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More on the history of the clipper ship: |
Rapid rise . . .
In The Clipper Ship Era, Clark states that "the clipper ship era began in 1843 as a result of the growing demand for a more rapid delivery of tea from China; continued under the stimulating influence of the discovery of gold in California and Australia in 1848 and 1851, and ended with the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869." With the breakup of the East India Company, Britain's commercial monopoly, in 1832, greater trade opportunities in the Far East began to open. In 1849, the worldwide rush to California's gold fields and the concurrent opening of free trade with the British Empire created an unprecedented market for American clipper ship builders and owners. In the early years of the gold rush, freight rates were so inflated that it was not unusual for a fast clipper ship to net more than its construction cost (about $75,000) on a single voyage to San Francisco! . . . and sudden fallThe frenzy of American shipbuilding peaked in 1855. British and American merchant tonnage were almost equal. The clipper shipbuilding boom elevated the America merchant marine to its historical highpoint and, ironically, played a role in the steady decline of America's leading position in carrying the world's commerce. As suddenly as it began, a steep drop in freight rates—resulting from supply overwhelming demand—caused a crash. The glut of ships began to depress the shipbuilding industry and the ships themselves lost value. As the Civil War approached, more and more U.S. ships were sold to foreign owners. |
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Romance and reality
In 1853, over 30,000 people gathered in East Boston to witness the launching of the clipper ship Great Republic. As one eyewitness observed that day, she was launched "amid the roar of artillery, the music of bands, and the cheers of the vast multitude." The unparalleled popular adulation that greeted each clipper ship illustrates the romance that surrounded these vessels. The challenging realities of manning, operating, and controlling these immensely demanding vessels also captivated the contemporary public. Beyond this romance, however, were the realities of skillful but brutal captains, recalcitrant crews, and passengers who suffered through the dread and misery of powerful, sometimes catastrophic storms. |
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The boom years
Clipper ship building in America reached its zenith in 1853. As Captain Clark remarked in his authoritative book, "The wild excitement of building, owning and racing these splendid ships was at its height. Everyone who had capital to invest wanted one, or at least shares in one, and the shipbuilding yards were taxed to their utmost capacity." Clipper ships were constructed from central Maine south to Baltimore. The chief proving grounds for the rapidly evolving clipper designs were New York and Boston. John W. Griffiths, a pioneer naval architect and theoretician in New York City, is sometimes credited with establishing the generic form of the new clipper type with his Sea Witch (1846). But the greatest New York clippers took shape in the yards of William H. Webb and Jacob Westervelt, including Webb's Challenge (1851) and Young America (1853). |
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Boston building boom
Boston-area shipyards built more than twice the number of clippers as New York. Samuel Hall was the first of the famous East Boston builders. His Surprise (1850), designed by Samuel H. Pook, was one of the most profitable clippers ever built. The record-setting Northern Light (1851) was the proud standard bearer of the Briggs brothers of South Boston. Yards along the Mystic River were the second most productive of all Boston yards. But the preeminent Boston builder of the era, Donald McKay, an industrious and prolific pragmatist, produced many renowned flyers, such as Staghound (1850), Flying Cloud (1851), Sovereign of the Seas (1852), Great Republic (1853), and Lightning (1854)—ships whose majestic presence and exceptional speeds captured the public imagination. |
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Remarkable achievementsAlmost all of these memorable ships were built in less than a decade, the greatest number between 1850 and 1854. Remarkable developments in wooden shipbuilding took place in these short years. A decade earlier, any American ship over 130 feet long was considered large. Built in an astounding 90 days, Staghound, McKay's first clipper, at 207 feet long, was the largest merchantman in the world. Launched a year later in 1851, Webb's masterpiece, Challenge, at 240 feet, took away the Staghound 's short-lived bragging rights. Only two years later, McKay's 334-foot-long Great Republic astounded everyone. With this behemoth, McKay had pushed wooden ship construction to its practical limits. |
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The sunset years
The clipper shipbuilding boom in the U.S. was the result of singular opportunities for dramatic profits in transporting miners and essential goods from the Atlantic ports to California. But as the number of ships increased and the California gold rush died, freight rates dropped. By 1854, the heyday of American ownership of clippers was in decline. In the following years, most clipper ships were sold to foreign owners or disappeared, victims of shipwreck, fire, or neglect. While a few soldiered on, carrying commonplace cargoes such as timber and guano, their sunset years were upon them. |
