Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP12576
Authors: Morgan Kelly; Cormac Grda
Abstract: We measure technological progress in oceanic shipping directly by using a large database of daily log entries from British, Dutch, and Spanish ships to estimate daily sailing speed in different wind conditions from 1750 to 1850. Against the consensus among economic (but not maritime) historians that the technology of sailing ships was fairly static during this time, we find that average sailing speeds of British East India Company and navy ships in moderate to strong winds rose considerably after 1770s. Driving this progress was the introduction of coppering in the 1780s but subsequent rises are probably due to a continuous evolution of sails and rigging, and improved hulls that allowed a greater area of sail to be set safely in a given wind. By contrast, speeds of Dutch and Spanish vessels were stagnant. Using separate data on crossing times of Atlantic mail packets, we find steady progress from the 1750s, followed by marked improvements when American packets appeared in the 1820s
Keywords: Technological progress; Shipping
JEL Codes: N0
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Introduction of copper sheathing (N63) | Increased average sailing speeds of British East India Company and Royal Navy ships (N73) |
| Incremental improvements in sails and rigging (F12) | Subsequent increases in sailing speeds (N71) |
| Enhanced hull designs (F12) | Greater sail area utilization (H21) |
| Technological stagnation in Dutch and Spanish ships (N73) | No improvement in sailing speeds (L92) |
| Entry of American packets in the 1820s (N71) | Crossing times of British post office packets improved (L87) |