74 ALL AFLOAT 



century had a chequered career. Many dis- 

 turbing factors affected the course of trade : 

 the cholera of '32 ; the Rebellion of '37 ; the 

 Ship Fever of '47 ; the great gold finds in 

 California in '49 and in Australia in '53 ; 

 Reciprocity with the United States in '54 ; 

 Confederation in '67 ; the triumph of steam 

 and steel in the seventies ; and the era of inland 

 development which began in the eighties. 



The heyday of the Canadian sailing ship was 

 the third quarter of the nineteenth century. 

 This period, indeed, was one of great activity 

 in the history of mast and sail all the world 

 over. There was intense rivalry between 

 steam and sail. The repeal of the Navigation 

 Act in England had brought the whole of 

 British shipping into direct competition with 

 foreigners. The Americans were pushing their 

 masterful way into every sea. The rush to 

 California was drawing eager fleets of Yankee, 

 Bluenose, and St Lawrence vessels round 

 the Horn. India, China, and Australia were 

 drawing other fleets round the Cape. The 

 American clippers threatened to oust the slower 

 ' Britishers ' and throw the comparatively 

 minor Canadians into the shade. For the first 

 and only time in history American tonnage 

 actually began to threaten British supremacy. 



