Editing Clipper (section)

==History==
[[File:Sovereignoftheseasdockedphoto.jpg|thumb|right|''[[Sovereign of the Seas (clipper)|Sovereign of the Seas]]'' set the record for world's fastest sailing ship in 1854.]]
[[File:Hornetclippership.jpg|thumb|''[[Hornet (clipper)|Hornet]]'' – an American clipper ship of the 1850s]]

The first ships to which the term "clipper" seems to have been applied were the Baltimore clippers, developed in the [[Chesapeake Bay]] before the [[American Revolution]], and reached their zenith between 1795 and 1815. They were small, rarely exceeding 200 [[Builder's Old Measurement|tons OM]].<ref name="clark" />{{Page needed|date=May 2024}} Their hulls were sharp ended and displayed much deadrise. They were rigged as schooners, brigs, or brigantines.<ref name="MacGregor 1993">{{cite book |last1=MacGregor |first1=David R |title=British & American Clippers: A Comparison of their Design, Construction and Performance in the 1850s |year=1993 |publisher=Conway Maritime Press Ltd |location=London |isbn=0-85177-588-8}}</ref>
In the [[War of 1812]], some were lightly armed, sailing under [[Letter of Marque|letters of marque and reprisal]], when the type{{snd}}exemplified by ''Chasseur'', launched at [[Fells Point, Baltimore]] in 1814{{snd}}became known for her incredible speed; the deep [[draft (hull)|draft]] enabled the Baltimore clipper to sail [[Close hauled|close to the wind]].<ref>Villiers 1973.</ref> Clippers, running the British blockade of Baltimore, came to be recognized for speed rather than cargo space.

The type existed as early as 1780. A 1789 drawing of {{HMS|Berbice|1780}}{{snd}}purchased by the [[Royal Navy]] in 1780 in the West Indies{{snd}}represents the earliest draught of what became known as the Baltimore clipper.

Vessels of the Baltimore clipper type continued to be built for the slave trade, being useful for escaping [[West Africa Squadron|enforcement]] of the [[Slave Trade Act 1807|British]] and [[Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves|American]] legislation prohibiting the trans-Atlantic slave trade.<ref name="Grindal 2016">{{cite book |last1=Grindal |first1=Peter |title=Opposing the Slavers. The Royal Navy's Campaign against the Atlantic Slave Trade |date=2016 |publisher=I.B. Tauris & Co. Ltd |location=London |isbn=978-0-85773-938-4 |edition=Kindle}}</ref>{{rp|308}} Some of these Baltimore clippers were captured when working as slavers, condemned by the appropriate court, and sold to owners who then used them as opium clippers{{snd}}moving from one illegal international trade to another.<ref name="MacGregor 1988">{{cite book |last1=MacGregor |first1=David R |title=Fast Sailing Ships, their design and construction, 1775–1875 |date=1988 |publisher=Conway Maritime Press |location=London |isbn=0-87021895-6 |edition=2nd}}</ref>{{rp|91}}

''[[Ann McKim (clipper)|Ann McKim]]'', built in Baltimore in 1833 by the Kennard & Williamson shipyard,<ref>Dear, I.C.B., & Kemp, Peter, eds. ''Oxford Companion to Ships and the Sea'' (Oxford University Press, 2005).</ref><ref>Website [http://www.bruzelius.info/Nautica/Ships/Clippers/Ann_McKim(1833).html "Ann McKim" – details, at bruzelius.info] Accessed 30 March 2009.</ref> is considered by some to be the original clipper ship.<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/AllAboutTeaV1|quote=Ann McKim clipper ship.|title=All about Tea|last=Ukers|first=William Harrison|year=1935|publisher=Tea and Coffee Trade Journal Company|page=[https://archive.org/details/AllAboutTeaV1/page/n109 87]}}</ref> (Maritime historians [[Howard I. Chapelle]] and David MacGregor decry the concept of the "first" clipper, preferring a more evolutionary, multiple-step development of the type.{{r|MacGregor 1988|p=72}}) She measured 494 [[Builder's Old Measurement|tons OM]], and was built on the enlarged lines of a Baltimore clipper, with sharply raked [[Stem (ship)|stem]], [[Transom (nautical)|counter stern]], and square rig. Although ''Ann McKim'' was the first large clipper ship ever constructed, she cannot be said to have founded the clipper ship era, or even that she directly influenced shipbuilders, since no other ship was built like her, but she may have suggested the clipper design in vessels of ship rig. She did, however, influence the building of ''[[Rainbow (clipper)|Rainbow]]'' in 1845, the first [[Extreme Clipper|extreme clipper]] ship.<ref name="clark" />

In [[Aberdeen]], Scotland, shipbuilders [[Alexander Hall and Sons]] developed the "Aberdeen" clipper bow in the late 1830s; the first was ''[[Scottish Maid]]'' launched in 1839.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aberdeenships.com/sb_alexander_hall.asp |title=Alexander Hall & Sons Ltd |publisher=Aberdeen Ships |date=2006-11-04 |access-date=2013-04-08}}</ref> ''Scottish Maid'', 150 tons OM, was the first British clipper ship.<ref name="clark" /> "''Scottish Maid'' was intended for the Aberdeen-London trade, where speed was crucial to compete with steamships. The Hall brothers tested various hulls in a water tank and found the clipper design most effective. The design was influenced by tonnage regulations. Tonnage measured a ship's cargo capacity and was used to calculate tax and harbour dues. The new 1836 regulations measured depth and breadth with length measured at half midship depth. Extra length above this level was tax-free and became a feature of clippers. ''Scottish Maid'' proved swift and reliable and the design was widely copied."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aberdeenships.com/related.asp?index=27234&shipid=100020 |title=Aberdeen Built Ships |publisher=Aberdeenships.com |date=2013-02-22 |access-date=2013-04-08}}</ref> The earliest British clipper ships were built for trade within the British Isles (''Scottish Maid'' was built for the Aberdeen to London trade<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mcjazz.f2s.com/AlexanderHallYard.htm |title=Alexander Hall & Son Shipyard |website=The Doric Columns – Aberdeen|date=1 September 2013|access-date= 6 June 2020}}</ref>). Then followed the vast clipper trade of tea, opium, spices, and other goods from the Far East to Europe, and the ships became known as "tea clippers".

From 1839, larger American clipper ships started to be built beginning with ''Akbar'', 650 tons OM, in 1839, and including the 1844-built ''[[Houqua (clipper)|Houqua]]'', 581 tons OM. These larger vessels were built predominantly for use in the China tea trade and known as "tea clippers".<ref name="clark" />{{Page needed|date=May 2024}}
Then in 1845 ''[[Rainbow (clipper)|Rainbow]]'', 757 tons OM, the first extreme clipper, was launched in New York. These American clippers were larger vessels designed to sacrifice cargo capacity for speed. They had a bow lengthened above the water, a drawing out and sharpening of the forward body, and the greatest breadth further aft. Extreme clippers were built in the period 1845 to 1855.

In 1851, shipbuilders in Medford, Massachusetts, built what is sometimes called one of the first medium clippers, the ''Antelope'', often called the ''[[Antelope of Boston]]'' to distinguish her from other ships of the same name. A contemporary ship-design journalist noted that "the design of her model was to combine large stowage capacity with good sailing qualities."<ref>''Boston Daily Atlas'', 29 November 1851</ref>  ''Antelope'' was relatively flat-floored and had only an 8-inch [[Glossary of nautical terms (A-L)#D|deadrise]] at half-floor.

The medium clipper, though still very fast, could carry more cargo. After 1854, extreme clippers were replaced in American shipbuilding yards by medium clippers.<ref name="clark" />{{Page needed|date=May 2024}}
The ''[[Flying Cloud (clipper)|Flying Cloud]]'' was a clipper ship built in 1851 that established the fastest passage between New York and San Francisco within weeks of her launching, then broke her own records three years later, which stood at 89 days 8 hours until 1989. (The other contender for this "blue ribbon" title was the medium clipper ''[[Andrew Jackson (clipper)|Andrew Jackson]]''{{snd}}an unresolvable argument exists over timing these voyages "from pilot to pilot").{{r|MacGregor 1993|pp=60–61}} ''Flying Cloud'' was the most famous of the clippers built by [[Donald McKay]]. She was known for her extremely close race with the ''Hornet'' in 1853; for having a woman navigator, [[Eleanor Creesy]], wife of Josiah Perkins Creesy, who skippered the ''Flying Cloud'' on two record-setting voyages from New York to San Francisco; and for sailing in the Australia and timber trades.

Clipper ships largely ceased being built in American shipyards in 1859 when, unlike the earlier boom years, only four clipper ships were built; a few were built in the 1860s. {{r|MacGregor 1993|p=14}}

[[File:The Composite Construction - 322.jpg|thumb|Composite Construction]]
British clipper ships continued to be built after 1859. 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. 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#Ships|composite construction]] were brought out, combining the best of both worlds. Composite clippers had the strength of an iron hull framework but with wooden planking that, with properly insulated fastenings, could use [[copper sheathing]] without the problem of [[galvanic corrosion]]. Copper sheathing prevented [[Biofouling|fouling]] and [[Teredo navalis|teredo worm]], but could not be used on iron hulls. The iron framework of composite clippers was less bulky and lighter, so allowing more cargo in a hull of the same external shape.{{r|MacGregor 1983|pp=84–88}}<ref name="clark" />{{Page needed|date=May 2024}}

After 1869, with the opening of the [[Suez Canal]] that greatly advantaged steam vessels (see [[#Decline|Decline]] below), the tea trade collapsed for clippers.<ref name="clark" />{{rp|332}}  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 cargo between Britain, and [[Australia]] and [[New Zealand]]. This trade eventually became unprofitable, and the ageing clipper fleet became unseaworthy.<ref name="clark" />{{Page needed|date=May 2024}}
{{anchor|Opium clipper}}

=== Opium clippers ===
[[File:"Water Witch" opium clipper 1831.jpg|thumb|"Opium clipper" ''Water Witch'', a British barque built in 1831]]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 opium in India, something desired by the Chinese as much as tea was by the British. This had to be smuggled into China on smaller, fast-sailing ships, called "opium clippers".<ref name="MacGregor 1983" />{{rp|9, 34}} Some of these were built specifically for the purpose{{snd}}mostly in India and Britain, such as the 1842-built ''Ariel'', 100 tons OM.<ref name="clark" />{{Page needed|date=May 2024}} Some fruit schooners were bought for this trade, as were some Baltimore clippers.{{r|MacGregor 1988|pp=90–97}}