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Synopsis
With Britain triumphant after the defeat of Napoleon, the British Merchant Navy began to expand. With powerful Blackwall 'frigates' serving a growing empire, a vast migration to North America, Australia and New Zealand and the carriage of valuable cargoes such as tea from China, sail remained dominant throughout much of the 19th Century.
From a tentative beginning, British steam-vessels increased in power and endurance so that, by 1884, they had taken over the long-haul routes to China and the Antipodes. Far from trade following the flag, it was almost always the other way round as this extraordinary history demonstrates.
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