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TheAge of Sail is a period in European history that lasted at the latest from the mid-16th (or mid-15th)[1] to the mid-19th centuries, in which the dominance ofsailing ships inglobal trade andwarfare culminated, particularly marked by the introduction ofnaval artillery, and ultimately reached its highest extent at the advent ofsteam power. Enabled by the advances of the relatedage of navigation, it is identified as a distinctive element of theearly modern period[2] and theAge of Discovery.[1]
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Like mostperiodic eras,defining the age is inexact and serves only as a general description. The term is used differently for warships and merchant vessels.
By the 14th centurynaval artillery was employed in Europe, documented at theBattle of Arnemuiden (1338). The 15th century saw theIberian naval ventures all the way along the African Atlantic coast and across the Atlantic Ocean, starting theAge of Discovery.
For warships, the age of sail runs roughly from theBattle of Lepanto in 1571, the last significant engagement in whichoar-propelledgalleys played a major role, to the development ofsteam-poweredwarships.[3]
The period between the mid-19th century to the early 20th century, when sailing vessels reached their peak of size and complexity (e.g.clippers andwindjammers), is sometimes referred to as the "Golden Age of Sail".[4]
The second sea-goingsteamboat was Richard Wright's first steamboatExperiment, an ex-Frenchlugger; she steamed fromLeeds toYarmouth in July 1813.[5][6] The first iron steamship to go to sea was the 116-tonAaron Manby, built in 1821 byAaron Manby at theHorseley Ironworks, and became the first iron-built vessel to put to sea when she crossed theEnglish Channel in 1822, arriving inParis on 22 June.[7] She carried passengers and freight to Paris in 1822 at an average speed of 8 knots (9.2 mph; 15 km/h).
The first purpose-built steam battleship was the 90-gunNapoléon in 1850.[8] Multiple steam battleships saw action during theCrimean War, especially the Allied (British, French and Ottoman) fleet Bombardment ofSevastopol as part of theSiege of Sevastopol (1854–1855). The first ironclad battleship,Gloire, was launched by theFrench Navy in November 1859.[9] In the March 1862Battle of Hampton Roads, theironcladCSS Virginia foughtUSS Monitor, making this the first fight between ironclads.
TheSuez Canal in the Middle East, which opened in 1869, was more practical for steamships than for sailing ships, achieving a much shorterEuropean-Asian sea route, which coincided with more fuel-efficient steamships, starting withAgamemnon in 1865.[10][a]
HMS Devastation, the first class of ocean-going battleships that did not carry sails, was commissioned in 1871.
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Sailing ships continued to be an economical way to transport bulk cargo on long voyages into the 1920s and 1930s, though steamships soon pushed them out of those trades as well. Sailing ships do not require fuel or complex engines to be powered; thus they tended to be more independent from sophisticated dedicated support bases on land. Crucially though, steam-powered ships held a speed advantage and were rarely hindered by adverse winds, freeing steam-powered vessels from the necessity of followingtrade winds. As a result, cargo and supplies could reach a foreign port in a fraction of the time it took a sailing ship.
Sailing vessels were pushed into narrower and narrower economic niches and gradually disappeared from commercial trade. Today, sailing vessels are only economically viable for small-scale coastal fishing, along with recreational uses such asyachting and passenger sail excursion ships.
In recent decades, the commercial shipping industry has been reviving interest inwind assisted ships as a way to conserve fuel in the interest ofsustainability.[13][14][15]
ANew Age of Sail has been predicted by some experts to occur by 2030, driven by a revolution inenergy technology and a desire to reducecarbon emissions frommaritime shipping throughwind-assisted propulsion.[16] The bookTrade Winds: A Voyage to a Sustainable Future for Shipping discusses the potential of a return to wind propulsion through the firsthand experiences ofChristiaan De Beukelaer, who spent five months aboard a sailing cargo ship in 2020.[17]
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