Note 11 — The Era of the Sailing Ship.
Reading edition
The following figures are taken for 1701 from "Chambers' Estimates," pages 68, 69, and 90; for 1793 from Lindsay's "History of Merchant Shipping"; for 1803 from "Porter's Progress of the Nation," page 626; and for 1901 from the "Statistical Abstract for the United Kingdom."
1701. 1793. 1803. 1901.
Number of ships 3,281 16,079 20,893 20,258
Tonnage 261,222 1,540,145 2,167,863 15,357,052
Seamen 27,196 118,286 — 247,973
The Scottish fleet, which is not included for 1701 and 1793, was much smaller, alike in the size of units and aggregate tonnage.