Age of Sail
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The age of sail, technically and formally speaking, is the period in which international trade and naval warfare were both dominated by sailing ships.
The age of sail runs roughly from the Battle of Lepanto in 1571, the last significant engagement in which oar-propelled galleys played a major role, to the Battle of Hampton Roads in 1862, in which the steam-powered CSS Virginia destroyed the sailing ships USS Cumberland and USS Congress, finally culminating with the advance of steam power, rendering sail power unnecessary.
This is a significant period during which square rigged sailing ships carried European settlers to many parts of the world in one of the most important human migrations in recorded history.
[edit] Golden Age of Sail
In Europe, the Golden Age of Sail is generally agreed to be the period in the 19th century when the efficiency and usage of commercial sailing vessels was at its peak (eg clipper ships, tall ships, etc.) and immediately before steam ships started to take trade away from sail. Some would say that the Golden Age of Sail relates specifically to the clipper ship era. "The Golden Age of Sail" also sometimes refers to the time period in the early 18th century when well-known pirates such as Edward Teach (Blackbeard) and Bartholomew Roberts were preying on mercantile ships, and sometimes even blockading ports, around the world.
In America, the Golden Age of Sail has been said to be between the War of 1812 and the Civil War. [1] It has also been said to be between 1840 and 1880 [2], or 1830 to 1880 [3]
Sailing ships continued to be an economical way to transport cargo on long voyages into the 1920's.
