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In the middle third of the 19th Century, the clippers which carried cargoes of tea from China to Britain would compete in informal races to be first ship to dock in London with the new crop of each season. The Great Tea Race of 1866 was keenly followed in the press, with an extremely close finish. ''Taeping'' docked 28 minutes before ''Ariel'' - after a passage of more than 14,000 miles. ''Ariel'' had been ahead when the ships were taken in tow by steam tugs off Deal, but after waiting for the tide at Gravesend the deciding factor was the height of tide at which one could enter the different docks used by each ship. The third finisher, ''Serica'', docked an hour and 15 minutes after ''Ariel''. These three ships had left China on the same tide and arrived at London 99 days later to dock on the same tide.〔 The next to arrive, 28 hours later, was ''Fiery Cross'', followed, the next day, by ''Taitsing''. Given the close finish, and fearing that the consignees might find reason to avoid payment, the prize, or "premium", was claimed by ''Taeping'' but shared between them and ''Ariel'', by agreement of their agents and owners.〔 1866 was the last time that a premium was written into the bill of lading of a tea clipper for docking in London with the first of the new crop.〔 Though clippers raced with cargoes of tea for a few more years, the only commercial advantage was in the reputation as a fast ship, thereby securing a better rate of freight in the future. Whilst the outcome thrilled its followers, it was clear to some that the days of the tea clipper were numbered. The auxiliary steamer ''Erl King'' had sailed from Foochow 8 days after ''Ariel'', carrying both passengers and a cargo of tea. She arrived in London 15 days before the sailing ships.〔Paisley Herald and Renfrewshire Advertiser - Saturday 25 August 1866, page 4, column 3〕 The ''SS Agamemnon'', a much more fuel efficient ship than her contemporaries, had just made the fastest ever outward passage to China of 65 days and was on her way to London with a cargo of tea that was 2 or 3 times larger than a clipper could carry. The Suez Canal was under construction (and opened in 1869). This would give a much shorter route (a reduction of about 3,300 NM or nearly a quarter less distance〔http://www.suezcanal.gov.eg/〕), so favouring the steamships, as the Canal was not a practical option for sailing vessels. ==Historical background== Tea was introduced from China to Europe in the 17th century, but, as a luxury item, was not transported in significant quantities until the 19th century. China was the main centre of production until late in the 19th century. The British East India Company's monopoly of the tea trade from China to Britain ceased in 1834. This opening to competition meant that faster ships were needed, as different merchants tried to be first in the market with each new crop of tea. Tea clippers were designed for speed; unlike the slower East Indiamen that had carried tea during the monopoly. Those that had achieved particularly fast passages could usually command a higher freight (the price paid to transport the cargo) than others. Tea wholesalers would mention in adverts which ship had carried the different batches being sold.〔for example: Adverts, 2 June 1865, ''Leicester Journal'' pg 5, column 4〕 It was often the case that tea that was loaded early in China was of somewhat poorer quality than that which became available a few weeks later in the season. Yet this was what was carried by the first ships home and sold to the public with the cachet of a fast passage.〔 The first cargo of tea landed could be very profitable for tea merchants, so they introduced incentives. In 1854, ''Vision'' had a premium of an extra £1 per ton included in her bill of lading, payable if she was the first to dock. In 1855 ''Maury'' and ''Lord of the Isles'' raced for a premium of £1 per ton, with the latter the winner through getting a better tug to get up-river. Note that the premium did not simply reward the fastest passage, since rapid loading of a cargo and a prompt departure were important factors. In 1861, the consignees offered a premium of 10s per ton to the first ship to dock in London. This was won by the Fiery Cross, who also went on to win in 1862, 1863 and 1865.〔 At this time, anyone with a particular interest in shipping or business could easily follow the performance of tea clippers through the "Shipping Intelligence" column of their newspaper - and trade in tea was discussed in the commodities section of the business column.〔for example: "Shipping Intelligence", 11 Sep 1865, ''Liverpool Daily Post'', pg 11 (third edition), column 2〕 The "news" sections of newspapers started to comment on the first ship to dock from 1857.〔"Condensed News", 7 October 1857, ''Dumfries and Galloway Standard'', page 3, column 7〕 By 1866, newspaper interest was at its height, with speculation, updates and detailed reports.〔for example: "The Great Ocean Race from China", 11 August 1866, ''Western Daily Press'' pg 2, column 2〕〔"The Great Ocean Race from China", 1 Aug 1866, ''The Glasgow Herald'', pg 4, column 4〕 Many bets were placed on the outcome of the race, in London, Hong Kong, and the ports of Britain, and by the captains and crews of the vessels involved.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Great Tea Race of 1866」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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