From Wind to Steam Powered Ships
Back in the days before steam began to power ships, they were all wind powered. That, by definition, meant the trip was entirely dependent on the winds. In A Splendid Exchange , William Bernstein brings out two such instances. The first one was the route from the Middle East to India: “The seasonal dance of the monsoons – southwest in summer, northeast in winter – would dictate the annual rhythm of trade in the Indian Ocean.” The second instance is brought out in the problem for a trip from Portugal to the bottom of Africa by trying to hug the curve of the African coastline: “South of the equator, as southerly trade winds increasingly blew against his ships, progress became ever more difficult.” This was such a big pain that Vasco da Gama was willing to experiment with an alternative route, even one as long winded as this: “(As they passed Sierra Leone), they turned right, departed the coast for the open Atlantic… Then the ships gradually executed a counter-...