Tea Clipper
See Clipper Ship
9.6Clippers
Opium
https://www.adriansassoon.com/contemporary/the-british-east-india-company-the-silver-triangle-2019/
During the Qing dynasty, China opened itself to foreign trade under the*Canton System*through the port of*Guangzhou*(Canton), with traders from the*East India Company*visiting the port by the 1690s. Due to the growing British demand for Chinese tea and the Chinese Emperor's lack of interest in British commodities other than silver, British traders resorted to trade in opium as a high-value commodity for which China was not self-sufficient. The English traders had been purchasing small amounts of opium from India for trade since*Ralph Fitch*first visited in the mid-16th century.*^[21]^*Trade in opium was standardized, with production of balls of raw opium, 1.1–1.6 kg (2.4–3.5 lb), 30% water content, wrapped in poppy leaves and petals, and shipped in chests of 60–65 kg (132–143 lb) (one*picul*).*^[21]^*Chests of opium were sold in auctions in*Calcutta*with the understanding that the independent purchasers would then smuggle it into China.
China had a positive balance sheet in trading with the British, which led to a decrease of the British silver stocks. Therefore, the British tried to encourage Chinese opium use to enhance their balance, and they delivered it from Indian provinces under British control. In India, its cultivation, as well as the manufacture and traffic to China, were subject to theBritish East India Company(BEIC), as a strict monopoly of the British government.[62]Indian farmers were forced by the British East India company to grow poppy against their wishes, often using a combination of strong arm tactics and debt.[63]There was an extensive and complicated system of BEIC agencies involved in the supervision and management of opium production and distribution in India.*
After the 1757Battle of Plasseyand 1764Battle of Buxar, theBritishEast India Company gained the power to act asdiwanofBengal, Bihar, andOdisha(Seecompany rule in India). This allowed the company to exercise amonopolyover opium production and export in India, to encourageryotsto cultivate the cash crops ofindigoand opium with cash advances, and to prohibit the "hoarding" of rice. This strategy led to the increase of the land tax to 50 percent of the value of crops and to the doubling of East India Company profits by 1777. It is also claimed to have contributed to the starvation of 10 million people in theBengal famine of 1770. Beginning in 1773, the British government began enacting oversight of the company's operations, and in response to theIndian Rebellion of 1857, this policy culminated in the establishment of direct rule over thepresidencies and provinces of British India. Bengal opium was highly prized, commanding twice the price of the domestic Chinese product, which was regarded as inferior in quality.[50]^*
Note Opium Wars got UK Hong Kong etc.*
British clipper ships continued to be built after 1859. Earlier British clipper ships had become known as extreme clippers, and were considered to be "as sharp as the American"[12]^(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clipper#cite_note-index-13)-built ships. From 1859 a new design was developed for British clipper ships that was nothing like the American clippers; these ships continued to be called extreme clippers. The new design had a sleek graceful appearance, less sheer, less freeboard, lower bulwarks, and smaller breadth. They were built for the China tea trade, starting with Falcon in 1859, and continuing until 1870. It is estimated that 25 to 30 of these ships were built, with no more than four or five in a year. The earlier ships were made from wood, though some were made from iron, just as some British clippers had been made from iron prior to 1859. In 1863 the first tea clippers of composite construction were brought out, combining the best of both worlds. Composite clippers had the strength of iron spars with wooden hulls, and**copper sheathing**could be added to prevent the fouling that occurred on iron hulls.**^[2]^**
After 1869, with the opening of the Suez Canal that greatly advantaged steam vessels (see Decline below), the tea trade collapsed for clippers. From the late 1860s until the early 1870s the clipper trade increasingly focused on the Britain to Australia and New Zealand route, carrying goods and immigrants, services that had begun earlier with the Australian Gold Rush of the 1850s. British-built clipper ships and many American-built British-owned ships were used. Even in the 1880s, sailing ships were still the main carriers of cargoes between Britain, and Australia and New Zealand. This trade eventually became unprofitable, and the ageing clipper fleet became unseaworthy.[2]^(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clipper#cite_note-clark-2)
China clippers and the apogee of sail[edit]
Among the most notable clippers were the China clippers, also called tea clippers or opium clippers, designed to ply the trade routes between Europe and the East Indies.[22]^(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clipper#cite_note-23) The last example of these still in reasonable condition is *Cutty Sark*, preserved in dry dock at Greenwich, United Kingdom. Damaged by fire on 21 May 2007 while undergoing conservation, the ship was permanently elevated three metres above the dry dock floor in 2010 as part of a plan for long-term preservation.
Before the early 18th century, the East India Company paid for its tea mainly in silver. When the Chinese Emperor chose to embargo European manufactured commodities and demand payment for all Chinese goods in silver, the price rose, restricting trade. The East India Company began to produce something desired by the Chinese as much as tea was by the British: opium. This had a significant influence on both India and China. Opium was also imported into Britain and was not prohibited because it was thought to be medically beneficial. Laudanum, made from opium, was used as a pain killer, to induce sleep and to suppress anxiety. The famous literary opium addicts Thomas De Quincey, Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Wilkie Collins also took it for its pleasurable effects. The Limehouse area in London was notorious for its opium dens, many of which catered for Chinese sailors as well as English addicts.[23]^(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clipper#cite_note-24)
Clippers were built for seasonal trades such as tea, where an early cargo was more valuable, or for passenger routes. One passenger ship survives, the *City of Adelaide* designed by William Pile of Sunderland. The fast ships were ideally suited to low-volume, high-profit goods, such as tea, opium, spices, people, and mail. The return could be spectacular. The *Challenger* returned from Shanghai with "the most valuable cargo of tea and silk ever to be laden in one bottom".[24]^(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clipper#cite_note-25) Competition among the clippers was public and fierce, with their times recorded in the newspapers.
Clipper barque Spirit of the Age 1854 by T. G. Dutton
The last China clippers were acknowledged as the fastest sail vessels. When fully rigged and riding a tradewind, they had peak average speeds of over 16 knots (30 km/h). **The Great Tea Race of 1866**showcased their speed. China clippers are the fastest commercial sailing vessels ever made; their speeds have often been exceeded by modern yachts, but never by a commercial sail vessel. Only the fastest windjammers could attain similar speeds.
There are many ways of judging the speed of a ship: by knots, by day's runs, by port-to-port records. Judged by any test, the American clippers were supreme.
Donald McKay's *Sovereign of the Seas* reported the highest speed ever achieved by a sailing ship – 22 knots (41 km/h), made while running her easting down to Australia in 1854. (John Griffiths' first clipper, the Rainbow, had a top speed of 14 knots...) There are eleven other instances of a ship's logging 18 knots (33 km/h) or over. Ten of these were recorded by American clippers... Besides the breath-taking 465-nautical-mile (861 km) day's run of the *Champion of the Seas*, there are thirteen other cases of a ship's sailing over 400 nautical miles (740 km) in 24 hours...
And with few exceptions all the port-to-port sailing records are held by the American clippers.
A graph of the number of clippers built in the USA each year in the 1850s. This closely follows the economic situation.[8]^(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clipper#cite_note-MacGregor_1993-8):14
The American clippers sailing from the East Coast to the California goldfields were working in a booming market. Freight rates were high everywhere in the first years of the 1850s. This started to fade in late 1853. The ports of California and Australia reported that they were overstocked with goods that had been shipped earlier in the year. This gave an accelerating fall in freight rates that was halted, however, by the start of the Crimean War in March 1854, as many ships were now being chartered by the French and British governments. The end of the Crimean War in April 1856 released all this capacity back on the world shipping markets - the result being a severe slump. The next year saw the Panic of 1857, which had effects on both sides of the Atlantic. The USA was just starting to recover from this in 1861 when the American Civil War started, causing significant disruption to trade in both Union and Confederate states.[8]^(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clipper#cite_note-MacGregor_1993-8):14-15
As the economic situation deteriorated in 1853, American shipowners either did not order new vessels, or specified an ordinary clipper or a medium clipper instead of an extreme clipper. No extreme clipper was launched in an American shipyard after the end of 1854 and only a few medium clippers after 1860.
By contrast, British trade recovered well at the end of the 1850s. Tea clippers had continued to be launched during the depressed years, apparently little affected by the economic downturn.[8]^(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clipper#cite_note-MacGregor_1993-8):15The long-distance route to China was not realistically challenged by steamships in the early part of the 1860s. No true steamer (as opposed to an auxiliary steamship) had the fuel efficiency to carry sufficient cargo to make a profitable voyage. The auxiliary steamships struggled to make any profit.
The situation changed in 1866 when the**Alfred Holt**-designed and owned***SS Agamemnon***made her first voyage to China. Holt had persuaded the Board of Trade to allow higher steam pressures in British merchant vessels. Running at 60 psi instead of the previously permitted 25 psi, and using an efficient compound engine, Agamemnon had the fuel efficiency to steam at 10 knots to China and back, with coaling stops at Mauritius on the outward and return legs - crucially carrying sufficient cargo to make a profit.[26]^(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clipper#cite_note-Jarvis-27)
In 1869 the**Suez Canal** opened, giving steamships a route about 3,000 NM shorter than that taken by sailing ships round the Cape of Good Hope. Despite initial conservatism by tea merchants, by 1871 tea clippers found strong competition from steamers in the tea ports of China. A typical passage time back to London for a steamer was 58 days, while the very fastest clippers could occasionally make the trip in less than 100 days; the average was 123 days in the 1867–68 tea season.[27]^(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clipper#cite_note-Clark-28)[28]^(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clipper#cite_note-Greenwich-29)[10]^(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clipper#cite_note-MacGregor_1983-11):225–243 The freight rate for a steamer in 1871 was roughly double that paid to a sailing vessel. Some clipper owners were severely caught out by this: several extreme clippers had been launched in 1869, including *Cutty Sark*, Norman Court and the Caliph.[b]^(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clipper#cite_note-31)
Xxxx
Between May 29 and June 6, 1866, the five best sailing ships of the time embarked on an epic adventure and made their way across 15,800 miles for a prize. A premium price for delivering the first tea of the season to London.
It has always been about the very first tea of the season and so it was, 151 years ago. When five clippers — as the specially built tea-ferrying ships were called — raced their way to be the first to arrive in the London Docks and secure the highest price from buyers. It was a time when a tea company was willing to pay that extra bit for the tag of being the freshest tea in from China in the United Kingdom.
And so, the stage was set for the five contenders — Ariel, Serica, Taeping, Taitsang and Fiery Cross for an epic adventure spanning almost 16,000 nautical miles through typhoons and unpredictable currents for an opportunity to be remembered as ‘the fastest cargo ship in the seas in the 19th century.
Each year the clippers raced each other to get into London first but what made 1866 stand out was the presence of five finest clippers — all at Foochow port in China ready to ferry the tea to London docks. It was never a formal race but the Great Tea Race of 1866 captivated the attention of the world, all the way to its nail biting finish.
“It is probable that no race ever sailed on blue water created so much excitement as the great tea race of 1866,” the late maritime writer Basil Lubbock had remarked, adding, “Every man with a nautical cut to his jib had a bet upon the result, whilst the rival owners, agents and shippers wagered huge sums.”
It was no matter of surprise then, that a total of 19 clippers stood ready at Pagoda Anchorage in the Min River at FooChow. Nine of these sailing ships truly had a chance to compete. Only five were to be remembered by history.
Such tea races were quite common but what made the Great Tea Race of 1866 stand out was the fact that the age of using sailing ships to ferry cargo across the seas was coming to an end.
Motor ships were taking their place. In fact, while the Great Tea Race was on, a steamer ship named SS Erl King set sail with a cargo of tea along with passenger, 8 days after the sailing ships. The Erl King arrived in London 15 days before any of the sailing ships.
The Ariel got the entire cargo in a record four days and triggered the first step into the race. The other ships, mainly the Fiery Cross was so worked up that they left the port practically the very minute they had completed docking it with cargo. The Captain is said not to have waited to complete the necessary paperwork. The race was on!
The excitement around the race grew to a crescendo as the ship sailed away into the Minn river to make their exit into the China Sea.
'Serica' weighing 708 tons with Capt. George Innes at the helm. 'Taeping' weighing 767 tons, the one-year-old ship had Capt. Donald McKinnon leading the way. At 815 tons, with Capt. Daniel Nutsford at the helm, 'Taitsang' seemed a good competitor Fiery Cross weighing 888 tons had Capt. Richard Robinson at the helm. But 'Ariel', a beauty weighing 853 tons and led by Captain John Keay was the favorite.
The last of the ships left FooChow by June 6 to embark on a journey that would take them across the Indian Ocean, but the adventure turned into a challenge even before the ships got to the sea. The sandbanks at the mouth of the river opening to the sea, proved to be the first hurdle the ships faced.
Although Ariel had gotten out of the dock before the others, she was docked at the sandbar and had to join the rest of the ships to wait for the tide to turn. The Fiery Cross, however, was able to manoeuvre its way and get into open sea before any of the others.
But that was all that beginner’s luck had in store for Fiery Cross. It was just a matter of time before the five ships were neck-to-neck at sea.
British newspapers carried almost daily reports on the ongoing race with each ship staying neck-to-neck. The weather shift and change of winds as the ships navigated their way though the Indian ocean. By the time the ships weathered past typhoons and overcrowded docks and arrived at St Helena in the Southern Atlantic, Taeping seemed to be going strong and a clear leader in the race. Even then, four ships — Ariel, Taeping, Fiery Cross and Serica were within a day’s sail from each other. Taitsang had fallen too far behind around the bend at the Equator.
A major moment in the race took place when all four ships practically sailed across the Azuros on August 29 next to one another!
Finally after 97 days at sea, with every inch of sail drawn out to maximize speed, Ariel was the first to spot the Bishop’s light, off the Cornish coast, on September 5. They had arrived at the English Channel, the last leg of the race! Even as Ariel raced on at full sail at a consistent 14 knots per hour, Taeping that had seemed to maintain a steady pace was now closing in on her. Owing to narrowing down of the channel, Fiery Cross and Serica were forced to fall behind the Taeping and the Ariel.
It was 3 in the morning of September 6 when Ariel sent out its first signal for a pilot boat to come get her to the London docks. Within two hours, the Taeping was next to her, signalling for its pilot boat. Despite their hurry, the pilot boats only arrived to get them out only at 6 in the morning. Ariel received its pilot boat just 15 minutes before the Taeping, and by the time the pilot boats set off, the ships were just 10 minutes off each other. Both ships needed tugboats at Deal Harbour to get them into River Thames and that is when luck threw down its final card.
Both the ships got their tugboats at the same time but the tugboat for Taeping was the better one. Ariel made its way to the East India dock while Taeping sailed into the London docks. The race was still not done. Both ships now had to wait for a favourable tide to dock and the premium was to be given to the first ship to dock at London with the season’s tea from China!
Taeping’s shallow shaft helped it to get through the tide, a whole 28 minutes before Ariel. At 9.48 pm on September 6, Taeping became the first sailing ship to arrive at London with the season’s tea.
And that was the last great tea race of sailing ships that the world saw. By 1871, steamships had taken over the trade and proved to be a much faster mode of ferrying tea. And yet, 1872 saw the last tea race between Thermopolis and the iconic Cutty Sark.