Editing History of Bermuda (section)

===Shipbuilding and the maritime economy===
[[File:Bermuda_rig_-_17th_Century_woodcut.jpg|thumb|A 17th-century woodcut of a Bermudian sailing vessel, displaying the triangular sails of the [[Bermuda rig]].]]
{{main article|Bermuda sloop}}

With royal administration commencing under [[Charles II of England|Charles II]] in 1683, and the end of company control in 1684, the island was able to change the basis of its economy from tobacco to maritime enterprises. The maritime economy included ship building, [[wrecking (shipwreck)|wrecking]], whaling, piloting and fishing in local waters. The population at that time consisted of 5889 whites and 1737 slaves. While Tobacco ceased to be a commercial crop by 1710, Bermuda's fleet had grown from fourteen vessels in 1679 to sixty sloops, six brigantines and four ships in 1700.<ref name=Jarvis/>{{rp|60–67,101,106,247}}<ref name=Wilkinson/>{{rp|280,328}}

These "Bermuda sloops" had their origin in the ship Jacob Jacobson first built after becoming shipwrecked on the island in 1619, and were based on craft sailing on the [[Zuiderzee]] and the Dutch coastal [[sloep]]. These [[sailplan#two-masted vessel|two-masted vessel]]s, with the mast "raked" or inclined 15&nbsp;degrees aft, carried [[fore-and-aft rig]]s of triangular [[Bermuda sail]]s. Large [[mainsail]]s were fixed to elongated [[boom (sailing)|booms]], giving the sloop a large sail area for maximum speed, averaging 3 knots, but known to exceed 5 knots. Finally, these sloops were especially adept at [[tacking (sailing)|sailing into the wind]], maneuvering, and [[close-hauled]] sailing.<ref name=Jarvis/>{{rp|125–130}}<ref name=Wilkinson/>{{rp|348}}

Smaller vessels were originally built for local use, fishing and hauling freight and passengers about the archipelago. By the 1630s, with dwindling income from tobacco exports, largely due to increased competition as the Virginia and newer colonies in the West Indies turned to tobacco cultivation, many of the absentee landowners in England sold their shares to the managers and tenants that occupied them, who turned increasingly to subsistence crops and raising livestock. Bermuda was quickly producing more food than it could consume, and began to sell the excess to the newer colonies that were cultivating tobacco to the exclusion of food crops required for their own subsistence. As the Somers Isles Company's magazine ship would not carry such cargo, Bermudians began constructing their own larger, ocean-going vessels for this purpose. They favoured single-masted designs, more commonly with a gaff-rigged mainsail, although a single larger sail required a larger, more highly skilled, crew than two or more smaller sails.

The sloops were built from [[Bermuda cedar]], considered the best wood for shipping, according to Bermuda Governor Isaac Richier in 1691. This is because this cedar was as strong as [[American oak]], yet weighed only two thirds as much. Long lasting due to its resistance to marine organisms, the cedar also had the advantage of being readily used for ship building, and were even planned as such while still growing. Using enslaved and free labor and year-round construction, a 30-ton sloop could be built in three to four months. Bermudians also adopted a reforestation policy, with groves cultivated as long-term crops, and passed down to future generations as dowries or inheritances.<ref name=Jarvis/>{{rp|89–90,125–130,277–278}}

The [[Bermuda sloop]] became highly regarded for its speed and manoeuvrability, and was soon adapted for service with the [[Royal Navy]]. The Bermuda sloop {{HMS|Pickle|1800|6}} carried dispatches of the victory at [[Battle of Trafalgar|Trafalgar]], and news of the death of [[Admiral Lord Nelson|Admiral Nelson]], to England.