Vintage Images Of Horse Carriages
The First Chariots
The wheel was invented before records began, meaning, nobody can ever be certain when the first wheel was invented and by whom. In previous history, early academic sources had credited the invention of the wheel to the ancient Mesopotamian civilization between about 3500 BC - 3350 BC. But recent scientific evidence has emerged which indicates that the first wheel could have been invented in a region of ancient Eastern Europe, but this most recent theory has sparked several mixed opinions from amongst current academics. The revolutionary wheel initiated various inventions including chariots and horse-drawn carts, but in respect to precisely where, and when the first chariots appeared, the best that current scientists can ascertain are probabilities. However, according to some archaeological evidence, the first horse-drawn chariots date back to ancient times to between roughly 3,000 BC - 2500 BC, nevertheless, due to recent scientific discoveries relating to this topic, some modern academics are in disagreement as to whether or not the chariot was invented by ancient civilizations such as Mesopotamia, Egypt, Iran, China, or according to recent scientific revelations, from a region within ancient Eastern Europe. The first chariots were basic two-wheeled, open-ended, light weight structures, that were built to carry one or two standing passengers and driven by one or two horses. It is widely thought by most historians that due to the first chariot's swift and versatile steering manoeuvrability, they were used to revolutionize ancient warfare. In addition, chariots were once used in ceremonial processions during ancient festivals, and such vehicles were also utilized in so-called bloodsports, such as hunting dangerous wild animals, alternatively, chariots were sometimes used within ancient gladiatorial arenas, where combatants once competed to the death egged on by baying bloodthirsty spectators.The Battle Of Kadesh (1274)
One of the greatest wars in Egyptian history occurred during the new kingdom of ancient Egypt, at the Battle of Kadesh, in 1274 BC. The long-standing adversaries were the Egyptian Empire, which was led by Pharaoh Ramesses II, against the Hittite Empire, led by King Muwatalli II. The bold incursion into enemy territory, by Ramesses II, was an attempt to wrest Syria from the Hittites and reclaim the highly prized city of Kadesh, which at that time was the centre of lucrative trade deals and great wealth. The two armies engaged in one of the fiercest battles in the history of the Middle East, which had taken place along the Orontes River, close to Kadesh, a region that is now present-day Lebanon-Seria border. According to Egyptian chronology, there were about 5,000 - 6,000 manned chariots utilized during the bloody feud, and this event is said to be the largest chariot battle in recorded history. In the midst of the conflict, King Ramesses II and his special troops was taken by surprise, when they were tactically outmanoeuvred and then surrounded by overwhelming forces of enemy soldiers, and when death seemed a certainty for the besieged Egyptian King, he gambled bravely, by leading a well-timed charge with his personal bodyguards, which momentarily breached the encirclement of Hittite forces, whereby he made a remarkable escape. The war persisted for most of the day, after which both kings finally claimed an honourable victory, and then commanded their armies to retreatuntil, however, ultimately the Battle of Kadesh was later adjudged to be a stalemate.Ancient Chinese Chariots
In China archaeological evidence of ancient chariots was found in Anyang city, Henan province, in 1933, and the artifacts that were discovered date back to the rule of King Wu Ding of the Shang dynasty (1250 BC - 1192 BC). The ancient Chinese employed horse-drawn carriages, ox carts, and wheelbarrows as standard transportation vehicles, but also popular in that era were exquisitely designed passenger carriages that were a mode of transport for the Chinese nobility. Ancient China's use of chariots is thought to have reached its peak between the 8th and 5th centuries BC. Since horses was not native to China, originally, they were imported into ancient China from the Eurasian steppe, and then later from other nations, some of China's oldest equine breeds that were used to drive chariots, as well as other types of work, included, the Guoxia horse, Chaidamu horse, Jinjiang horse, the Chinese Mongolian horse, and the Hequ horse also known as the Nanfan horse. Ancient Chinese chariots were typically two-wheeled vehicles drawn by two or four horses harnessed to a single draught pole system, which later evolved into a more versatile curved shaft system that was easier for carriage horses to haul, and horse chariots were mainly used as a war instrument for attack and pursuit, starting from about the Shang dynasty (1250 BC). Interestingly, before the Han dynasty (206 BC - 202 CE), the power of ancient Chinese states and dynasties were determined by the quantity of chariots and horses that each state had accumulated, namely, a dominion with hundreds of chariots was assessed as a medium powered state, whereas, a dominion which possessed several thousand chariots was classed as a highly powerful state. In ancient times, Chinese military chariots were named as attack chariots, gold chariots, and weapons chariots, respectively, and these vehicles had awarded military commanders with more versatility to mobilize their armies with greater efficiency, as a result, the speed and mobility of chariots changed military strategy in that era. Because chariots and horses played a significant role in ancient China, from early life it was tradition for many Chinese citizens from that era, including aristocrats, to employ much time and energy to become highly skilled horse riders. Moreover, the six ancient Chinese classical arts that were taught to privileged university students at that time, included, the rites, music, archery, riding, mathematics, and calligraphy, also, the art and sophistication of charioteering, had also comprised a long tradition of popular sporting events, such as chariot racing and hunting.English Stagecoaches
Stagecoaches originated in England around the 13th century. It is said that a mysterious English manuscript was discovered in the 13th century, which depicted a basic blueprint of the very first stagecoach, a novel concept that was quickly seized upon, and which completely revolutionized the streets of Britain. The first stagecoaches began to grace the ancient roads of England from about the early 16th century. They were designed with a fixed roof top and an internal chamber with seats to accommodate at least four people. The cabin apartment had two windows and doors situated on the left and right-side sections, in addition, there was a conveniently positioned large luggage area at the back of the vehicle. The original stagecoaches driven on four wheels, the front carriage wheels were usually smaller than the two rear wheels, this was to facilitate better steering around sharp cornered roads, especially because in those days, many road surfaces were very uneven and treacherous to journey upon, and old roads in Britain were not maintained. Most stagecoaches were driven by four horses, sometimes referred to as a quadriga, a Latin derivative, meaning, a team of four horses. However, teams of six horse carriages also became popular, particularly over greater distances. The two horses harnessed closest to the coachman were called the wheelers, and their task was to stabilize the coach, these horses were usually the slowest, sturdiest and strongest of the team of six, meanwhile, the middle pair was called the swing team and they were best suited with circumventing difficult corners, meanwhile, the front pair of horses were called the leaders, because they were the most agile or fleet-footed of the team, and the typical speed of a stagecoach at that time was approximately 5 to 8 miles an hour.
The Turnpike Road Act (1706)
In Old England, the early road formations were crude structures with uneven terrain which were difficult to traverse across, but there was also the issue of increasing road traffic, and mountains of horse manure amassing across the streets of Britain. As a result, the British parliament enacted a body of representatives from members of the elite classes called a Trust (not-for-profit organisation), and this new body was given the authority to build, maintain, and operate toll roads across Britain, this new law was called the Turnpike Act of 1663. The word turnpike, originated from Middle English, turnen, meaning, to cause to turn, and the word pike, meaning, a sharp-tipped object, the derivative, turnpike, later became standardized to define a large gate that partitioned a section of a road. The turnpike policy compelled horse carriage services to pay a fee or toll amount to travel over sections of roads across Britian. The first such Act, in 1663, turnpiked the Great North Road between Wadesmill in Hertfordshire and Stilton in Huntingdonshire. The next enactment occurred in 1695, between Shenfield and Harwich, and then several such Acts was enforced across Briton's roads over the ensuing years. The British parliament introduced the Turnpike Road Act, in 1706, which was a far more comprehensive policy to charge or levy tolls on road users and stagecoach passenger services. This tax was used for extensive maintenance, expansion, and improvements on roads across the United Kingdom. Prior to the advent of railways, the Road Act was acknowledged as an important first step towards the evolution of the complex transport network system that currently exists in Britain today.
The Dreaded Highwaymen
The term 'highwayman' is thought to have originated in England in 1617. However, following the English Civil War (1642 - 1651), the term became ubiquitous, when royalist officers who were disaffected because they were unskilled in a trade and unable to find a suitable job, instead turned to robbing passengers on stagecoaches in order to support themselves, since it was already common knowledge that stagecoaches harboured wealthy individuals. Although many highwaymen were said to be ruthless bloodthirsty individuals, on certain occasions some gained a reputation for demonstrating politeness and gentlemanly behaviour towards their unfortunate victims, while robbing them of their possessions. Claude Du Duval (1643 - 1670) was an infamous French highwayman, who resided in England and allegedly had expressed uncommon chivalry towards many of his victims. In that era some people admiringly alluding to such villains as, knights of the road, and gentlemen of the road, but in reality, many highwaymen were far from honourable, on the contrary, they were seen as violent thugs, who preyed upon the weak. In Britain during the early 18th century stagecoaches were increasingly targeted by dangerous highwaymen, who were usually armed with pistols and concealed their faces by wearing black masks. Over the course of time, highwaymen became infamous for using the phrase, stand and deliver. One of the most infamous and ruthless highwaymen in history was an English criminal known as Dick Turpin, born Richard Turpin (born 1705- died 1739). During his early career, Turpin gained employment as a butcher, before eventually turning to criminality. In the early 1730s, Dick Turpin joined a violent group of robbers called the Essex gang, who were also known as the Gregory gang, and they became notorious for a trail of death and destruction left in their wake across the county of Essex, in east England, ultimately, the gang members were hunted down and either ruthlessly killed or captured and then sentenced to death by the local authorities. After Dick Turpin's demise in 1739, due to his adventurous reputation, he became an object of romantic inspiration for many would-be creative writers, who had attempted to paint him as a semi-heroic figure.American Stagecoaches
In the United States, the first recorded stagecoach journey occurred on 13 May 1718, the journey was undertaken between Boston, in Massachusetts and Providence, in Rhode Island, and the stagecoach in question was owned by a man called Jonathan Wardwell. This historic event marked the start of a transportation revolution for passengers and mail services across the USA. The history of the stagecoach evolution in America became synonymous with the societal changes in people's travel habits, which led to inspired technical innovations that partly contributed to the industrial revolution within America, as well as population growth and urbanisation. The first regular horse-drawn stagecoach passenger services were limited to New England, which is a region comprising six states that is situated in the northeastern corner of the United States, namely, Main, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Rhode Island. Moreover, the nation's insatiable appetite for travel services increased exponentially, meaning by 1756, a network of stagecoach road routs had developed across other major cities of America. As a result, by the late 18th century, post riders were replaced by mail coaches, as horse-drawn coaches had provided a more secure and better economical solution for mail and cargo deliveries across the USA. The Concord coach company was an American horse carriage service that became one of the most successful stagecoach organisations in the United States. The Concord coach company was founded by coach-builder J. Stephen Abbot and Lewis Downing, in Concord, New Hampshire, in 1827. In the same year, Concord dramatically changed the standards for stagecoach services, when it introduced a new system by way of leather straps or thoroughbraces which were constructed beneath stagecoach carriages, this innovation created a swinging motion whilst the pear-shaped carriage was in transit, and was scientifically created to absorb the sporadic shock action of carriages as they were in motion over uneven terrain, resulting in a far more pleasant journey for passengers. Importantly, Concord was the first US stagecoach service to successful combine and provide three types of public services, namely, stage coaching, mail coaching, and coaching inns. Before the advent of the railways people had very few choices by which to travel, therefore, Concord stagecoach services were seen as the vanguard of travel services in the US at that moment. In later years, other prominent American stagecoach and mail services emerged, such as, the Butterfield Overland Mail (1857-1861), founded by John Butterfield, and Wells Fargo, which was founded in 1852, by Henry Wells and William G Fargo. Originally, Wells Fargo began as a financial service (currently one of America's largest multinationals) as well as a passenger and mail carriage service. Interestingly, years before John Butterfield started Butterfield Overland Mail, Henry Wells, William G Fargo, and John Butterfield merged their businesses to form American Express, which began as a freight forwarding company, and in that era, its main source of business was the express delivery of packages, goods, and currency, with a combined network of railway express and horse carriage routes that extended from the East Coast to Minnesota, USA.Coach Inns: The Golden Age
The late 18th century witnessed the ‘Golden Age’ of coach inns, sometimes referred to as station inns, or taverns, in that era those establishments flourished as they became the earliest focal points for the emergence of modern transport systems. Coach inns offered multiple services, namely, hot meals and beverages, overnight lodgings for coach passengers, and connected horse stables for carriage horses, normally distinguished by prominent archways which allowed the stagecoaches to proceed through to a horse stable yard, normally situated behind the coaching inns, and which were maintained by hostlers (archaic term), who were known as traditional stablemen. Ancient taverns and coach inns eventually initiated huge purpose-built business complexes with shops and storage facilities that were situated alongside major roads in towns and cities across the nation, such infrastructures were sometimes said to be the birth places for the first shopping centres. Importantly, since there were very few public places where ordinary people could go to socialize, taverns and coach inns served as convenient venues for people to mingle, including travellers, tradesmen, academics, writers, and politicians, moreover, such venues were seen as a melting pot where different social classes fraternized within a cordial and relaxed atmosphere. Once upon a time, such venues were sometimes seen as a place of refuge for those seeking to rekindle their spirits after facing the trials and tribulations within their daily lives.Bygone Era Working Horses
During the horse carriage age, equines were perceived as part of the essential mechanism that drove economies across the world. Owning good healthy working horses was seen as one of the primary assets in many businesses aiming to build a successful profitable enterprise. A pioneer of modern livestock breeding was a notable English agriculturist called Robert Bakewell (born 1725-died 1795), who is remembered as the first person in history to implement systematic selective breeding of livestock, importantly, Robert Bakewell became the first scientist to breed the black cart horse, also known as the shire horse, which is a British breed of draught horse, usually black, but they are also bay or grey in colour. A draft horse or draught horse, also known as carthorses, dray horses, work horses, or heavy-duty horses, are large powerful horses that are bred specifically to be obedient diligent and reliable working animals. There are numerous breeds of equines with varying characteristics, but all draught horses share common traits of exceptional physical strength, great stamina, patience, and possess a submissive temperament. Between the 16th - 19th centuries draught horses were used for a multitude of purposes including, hauling freight, carrying coal and rocks from old coal mines, undertaking various heavy-duty agricultural tasks on farms such as ploughing fields, additionally, these special horse breeds were ideal as stagecoach or carriage horses. In an era when horsepower was all the rage, some of the most popular breeds were the Percheron, Belgian Draught, Clydesdale, Dutch Draft, American Cream Draft, Suffolk Punch, and the Friesian horse.
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Written by Star_gazer
Published 19 June 2021