The Age of Sail

Terminology was changing with the times. Terms such as Ship-of-the-Line, Man O’war, sloop, ironclad, and corvette were disappearing in favor of newer terms: Dreadnaught, Battlecruiser, cruiser, torpedo boat, (torpedo boat) destroyer, and even the feared submersible ship or submarine.

Ship-of-the-line is actually short for Ship of the line of battle, or battleship. These were always the biggest, strongest, most powerful ships of the fleet until the aircraft carrier, a post imperial age ship.

When sails were still the primary mode of propulsion, there were many different types of ships, some of which are still used today for leisure, commerce, or law enforcement like a skiff, cutter, barge, or sloop.

In imperialistic sailing era, the primary warships were (in order of size): Xebec, Schooner, Brig, sloops, corvettes, frigates, and the Ships of the Line.

By the late 1800s, the old wooden ships had been replaced by iron and steel warships. To be continued.