The Dutch Tea Clippers: Speed, Steam, and the China Race

In the mid-19th century, Dutch merchants watched the British tea trade explode and decided they wanted a piece of the action. But the Dutch East India Company was gone, the monopoly was dead, and the China tea market was a brutal, fast-moving game. Enter the Dutch tea clippers—sleek, swift, and built to outrun the British on the long voyage from Canton to Rotterdam. This episode follows the shipwrights who pioneered these vessels, the captains who raced them home, and the surprising role of steam power in their demise. We visit the shipyards of Fijenoord and the docks of Amsterdam, meet men like Cornelis Gips and the firm of Van der Werf, and trace the last great sailing ships through the Suez Canal and into the age of steam. It's a story of speed, obsession, and the quiet end of a three-hundred-year trade. Also, we pause to consider how a small monthly donation keeps this ad-free show afloat. #TeaClipper #ChinaTrade #Canton #Rotterdam #Fijenoord #Amsterdam #SailingShips #SteamPower #SuezCanal #19thCentury #DutchMaritime #GoldenAge #VOC #Shipbuilding #TeaRace #MaritimeHistory #FexingoHistory #History Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo