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I was reading an article about technological transitions, and it claimed that sailing ship technology had been stagnant for centuries before steam ships were introduced. According to this argument, clipper ships were then developed to help better compete against steam ships, and they were able to successfully do so on some long distance routes until the late 1800s (some clippers soldiered on into the 1920s).

Obviously there were some material advances over the centuries, such as the introduction of iron hulls, but could clipper ships have been developed earlier? They could have been useful scouting for battle fleets and quickly supplying information to benefit imperial control and traders and merchants looking to get an upper hand.
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