century. The introduction of the compass made trans-oceanic voyages readily possible. The discovery of America made them profitable, and helped to shift the centre of trade from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic, from the Italian cities to the Portuguese, the Spanish, and the Dutch. The growth of colonial empires, based essentially on transportation, marks a most important era in the world's economic history.
Land transport lagged far behind that on the sea. With the growth of centralized nations a political motive arose for the improvement of roads and of internal trade. Under Louis XIV. (1643-1715), during the Ministry of Colbert, the French roads were greatly bettered, and many of the local tolls were put aside. In England little effective action was taken by the central Government, and, despite many ‘Turnpike Acts’ (granting rights to levy tolls in return for maintaining roads) the English highways remained poor throughout the eighteenth century, till the efficient road-making methods of McAdam (1756-1836) and Telford made possible the great improvements of the nineteenth. In the United States, as in England, private or local activity has been chiefly relied on for road-making. Private turnpikes were constructed in colonial times, and during the ‘internal improvement’ era, after 1800, Federal roads were built. Road-building has been recently carried on systematically in many parts of the United States.
The slowness and costliness of land transportation, even in the eighteenth century, made it impossible to convey ordinary goods any long distance. An era of canal-building, which began in England soon after 1750, met in part the increasing need of the growing industrial centres for communication with one another and with the sea. The same movement appears in the United States in the first quarter of the next century. With the rise of the factory system following 1760, with the application of steam power to mining and manufactures, and the possibilities of machine production on a large scale, came an imperative need for more rapid and more adequate means of transport, which only the railroad and the steamship could supply. Through them, in the nineteenth century, international industry has been made possible.
The following table, from the Report of the United States Commissioner of Navigation (1902), shows the Merchant Marines of the World, according to Lloyd's Register (1902-03). Only vessels of over 100 tons are included.
| COUNTRY | Sail | Steam | Total | |||
| Number | Net tons | Number | Gross tons | Number | Tonnage | |
| British: | ||||||
| United Kingdom | 1,685 | 1,533,480 | 7,358 | 12,897,592 | 9,043 | 14,431,072 |
| Colonies | 1,004 | 360,962 | 994 | 754,863 | 1,998 | 1,115,825 |
| Total | 2,689 | 1,894,442 | 8,352 | 13,652,455 | 11,041 | 15,546,897 |
| United States: | ||||||
| Sea | 2,155 | 1,247,125 | 776 | 1,095,788 | 2,931 | 2,342,913 |
| Lake | 59 | 135,863 | 318 | 858,380 | 377 | 994,243 |
| Total | 2,214 | 1,382,988 | 1,094 | 1,954,168 | 3,308 | 3,337,166 |
| Germany | 500 | 502,230 | 1,365 | 2,636,338 | 1,865 | 3,138,568 |
| Norway | 1,345 | 766,003 | 905 | 866,754 | 2,250 | 1,632,757 |
| France | 601 | 415,029 | 690 | 1,104,893 | 1,291 | 1,519,922 |
| Italy | 862 | 467,241 | 361 | 691,841 | 1,223 | 1,159,082 |
| Russia | 751 | 244,232 | 544 | 556,102 | 1,295 | 800,334 |
| Spain | 150 | 48,364 | 464 | 736,209 | 614 | 784,573 |
| Japan | 998 | 135,351 | 535 | 555,230 | 1,533 | 690,581 |
| Sweden | 789 | 225,468 | 719 | 464,705 | 1,508 | 690,173 |
| Holland | 109 | 57,873 | 320 | 555,047 | 429 | 612,920 |
| Austria-Hungary | 42 | 26,784 | 259 | 529,319 | 301 | 556,103 |
| Denmark | 411 | 98,483 | 366 | 440,010 | 777 | 538,493 |
| World's total, including above with all other countries | 12,472 | 6,577,776 | 17,156 | 25,859,987 | 29,628 | 32,437,763 |
It appears from these figures that steamships now comprise 58 per cent. of the world's vessels (not reckoning China, Turkey, etc.) and 80 per cent. of their tonnage, although for some nations the percentages are much higher. The preponderance of British ships is most notable in steamships. In 1801 there was in the United Kingdom a total net tonnage of 1,786,000; in 1850 the figure was 3,565,000; in 1880, 6,575,000; in 1901, 9,608,000. The percentage of net steam tonnage was 4.7 in 1850, 41.4 in 1880, and 79.2 in 1901. German shipping has grown still more rapidly in recent years. The sailing tonnage has decreased from 1,223,000 in 1885 to 667,207 in 1901, but the (net) steam tonnage has risen from 520,186 in 1885 to 1,057,525 in 1895, and 1,548,667 in 1901.
Before the introduction of iron ships American builders were greatly favored by the cheapness of native timber, and for this and other reasons American shipping was dominant in the world's carrying trade. The tonnage engaged in foreign traffic was 667,000 in 1800; and, though somewhat set back by the War of 1812, it rose to 1,439,000 in 1850 and 2,497,000 in 1861. This was its maximum. The coasting trade has continued to rise from 1,177,000 in 1840 to 2,645,000 in 1860 and 4,859,000 in 1902, including vessels of all sizes. But foreign shipping had fallen to 1,314,000 in 1880, and in 1902 was but 873,000 tons. While in 1860 63 per cent. of the imports and exports of the United States was carried in American vessels, in 1870 the percentage was only 33.1; in 1880, 22.9; in 1890, 16.7; and in 1902, 12.1.
The growth of railway mileage since 1830 is shown in the following table, compiled from the
