Clipper Ships (Industry)

Clipper ships demonstrate selection pressure reversal and fitness landscape shifts. Dominant in 1850 transoceanic trade (20+ knot speeds, premium cargo routes), clippers were optimized for speed when fresh tea/opium delivery commanded premiums and wind was free. When the Suez Canal opened (1869), coal stations proliferated, and cargo volume became more valuable than speed, clipper ships - optimized for the previous environment - became obsolete within 45 years.