History of a Decade
Why is a clipper ship called a clipper ship?
Answer: they clipped time off journey durations.
The American clipper ship, sleek and narrow with a formidable yardage of sail could convey high-value, low-volume freight at up to 400 miles per day. It was the technological apogee of the sailing ship. Combined with the telegraph it was the mid-19th century forerunner of the internet and the jet plane. Combined with a few other factors, they led to the 1850’s producing what Ben Wilson calls the Dawn of the Global Age.
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