History of kites

_Elsa_

Time for Elsa to get on her computer to check out the history of kites! 

‘It’s unclear when kites were invented. Many scholars believe that they were developed in China. Other evidence suggests that kites were used by cultures in Malaysia, Indonesia, and the South Pacific as fishing instruments made of natural materials like leaves and reeds. Anthropological evidence suggests that kites may have been independently developed in other areas, but these claims are not well documented.

In 450 BC, famous Chinese philosopher Mo-tse spent three years carefully crafting a wooden bird to fly on a tethered line. There is some debate on whether this reference is considered a kite.

The earliest written account of kite flying is in China in 200 BC, supporting China’s claim to the origin of the kite. The Chinese General Han Hsin of the Han Dynasty flew a kite over the walls of a city he was attacking to measure how far his army would have to tunnel to reach past the defenses.

By the 13th Century, kite flying had spread by traders from China to Korea and across Asia to India and the Middle East. Each area developed a distinctive style of kite and cultural purpose for flying them.

Spread to Europe - In the late 13th century, European explorer, Marco Polo, describes in his book (1295) kites and their man-lifting capabilities after seeing Chinese merchants using kites to determine whether a voyage would be prosperous or not. 

Kite flying spread throughout Europe between 14th and 15th Centuries with mentions by Vasco da Gama, Giovanni Della Porta, and William Shakespeare.

Sailors also brought kites back from Japan and Malaysia in the 16th and 17th centuries. Kites were regarded as curiosities at first and had little impact on European culture.

METEOROLOGICAL AND SCIENTIFIC USES - In the 18th century, kites continued to increase in popularity among children. However, it was the use of kites by physicists and meteorologists that spurred the development of kites for scientific purposes. Some of the most famous are Alexander Wilson & Thomas Melville (U-Glasgow), who made the 1st recorded weather experiments using kites in 1749, Benjamin Franklin (USA), and De Romas (France) begin conducting electrical experiments with kites in 1752-3. It wasn’t until late in the 1800s that kites were used regularly for meteorological observation.

During the 19th century, kites were used not only for scientific purposes like studying weather and understanding the atmosphere but for lifting (lifting objects like cameras, thermometers, and people) and traction (using kites to pull things like carriages). 

One of the strangest uses of kite power was developed in 1822 by George Pocock, a U.K. schoolmaster. Pocock created a carriage pulled by a pair of arch-top kites. His “char-volant” was capable of speeds of up to 20 miles per hour. The kites were flown in tandem and steered by four independent lines. Since the road toll was based on the number of horses pulling a carriage, this horseless rig was ruled exempt from road tolls because no animals were used. 

In 1903, Samuel Franklin Cody, using a train of his patented Cody Kites and a collapsible 14-foot canoe, crossed the English Channel from Calais France to Dover, England, in just under four hours.’ (Source)

Now that’s a lot of history facts! And there is more …………….

Let’s continue - More history

Start at the beginning – Let’s go fly a kite!