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| Sailing Ship Columbia lower deck historical displays recreate 18th century living quarters. |
This month we are disembarking the Disney Cruise Line at Disneyland Resort. Our first excursion into the Frontierland of Disneyland Park takes us back out on open waters—OK, maybe not-so-open waters—aboard a full-scale replica of the first American vessel to circumnavigate the globe.
The original Columbia Rediviva left Boston Harbor in 1787 to “carry the Stars and Stripes around the World.” It returned to port after three years, charting 41,899 nautical miles. The ship made two voyages to the Pacific Northwest under the command of Captain Robert Gray, on mission to barter manufactured goods for sea otter pelts. Those, in turn, would be traded across the ocean in China for silk, spices, tea, and porcelain.
In the spring of 1792, Gray took the Columbia across the bar and entered “a large river of fresh water, up which we steered.” There they discovered very civil native tribes, collecting nearly 1,000 otter, beaver, and other furs he then sold to China for $21,404.00. (This large river was named after the ship, being called “Columbia’s River,” and eventually the Columbia River.)
Columbia Redivia Specifications: 
A full-rigged three-masted ship (foremast, mainmast, mizzenmast [aft of the mainmast])
Length: 83 feet, 6 inches
Beam (width), 24 feet, 2 inches
Draft (depth below waterline), 11 feet
Burthen (capacity), 213 tons
Crew, 16-18 minimum; 30-31 maximum
Built in 1787 (or rebuilt; the word rediviva means “revived”), Plymouth, Massachusetts
Decommissioned October 15, 1806, and salvaged
*Photo and information via LewisandClark.org.
Disneyland’s Columbia is not in the business of fur trading, although it does journey past a beaver dam in progress and a Native American village on the banks of the Rivers of America. However, the vessel is a fine example of Imagineer devotion to accuracy of design. Just as Disney Cruise Line’s fleet reflects the splendor of majestic predecessors, Columbia replicates its namesake with impeccable authenticity. A little imagination combined with historical records, as maritime expert Ray Wallace recreated the ship’s blueprints based on a single surviving sketch of the ship. Admiral Joe Fowler directed the design, and the Columbia Rediviva was once again revived! Disneyland’s Sailing Ship Columbia launched in June 1958.
The Sailing Ship Columbia sails only during daylight hours; after dark it is used in Fantasmic! to showcase a swordfight between Peter Pan and Captain Hook.
Today’s Takeaway:
Captain Gray and his crew bartered with the Native Americans. Simply put, they exchanged goods without exchanging money. This system worked well in the past when there existed no inter-cultural monetary equivalent. To obtain goods or services from a merchant, the purchaser would trade an item of similar value. Modern currency has long since replaced the barter system in most established cultures. Bartering still occurs, but not in the large-scale market system.
Establish a bartering system in your home. What goods and/or services can be exchanged? For example, can your teenager weed the garden in exchange for a trip to the movies with a friend? Have your students chart a list of goods and/or services and assign a fair value to each. Apply the barter system to the listed items for one month. Is this system fair? Is it effective? Is it efficient?
SCHOOL SUBJECT: History/Economics
SKILL LEVEL: High School
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