Public-domain ebook
History of merchant shipping and ancient commerce, Volume 4 (of 4)
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Public-domain ebook sourced from Project Gutenberg #74393.
About this book
This volume is the concluding part of a four‑book series that chronicles the evolution of commercial seafaring from antiquity to the age of iron‑clad steamships. It opens with a rapid‑fire inventory of early propulsion ideas, Hero of Alexandria’s aeolipile, Blasco de Garay’s 16th‑century experiments, and a litany of “absurd patents” and pioneering engineers such as James Watt, Robert Fulton, and John Laird, before moving into a systematic, chapter‑by‑chapter account of steam navigation’s spread across Europe, the United States, and the world’s oceans. The text weaves technical description, commercial statistics, and anecdotal episodes (for example, the rivalry between the Cunard and Collins lines) into a dense narrative that tracks inventions, shipbuilding yards, mail contracts, and the strategic choices that shaped global trade.
Written in the scholarly yet vigorous prose of a late‑19th‑century historian, the work combines exhaustive detail with a clear chronological structure. Its tone is that of a meticulous chronicler, peppered with occasional editorial commentary on policy and safety. Readers with a keen interest in maritime engineering, economic history, or the technological forces that underpinned 19th‑century commerce will find the book rewarding, while those who appreciate a richly documented, fact‑driven survey of how steam transformed merchant shipping will be most engaged.
Who appears in this book
- James WattMiddle‑aged Scottish gentleman, balding with sideburns, wearing dark waistcoat, spectacles, holding a brass engine model
- Robert FultonEarly‑19th‑century American inventor, neatly trimmed beard, navy coat with gold epaulettes, holding a model steamboat
- Blasco de Garay16th‑century Spanish naval officer, dark beard, steel cuirass, feathered hat, examining a copper‑clad experimental vessel
The opening · free to read
Earliest modes of propulsion—Suggested partly by nature—Hero of Alexandria, B.C. 120—Dancing steam ball—Æolipile—Application of science to superstitious purposes—Revival of learning—Robertus Valturius, 1472—Blasco de Garay—Story of his experiment, 1543—Disproved by Mr. MacGregor’s investigations, _note_—Progress of invention—Bourne—Solomon de Caus, Marquess of Worcester, &c.—Morisotus’ _vessel with paddle-wheels_—Hollar’s drawing—Absurd patents—Phillips and his windmill—Papin and Morland—Savery—Jonathan Hulls—James Watt’s engine—Matthew Wasborough—Marquis de Jouffroy—Bramah’s screw-propeller—Mr. Miller of Dalswinton—Mr. Symington and Mr. Taylor—The _Charlotte Dundas_—Rumsey and Fitch—J. C. Stevens—Oliver Evans—Robert Fulton and Mr. Livingston—Plan really derived from the English experiments of Symington—Fulton builds steamers in the U.S.—The _Clermont_—Merits and demerits of Fulton—At all events the first to “run” a steam-vessel regularly and to develop its power and usefulness—First steamboat on the St. Lawrence, 1813.
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