Clipper

A late 19th century clipper ship

A clipper was a very fast sailing ship of the 19th century. The word "clipper" comes from a word meaning: "fast". Clippers had several masts and a square rig. They were quite narrow for their length. Clipper ships were mostly made in British and American shipyards, but France, the Netherlands and other countries also made some. Clippers sailed all over the world, especially on the trade routes between the United Kingdom and its colonies in the east, in trans-Atlantic trade, and the New York-to-San Francisco route round Cape Horn during the California Gold Rush. Dutch clippers were built beginning in 1850s for bringing tea to Europe and taking passengers to and from Java.

Clipper Media

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  Taeping, a tea clipper built in 1863

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  Clipper barque Spirit of the Age 1854 by T. G. Dutton

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  Sovereign of the Seas set the record for world's fastest sailing ship in 1854.

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  Hornet – an American clipper ship of the 1850s

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  "Opium clipper" Water Witch, a British barque built in 1831

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  Cutty Sark, a noted British clipper

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  Clipper ship Southern Cross leaving Boston Harbor, 1851, by Fitz Hugh Lane

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  A graph of the number of clippers built in the USA each year in the 1850s: This closely follows the economic situation.

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  SS Agamemnon, the first steamer with the fuel efficiency to challenge sailing vessels on the long-distance route from Britain (or the East Coast US) to the China tea ports