Ships and Cargoes : 191 



It soon became apparent to the colonists that while it was expedi- 

 ent and profitable to supply England with naval stores and materials 

 for shipbuilding, it was still more profitable to build their own ves- 

 sels. As early as 1614 Captain John Smith, on the coast of Maine, 

 built seven boats for a fishing expedition. The Plymouth colony 

 began the construction of ships as early as 1624 but the first sizable 

 ship built in Massachusetts was the Blessing of the Bay which was 

 built for Governor Winthrop at Mystic in 1631. In 1641 a bark of 

 fifty tons was launched and a few years later it was reported that the 

 colonists were able to build ships of one, two and even four hundred 

 tons. By 1676 the New England shipyards were turning out as many 

 as thirty ships a year, built for the English market. By this time one- 

 third of all the tonnage sailing under the British flag had been built 

 in America. 



Cheapness of construction was an important factor in the rapid 

 growth of the New England shipbuilding industry. In colonial times 

 the costs of construction in New England ran to about $34 a ton, the 

 costs in Europe for a comparable vessel would run between half 

 again as much and twice as much. 



Of course the New England colonists built ships for their own use 

 as well as for sale to England. In addition to a great number of smaller 

 vessels built for the fishing industry there were larger ships used for 

 general trade. As early as 1745 vessels of the latter class numbered at 

 least 1,000 and by 1775 this had increased to 2,000. 



The construction of ships for use in England was also stimulated 

 by the fact that New England was short on adequate currency and 

 long on lumber and labor for the construction of ships. Consequently, 

 the English merchants, having brought to the New England market 

 woolens, clothing and other manufactured articles and disposed of 

 them, found it profitable to order a ship built to their account. This 

 they would load with naval stores, with furs, with rum or with other 

 New England products. They would then sail for England where the 

 ship as well as the cargo was disposed of at a handsome profit. 



On two occasions, namely, during the Revolution and during the 

 War of 1 812, the young nation's merchant ships on the high seas 

 suffered serious losses and its mercantile trade was disrupted, but on 

 each occasion American naval vessels and American vessels that 

 sailed as privateers or with letters of marque gave a good account 

 of themselves. Thus, even in the test of war, American shipbuilders 

 gained confidence in their ability to design and build new types of 



