Lesson plan
Taeping
The Taeping was a tea clipper built in 1863 by Robert Steele & Company of Greenock and owned by Captain Alexander Rodger of Cellardyke, Fife. Over her career, Taeping was the first clipper to dock in London in three different tea seasons. This compares with the highly successful , who won the "premium" in four separate tea seasons. Taeping was one of the front runners in the very close Great Tea Race of 1866. Despite being ten minutes ahead of Taeping at Deal, Taeping docked 28 minutes before Ariel as she did not need to wait so long for the tide to rise to allow entry to her dock and it was whoever docked first that was the winner. The ship's first captain was Donald MacKinnon (Dòmhnall ’ic Nèill ’ic Dhòmnaill Ruaidh) of Heanish, Tiree. He was taken ill on the outward passage to China for the 1867-68 tea season and put ashore in South Africa, where he died. The first mate, J. Dowdy took over command, remaining in that position until he moved to another clipper in 1871. Taeping was wrecked on 22 September 1871 on Ladd Reef in the South China Sea while traveling to New York.
Article summary
The Taeping was a tea clipper built in 1863 by Robert Steele & Company of Greenock and owned by Captain Alexander Rodger of Cellardyke, Fife. Over her career, Taeping was the first clipper to dock in London in three different tea seasons. This compares with the highly successful , who won the "premium" in four separate tea seasons. Taeping was one of the front runners in the very close Great Tea Race of 1866. Despite being ten minutes ahead of Taeping at Deal, Taeping docked 28 minutes before Ariel as she did not need to wait so long for the tide to rise to allow entry to her dock and it was whoever docked first that was the winner. The ship's first captain was Donald MacKinnon (Dòmhnall ’ic Nèill ’ic Dhòmnaill Ruaidh) of Heanish, Tiree. He was taken ill on the outward passage to China for the 1867-68 tea season and put ashore in South Africa, where he died. The first mate, J. Dowdy took over command, remaining in that position until he moved to another clipper in 1871. Taeping was wrecked on 22 September 1871 on Ladd Reef in the South China Sea while traveling to New York.
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Discussion questions
- Summarise the article in your own words. Which single claim would you verify first, and why?
- Which claim in this article is most likely to be revised as the sources update? How would you check its current status?
- If two sources disagreed about one of these facts, what would you need in order to trust one over the other?
Bibliography
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Key claims and bibliography are generated from the same tracked claims and sources as the article page.