The Development of the Sailing Ship

East India Company's Fleet.

During the 17th century the expansion of trade and the increase of mercantile enterprise were incessant. The East India Company organized its fleet of armed vessels up to 600 tons, and fought its way through Portuguese obstruction to the Indian coast. The Dutch were also competing for the trade of the East and the West, and formed similar com panies with this object in view. Conflicts owing to commercial rivalry and international jealousies were inevitable. Hence in the British navy the construction of large vessels such as the "Prince Royal" and the "Sovereign of the Seas" (see RIGGING), which may be considered as among the earliest types of the modern wooden man-of-war. English oak afforded the best timber for shipbuilding, and skilful naval architects, such as Phineas Pett, succeeded in constructing the kind of seagoing war vessel which eventually gave England the superiority in its struggle with other naval powers in this and the following century. This, however, was by no means easily gained. The Dutch and the French were not slack in the building of merchant vessels and men-of-war.

The French navy especially, under the fostering care of Colbert, was greatly strengthened. During the i8th century it was con stantly found that the dimensions of French ships exceeded those of British ships of the same date, and that French vessels were superior in speed. This led from time to time to an increase of the measurements of the various classes of vessels in the British navy. These were now rated according to the number of guns which they were constructed to carry.

Nelson's "Victory..

A 90-gun ship of the line at the be ginning of the i8th century averaged 164 ft. in length of gun deck, 47 ft. beam, and about 1,57o tons, while the 40-gun ships now ran to 120 ft. with 34 ft. beam and from 600 to 700 tons. These dimensions, however, were not always maintained, and towards the middle of the century the Admiralty seem to have recognized the consequent inferiority of their ships. The famous and ill-fated

"Royal George," launched in 1756, was the result of an effort to improve the line-of-battle ship of the period. She was 178 ft. in length, 52 ft. in beam, was of over 2,000 tons, and carried 1 oo guns and a crew of 75o men. The "Victory," Nelson's flagship, was built nearly ten years later. Her dimensions were 186 ft., 52 ft., 2,162 tons, and she carried ioo guns. During the same period frigates, which were cruisers carrying their armament on one deck, were built to carry 32 or 36 guns, but in this class also the French cruisers were superior in speed and of larger dimen sions. The remainder of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th witnessed a continuous rivalry in naval architecture, the French and Spanish models being constantly ahead of the British in dimensions and armament. In the American war (1812) the same disparity as regards dimensions became apparent, and the English frigates, and sloops used as cruisers, were generally out classed, and in some instances captured, by American vessels of their own rate. This as usual led to the construction of larger vessels with greater speed, and though, after the conclusion of the long war, the activity of the royal dockyards slackened, yet the great three-deckers of the last period, before the adoption of steam power, had reached a length of over zoo ft., with more than 55 ft. beam, and over 3,00o tons. (For the further development of warship construction, see under the respective classes, e.g., BATTLESHIP, CRUISER, DESTROYER, etc.) The end of the Napoleonic Wars heralded a very great change in the construction of merchant ships and the conduct of the shipping business, so that the years 1815 and 1816 mark the beginning of a new epoch unusually clearly. The steamship was firmly established, but her uses were very limited and the sailing ship was still predominant.