The Wooden Sailing Ship

Paper Summary:

This paper studies the impact the sailing ship had on the historic period between 1773 and 1815, the Anglo-French War. The paper examines the use of the sailing ship by the British and briefly touches on the technological changes the ship herself undertook. The paper proves that the wooden sailing ship was the decisive factor in the war and further shows that were it not for British supremacy at sea, the course of the war would have been decidedly different.

From the Paper:

"To speak of the "technology of the wooden sailing ship" is to do just that, to speak of the ship as an innovation and tool on its own. The wooden sailing ship since its inception changed very little until 1859 with the creation of the first Ironclad, the French La Gloire. The technological changes during its most active period, that of 1492-1815, were minor. To illustrate, a few examples are provided. In 1761, copper sheathing was introduced to the bottom hulls of ships to reduce rot and the necessity of constant cleaning, it also had the ancillary benefit of increasing speed under certain winds. In 1764, the bilge pump was enhanced by introduction of a chain mechanism which reduced the man power needed and decreased the time necessary to pump out an equal amount of water. The tiller was replaced by the wheel for steering larger vessels and in the early 1760's lightning conductors were introduced to warships. Stills for producing fresh water from salt and ventilation apparatus were other enhancements of the time. Aside from minor developments in size and construction of sail and the size and number of cannon, the wooden sailing ship was virtually unchanged during the period of examination.(2) It remains unimportant to focus on how the ship changed but instead focus on the ship itself, and what it as a technological innovation did to impact history."

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