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Technological Dynamism in a Stagnant Sector: Safety at Sea during the Early Industrial Revolution

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  • Morgan Kelly
  • Cormac Ó Gráda

Abstract

Against the consensus that sailing ship technology was stagnant during the early Industrial Revolution, we find striking improvements in safety at sea. Between 1760 and 1825, the risk of being wrecked for Atlantic shipping fell by one third, and of foundering by two thirds, reflecting improvements in seaworthiness and navigation respectively. Seaworthiness improved through replacing the traditional stepped deck ship with stronger flushed decked ones derived from Indian designs, and the increasing use of iron reinforcement. Improved navigation owed little to precise longitude estimation and stemmed mostly from accurate charts and instruments, and accessible manuals of navigational technique.

Suggested Citation

  • Morgan Kelly & Cormac Ó Gráda, 2017. "Technological Dynamism in a Stagnant Sector: Safety at Sea during the Early Industrial Revolution," Working Papers 201711, School of Economics, University College Dublin.
    • Handle: RePEc:ucn:wpaper:201711
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    File URL: http://hdl.handle.net/10197/8728
    File Function: First version, 2017
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    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Morgan Kelly & Cormac Ó Gráda, 2016. "Adam Smith, Watch Prices, and the Industrial Revolution," The Quarterly Journal of Economics, President and Fellows of Harvard College, vol. 131(4), pages 1727-1752.
    2. Peter Solar, 2013. "Opening to the East: shipping between Europe and Asia, 1770-1830," Working Papers 13013, Economic History Society.
    3. Harley, C. Knick, 1988. "Ocean Freight Rates and Productivity, 1740–1913: The Primacy of Mechanical Invention Reaffirmed," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 48(4), pages 851-876, December.
    4. Solar, Peter M., 2013. "Opening to the East: Shipping Between Europe and Asia, 1770–1830," The Journal of Economic History, Cambridge University Press, vol. 73(3), pages 625-661, September.
    5. Douglass C. North, 1968. "Sources of Productivity Change in Ocean Shipping, 1600-1850," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 76(5), pages 953-953.
    6. Maxine Berg & Pat Hudson, 1992. "Rehabilitating the industrial revolution," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 45(1), pages 24-50, February.
    7. Joel Mokyr, 2016. "A Culture of Growth: The Origins of the Modern Economy," Economics Books, Princeton University Press, edition 1, number 10835.
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    Cited by:

    1. Kelly, Morgan & Ó Gráda, Cormac, 2018. "Speed under Sail during the Early Industrial Revolution," CEPR Discussion Papers 12576, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    2. Morgan Kelly & Cormac Ó Gráda, 2017. "Speed under Sail, 1750–1830," Working Papers 201710, School of Economics, University College Dublin.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Technological progress; Shipping;

    JEL classification:

    • N0 - Economic History - - General

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