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Caribbean Sloop

Type Object Region Caribbean Time 1650–1670

The sloop was one of the most versatile main ship types in the 17th-century Caribbean;…

Timeline

  1. 1650–1660Barbados · Lesser AntillesBritish sugar-island colonies widely used sloops to transport sugar, rum, and slave-trade goods between islands and mainland ports; the ship type derived from Dutch and British shipbuilding traditions and was adapted to tropical waters.
  2. 1661–1666Jamaica · Greater AntillesBritish-occupied Jamaica became a Caribbean shipping hub, with sloops handling sugar exports, supply transport, and escort patrols; their shallow draft made it easy to enter river mouths and reef-strewn waters.
  3. 1667–1670Waters around Hispaniola · CaribbeanThe Second Anglo-Dutch War and pirate activity raised the risks of Caribbean shipping; the sloop's speed and maneuverability led both colonial authorities and privateers to adopt it, making it the most representative coastal transport and combat vessel of these waters.

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