18th C. East India Company ships during monsoon season

idempotent1729

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In the late 18th century, did East India Company ships sail during the monsoon season, and in particular did they sail to/from Calcutta during the rains? I have tried to Google this and not met with much conclusive information. Any insight would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!
 

cooeedownunder

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This string in google search brings up a great deal about ships sailing during the monsson season.

East India Company ships sail during the monsoon season

One link says

Monsoon season ran from June through September, and the monsoons facilitated sailing from Batavia to India in the east and to China and Japan in the north.

Another link says Voyages were all year round, but in the monsoon season they could take longer if docking was a difficulty

 

MAS

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I've been trying to figure that out too. From what I can gather, the issue for sailing was not so much with the rain as it was the wind. From April to August, the monsoon winds blew northeast from the sea along Africa up toward India. Since the ships used sail, they could use these winds to sail toward India. From December to March, the prevailing monsoon winds blew southwest, from India toward northeast Africa, and the ships were able to sail back in that direction then. (at least that's what it says in a book I have called Trade and Civilisation in the Indian Ocean, although it only goes to 1750).

Another book I have (The Indian Ocean - catchy title, isn't it?) says that the eastern Arabian Sea off the west coast of India was subject to violent tropical storms in October and November, and that ships usually waited till December to sail west from India. In March the winds would turn and to come out of the southwest and blow toward the northeast, and then in June and July and much of August it again became too stormy to sail. The monsoon also affected the west coast of Maylasia, in the same way as it did the west coast of India. I gather that the seas east of Ceylon (Sri Lanka) tended to be becalmed at this time. Once you get as far south as the Equator, or perhaps 10 degrees south of it, the monsoon is no longer a factor.

I gather, from the weather maps in this book, that the monsoon winds also affected the east coast of India, but even if they did, I don't know whether they would be as strong. The book only mentions sailing between Calicut on the one hand (west coast of India) and Aden and Mogadishu (Arabia and Africa) on the other. So the monsoons would certainly have affected sailing from Bombay and Surat on the west coast. But I don't know how much effect they would have had on shipping from Calcutta or Madras.
 
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idempotent1729

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Hi Cooee and MAS! Thank you both so much! This is really helpful information. I might try to get a look at the maps in those books you describe, MAS - very interesting.
 

benbenberi

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I've been trying to figure that out too. From what I can gather, the issue for sailing was not so much with the rain as it was the wind. From April to August, the monsoon winds blew northeast from the sea along Africa up toward India. Since the ships used sail, they could use these winds to sail toward India. From December to March, the prevailing monsoon winds blew southwest, from India toward northeast Africa, and the ships were able to sail back in that direction then. (at least that's what it says in a book I have called Trade and Civilisation in the Indian Ocean, although it only goes to 1750).

Another book I have (The Indian Ocean - catchy title, isn't it?) says that the eastern Arabian Sea off the west coast of India was subject to violent tropical storms in October and November, and that ships usually waited till December to sail west from India. In March the winds would turn and to come out of the southwest and blow toward the northeast, and then in June and July and much of August it again became too stormy to sail.

I'm under the impression that, certainly by the 18c and probably much earlier, the factor that mattered to sailing ships was not so much the direction of the wind but its strength & predictability. On the open sea ships could set their sails & adjust their course to take advantage of any breeze to get where they wanted -- if the wind was strong in the wrong direction, it would just take you longer to get there, and you'd build that into your plans. (Getting in and out of a harbor or going through narrow/rocky passages, the direction of the wind might be more critical -- ships might be stuck in harbor for weeks because of it.) The main thing was that the wind should be steady, not shifting or stormy, and not likely to suddenly drop away and leave you becalmed.

So the monsoon winds were a good thing for sailing. Since the exact timing varied from year to year, you'd need your schedule to be flexible enough to wait for it.
 

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I might try to get a look at the maps in those books you describe, MAS - very interesting.

FWIW, they are: The Indian Ocean by Michael Pearson (2003) and ​Trade and Civilization in the Indian Ocean, An Economic History from the Rise of Islam to 1750 by K. N. Chaudhuri (1985). I just checked www.abebooks.com and they have several copies of each available. Not sure they'll give you what you're looking for, though. There was also a google book that came up in the search that Cooee suggested, I think it was from the 1870's but it contained sailing schedules, and how to catch various currents in the Indian Ocean at different times of the year. But I don't know whether that will be helpful either, since the real issue was whether they could survive the storms. By 1878 the steamships probably could, but I don't know about the sailing ships.
 
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idempotent1729

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I'm under the impression that, certainly by the 18c and probably much earlier, the factor that mattered to sailing ships was not so much the direction of the wind but its strength & predictability. On the open sea ships could set their sails & adjust their course to take advantage of any breeze to get where they wanted -- if the wind was strong in the wrong direction, it would just take you longer to get there, and you'd build that into your plans. (Getting in and out of a harbor or going through narrow/rocky passages, the direction of the wind might be more critical -- ships might be stuck in harbor for weeks because of it.) The main thing was that the wind should be steady, not shifting or stormy, and not likely to suddenly drop away and leave you becalmed.

So the monsoon winds were a good thing for sailing. Since the exact timing varied from year to year, you'd need your schedule to be flexible enough to wait for it.

Thanks, benbenberi! That definitely makes sense, since tacking is always an option. The points you make here seem to corroborate the second quote that Cooee turned up. Very helpful!

- - - Updated - - -

FWIW, they are: The Indian Ocean by Michael Pearson (2003) and ​Trade and Civilization in the Indian Ocean, An Economic History from the Rise of Islam to 1750 by K. N. Chaudhuri (1985). I just checked www.abebooks.com and they have several copies of each available. Not sure they'll give you what you're looking for, though. There was also a google book that came up in the search that Cooee suggested, I think it was from the 1870's but it contained sailing schedules, and how to catch various currents in the Indian Ocean at different times of the year. But I don't know whether that will be helpful either, since the real issue was whether they could survive the storms. By 1878 the steamships probably could, but I don't know about the sailing ships.

Thanks, MAS!
 

writbeyondmeasure

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Monsoon winds are predominantly onshore since the monsoon is basically just a giant sea-breeze. So the monsoon would aid sailing to Calcutta. Also, during monsoon season it doesn't rain the entire time there are active and break periods during the season. Then there's the MJO (Madden-Julien Oscillation) which can cause strong westerly winds and rain in the Indian Ocean when active.
 

idempotent1729

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Monsoon winds are predominantly onshore since the monsoon is basically just a giant sea-breeze. So the monsoon would aid sailing to Calcutta. Also, during monsoon season it doesn't rain the entire time there are active and break periods during the season. Then there's the MJO (Madden-Julien Oscillation) which can cause strong westerly winds and rain in the Indian Ocean when active.

Thanks, writbeyondmeasure! I had never heard of the Madden-Julien Oscillation - very interesting!!
 

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In the late 18th century, did East India Company ships sail during the monsoon season, and in particular did they sail to/from Calcutta during the rains? I have tried to Google this and not met with much conclusive information. Any insight would be greatly appreciated! Thanks!

Hi again, Idempotent1729. Just found the following in another book (What Life was Like in the Jewel of the Crown). "A round trip voyage to India typically took a year and a half, including time spent unloading and loading goods and waiting for favorable winds. Ships usually left England in fall or winter and arrived in India -- if all went well -- about six months later, ahead of the monsoons that usually began in June. The ships then left India early in the new year to catch the trade winds around the Cape of Good Hope and avoid arriving in England in winter."

The above relates to trips in the early 1700's and I don't know how applicable it is to the late 18th century. But I thought you might find it helpful.
 

idempotent1729

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Hi again, Idempotent1729. Just found the following in another book (What Life was Like in the Jewel of the Crown). "A round trip voyage to India typically took a year and a half, including time spent unloading and loading goods and waiting for favorable winds. Ships usually left England in fall or winter and arrived in India -- if all went well -- about six months later, ahead of the monsoons that usually began in June. The ships then left India early in the new year to catch the trade winds around the Cape of Good Hope and avoid arriving in England in winter."

The above relates to trips in the early 1700's and I don't know how applicable it is to the late 18th century. But I thought you might find it helpful.

I just saw this - thank you!! This is very helpful - I doubt much would have changed between the beginning and end of the 18th century, since sailing ships were still 100% reliant on the wind. Thanks again for posting!
 

benbenberi

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I just saw this - thank you!! This is very helpful - I doubt much would have changed between the beginning and end of the 18th century, since sailing ships were still 100% reliant on the wind. Thanks again for posting!

The major change in navigation during the 18th century, of course, was the development of a technique for ships to accurately determine their longitude as well as latitude, which took a lot of the guesswork out of long ocean voyages. But that may not have had any impact on how these voyages were planned or scheduled.
 

idempotent1729

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The major change in navigation during the 18th century, of course, was the development of a technique for ships to accurately determine their longitude as well as latitude, which took a lot of the guesswork out of long ocean voyages. But that may not have had any impact on how these voyages were planned or scheduled.

Good point! I love Dava Sobel's book LONGITUDE about the development of marine chronometers...