power of the country was increased so was her
commerce extended and her Mercantile Marine increased. In the year 1801
the total amount of British Mercantile shipping was about 1,726,000
tons; in 1811 it had increased to 2,163,094 tons, and in 1816 to
2,489,068; while in 1846 it had reached 3,220,685 tons. The East India
Company was by far the largest mercantile shipowner and ship-hirer in
the country. In the year 1772 the Company employed 33 ships of the
aggregate burthen of 23,159 tons, builders' measurement. It was about
this period that the Company commenced the construction of a larger type
of vessel for their own use. These vessels afterwards became famous for
their exploits, and were called East Indiamen. Fig. 67 is an
illustration of one of them named the _Thames_, built in 1819, of 1,360
tons register. She carried 26 guns, and had a crew of 130 men.

East Indiamen were designed to serve simultaneously as freight-carriers,
passenger-ships and men-of-war. In the latter capacity they fought many
important actions and won many victories. Having had to fill so many
purposes, they were naturally expensive ships both to build and work.
Their crews were nearly four times as numerous as would be required for
modern merchant sailing-ships of similar size.

At the close of the great wars in the early part of this century
commercial pursuits naturally received a strong impetus. Great
competition arose, not only between individual owners, but also between
the shipowning classes in various countries. This caused considerable
attention to be paid to the improvement of merchant-ships. The objects
sought to be attained were greater economy in the working of vessels and
increased speed combined with cargo-carrying capacity. The trade with
the West Indies was not the subject of a monopoly as that with the East
had been. It was consequently the subject of free competition amongst
shipowners, and the natural result was the development of a class of
vessel much better adapted to purely mercantile operations than were the
ships owned or chartered by the East India Company. Fig. 68 is a late
example of a West Indiaman, of the type common shortly after the
commencement of the nineteenth century. The capacity for cargo of ships
of this type was considerably in excess of their nominal tonnage,
whereas in the case of the East Indiamen the reverse was the case. Also,
the proportion of crew to tonnage was one-half of what was found
necessar