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The Empress
of China Departing New York
Departing New York, February 22, 1784
In 1784 the American revolution had
ended; the fledgling nation needed to establish its presence
in the great trading ports of the world. Robert Morris and
other daring entrepreneurs pooled resources to acquire a fast
privateer to be the first American ship to China.
360 tons and 104.2 feet long, with
a 28.4-foot beam and a 16-foot draft, she was loaded with
American ginseng root - valued as a medicine by the Chinese.
She sailed from New York's just-thawed
harbor on February 22, with great crowds cheering her as she
dropped down the Hudson River, past the tip of Manhattan,
to the open sea.
20 x 30 in. lithograph - 275 edition (remarques
available)
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