On a grey morning in late May 1866, the waterfront of Fuzhou buzzed with anticipation. Along the Min River, some of the fastest ships ever built strained at their anchors, holds crammed with the season’s first pickings of China’s tea harvest. To the merchants on shore, and to the thousands of Londoners who would follow their progress, these vessels were not merely cargo carriers. They were thoroughbreds, pitted against each other in a thrilling race that combined adventure with the promise of profit.
For nearly two decades, the opening of the China tea trade each year had sparked fierce competition between the fastest sailing ships afloat. These ships were built for speed, designed to slice through the seas and bring back the season’s first cargo of tea. Fast delivery meant higher prices, prestige for the ship’s owners, and glory for the captain and crew. The annual race from the tea ports of China to the London docks became a spectacle that merchants, newspapers, and the public followed with breathless anticipation.
Ariel and Taeping race each other during the Great Tea Race of 1866, by Jack Spurling. Credit: Wikimedia Commons
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