ABSTRACT
British shipping dominated the maritime commerce of Asia in the nineteenth century. Much of the seaborne trade within Asia and in the rest of the world was carried in ships built in British yards, and owned and managed by British nationals. The mercantile marines of other Western nations – France, the Netherlands and the USA – also were active in Asia’s seaborne trade, and Asian ships and owners – Arabs, Parsi, Chinese and Japanese – still had active roles, particularly in local coastal or inter-island transport. But the rise of British shipping pre-eminence was by far the most striking feature of Asian maritime history in the nineteenth century. This pre-eminence, as is well-known, resulted from a transformation in the
organisation and technology of shipping pioneered by the British. The management of British maritime trade in Asian waters was transferred from the monopolistic English East India Company into the hands of private ship owners, who from mid-century onwards were increasingly organised as limited liability joint stock companies. This change took place broadly in line with the transition from sail to steam – as wooden sailing ships gave way, to iron-and later steel-hulled steamships from the 1850s. The paddle-wheel gave way to the screw propeller, and a series of innovations in marine engineering – notably the ‘Scotch boiler’, the compound engine and the triple-expansion engine – delivered greater efficiency and higher levels of fuel savings. Other changes which followed were a growing division of the shipping industry into liner and tramp activities. There was also an increase in the need for ancillary shipping services in Asian ports (such as agency, lighterage, warehousing and stevedoring), and the recruitment of Asian seamen – mainly of
Indian, Chinese and Arab origin – to man the growing numbers of British vessels in Asian waters.
