The Fabulous Flotilla: Scotland's Adventure on the Rivers of Burma

The ‘Fabulous Flotilla', called the Irrawaddy Flotilla Company in colonial Burma, was the largest privately-owned fleet of ships in the world. It was an entirely Scottish enterprise with nearly all its investors, management and ship's officers drawn from Scotland. Over 1,200 ships were ordered mainly from Clyde yards and each year carried the majority of the population of Burma on its river network without loss of life. The paddle steamers were amongst the largest in the world, innovative i...