class="tdl"> +Gaff topsail +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tdl"> +Flying <span style="padding-left: 1em">”</span> +</td> +<td class="tdl"> +” <span style="padding-left: 1em">royal</span> <span style="padding-left: 1em">”</span> +</td> +<td class="tdl"> +Upper <span style="padding-left: 1em">”</span> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tdl"> +Outer <span style="padding-left: 1em">”</span> +</td> +<td class="tdl"> +” <span style="padding-left: 1em">upper</span> <span style="padding-left: 1em">”</span> +</td> +<td class="tdl"> +Mizzen staysail +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tdl"> +Cutter’s topmast jib +</td> +<td class="tdl"> +</td> +<td class="tdl"> +” <span style="padding-left: 1em">topmast staysail</span> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tdl"> +Upper <span style="padding-left: 1em">”</span> +</td> +<td class="tdl"> +</td> +<td class="tdl"> +” <span style="padding-left: 1em">t’gallant</span> <span style="padding-left: 1em">”</span> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tdl"> +<em>On the bowsprit</em>: +</td> +<td class="tdl"> +</td> +<td class="tdl"> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tdl"> +Sprit sail +</td> +<td class="tdl"> +</td> +<td class="tdl"> +Mizzen royal staysail +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tdl"> +Sprit topsail +</td> +<td class="tdl"> +</td> +<td class="tdl"> +” <span style="padding-left: 1em">topmast stuns’l</span> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tdl"> +” <span style="padding-left: 1em">outer topsail</span> +</td> +<td class="tdl"> +</td> +<td class="tdl"> +” <span style="padding-left: 1em">t’gallants’l</span> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tdl"> +<em>Studding sails</em>: +</td> +<td class="tdl"> +</td> +<td class="tdl"> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tdl"> +Common lower studding sail +</td> +<td class="tdl"> +Lower studding sail +</td> +<td class="tdl"> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tdl"> +Outer lower studding sail +</td> +<td class="tdl"> +Common topmast studding sail +</td> +<td class="tdl"> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tdl"> +Common topmast studding sail +</td> +<td class="tdl"> +Outer topmast studding sail +</td> +<td class="tdl"> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tdl"> +Outer topmast studding sail +</td> +<td class="tdl"> +Common t’gallant studding sail +</td> +<td class="tdl"> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tdl"> +Common t’gallant studding sail +</td> +<td class="tdl"> +Outer t’gallant studding sail +</td> +<td class="tdl"> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tdl"> +Outer t’gallant studding sail +</td> +<td class="tdl"> +Royal t’gallant studding sail +</td> +<td class="tdl"> +</td> +</tr> +<tr> +<td class="tdl"> +Royal t’gallant studding sail +</td> +<td class="tdl"> +Upper t’gallant studding sail +</td> +<td class="tdl"> +</td> +</tr> +</table> + + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> +<div class="chapter"> + +<p><span class="pagenum"><a id="Page_248"></a><a id="Page_249"></a>[Pg 249]</span></p> + + + <h2 class="nobreak" id="INDEX"> + INDEX + </h2> +</div> + + +<ul class="index"> + <li class="ifrst">Aaron Manby, <a href="#Page_183">183</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Abell, Sir Westcott, <a href="#Page_240">240</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Abercrombie, Sir Ralph, <a href="#Page_246">246</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Ability of an East Indiaman navigator, <a href="#Page_142">142</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Acadia</em>, <a href="#Page_178">178</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Acre, <a href="#Page_15">15</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Active</em>, <a href="#Page_145">145</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Admiral Watson</em>, <a href="#Page_94">94</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Adriatic, The, <a href="#Page_9">9</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Agincourt</em>, <a href="#Page_148">148</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Ajax</em>, <a href="#Page_92">92</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Albert Webb</em>, <a href="#Page_118">118</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Alfred</em>, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>, <a href="#Page_99">99</a>, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>, <a href="#Page_148">148</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Allan Line, <a href="#Page_197">197</a>, <a href="#Page_230">230</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Alnwick Castle</em>, <a href="#Page_147">147</a></li> + + <li class="indx">American clippers, <a href="#Page_151">151</a></li> + + <li class="indx">American Line, <a href="#Page_183">183</a>, <a href="#Page_195">195</a></li> + + <li class="indx">American Mercantile Marine, <a href="#Page_152">152</a>, <a href="#Page_220">220</a>, <a href="#Page_244">244</a></li> + + <li class="indx">American packets, <a href="#Page_123">123</a></li> + + <li class="indx">American trade, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>, <a href="#Page_151">151</a></li> + + <li class="indx">American War, <a href="#Page_117">117</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Anglesey</em>, <a href="#Page_147">147</a>, <a href="#Page_148">148</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Anglo-Dutch wars, <a href="#Page_66">66</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Ann McKim</em>, <a href="#Page_150">150</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Aquila</em>, <a href="#Page_25">25</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Aquitania</em>, <a href="#Page_170">170</a>, <a href="#Page_173">173</a>, <a href="#Page_199">199</a>, <a href="#Page_200">200</a>, <a href="#Page_201">201</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Arabic</em>, <a href="#Page_196">196</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Archimedes</em>, <a href="#Page_184">184</a>, <a href="#Page_185">185</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Arctic</em>, <a href="#Page_124">124</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Ariel</em>, <a href="#Page_161">161</a>, <a href="#Page_162">162</a>, <a href="#Page_164">164</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Arizona</em>, <a href="#Page_192">192</a></li> + + <li class="indx">“Art of Seafighting, The,” <a href="#Page_95">95</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Astell</em>, <a href="#Page_112">112</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Aventurier</em>, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>, <a href="#Page_101">101</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Audacious</em>, H.M.S., <a href="#Page_216">216</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Auguste Victoria</em>, <a href="#Page_211">211</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Austral</em>, <a href="#Page_192">192</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Australian Black Ball Line, <a href="#Page_157">157</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Australian gold discovery, <a href="#Page_156">156</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Australian Royal Mail Steam Navigation Co., <a href="#Page_187">187</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Austria</em>, <a href="#Page_211">211</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Austrian Lloyd Company, <a href="#Page_235">235</a></li> + + + <li class="ifrst">Baden-Powell, Sir Robert, <a href="#Page_142">142</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Baines, James, <a href="#Page_135">135</a>, <a href="#Page_157">157</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Balearic Isles, <a href="#Page_5">5</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Ballasting, <a href="#Page_26">26</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Baltic</em>, <a href="#Page_188">188</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Barcelona ordinance, <a href="#Page_22">22</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Barham</em>, <a href="#Page_148">148</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Beatty, Earl, <a href="#Page_2">2</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Belle-Poule</em>, <a href="#Page_100">100</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Bellone</em>, <a href="#Page_112">112</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Benbow, Admiral, <a href="#Page_88">88</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Berceau</em>, <a href="#Page_100">100</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Berengaria</em>, <a href="#Page_170">170</a>, <a href="#Page_199">199</a>, <a href="#Page_202">202</a>, <a href="#Page_203">203</a>, <a href="#Page_217">217</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Berlin</em>, <a href="#Page_216">216</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Berthing a big liner, <a href="#Page_198">198</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Big Ship Masters, <a href="#Page_208">208</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Bismarck</em>, <a href="#Page_202">202</a>, <a href="#Page_218">218</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Black Ball Line, <a href="#Page_117">117</a>, <a href="#Page_123">123</a></li> + + <li class="indx">“Black Book of the Admiralty,” <a href="#Page_31">31</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Black Sea, <a href="#Page_16">16</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Blackwall, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>, <a href="#Page_80">80</a>, <a href="#Page_82">82</a>, <a href="#Page_92">92</a>, <a href="#Page_103">103</a>, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>, + <a href="#Page_117">117</a>, <a href="#Page_134">134</a>, <a href="#Page_136">136</a>, <a href="#Page_146">146</a>, <a href="#Page_148">148</a>, <a href="#Page_172">172</a>, + <a href="#Page_182">182</a>, <a href="#Page_188">188</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Blenheim</em>, <a href="#Page_147">147</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Blohm & Voss, <a href="#Page_202">202</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Boddam</em>, <a href="#Page_97">97</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Bombay Castle</em>, <a href="#Page_93">93</a>, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>, <a href="#Page_99">99</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Bombay Insurance Society, <a href="#Page_102">102</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Bona Confidentia</em>, <a href="#Page_58">58</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Bona Esperanza</em>, <a href="#Page_58">58</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Borussia</em>, <a href="#Page_210">210</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Boulton & Watt, <a href="#Page_170">170</a>, <a href="#Page_173">173</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Bremen</em>, <a href="#Page_214">214</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Britannia</em>, <a href="#Page_178">178</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Britannic</em>, <a href="#Page_196">196</a>, <a href="#Page_200">200</a></li> + + <li class="indx">British and North American Royal Mail Steam Packet Co., <a href="#Page_178">178</a></li> + + <li class="indx">British crews in American packets, <a href="#Page_124">124</a></li> + + <li class="indx">British Navigation Laws, Repeal of, <a href="#Page_152">152</a>, <a href="#Page_212">212</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>British Queen</em>, <a href="#Page_174">174</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Brunel, <a href="#Page_174">174</a>, <a href="#Page_185">185</a>, <a href="#Page_187">187</a>, <a href="#Page_188">188</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Brunswick Basin, <a href="#Page_92">92</a>, <a href="#Page_93">93</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Buckinghamshire</em>, <a href="#Page_135">135</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><span class="pagenum" id="Page_250">[Pg 250]</span><em>Buenos Ayrean</em>, <a href="#Page_190">190</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Burns, George, <a href="#Page_177">177</a>, <a href="#Page_178">178</a></li> + + + <li class="ifrst">Cabot, John, <a href="#Page_205">205</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Cabot, Sebastian, <a href="#Page_49">49</a>, <a href="#Page_55">55</a>, <a href="#Page_59">59</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Caird of Greenock, <a href="#Page_210">210</a>, <a href="#Page_214">214</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Caledonia</em>, <a href="#Page_171">171</a>, <a href="#Page_178">178</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Campania</em>, <a href="#Page_195">195</a>, <a href="#Page_196">196</a>, <a href="#Page_214">214</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Canada</em>, <a href="#Page_123">123</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Canton</em>, <a href="#Page_97">97</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Cap Trafalgar</em>, <a href="#Page_197">197</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Cargatores, <a href="#Page_24">24</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Carlisle Castle</em>, <a href="#Page_148">148</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Carmania</em>, <a href="#Page_197">197</a>, <a href="#Page_198">198</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Carn Brae Castle</em>, <a href="#Page_115">115</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Caroline</em>, <a href="#Page_111">111</a>, <a href="#Page_112">112</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Carthaginians, <a href="#Page_5">5</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Cedric</em>, <a href="#Page_196">196</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Celtic</em>, <a href="#Page_196">196</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Ceylon</em>, <a href="#Page_112">112</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Challenge</em>, <a href="#Page_153">153</a>, <a href="#Page_154">154</a>, <a href="#Page_156">156</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Challenger</em>, <a href="#Page_153">153</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Chancellor, Richard, <a href="#Page_58">58</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Charlotte Dundas</em>, <a href="#Page_169">169</a>, <a href="#Page_170">170</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Chaucer, <a href="#Page_42">42</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Chile</em>, <a href="#Page_179">179</a></li> + + <li class="indx">“China Clippers, The,” <a href="#Page_164">164</a></li> + + <li class="indx">China fleet, <a href="#Page_100">100</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Christiana</em>, <a href="#Page_25">25</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Chrysolite</em>, <a href="#Page_153">153</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Cidona</em>, <a href="#Page_25">25</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Cilicians, <a href="#Page_5">5</a></li> + + <li class="indx">City of Dublin Steam Company, <a href="#Page_123">123</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>City of Edinburgh</em>, <a href="#Page_172">172</a>, <a href="#Page_173">173</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>City of Glasgow</em>, <a href="#Page_191">191</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>City of Manchester</em>, <a href="#Page_191">191</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>City of New York</em>, <a href="#Page_193">193</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>City of Paris</em>, <a href="#Page_193">193</a>, <a href="#Page_194">194</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Claremont</em>, <a href="#Page_170">170</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Clarence</em>, <a href="#Page_147">147</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Clark, Captain A. H., <a href="#Page_123">123</a>, <a href="#Page_155">155</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Clermont</em>, <a href="#Page_170">170</a>, <a href="#Page_171">171</a></li> + + <li class="indx">“Clipper Ship Era, The,” <a href="#Page_123">123</a>, <a href="#Page_155">155</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Clipper ships, <a href="#Page_151">151</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Clyde, The, <a href="#Page_161">161</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Coal brigs, <a href="#Page_130">130</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Cogge</em>, <a href="#Page_39">39</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Collins Line, <a href="#Page_124">124</a>, <a href="#Page_182">182</a>, <a href="#Page_195">195</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Columbia</em>, <a href="#Page_178">178</a>, <a href="#Page_211">211</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Columbus, <a href="#Page_14">14</a>, <a href="#Page_48">48</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Comet</em>, <a href="#Page_170">170</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Communal idea, <a href="#Page_22">22</a>, <a href="#Page_27">27</a>, <a href="#Page_56">56</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Continental Service, <a href="#Page_119">119</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Convoy of East Indiamen, A, <a href="#Page_112">112</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Convoy system, <a href="#Page_12">12</a>, <a href="#Page_15">15</a>, <a href="#Page_23">23</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Conway</em>, <a href="#Page_243">243</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Cook, Captain, <a href="#Page_130">130</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Cort, Henry, <a href="#Page_189">189</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Cost of building ships, <a href="#Page_103">103</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Coutts</em>, <a href="#Page_98">98</a></li> + + <li class="indx">“Cracking-on,” <a href="#Page_150">150</a>, <a href="#Page_158">158</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Cramp shipyard, <a href="#Page_223">223</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Cretans, <a href="#Page_5">5</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Crutchley, Commander, R.N.R., <a href="#Page_144">144</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Cumberland</em>, <a href="#Page_98">98</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Cunard Company, <a href="#Page_178">178</a>, <a href="#Page_186">186</a>, <a href="#Page_190">190</a>, <a href="#Page_192">192</a>, <a href="#Page_195">195</a>, + <a href="#Page_197">197</a>, <a href="#Page_202">202</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Cunard losses, <a href="#Page_198">198</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Cunard, Mr., <a href="#Page_177">177</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Cutty Sark</em>, <a href="#Page_162">162</a>, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>, <a href="#Page_181">181</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Cybèle</em>, <a href="#Page_97">97</a></li> + + + <li class="ifrst">Dalmatia, <a href="#Page_8">8</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Dance, Commodore, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>, <a href="#Page_122">122</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Demand for merchant shipping, <a href="#Page_7">7</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Denny, William, <a href="#Page_171">171</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Deptford, <a href="#Page_81">81</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Desertion, <a href="#Page_27">27</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Deutschland</em>, <a href="#Page_210">210</a>, <a href="#Page_213">213</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Devitt & Moore, <a href="#Page_149">149</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Diesel Engines, <a href="#Page_240">240</a>, <a href="#Page_243">243</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Discipline, <a href="#Page_20">20</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Dogger</em>, <a href="#Page_40">40</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Dorsetshire</em>, <a href="#Page_98">98</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Downie, W. I., <a href="#Page_138">138</a>, <a href="#Page_166">166</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Drake, Francis, <a href="#Page_50">50</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Dramatic Line, <a href="#Page_118">118</a>, <a href="#Page_123">123</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Dreadnought</em>, <a href="#Page_156">156</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Drottningholm</em>, <a href="#Page_197">197</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Duchess of Atholl</em>, <a href="#Page_172">172</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Duke of Marlborough</em>, <a href="#Page_122">122</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Duke of Richmond</em>, <a href="#Page_94">94</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Dunbar, <a href="#Page_135">135</a>, <a href="#Page_144">144</a>, <a href="#Page_147">147</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Dutch East India Company, <a href="#Page_73">73</a></li> + + + <li class="ifrst"><em>Earl of Abergavenny</em>, <a href="#Page_98">98</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Earl of Balcarres</em>, <a href="#Page_135">135</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Earl Camden</em>, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>, <a href="#Page_100">100</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Earl of Hardwicke</em>, <a href="#Page_145">145</a>, <a href="#Page_148">148</a></li> + + <li class="indx">East India Company, <a href="#Page_9">9</a>, <a href="#Page_73">73</a>, <a href="#Page_76">76</a>, <a href="#Page_78">78</a>, <a href="#Page_81">81</a>, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>, + <a href="#Page_116">116</a>, <a href="#Page_137">137</a>, <a href="#Page_175">175</a>, <a href="#Page_176">176</a>, <a href="#Page_177">177</a>, <a href="#Page_242">242</a></li> + + <li class="indx">East India Docks, <a href="#Page_103">103</a></li> + + <li class="indx">East Indiamen, <a href="#Page_18">18</a>, <a href="#Page_73">73</a>, <a href="#Page_76">76</a>, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>, <a href="#Page_79">79</a>, <a href="#Page_90">90</a>, + <a href="#Page_92">92</a>, <a href="#Page_93">93</a>, <a href="#Page_97">97</a>, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>, <a href="#Page_99">99</a>, <a href="#Page_103">103</a>, <a href="#Page_130">130</a>, + <a href="#Page_145">145</a>, <a href="#Page_147">147</a>, <a href="#Page_148">148</a>, <a href="#Page_172">172</a>, <a href="#Page_246">246</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Edward Bonaventure</em>, <a href="#Page_58">58</a>, <a href="#Page_77">77</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Efficiency of the old-time mariner, <a href="#Page_132">132</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Egyptians, <a href="#Page_3">3</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><span class="pagenum" id="Page_251">[Pg 251]</span><em>Elbe</em>, <a href="#Page_214">214</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Elizabeth</em>, <a href="#Page_171">171</a>, <a href="#Page_176">176</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Emerson, Ralph Waldo, <a href="#Page_125">125</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Emigrant traffic, <a href="#Page_212">212</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Emmanuel</em>, <a href="#Page_72">72</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Ems</em>, <a href="#Page_214">214</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Emu</em>, <a href="#Page_145">145</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Enemies, attacks by, <a href="#Page_94">94</a></li> + + <li class="indx">English Maritime Law, <a href="#Page_31">31</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Enterprise</em>, <a href="#Page_173">173</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Ericsson, John, <a href="#Page_184">184</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Essex</em>, <a href="#Page_246">246</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Etruria</em>, <a href="#Page_192">192</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Europe</em>, <a href="#Page_111">111</a>, <a href="#Page_112">112</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Evolution of the ship, <a href="#Page_3">3</a>, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>, <a href="#Page_17">17</a>, <a href="#Page_32">32</a>, <a href="#Page_45">45</a>, + <a href="#Page_168">168</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Exeter</em>, <a href="#Page_98">98</a></li> + + + <li class="ifrst"><em>Falcon</em>, <a href="#Page_168">168</a>, <a href="#Page_173">173</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Falmouth</em>, <a href="#Page_92">92</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Falmouth, <a href="#Page_179">179</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Falmouth packet service, <a href="#Page_119">119</a>, <a href="#Page_122">122</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Fawkener</em>, <a href="#Page_120">120</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Ferreira</em>, <a href="#Page_168">168</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Fiery Cross</em>, <a href="#Page_139">139</a>, <a href="#Page_164">164</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Fishermen and Merchantmen, <a href="#Page_62">62</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Fishermen’s quarrels, <a href="#Page_70">70</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Fishery Department, Board of Trade, <a href="#Page_128">128</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Flying Cloud</em>, <a href="#Page_143">143</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Forrest, Captain Thomas, <a href="#Page_90">90</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Forte</em>, <a href="#Page_97">97</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Fortima</em>, <a href="#Page_149">149</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Forwood, Sir William B., <a href="#Page_157">157</a>, <a href="#Page_160">160</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Fowler, Lieut. Robert, R.N., <a href="#Page_99">99</a>, <a href="#Page_102">102</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Francis B. Ogden</em>, <a href="#Page_184">184</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Free Trade, <a href="#Page_222">222</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Free trade vessels, <a href="#Page_135">135</a></li> + + <li class="indx">French Mercantile Marine, <a href="#Page_231">231</a>, <a href="#Page_232">232</a></li> + + <li class="indx">French Naval Architects, <a href="#Page_93">93</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Fulton, Robert, <a href="#Page_170">170</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Future of the Mercantile Marines, <a href="#Page_246">246</a></li> + + + <li class="ifrst"><em>Ganges</em>, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>, <a href="#Page_99">99</a>, <a href="#Page_100">100</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Geary, Captain, R.N., <a href="#Page_115">115</a></li> + + <li class="indx">General Steam Navigation Company, <a href="#Page_145">145</a>, <a href="#Page_172">172</a>, <a href="#Page_182">182</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Genoa, <a href="#Page_13">13</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Geordie</em>, <a href="#Page_130">130</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>George Washington</em>, <a href="#Page_216">216</a></li> + + <li class="indx">German Australian Line, <a href="#Page_208">208</a></li> + + <li class="indx">German East Africa Line, <a href="#Page_208">208</a></li> + + <li class="indx">German liners, <a href="#Page_195">195</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Giulio Cesare</em>, <a href="#Page_233">233</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Godezere</em>, <a href="#Page_38">38</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Grâce Dieu</em>, <a href="#Page_53">53</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Great Britain</em>, <a href="#Page_183">183</a>, <a href="#Page_185">185</a>, <a href="#Page_186">186</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Great Eastern</em>, <a href="#Page_188">188</a>, <a href="#Page_190">190</a>, <a href="#Page_196">196</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Great Republic</em>, <a href="#Page_156">156</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Great Western</em>, <a href="#Page_174">174</a>, <a href="#Page_183">183</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Great Western Steamship Company, <a href="#Page_185">185</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Greeks, <a href="#Page_3">3</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Greens, The, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>, <a href="#Page_94">94</a>, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>, <a href="#Page_116">116</a>, <a href="#Page_135">135</a>, + <a href="#Page_136">136</a>, <a href="#Page_138">138</a>, <a href="#Page_144">144</a>, <a href="#Page_145">145</a>, <a href="#Page_146">146</a>, <a href="#Page_153">153</a>, + <a href="#Page_172">172</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Grotius, <a href="#Page_64">64</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Growth of the Mercantile Marine, <a href="#Page_42">42</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Guion Line, <a href="#Page_183">183</a>, <a href="#Page_192">192</a></li> + + <li class="indx">“Gulliver’s Travels,” <a href="#Page_84">84</a>, <a href="#Page_86">86</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Guy Mannering</em>, <a href="#Page_118">118</a></li> + + + <li class="ifrst">Hakluyt, <a href="#Page_50">50</a>, <a href="#Page_55">55</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Hall, Messrs., <a href="#Page_153">153</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Hamburg-America Line, <a href="#Page_208">208</a>, <a href="#Page_209">209</a>, <a href="#Page_211">211</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Hamburg-Bremen-Africa Line, <a href="#Page_208">208</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Hamburg-South America Line, <a href="#Page_208">208</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Hansa Line, <a href="#Page_208">208</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Hanseatic League, <a href="#Page_34">34</a>, <a href="#Page_41">41</a>, <a href="#Page_62">62</a>, <a href="#Page_65">65</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Harland, Sir Edward, <a href="#Page_187">187</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Harland & Wolff, <a href="#Page_187">187</a>, <a href="#Page_190">190</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Hawkins, <a href="#Page_51">51</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Hay, Captain, <a href="#Page_113">113</a>, <a href="#Page_114">114</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Heligoland, <a href="#Page_41">41</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Hellenis</em>, <a href="#Page_170">170</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Henry Addington</em>, <a href="#Page_98">98</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Herbert, of Cherbury, Lord, <a href="#Page_84">84</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Herring exports in 1913, <a href="#Page_129">129</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Highflyer</em>, H.M.S., <a href="#Page_215">215</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Himalaya</em>, <a href="#Page_188">188</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Hindostan</em>, <a href="#Page_180">180</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Holy Land, The, <a href="#Page_11">11</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Homeric</em>, <a href="#Page_199">199</a>, <a href="#Page_201">201</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Hope</em>, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>, <a href="#Page_99">99</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Hornby, Admiral Phipps, <a href="#Page_201">201</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Hotspur</em>, <a href="#Page_141">141</a>, <a href="#Page_142">142</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Hour-glasses, <a href="#Page_85">85</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Huddart, Captain Joseph, F.R.S., <a href="#Page_122">122</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Hulls, Jonathan, <a href="#Page_169">169</a></li> + + + <li class="ifrst">Illyrians, <a href="#Page_5">5</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Imperator</em>, <a href="#Page_202">202</a>, <a href="#Page_217">217</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Indian Empire, <a href="#Page_9">9</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Indomitable</em>, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>, <a href="#Page_199">199</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Inman, William, <a href="#Page_191">191</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><span class="pagenum" id="Page_252">[Pg 252]</span>Inman Line, <a href="#Page_183">183</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Ionians, <a href="#Page_5">5</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Iron and Steel, <a href="#Page_182">182</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Iron Mast, The first, <a href="#Page_185">185</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Isaac Webb</em>, <a href="#Page_118">118</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Ismay, T. H., <a href="#Page_190">190</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Istria, <a href="#Page_8">8</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Italian Mercantile Marine, <a href="#Page_233">233</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Ivernia</em>, <a href="#Page_196">196</a></li> + + + <li class="ifrst">James, Sir William, Bart., <a href="#Page_98">98</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>James Baines</em>, <a href="#Page_143">143</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>James Watt</em>, <a href="#Page_173">173</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Japanese Merchant Fleet, <a href="#Page_233">233</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Jardine, Mattheson & Co., <a href="#Page_146">146</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>John Tutteburie</em>, <a href="#Page_39">39</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Jouffroy, Marquis de, <a href="#Page_169">169</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Judith</em>, <a href="#Page_51">51</a></li> + + + <li class="ifrst"><em>Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse</em>, <a href="#Page_196">196</a>, <a href="#Page_214">214</a>, <a href="#Page_215">215</a>, <a href="#Page_216">216</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Kaiser Wilhelm II.</em>, <a href="#Page_215">215</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Kaiserin Auguste Victoria</em>, <a href="#Page_214">214</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Kate Carnie</em>, <a href="#Page_161">161</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Kent</em>, <a href="#Page_146">146</a>, <a href="#Page_147">147</a>, <a href="#Page_148">148</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>King of the Netherlands</em>, <a href="#Page_172">172</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Kosmos Line, <a href="#Page_208">208</a></li> + + + <li class="ifrst"><em>La France</em>, <a href="#Page_232">232</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Lady Jocelyn</em>, <a href="#Page_164">164</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Lady Lansdowne</em>, <a href="#Page_183">183</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Lady Melville</em>, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>, <a href="#Page_135">135</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Laird & Co., <a href="#Page_183">183</a>, <a href="#Page_184">184</a>, <a href="#Page_211">211</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Laws of Oleron, <a href="#Page_30">30</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Leicester</em>, <a href="#Page_78">78</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Lennox, Captain Charles, <a href="#Page_97">97</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Letters of Marque, <a href="#Page_96">96</a>, <a href="#Page_129">129</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Leviathan</em>, <a href="#Page_203">203</a>, <a href="#Page_217">217</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Linois, Admiral, <a href="#Page_99">99</a>, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>, <a href="#Page_120">120</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Liparian Isles, <a href="#Page_5">5</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Liverpool, Port of, <a href="#Page_80">80</a>, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>, <a href="#Page_164">164</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Lloyd’s Register, <a href="#Page_91">91</a>, <a href="#Page_173">173</a>, <a href="#Page_176">176</a>, <a href="#Page_240">240</a></li> + + <li class="indx">London, Port of, <a href="#Page_80">80</a>, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>, <a href="#Page_117">117</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Lord Keith</em>, <a href="#Page_111">111</a>, <a href="#Page_112">112</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Lord Macartney</em>, <a href="#Page_93">93</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Lowell, James Russell, <a href="#Page_126">126</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Lubbock, Basil, <a href="#Page_164">164</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Lucania</em>, <a href="#Page_195">195</a>, <a href="#Page_196">196</a>, <a href="#Page_214">214</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Lucie Woermann</em>, <a href="#Page_231">231</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Lucy, Sir Thomas, <a href="#Page_85">85</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Lusitania</em>, <a href="#Page_198">198</a>, <a href="#Page_199">199</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Lycians, <a href="#Page_5">5</a></li> + + + <li class="ifrst">MacIver, David, <a href="#Page_177">177</a>, <a href="#Page_178">178</a></li> + + <li class="indx">McKay, Donald, <a href="#Page_156">156</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Macquarie</em>, <a href="#Page_136">136</a>, <a href="#Page_149">149</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Madagascar</em>, <a href="#Page_148">148</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Madre de Dios</em>, <a href="#Page_50">50</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Majestic</em>, <a href="#Page_170">170</a>, <a href="#Page_194">194</a>, <a href="#Page_199">199</a>, <a href="#Page_202">202</a>, <a href="#Page_203">203</a>, + <a href="#Page_204">204</a>, <a href="#Page_206">206</a>, <a href="#Page_218">218</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Malocello, <a href="#Page_46">46</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Manby, Aaron, <a href="#Page_183">183</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Marco Polo</em>, <a href="#Page_143">143</a>, <a href="#Page_157">157</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Marengo</em>, <a href="#Page_100">100</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Marine Insurance Company, The first, <a href="#Page_91">91</a></li> + + <li class="indx">“Mariner’s Jewel, The,” <a href="#Page_84">84</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Maritime Acts, <a href="#Page_65">65</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Maritime Law, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_30">30</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Marlborough</em>, <a href="#Page_147">147</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Martaban</em>, <a href="#Page_160">160</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Mastery of the Sea, <a href="#Page_88">88</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Mauritania</em>, <a href="#Page_198">198</a>, <a href="#Page_199">199</a>, <a href="#Page_200">200</a>, <a href="#Page_205">205</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Mediterranean, <a href="#Page_7">7</a>, <a href="#Page_17">17</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Merchant Shipping Act of 1854, <a href="#Page_160">160</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Merchant Ships of the North, <a href="#Page_30">30</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Merchantman as privateer or pirate, <a href="#Page_87">87</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Melbourne, <a href="#Page_136">136</a>, <a href="#Page_148">148</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Melbourne trade, <a href="#Page_147">147</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Memnon</em>, <a href="#Page_151">151</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Mercantile Marine of the Sixteenth Century, <a href="#Page_53">53</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Mercantile Marines, The Minor, <a href="#Page_229">229</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Mercantile Supremacy at Sea, <a href="#Page_90">90</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Meriton, Captain, <a href="#Page_112">112</a>, <a href="#Page_113">113</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Messageries Maritimes, <a href="#Page_231">231</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Michelson, Godeke, <a href="#Page_40">40</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Middle Ages, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_37">37</a>, <a href="#Page_52">52</a></li> + + <li class="indx">“Midshipman, Reminiscences of a Blackwall,” <a href="#Page_138">138</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Midshipmen, <a href="#Page_137">137</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Mighty Merchantmen, <a href="#Page_103">103</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Milford steam packets, <a href="#Page_124">124</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Miller, Patrick, <a href="#Page_169">169</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Minerve</em>, <a href="#Page_112">112</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Moa</em>, <a href="#Page_145">145</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Modern Merchant Ship, The, <a href="#Page_194">194</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Modern Navigation, <a href="#Page_200">200</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Moffat, Captain H. Y., <a href="#Page_131">131</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Monarch</em>, <a href="#Page_148">148</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Moneys, The, <a href="#Page_94">94</a>, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>, <a href="#Page_116">116</a>, <a href="#Page_146">146</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Monson, Sir William, <a href="#Page_82">82</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Moodie, Captain, <a href="#Page_166">166</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Moslem power, <a href="#Page_10">10</a>, <a href="#Page_11">11</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Mount Vernon</em>, <a href="#Page_221">221</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Mourning, sign of, <a href="#Page_141">141</a></li> + + + <li class="ifrst">Napier, Robert, <a href="#Page_171">171</a>, <a href="#Page_177">177</a>, <a href="#Page_178">178</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Navigation Acts, <a href="#Page_65">65</a>, <a href="#Page_67">67</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Navigation Laws, Repeal of, <a href="#Page_176">176</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Neptune</em>, <a href="#Page_145">145</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><span class="pagenum" id="Page_253">[Pg 253]</span><em>New World</em>, <a href="#Page_118">118</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Nisbett, Captain, <a href="#Page_247">247</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Nordamerika</em>, <a href="#Page_210">210</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Norfolk</em>, <a href="#Page_148">148</a></li> + + <li class="indx">North German Lloyd, <a href="#Page_196">196</a>, <a href="#Page_208">208</a>, <a href="#Page_209">209</a>, <a href="#Page_214">214</a>, <a href="#Page_215">215</a></li> + + <li class="indx">North Sea fisheries, <a href="#Page_32">32</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Northumberland</em>, <a href="#Page_144">144</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Novelty</em>, <a href="#Page_184">184</a></li> + + + <li class="ifrst"><em>Ocean</em>, <a href="#Page_97">97</a>, <a href="#Page_98">98</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Oceanic</em>, <a href="#Page_190">190</a>, <a href="#Page_196">196</a></li> + + <li class="indx">O’Halloran, Captain, <a href="#Page_158">158</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Oliva</em>, <a href="#Page_25">25</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Olympic</em>, <a href="#Page_170">170</a>, <a href="#Page_199">199</a>, <a href="#Page_200">200</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Opium trade, <a href="#Page_151">151</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Oregon</em>, <a href="#Page_192">192</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Orient</em>, <a href="#Page_192">192</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Orient Line, <a href="#Page_192">192</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Oriental</em>, <a href="#Page_152">152</a>, <a href="#Page_154">154</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Orinoco</em>, <a href="#Page_170">170</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Osterley</em>, <a href="#Page_92">92</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Owen, Sir Douglas, <a href="#Page_31">31</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Owen Glendower</em>, <a href="#Page_145">145</a>, <a href="#Page_148">148</a></li> + + + <li class="ifrst">Pacific Steam Navigation Company, <a href="#Page_179">179</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Packet Ships and Brigs, <a href="#Page_119">119</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Panama Canal, <a href="#Page_223">223</a>, <a href="#Page_224">224</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Paris</em>, <a href="#Page_232">232</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Park, Robert, <a href="#Page_95">95</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Patriotic Fund Committee, <a href="#Page_101">101</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Company, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>, <a href="#Page_124">124</a>, <a href="#Page_179">179</a>, <a href="#Page_188">188</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Pepys, Samuel, <a href="#Page_81">81</a>, <a href="#Page_84">84</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Persia</em>, <a href="#Page_186">186</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Peru</em>, <a href="#Page_179">179</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Peters, Andrew, <a href="#Page_114">114</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Pett, Phineas, <a href="#Page_80">80</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Phœnicians, <a href="#Page_3">3</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Piémontaise</em>, <a href="#Page_108">108</a>, <a href="#Page_110">110</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Piracy, <a href="#Page_5">5</a>, <a href="#Page_37">37</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Pisa, <a href="#Page_13">13</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Plimsoll mark, <a href="#Page_25">25</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Polar Expedition, The first, <a href="#Page_67">67</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Poplar Fund, <a href="#Page_106">106</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Portsmouth, Admiral of, <a href="#Page_115">115</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Premium</em>, <a href="#Page_131">131</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>President</em>, <a href="#Page_175">175</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Prince of Wales</em>, <a href="#Page_146">146</a>, <a href="#Page_148">148</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Prince Henry the Navigator, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>, <a href="#Page_75">75</a>, <a href="#Page_76">76</a>, <a href="#Page_77">77</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Princess Royal</em>, <a href="#Page_182">182</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Prinzessin Charlotte</em>, <a href="#Page_171">171</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Privateer, <a href="#Page_96">96</a></li> + + + <li class="ifrst">Quadruple-Expansion Engine, <a href="#Page_197">197</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Queen</em>, <a href="#Page_146">146</a>, <a href="#Page_148">148</a></li> + + + <li class="ifrst">Rabelais, <a href="#Page_54">54</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Rainbow</em>, <a href="#Page_151">151</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Rainier, Rear-Admiral, <a href="#Page_97">97</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Red Dragon</em>, <a href="#Page_78">78</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Red Jacket</em>, <a href="#Page_157">157</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Red Star Line, <a href="#Page_123">123</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Regent</em>, <a href="#Page_53">53</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Rhein</em>, <a href="#Page_210">210</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Rhodian sea-law, <a href="#Page_19">19</a>, <a href="#Page_30">30</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Richard Cœur de Lion, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>, <a href="#Page_30">30</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Rise and Fall of the German Mercantile Marine, <a href="#Page_208">208</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Rob Roy</em>, <a href="#Page_171">171</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Robert F. Stockton</em>, <a href="#Page_184">184</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Rogers, Captain W., <a href="#Page_122">122</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Roland Line, <a href="#Page_208">208</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Roman</em>, <a href="#Page_144">144</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Roman merchant ships, <a href="#Page_4">4</a>, <a href="#Page_17">17</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Ross & Primrose, <a href="#Page_177">177</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Royal Fishery Company, <a href="#Page_69">69</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Royal George</em>, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>, <a href="#Page_99">99</a>, <a href="#Page_100">100</a>, <a href="#Page_101">101</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Royal Mail Line, <a href="#Page_124">124</a>, <a href="#Page_179">179</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Royal Oake</em>, <a href="#Page_81">81</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Royal William</em>, <a href="#Page_173">173</a>, <a href="#Page_174">174</a>, <a href="#Page_177">177</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Russell, John Scott, <a href="#Page_187">187</a>, <a href="#Page_188">188</a></li> + + + <li class="ifrst"><em>St. Blazius</em>, <a href="#Page_25">25</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>St. Louis</em>, <a href="#Page_223">223</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>St. Paul</em>, <a href="#Page_223">223</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Sail-Carriers, The, <a href="#Page_134">134</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Samuel Russell</em>, <a href="#Page_151">151</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>San Felipe</em>, <a href="#Page_50">50</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Savannah</em>, <a href="#Page_171">171</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Saxonia</em>, <a href="#Page_196">196</a>, <a href="#Page_211">211</a></li> + + <li class="indx">“School and Sea Days,” <a href="#Page_141">141</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Scotia</em>, <a href="#Page_186">186</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Screw Propeller, The, <a href="#Page_183">183</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Sea Fisheries Act of 1868, <a href="#Page_128">128</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Sea language, <a href="#Page_82">82</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Seamanship, Fine, <a href="#Page_118">118</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Seamen as authors, <a href="#Page_54">54</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Sea Witch</em>, <a href="#Page_151">151</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Selden, <a href="#Page_64">64</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Sémillante</em>, <a href="#Page_100">100</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Sercey, Rear-Admiral, <a href="#Page_97">97</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Serica</em>, <a href="#Page_161">161</a>, <a href="#Page_164">164</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Seringapatam</em>, <a href="#Page_135">135</a>, <a href="#Page_136">136</a>, <a href="#Page_145">145</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Servia</em>, <a href="#Page_190">190</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Seventeenth-Century Seafaring, <a href="#Page_74">74</a>, <a href="#Page_75">75</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Ship-money, Levying of, <a href="#Page_65">65</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Shipbuilding in America, <a href="#Page_224">224</a>, <a href="#Page_225">225</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Shipper Berline of Prussia</em>, <a href="#Page_39">39</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><span class="pagenum" id="Page_254">[Pg 254]</span>Ship’s bell, Introduction of, <a href="#Page_53">53</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Shipwrights Company, <a href="#Page_80">80</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Side-lights, <a href="#Page_123">123</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Signal code, <a href="#Page_74">74</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Silenus</em>, <a href="#Page_111">111</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Simon of Utrecht, <a href="#Page_41">41</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Sir Edward Paget</em>, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>, <a href="#Page_116">116</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Sir Lancelot</em>, <a href="#Page_161">161</a>, <a href="#Page_164">164</a>, <a href="#Page_166">166</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Sirius</em>, <a href="#Page_173">173</a>, <a href="#Page_174">174</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Smith, Francis, <a href="#Page_184">184</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Smith, T. & W., <a href="#Page_116">116</a>, <a href="#Page_136">136</a>, <a href="#Page_144">144</a>, <a href="#Page_147">147</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Somes, <a href="#Page_135">135</a>, <a href="#Page_147">147</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Southampton, <a href="#Page_179">179</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Sovereign of the Seas</em>, <a href="#Page_66">66</a>, <a href="#Page_143">143</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Spain</em>, <a href="#Page_194">194</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Spanish Armada, <a href="#Page_63">63</a>, <a href="#Page_67">67</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Spars and Stays, <a href="#Page_160">160</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Speculum Nauticum</em>, <a href="#Page_72">72</a></li> + + <li class="indx">State post-office, <a href="#Page_119">119</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Steam, Iron and Steel, <a href="#Page_168">168</a>, <a href="#Page_182">182</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Steele of Greenock, <a href="#Page_161">161</a>, <a href="#Page_164">164</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Stertebeker, <a href="#Page_40">40</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Stevens, John, <a href="#Page_184">184</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Stokehold of an Oil-Fuel Cunarder, <a href="#Page_216">216</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Stone ballast, <a href="#Page_60">60</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Stornoway</em>, <a href="#Page_153">153</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Streatham</em>, <a href="#Page_111">111</a>, <a href="#Page_112">112</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Sylph</em>, <a href="#Page_146">146</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Suez Canal, <a href="#Page_167">167</a>, <a href="#Page_180">180</a>, <a href="#Page_182">182</a>, <a href="#Page_194">194</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Sultan</em>, <a href="#Page_192">192</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Superb</em>, <a href="#Page_148">148</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Swift, Dean, <a href="#Page_84">84</a>, <a href="#Page_86">86</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Symington, William, <a href="#Page_169">169</a></li> + + + <li class="ifrst"><em>Taeping</em>, <a href="#Page_139">139</a>, <a href="#Page_161">161</a>, <a href="#Page_164">164</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Taitsing</em>, <a href="#Page_165">165</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Taunton Castle</em>, <a href="#Page_97">97</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Teutonic</em>, <a href="#Page_194">194</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Thames</em>, <a href="#Page_135">135</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Thermopylae</em>, <a href="#Page_162">162</a>, <a href="#Page_165">165</a>, <a href="#Page_166">166</a>, <a href="#Page_167">167</a>, <a href="#Page_181">181</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Three Brothers</em>, <a href="#Page_130">130</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Tilbury</em>, <a href="#Page_92">92</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Timmins, Captain, <a href="#Page_101">101</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Titanic</em>, <a href="#Page_200">200</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Townshend</em>, <a href="#Page_120">120</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Toynbee, Arnold, <a href="#Page_141">141</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Toynbee, Captain Henry, F.R.G.S., F.R.A.S., <a href="#Page_141">141</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Trades Increase</em>, <a href="#Page_79">79</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Traditions, <a href="#Page_243">243</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Trafalgar</em>, <a href="#Page_138">138</a>, <a href="#Page_139">139</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Trident</em>, <a href="#Page_182">182</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Triple-Expansion Engine, <a href="#Page_197">197</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Triumph of Steam, The, <a href="#Page_168">168</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Truelove</em>, <a href="#Page_129">129</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Turbine, The, <a href="#Page_197">197</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Turbinia</em>, <a href="#Page_197">197</a></li> + + + <li class="ifrst"><em>Umbria</em>, <a href="#Page_192">192</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Union Line, <a href="#Page_144">144</a></li> + + <li class="indx">United States Merchant Marine Act, <a href="#Page_227">227</a></li> + + <li class="indx">United States Shipping Board, <a href="#Page_225">225</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Urmston, Sir James, <a href="#Page_246">246</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Urmston, Colonel E. B., C.B., <a href="#Page_246">246</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Urso</em>, <a href="#Page_25">25</a></li> + + + <li class="ifrst"><em>Valentine</em>, <a href="#Page_92">92</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Vasco da Gama, <a href="#Page_47">47</a>, <a href="#Page_75">75</a>, <a href="#Page_77">77</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Vaterland</em>, <a href="#Page_202">202</a>, <a href="#Page_217">217</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Venetian Statutes, <a href="#Page_21">21</a>, <a href="#Page_25">25</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Venetians, <a href="#Page_8">8</a>, <a href="#Page_11">11</a>, <a href="#Page_13">13</a>, <a href="#Page_29">29</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Vesta</em>, <a href="#Page_124">124</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Victor</em>, <a href="#Page_110">110</a>, <a href="#Page_112">112</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Victoria</em>, <a href="#Page_187">187</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Victorian</em>, <a href="#Page_197">197</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Victual Brothers, <a href="#Page_40">40</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Virginia</em>, <a href="#Page_220">220</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Virginian</em>, <a href="#Page_197">197</a>, <a href="#Page_230">230</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Vivaldi, <a href="#Page_47">47</a></li> + + + <li class="ifrst">Walpole, Capt. Hon. Richard, <a href="#Page_98">98</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Warley</em>, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>, <a href="#Page_100">100</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Warren Hastings</em>, <a href="#Page_93">93</a>, <a href="#Page_98">98</a>, <a href="#Page_107">107</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Washington Irving</em>, <a href="#Page_125">125</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Waterloo</em>, <a href="#Page_104">104</a></li> + + <li class="indx">West Indiamen, <a href="#Page_90">90</a></li> + + <li class="indx">West Indies Service, <a href="#Page_121">121</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Wexford</em>, <a href="#Page_98">98</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Whall, Captain W. B., <a href="#Page_141">141</a>, <a href="#Page_142">142</a>, <a href="#Page_143">143</a></li> + + <li class="indx">White Star Line, <a href="#Page_157">157</a>, <a href="#Page_183">183</a>, <a href="#Page_187">187</a>, <a href="#Page_188">188</a>, <a href="#Page_191">191</a>, + <a href="#Page_194">194</a>, <a href="#Page_196">196</a>, <a href="#Page_198">198</a>, <a href="#Page_200">200</a>, <a href="#Page_202">202</a>, <a href="#Page_211">211</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Wigrams, The, <a href="#Page_77">77</a>, <a href="#Page_94">94</a>, <a href="#Page_104">104</a>, <a href="#Page_115">115</a>, <a href="#Page_116">116</a>, <a href="#Page_135">135</a>, + <a href="#Page_144">144</a>, <a href="#Page_145">145</a>, <a href="#Page_146">146</a>, <a href="#Page_172">172</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>William Fawcett</em>, <a href="#Page_180">180</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Willoughby, Sir Hugh, <a href="#Page_59">59</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Wilson, Captain Henry, <a href="#Page_98">98</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Windham</em>, <a href="#Page_112">112</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Windsor Castle</em>, <a href="#Page_147">147</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Woermann Line, <a href="#Page_208">208</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Woodford</em>, <a href="#Page_97">97</a></li> + + <li class="indx"><em>Worcester</em>, <a href="#Page_146">146</a>, <a href="#Page_243">243</a></li> + + <li class="indx">World’s Biggest Ship, <a href="#Page_206">206</a></li> + + <li class="indx">Wreckers, <a href="#Page_23">23</a></li> +</ul> + +<p><span class="pagenum" id="Page_255">[Pg 255]</span></p> + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> +<p class="center no-indent fs70"> + <span class="smcap">Made and Printed in Great Britain.</span><br> + <span class="smcap">Richard Clay & Sons, Limited,</span><br> + <span class="smcap">Printers, Bungay, Suffolk.</span> +</p> + + +<hr class="chap x-ebookmaker-drop"> +<div class="chapter transnote"> + <h2 class="nobreak fs150 bold" id="Transcribers_Notes"> + Transcriber’s Notes + </h2> + + +<ul> + <li>pg 43 Changed: pilgrim trade to Santiago de Campostela<br> + <span style="padding-left: 2em">To: pilgrim trade to Santiago de Compostela</span></li> + + <li>pg 122 Changed: between Yarmouth and Helvoetsluis in Holland<br> + <span style="padding-left: 2em">To: between Yarmouth and Hellevoetsluis in Holland</span></li> + + <li>pg 128 Changed: Inverness, Brassey Sound, Kirkwall, Oban<br> + <span style="padding-left: 2em">To: Inverness, Bressay Sound, Kirkwall, Oban</span></li> +</ul> +</div> +<br> +<div style='text-align:center'>*** END OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK 78205 ***</div> +</body> +</html> diff --git a/78205-h/images/a0040_frontispiece.jpg b/78205-h/images/a0040_frontispiece.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 index 0000000..f84ac37 --- /dev/null +++ b/78205-h/images/a0040_frontispiece.jpg diff --git a/78205-h/images/cover.jpg b/78205-h/images/cover.jpg Binary files differnew file mode 100644 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