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8000 BCE
The Pesse Canoe
The Pesse Canoe was discovered in the Netherlands and is believed to be the world's oldest boat from the early Mesolithic Period. It was made from a pine tree that was hollowed and dug out by hand using flint and stone tools. -
Period: 8000 BCE to
Transportation at Sea
Trade, Exploration, War, and Disease -
6000 BCE
Early Egyptian Ships
Some of the earliest boats ever recorded belonged to the Egyptians and were noted on ancient vases and paintings. The first ships were built with papyrus reeds and were propelled by rowers using oars. These were used for trade on the Nile river. -
3500 BCE
Invention of the Sail
Egyptians invent sailboats which had simple square sails made of sheets of papyrus or later of linen. However, the sail could only be used when sailing in one direction. When traveling against the wind the boat had to be rowed. They utilized these boats for trade up and down the Nile and later for war. -
900 BCE
Phoenician Seafaring and Trading
The Phoenicians were known for being the greatest mariners in the ancient world as they are credited with inventing the keel, the battering ram on the bow, and caulking between planks.They were the first Mediterranean people to venture past the Strait of Gibraltar into the Atlantic Ocean. They engaged in trade and built large ships for transferring cargo and small ships with a steering paddle for war. -
750 BCE
Greek Overseas Expansion
Increase in population, social/political tensions, and higher demand for food than the land could supply, led to overseas expansion and greek colonization from 750-440BCE. The Greeks established colonies along the shore of the Mediterranean and the Black Sea which spread Greek culture and created a large overseas trading network. -
600 BCE
Trireme Warships
According to Thucydides the Corinthians were the first to develop the trireme ship, but trireme ships became the most dominant form of warship on the Mediterranean by the sixth century, used by Phoenicians, Greeks, and Romans. Triremes were large, long ships with three rows of oars on each side and one man per oar. The ships usually carried 186 rowers, 14 battle soldiers, a steersman, and a captain. They were popular during both the Peloponnesian War and the Persian Wars. -
200 BCE
The Chinese Rudder
The invention of the stern-mounted rudder allowed China to make huge ships that could sail all around the world. It make the ship stable enough and able to sail through the bad seas.They also invented watertight compartments for ship's hulls. With these inventions, the Chinese trader and explorer Zheng Ho sailed as far as Africa between 1405 and 1433 AD -
1300
Compass Usage
The original compass was invented by the Chinese in the early 14th century. Dry compasses became very popular in the Middle Ages for sea navigation around 1300. This new advancement used a pivoting needle attached to a compass card in a wooden box. Over the next hundred years, navigators and sailors, such as Christopher Columbus, relied on the compass to help them sail to new parts of the globe. -
1347
Black Death Strikes Europe
12 ships from the Black Sea docked at the Sicilian port of Messina and not only brought trading goods but also brought along a deadly bubonic plague. The ships carried disease stricken rats which then spread across Europe killing almost 1/3 of the population. -
1492
Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus sailed for the Indies and landed in America on two caravel ships, Nina and Pinta, and one carrack ship, Santa Maria. The caravel and carrack ships were large, wooden ships with 3 or four masts and could travel long distances and maintain stability in rough water. -
Steamboats of America
Robert Fulton, an American engineer and inventor, is widely known for developing the first commercially successful steamboat called Clermont. In 1807, that steamboat took passengers from New York City to Albany and back again, a round trip of 300 miles, in 62 hours. It could travel at the astonishing speed of up to five miles per hour against the current. Steamboats soon revolutionized river travel and trade, and dominated the waterways. -
Water Taxies
Inventor John Stevens' ship the Juliana, began operation as the first steam-powered ferry (service was between New York City, and Hoboken, New Jersey). Colonists found that the coasts of the New World were broken by great bays and inlets and that the interior of the continent was divided by rivers that defied bridging for many generations. Crossing these rivers and bays was a necessity, however. Ferries brought large amounts of people, horses, cars, etc. across the water. -
Rafting
The first rubber raft was made by Lt. John Fremont and Horace H. Day believed to be built it the 1840s. They planned to survey the Rocky Mountains and Great Plains. Although invented back then, it wasnʼt until the turn of the century that the first commercial rafting trip took place. People began to go white water river rafting as both a sport and hobby rather than just for surveying or trading. -
Cruise Ships
The Prinzessin Victoria Luise was the world’s first cruise ship, a German passenger ship of the Hamburg-America Line.They were aimed at wealthy European and American travelers on excursions and were designed like giant yachts w/ special amenities. The titanic later sailed in 1912 and claimed the lives of 1,514 people and is one of the most devastating maritime disasters in history. -
Ocean liners Switch to Oil Power
Coal-burning sailing ships were converted to diesel power, using oil instead of steam. Oil produced far more energy per pound than coal and vastly simplified the logistics of resupply. The use of oil-fired boilers changed battleship design dramatically and contributed to the development of massive new battleships. -
Submarine Warfare Introduced
Submarines were vessels created and tested in the early seventeenth century by Dutch inventor Cornelis Drebbel. The first military submarine was Turtle in 1776 during the American Revolutionary war. They were used in the United States in both the War of 1812 and the Civil War, but it was not until World War I that submarines became accepted military vessels. -
The Hovercraft
The idea for the modern hovercraft came from Christopher Cockerell who built several models of his hovercraft design in the early 1950s. The hovercraft could float above the waves on cushions of air and were capable of speeds of up to 140 km an hour.
Cockerell's hovercraft had an engine mounted to blow from the front of the craft into a space below it, combining both lift and propulsion. -
Shipping Containers--Cargo Ships
The container shipping industry grew exponentially in the 70s and 80s. By 1973, US, European and Asian container ship operators are carrying 4 million TEUs. Export manufacturing starts moving away from ports. Manufacturing starts to transfer to developing countries where it is cheaper and product can be moved in shipping containers on cargo ships. -
Popularization of Nuclear Powered Ships
Work on nuclear marine propulsion started in the 1940s, and the first nuclear-powered submarine, USS Nautilus, put to sea in 1955. Nuclear power is particularly suitable for vessels which need to be at sea for long periods without refueling, or for powerful submarine propulsion. Modern nuclear powered aircraft carriers, battle cruisers, destroyers, and nuclear powered submarines are all used to keep a country safe and to protect its territory.
