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 necessary in the latter type of vessel. While possessing the above-named advantages, the West Indiamen were good boats for their time, both in sea-going qualities and in speed. [Illustration: FIG. 68.] When the trade with the East was thrown open an impetus was given to the construction of vessels which were suitable for carrying freight to any part of the world. These boats were known as "Free Traders." An illustration of one of them is given in Fig. 69. They were generally from 350 to 700 tons register. The vessels of all the types above referred to were very short, relatively, being rarely more than four beams in length. To the Americans belongs the credit of having effected the greatest improvements in mercantile sailing-ships. In their celebrated Baltimore clippers they increased the length to five and even six times the beam, and thus secured greater sharpness of the water-lines and improved speed in sailing. At the same time, in order to reduce the cost of working, these vessels were lightly rigged in proportion to their tonnage, and mechanical devices, such as capstans and winches, were substituted, wherever it was possible, for manual labour. The crew, including officers, of an American clipper of 1,450 tons, English measurement, numbered about forty. The part played by the Americans in the carrying trade of the world during the period between the close of the great wars and the early fifties was so important that a few illustrations of the types of vessels they employed will be interesting. Fig. 70 represents an American cotton-ship, which also carried passengers on the route between New York and Havre in the year 1832. In form she was full and bluff; in fact, little more than a box with rounded ends. [Illustration: FIG. 69.--Free-trade barque.]