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The first war that an organized United States Merchant Marine took part in was the American Revolutionary War, which lasted from 1775 to 1783.The first merchant marine action in the war took place on June 12, 1775, when a group of Machias, Maine citizens, after hearing the news of what happened in Concord and Lexington, boarded and captured the schooner British warship HMS Margaretta.
Lack of government interest helped complete the downfall of American shipping. The five years following the Civil War showed a slight revival but the forces tending to a decline continued operative. American shipping in foreign trade and the fisheries, which amounted to 2,642,628 tons in 1870, had dropped to 826,694 tons in 1900.
In World War I, Great Britain, as an island nation, was heavily dependent on foreign trade and imported resources.Germany found that their submarines, or U-boats, while of limited effectiveness against surface warships on their guard, were greatly effective against merchant ships, and could easily patrol the Atlantic even when Allied ships dominated the surface.
In the United States, the term "clipper" referred to the Baltimore clipper, a topsail schooner that was developed in Chesapeake Bay before the American Revolution and was lightly armed in the War of 1812, sailing under Letters of Marque and Reprisal, when the type—exemplified by the Chasseur, launched at Fells Point, Baltimore, 1814— became known for its incredible speed; a deep draft ...
The Atlantic triangular trade formed a major component of the colonial American economy, involving Europe, Africa and the Americas.The primary component of the transatlantic triangular trade consisted of slave ships from Europe sailing to Africa loaded with manufactured goods; once the ships arrived at African shores, the European slavers would exchange the goods aboard their ships for ...
The existence of an actual shipping industry gradually came into being. Christopher Columbus was the first European to set foot on what would one day become U.S. territory when he came to Puerto Rico in 1493. In the 15th century, Europeans brought horses, cattle and hogs to the Americas. Spanish explorers also reached the present-day United States.
Magic and Gracie off Castle Garden, painted by James E. Buttersworth, c. 1871. Maritime history is the study of human interaction with and activity at sea. It covers a broad thematic element of history that often uses a global approach, although national and regional histories remain predominant.
A nation's shipping fleet (variously called merchant navy, merchant marine, or merchant fleet) consists of the ships operated by civilian crews to transport passengers or cargo from one place to another. Merchant shipping also includes water transport over the river and canal systems connecting inland destinations, large and small.