What was so special at this time that a man off a poor background was
able to become the owner of five crack clipper ships and retire to a
very comfortable life.
Alexander Rodger, sea captain and shipowner, was born in November 1801
at, Cellardyke. Scotland. He was educated at the Parish School in East
Forth Street and passed the first 19 years of his life in his native
village. At the fishing and by studying hard he acquired a knowledge
of navigation which was unusual for someone of his age and limited
opportunities.
At the age of about 19 he joined a collier as a sailor and in little
more than a year was appointed second mate, being promoted two years
later to the command of a brig in which he made many successful
voyages to the Mediterranean. He subsequently sailed over the world
and was the commander of the first ship of any size or tonnage to sail
from Glasgow to an Australian port.
After years of hard service Captain Rodger was compelled by failing
health to retire from the sea and it was about this time that the
first news of the Australian gold fields reached this country. He
immediately planned an expedition to the gold fields, which he led
himself, consisting of sixteen young fishermen from Cellardyke, five
of whom were his own nephews. After spending six months with the
expedition, the success of which can be gathered from the fact that
the £1,200 advanced towards the expedition was repaid and each member
had about £200 over, he returned home.
He then began another speculative enterprise. He had long been
convinced that fast clipper ships had great advantages in the China
tea trade and by 1855 he was part owner of the Kate Carnie with C.
Camie of Glasgow. This was the first clipper ship built by Steele &
Co. Next came the Ellen Rodger, named after his wife, with Captain
John Keay of Anstruther as her master. Next came Min, Captain John
Smith, Anstruther, and in 1863 his most famous clipper Taeping, which
in 1866 won the most exciting tea race of them all.
Taeping, Captain McKinnon, tied up in London docks twenty minutes
ahead of Captain Keay, 99 days out of Foochow.
Local interest in the race was intense as Ariel was captained by
Captain Keay of Anstruther.While Taeping was owned by Captain Rodger
of Cellardyke. His last clipper ship, the Lahloo , was built in 1867.
In 1872 he retired. He died on June 6th 1877 |
Request for Question Clarification by
scriptor-ga
on
06 Nov 2002 09:46 PST
Dear taiping,
Fascinating as this biography might be, could you please make clear
what exactly is your question?
Regards,
Scriptor
|
My goodness! What was NOT right about this time in our planet's
history!? Remember that this man was from the British Isles and
remember that the sun never set on the British Empire. There were so
many geographical areas to which he could travel in a superior
capacity and so many opportunities for the British during the 19th
century. Look what was happening! Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, the
Caribbean, African, India -- all were opening up and all were under
the thumb of Victorian England. ["By the Grace of God, of the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, Queen, Defender of the Faith,
Empress of India."]
If a man could think rationally, read and write, and have enough
mathematical ability to add a column in a ledger he was far ahead of
the masses. It isn't that most lacked the ability to do so -- it is
more that most had an insufficient education.
... and has been the case throughout history, those who possess
greater skills than those around then (even though not extraaordinary
skills) inevitably become bosses, thus becoming wealthy.
The old saying 'Knowledge is power' was never so true.
Search strategy: none
Common sense: plenty
Regards,
revbrenda1st |
Clarification of Answer by
revbrenda1st-ga
on
14 Nov 2002 09:43 PST
Hi taiping,
Before you judge and rate my answer, let me expand it. The fact that
Captain Rodger was born during the time the Industrial Revolution was
getting into full swing put him in the right place at the right time.
Indeed, his first job was aboard a collier, a coal-bearing ship. No
doubt the cargoes were intended for factories to run their steam
engines.
England (and the rest of Europe) was moving from an agricultural,
rural family-based economy to a capitalist, urban, industry-based
economy.
To see how the Industrial Revolution, with its inventions such as
steam-powered machinery and ships, changed Great Britain's social and
economic structure, you can check out this good website:
The Industrial Revolution
http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/1981/2/81.02.06.x.html
With increased production capacity came the need for raw materials.
England's naval superiority and its world-wide colonies provided the
access to the materials and the means to bring them to the factories.
You can see an animated map of the British Empire at its height in
1937 on the following page. It is not much changed from the previous
century.
The Sun Never Set on the British Empire
http://www.friesian.com/british.htm
The fact that Captain Rodger had what most his age did not, some
education coupled with (as you say) a "knowledge of navigation," his
talents would make him a definite asset to shipping and trading
companies.
Definition: collier 2. A vessel employed in the coal trade.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
I think the biggest reason for this man's success, and all those like
him during this century of change, was that he "got in on the ground
floor," so to speak. He gained experience doing the job and, as he was
promoted, helped to set the standards for those who would follow him.
If you need further clarification, I'll gladly provide what I can.
Regards,
revbrenda1st
|
Request for Answer Clarification by
taiping-ga
on
05 Dec 2002 12:30 PST
Thank you for your answer.
I would appreciate any information you can help me with on type of
education in small fishing community in Scotland 1800-1815.
Was it good, poor and what conditions were like during his shool age
years?
Clarification of Answer by revbrenda1st-ga on 14 Nov 2002 09:43
PST
I found the above helped and only sorry not to have been able to
contact you before today.
Many thanks
Taiping
|
Clarification of Answer by
revbrenda1st-ga
on
06 Dec 2002 06:44 PST
Hi taiping -- no need to apologize for the delay. Just want to let you
know I'm working on this and will have something for you soon.
|
Clarification of Answer by
revbrenda1st-ga
on
06 Dec 2002 10:34 PST
Hi Taiping,
There doesn't appear to be much detailed information about the years
in question. The first half of the nineteenth century was a time of
change and educational reform, so most of what is to be found deals
with the end of the century, focusing more on the changes rather on
the problems that were being addressed.
About Rodger's schooling -- I think it's safe to say we cannot apply
our modern standards of poor or good education to the early nineteenth
century. Until that time the church pretty much controlled the
educational system. The Scottish Act of 1803 was designed to remove
that control, however it wasn't implemented until 1833, and it wasn't
until 1872 with the Education (Scotland) Act that the church lost all
control.
There is a good description of the changes that took place nation-wide
during the time Captain Rodger would have attended school, including a
bit about the curriculum and the reasoning behind the accent on
mathematics in that curriculum.
The teaching of mathematics in Britain in the Nineteenth Century
http://www-gap.dcs.st-and.ac.uk/~history/Education/nineteenthc.html
Now we know that Rodger attended a parish school; we even have the
address for the same.
Captain Alexander Rodger
http://www.fife.50megs.com/alexander-rodger.htm
"Alexander Rodger, sea captain and shipowner, was born in November
1801 at 26 Shore Street, Cellardyke. He was educated at the Parish
School in East Forth Street."
I was unable to positively identify the parish in which Cellardyke is
located, but by its close proximity to Anstruther-Easter, I think we
can safely assume the educational system was similar, if not
identical.
"... or from the adjoining fishing station of Cellardyke"
Anstrutherestats
http://www.ffhsoc.freeserve.co.uk/anstrutherestats.htm
"The branches taught are, reading, writing, arithmetic, geography, and
occasionally Latin."
Here's a map image of the parishes in Fife in the 1790s.
Parishmap
http://www.fifefhs.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/parishmap.htm
#58 (Slightly lower of middle on right side of map)
To learn about what general conditions existed as regards education at
the turn of the century, let me direct you to a University of
Edinburgh, University of Glasgow website:
Statistical Accounts of Scotland
http://edina.ac.uk/statacc/
"Accounts of Scottish life from the 18th and 19th centuries."
Choose login (free)
Choose Table of Contents
Click on 1791-99 option (left upper side of screen)
Choose Letter to Sir John Sinclair on the State of National Education
in Scotland
Now what you'll find on these pages are scans of documents so they
aren't the easiest to read. Oh, they are clear enough, but are written
in script got a few hundred years ago. For example, the 's' is formed
as 'f.' I tried the printable version of the pages and it prints out
the same way but is easier on the eyes than trying to read from the
monitor. Click on 'Next Page' to proceed through the whole document.
You'll find it's an interesting report about the state of education at
the turn of the nineteenth century and the author includes a good deal
of detailed information about prices of purchases and salaries which
will give you a glimpse into the every day lives of these times.
In poorer communities (such as Cellardyke) the disparity between cost
of living and income might have been higher, and since it appears that
teachers' salaries were paid from the community it might have been
harder to attract the most qualified and experienced teachers, but
that is just my own opinion based on the report above.
Hope this is useful to you.
Regards,
revbrenda1st
Search strategy:
" education Scotland nineteenth century "
://www.google.com/search?q=education+Scotland+nineteenth+century&btnG=Google+Search&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8
" Cellardyke parish "
://www.google.com/search?q=Cellardyke+parish&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&start=10&sa=N
" Cellardyke "
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=Cellardyke&btnG=Google+Search
"history of Scottish education"
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=%22history+of+Scottish+education%22&btnG=Google+Search
" parish + schools nineteenth century Scotland "
://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&q=parish+%2B+schools+nineteenth+century+Scotland&btnG=Google+Search
|
Clarification of Answer by
revbrenda1st-ga
on
06 Dec 2002 21:16 PST
Dear Taiping,
Thank you for your generous rating -- I, too, am diabetic and
experience vision problems.
I wish you well,
revbrenda1st
|
,
3 Comments
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