169-546: SS Kronprinzessin Cecilie was an ocean liner built in Stettin, Germany in 1906 for North German Lloyd that had the largest steam reciprocating machinery ever fitted in a ship. The last of four ships of the Kaiser class , she was also the last German ship to have been built with four funnels . She was engaged in transatlantic service between her home port of Bremen and New York until
338-800: A cargo liner or cargo-passenger liner. The advent of the Jet Age and the decline in transoceanic ship service brought about a gradual transition from passenger ships to modern cruise ships as a means of transportation. In order for ocean liners to remain profitable, cruise lines modified some of them to operate on cruise routes, such as the SS ; France . Certain characteristics of older ocean liners made them unsuitable for cruising, such as high fuel consumption, deep draught preventing them from entering shallow ports, and cabins (often windowless) designed to maximize passenger numbers rather than comfort. The Italian Line 's SS Michelangelo and SS Raffaello ,
507-510: A commerce raider . The torpedoing and sinking of Lusitania on 7 May 1915 caused the loss of 128 American lives at a time when the United States was still neutral. Although other factors came into play, the loss of American lives in the sinking strongly pushed the United States to favour the Allied Powers and facilitated the country's entry into the war. The losses of the liners owned by
676-469: A hot air balloon for the first time in human history; this extraordinary feat which represented a turning point in human civilization was done by Jean-François Pilâtre de Rozier . On 27 April 1784, Pierre Beaumarchais 's play The Marriage of Figaro premiered in Paris. Initially banned by the king due to its negative portrayal of the nobility, the play was finally allowed to be publicly performed because of
845-509: A U-boat when tugs tried to tow her to safety. Out of all the innovative and glamorous inter-war superliners, only the Cunard Queens and Europa would survive the war. After the war, some ships were again transferred from the defeated nations to the winning nations as war reparations. This was the case of the Europa , which was ceded to France and renamed Liberté . The United States government
1014-470: A comfortable 23 knots (43 km/h; 26 mph). In 1907 Wiegard trusted Eduard Scotland and Alfred Runge with the interior design of the ship. They designed luxury cabins where the beds would convert to sofas and the washstands would convert into tables. All of the metalwork was gilded ; the surfaces were generally white while the wooden surfaces of violet amaranth were inlaid with agate, ivory and citron wood. First-Class passengers had access to
1183-530: A competition between world powers of the time, especially between the United Kingdom , the German Empire , and to a lesser extent France . Once the dominant form of travel between continents, ocean liners were rendered largely obsolete by the emergence of long-distance aircraft after World War II . Advances in automobile and railway technology also played a role. After Queen Elizabeth 2 was retired in 2008,
1352-496: A conflict rich in events involving liners. From the start of the conflict, German liners were requisitioned and many were turned into barracks ships. It was in the course of this activity that the Bremen caught fire while under conversion for Operation Sea Lion and was scrapped in 1941. During the conflict, Queen Elizabeth and Queen Mary provided distinguished service as troopships. Many liners were sunk with great loss of life; in
1521-503: A cruise ship over the years and was in active service for Cruise & Maritime Voyages until operations ceased in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic . In August, 2021 she was purchased by Brock Pierce to be transformed into a hotel along with MV Funchal . These plans were ultimately abandoned and the ship was again made available for sale, never having left port in Rotterdam. Astoria
1690-526: A dry berthed luxury hotel on Bintan Island , Indonesia. Post-war ocean liners still existent include MV Astoria (1948), United States (1952), MV Brazil Maru (1954), Rotterdam (1958), MV Funchal (1961), MS Ancerville (1962), Queen Elizabeth 2 (1967), and Queen Mary 2 (2003). Out of these eight ocean liners, only one is still active and three of them have since been preserved. The Rotterdam has been moored in Rotterdam as
1859-445: A few former ocean liners were still in existence; some, like SS Norway , were sailing as cruise ships while others, like Queen Mary , were preserved as museums , or laid up at pier side like SS United States . After the retirement of Queen Elizabeth 2 in 2008, the only ocean liner in service was Queen Mary 2 , built in 2003–04, used for both point-to-point line voyages and for cruises. A proposed and planned ocean liner,
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#17328733658502028-458: A fixed schedule, so must be faster and built to withstand the rough seas and adverse conditions encountered on long voyages across the open ocean. To protect against large waves they usually have a higher hull and promenade deck with higher positioning of lifeboats (the height above water called the freeboard ), as well as a longer bow than a cruise ship. Additionally, for additional strength they are often designed with thicker hull plating than
2197-525: A known conjugal visit from the King. Courtiers at Versailles noted in their diaries that the date of the child's conception corresponded perfectly with a period when the King and the Queen had spent much time together, but these details were ignored amid attacks on the Queen's character. These suspicions of illegitimacy, along with the continued publication of the libelles and never-ending cavalcades of court intrigues,
2366-406: A large bedroom with bathroom and toilet. The liner was 19,400 GRT and was 215.29 metres (706 ft 4 in) length overall, 208.89 metres (685 ft 4 in) length between perpendiculars, by 22.00 metres (72 ft 2 in) abeam . She had four reciprocating, quadruple-expansion steam engines , two per shaft. There were two screw propellers . Kronprinzessin Cecilie sailed at
2535-425: A large portion of the population of cities and built hulls, machines, furnitures and lifeboats. Among the other well-known British shipyards were Swan, Hunter & Wigham Richardson , the builder of RMS Mauretania , and John Brown & Company , builders of RMS Lusitania , RMS Aquitania , RMS Queen Mary , Queen Elizabeth , and Queen Elizabeth 2 . Germany had many shipyards on
2704-462: A makeover to bring her more in line with the fashion of French royalty. This included the straightening of her teeth by a French dentist, the diversification of her wardrobe, and hairstyles reminiscent of Madame de Pompadour . She was also instructed by Jean-Georges Noverre , who taught her to walk in the gliding fashion characteristic of the court of Versailles. Following the Seven Years' War and
2873-651: A miscarriage. In 1783 the Queen played a decisive role in the nomination of Charles Alexandre de Calonne , a close friend of the Polignacs , as Controller-General of Finances , and of the Baron de Breteuil as the Minister of the Royal Household, making him perhaps the strongest and most conservative minister of the reign. The result of these two nominations was that Marie Antoinette's influence became paramount in government, and
3042-566: A museum and hotel since 2008, while the Queen Elizabeth 2 has been a floating luxury hotel and museum at Mina Rashid, Dubai since 2018. The Ancerville was refurbished as a hotel for use at the Sea World development in Shenzhen, China in 1984. The first of these, Astoria (originally the ocean liner MS Stockholm, which collided with Andrea Doria in 1956 ) has been rebuilt and refitted as
3211-634: A museum ship, since 1961. Queen Mary (1934) was preserved in 1967 after her retirement, and became a museum/hotel in Long Beach, California . In the 1970s, SS Great Britain (1843) was also preserved, and now resides in Bristol , England as another museum. The latest ship to undergo preservation is MV Doulos (1914). While originally being a cargo ship, it served as the Italian ocean liner Franca C. for Costa Lines from 1952 to 1959, and in 2010 it became
3380-460: A result of all these fashion activities, Marie Antoinette presided over one of the most important and fashionable courts in history and she was dominant over all of the other ladies of the court; as for her bearing and appearance the queen was very majestic and charismatic in spite of the fact that she gained much weight over the years due to her many pregnancies. By the time of the Flour War of 1775,
3549-451: A rustic retreat built by her favoured architect, Richard Mique , according to the designs of the painter Hubert Robert . Its creation, however, caused another uproar when its cost became widely known. However, the hamlet was not an eccentricity of Marie Antoinette's. It was en vogue at the time for nobles to have recreations of small villages on their properties. In fact, the design was copied from that of Louis Joseph, Prince of Condé . It
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#17328733658503718-529: A screw propeller was SS Great Britain , a creation of Brunel. Her career was disastrous and short. She was run aground and stranded at Dundrum Bay in 1846. In 1884, she was retired to the Falkland Islands where she was used as a warehouse, quarantine ship, and coal hulk until she was scuttled in 1937. The American company Collins Line took a different approach. It equipped its ships with cold rooms, heating systems, and various other innovations but
3887-533: A series of riots, due to the high price of flour and bread, had damaged her reputation among the general public. Eventually, Marie Antoinette's reputation was no better than that of the favourites of previous kings. Many French people were beginning to blame her for the degrading economic situation, suggesting the country's inability to pay off its debt was the result of her wasting the crown's money. In her correspondence, Marie Antoinette's mother, Maria Theresa, expressed concern over her daughter's spending habits, citing
4056-505: A set route are called "line voyages" and vessels (passenger or cargo) trading on these routes to a timetable are called liners. The alternative to liner trade is "tramping" whereby vessels are notified on an ad hoc basis as to the availability of a cargo to be transported. (In older usage, "liner" also referred to ships of the line , that is, line-of-battle ships, but that usage is now rare.) The term "ocean liner" has come to be used interchangeably with "passenger liner", although it can refer to
4225-522: A smoking room, music room, reading, library and writing room, bookshop, and two "Vienna Cafés" decorated in the Louis XVI style . One café was for smokers and the other ladies-only. The smokers' café had an open-air section which could be enclosed in bad weather by bronze and glass doors. The ladies' café was modeled after the boudoir of Marie Antoinette at the Palace of Fontainebleau . The First-class smoking room
4394-516: A speed of 27 knots. Their records seemed unbeatable, and most shipping companies abandoned the race for speed in favor of size, luxury, and safety. The advent of ships with diesel engines, and of those whose engines were oil-burning, such as the Bremen , in the early 1930s, relaunched the race for the Blue Riband . The Normandie won it in 1935 before being snatched by RMS Queen Mary in 1938. It
4563-552: A steamship was capable of crossing the ocean, the public was not yet prepared to trust such means of travel on the open sea, and, in 1820, the steam engine was removed from the vessel. Work on this technology continued and a new step was taken in 1833. Royal William managed to cross the Atlantic by using steam power on most of the voyage; sail was used only when the boilers were cleaned. There were still many skeptics, and in 1836, scientific writer Dionysius Lardner declared that: As
4732-467: A swimming pool. In the 1920s, SS Paris was the first liner to offer a movie theatre. The British and the German shipyards were the most famed in shipbuilding during the great era of ocean liners. In Ireland, Harland & Wolff shipyard of Belfast were particularly innovative and succeeded in winning the trust of many shipping companies, such as White Star Line . These gigantic shipyards employed
4901-580: A target of criticism by opponents of the domestic and foreign policies of Louis XVI, and those opposed to the monarchy in general. The French libelles accused her of being profligate, promiscuous, having illegitimate children, and harboring sympathies for France's perceived enemies, including her native Austria . She was falsely accused of defrauding the Crown's jewelers in the Affair of the Diamond Necklace , but
5070-452: A tonnage of 79,280. In 1940, RMS Queen Elizabeth raised the record of size to a tonnage of 83,673. She was the largest passenger ship ever constructed until 1997. In 2003, RMS Queen Mary 2 became the largest, at 149,215 GT. In the early 1840s, the average speed of liners was less than 10 knots (a crossing of the Atlantic thus took about 12 days or more). In the 1870s, the average speed of liners increased to around 15 knots
5239-481: Is found on cruise ships, as well as a deeper draft for greater stability, and have large capacities for fuel, food, and other consumables on long voyages. On an ocean liner, the captain's tower ( bridge ) is usually positioned on the upper deck for increased visibility. The first ocean liners were built in the mid-19th century. Technological innovations such as the steam engine, Diesel engine and steel hull allowed larger and faster liners to be built, giving rise to
SS Kronprinzessin Cecilie (1906) - Misplaced Pages Continue
5408-611: The Abbaye du Pont-aux-Dames in Meaux , pleasing both his wife and aunts. Two and a half years later, at the end of October 1776, Madame du Barry's exile ended and she was allowed to return to her beloved château at Louveciennes , but she was never permitted to return to Versailles. On 10 May 1774, upon the death of Louis XV , the Dauphin ascended the throne as King Louis XVI of France and Navarre with Marie Antoinette as his queen consort . At
5577-571: The American Revolution by securing Austrian and Russian support for France, which resulted in the establishment of the First League of Armed Neutrality that stopped Britain's attack, and by weighing in decisively for the nomination of Philippe Henri, Marquis de Ségur , as Minister of War and Charles Eugène Gabriel de La Croix as Secretary of the Navy in 1780, who helped George Washington defeat
5746-612: The Avro Lancaster and Boeing B-29 Superfortress , with their range and massive carrying capacity, were natural prototypes for post-war next-generation airliners . Jet engine technology also accelerated due to wartime development of jet aircraft . In 1953, the De Havilland Comet became the first commercial jet airliner; the Sud Aviation Caravelle , Boeing 707 and Douglas DC-8 followed, and much long-distance travel
5915-558: The Big Four of the White Star Line were the first liners to surpass Great Eastern as the largest passenger ships . Ultimately their owner was American (as mentioned above, White Star Line had been absorbed into J. P. Morgan's trust). Faced with this major competition, the British government contributed financially to Cunard Line's construction of two liners of unmatched size and speed, under
6084-542: The Chantiers de l'Atlantique shipyard, which has built ships including RMS Queen Mary 2 . France also had major shipyards on the shores of the Mediterranean Sea . Marie Antoinette Marie Antoinette ( / ˌ æ n t w ə ˈ n ɛ t , ˌ ɒ̃ t -/ ; French: [maʁi ɑ̃twanɛt] ; Maria Antonia Josefa Johanna; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was the last Queen of France prior to
6253-596: The Czechoslovak Legion to be disembarked at Trieste , Italy and 300 German prisoners of war for Hamburg , Germany. On return the ship was turned over to the United States Shipping Board and laid up at Solomons Island, Maryland . At the outbreak of World War II in 1939, the Americans offered the former Kronprinzessin Cecilie to the British as a troop transport, who refused on the pretext that she
6422-665: The Diplomatic Revolution of 1756, Empress Maria Theresa decided to end hostilities with her longtime enemy, King Louis XV of France. Their common desire to destroy the ambitions of Prussia and Great Britain , and to secure a definitive peace between their respective countries led them to seal their alliance with a marriage: on 7 February 1770, Louis XV formally requested the hand of Maria Antonia for his eldest surviving grandson and heir, Louis Auguste , Duke of Berry and Dauphin of France . Maria Antonia formally renounced her rights to Habsburg domains, and on 19 April 1770 she
6591-568: The Duchess of Polignac . In 1774, she took under her patronage her former music teacher, the German opera composer Christoph Willibald Gluck , who remained in France until 1779. Amidst the atmosphere of a wave of libelles , the Holy Roman Emperor Joseph II came to France incognito, using the name Comte de Falkenstein, for a six-week visit during which he toured Paris extensively and
6760-529: The Falkland Islands to recover the Falklands from the invading Argentine forces . The P&O educational cruise ship and former British India Steam Navigation Company liner Uganda was requisitioned as a hospital ship, and served after the war as a troopship until the RAF Mount Pleasant station was built at Stanley , which could handle trooping flights. By the first decade of the 21st century, only
6929-511: The Far East , India, Australia, etc. The birth of the concept of international water and the lack of any claim to it simplified navigation. In 1818, the Black Ball Line , with a fleet of sailing ships, offered the first regular passenger service with emphasis on passenger comfort, from England to the United States. In 1807, Robert Fulton succeeded in applying steam engines to ships. He built
SS Kronprinzessin Cecilie (1906) - Misplaced Pages Continue
7098-615: The Franco-Austrian Alliance and Marie Antoinette's marriage, and in exiling his sister, the Duchess of Gramont , one of Marie Antoinette's ladies-in-waiting. Marie Antoinette was persuaded by her husband's aunts to refuse to acknowledge du Barry, which some saw as a political blunder that jeopardized Austria's interests at the French court. Marie Antoinette's mother and the Austrian ambassador to France, Comte de Mercy-Argenteau , who sent
7267-710: The French Revolution and the French First Republic . Marie Antoinette was the wife of Louis XVI . Born Archduchess Maria Antonia of Austria , she was the penultimate child and youngest daughter of Empress Maria Theresa and Emperor Francis I . She married Louis XVI, Dauphin of France , in May 1770 at age 14. She then became the Dauphine of France . On 10 May 1774, her husband ascended the throne as Louis XVI and she became queen. As queen, Marie Antoinette became increasingly
7436-588: The Parlement of Paris , Rohan was found innocent of any wrongdoing and allowed to leave the Bastille . Marie Antoinette, who had insisted on the arrest of the Cardinal, was dealt a heavy personal blow, as was the monarchy, and despite the fact that the guilty parties were tried and convicted, the affair proved to be extremely damaging to her reputation, which never recovered from it. Suffering from an acute case of depression,
7605-534: The SS Andrea Doria , which later sank in 1956 after a collision with MS Stockholm . Before the Second World War, aircraft had not posed a significant economic threat to ocean liners. Most pre-war aircraft were noisy, vulnerable to bad weather, and/or incapable of the range needed for transoceanic flights; all were expensive and had a small passenger capacity. The war accelerated development of large, long-ranged aircraft. Four-engined bombers, such as
7774-618: The Théâtre de la Reine built for her by Richard Mique . Repayment of the French debt remained a difficult problem, further exacerbated by Vergennes and also by Marie Antoinette prodding Louis XVI to involve France in the American Revolutionary War . The primary motive for the queen's involvement in political affairs in this period may arguably have had more to do with court factionalism than any true interest on her part in politics themselves, but she played an important role in aiding
7943-463: The Théâtre de la Reine . She limited the audience to her intimate circle and a few musicians, among them the Chevalier de Saint-Georges . "Admitted to perform music with the Queen," Saint-Georges probably played his violin sonatas for two instruments, with Her Majesty playing the fortepiano . She also supported some scientific endeavours, encouraging and witnessing the first launch of a Montgolfière ,
8112-565: The Titanic II , is a modern replica of the original RMS Titanic , which sank in 1912. The ship is owned by Blue Star Line and is bought by Australian businessman Clive Palmer , the ship is set to be launched by 2027. Four ocean liners made before the Second World War survive today as they have been partially or fully preserved as museums and hotels . The Japanese ocean liner Hikawa Maru (1929), has been preserved in Naka-ku, Yokohama , Japan, as
8281-459: The château Trompette in Bordeaux. This was unpopular, particularly with those factions of the nobility who disliked the Queen, but also with a growing percentage of the population, who disapproved of a queen of France independently owning a private residence. The purchase of Saint-Cloud thus damaged the public's image of the Queen even further. The château's high price, almost 6 million livres , plus
8450-585: The flagship of the company's fleet. Because all U.S. registered ships counted as an extension of U.S. territory, the National Prohibition Act made American liners alcohol-free, causing alcohol-seeking passengers to choose other liners for travel and substantially reducing profits for the United States Lines. In 1929, Germany returned to the scene with the two ships of Norddeutscher Lloyd, SS Bremen and SS Europa . Bremen won
8619-717: The Allied Powers were compensated by the Treaty of Versailles in 1919. This led to the awarding of many German liners to the victorious Allies. The Hamburg America Line's trio ( Imperator , Vaterland , and Bismarck ) were divided between the Cunard Line, White Star Line, and the United States Lines , while the three surviving ships of the Kaiser class were requisitioned by the US Navy in
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#17328733658508788-701: The Atlantic. Constructing large ships was therefore more profitable. Moreover, migration to the Americas increased enormously. These movements of population were a financial windfall for the shipping companies, some of the largest of which were founded during this time. Examples are the P&;O of the United Kingdom in 1822 and the Compagnie Générale Transatlantique of France in 1855. The steam engine also allowed ships to provide regular service without
8957-460: The Blue Riband for her company. This race for speed, however, was a detriment to passengers' comfort and generated strong vibration, which made her owner lose any interest in her after she lost the Blue Riband to another ship of Norddeutscher Lloyd. She was only used for ten years for transatlantic crossing before being converted into a cruise ship. Until 1907 the Blue Riband remained in the hands of
9126-512: The Blue Riband from Britain's Mauretania after the latter had held it for twenty years. Soon, Italy also entered the scene. The Italian Line completed SS Rex and SS Conte di Savoia in 1932, breaking the records of both luxury and speed ( Rex won the westbound Blue Riband in 1933). France reentered the scene with SS Normandie of the French Compagnie Générale Transatlantique (CGT). The ship
9295-802: The British in the American Revolutionary War, which ended in 1783. Marie Antoinette's second pregnancy ended in a miscarriage early in July 1779, as confirmed by letters between the Queen and her mother, although some historians believed that she may have experienced bleeding related to an irregular menstrual cycle, which she mistook for a lost pregnancy. Her third pregnancy was affirmed in March 1781, and on 22 October she gave birth to Louis Joseph Xavier François , Dauphin of France. Empress Maria Theresa died on 29 November 1780 in Vienna. Marie Antoinette feared that
9464-413: The British. From 1912 to 1914, Hamburg America Line completed a trio of liners significantly larger than the White Star Line's Olympic -class ships. The first to be completed, in 1913 was SS Imperator . She was followed by SS Vaterland in 1914. The construction of the third liner, SS Bismarck , was paused by the outbreak of the First World War. The First World War was a hard time for
9633-433: The Empress secret reports on Marie Antoinette's behaviour, pressured Marie Antoinette to speak to Madame du Barry, which she grudgingly agreed to do on New Year's Day 1772. She merely commented to her, "There are a lot of people at Versailles today", but it was enough for Madame du Barry, who was satisfied with this recognition, and the crisis passed. Two days after the death of Louis XV in 1774, Louis XVI exiled du Barry to
9802-507: The Germans. In 1902, J. P. Morgan embraced the idea of a maritime empire comprising a large number of companies. He founded the International Mercantile Marine Co. , a trust which originally comprised only American shipping companies. The trust then absorbed Leyland Line and White Star Line. The British government then decided to intervene in order to regain the ascendancy. Although German liners dominated in terms of speed, British liners dominated in terms of size. RMS Oceanic and
9971-485: The Hofburg Palace and Schönbrunn , the imperial summer residence in Vienna, where on 13 October 1762, when she was seven, she met Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , two months her junior and a child prodigy. Despite the private tutoring she received, the results of her schooling were less than satisfactory. At the age of 10 she could not write correctly in German or in any language commonly used at court, such as French or Italian, and conversations with her were stilted. Under
10140-450: The King began to seek the advice of his wife. In her new role and with increasing political power, the Queen tried to improve the awkward situation brewing between the Parlement and the King. This change of the queen's position signaled the end of the Polignacs' influence and their impact on the finances of the Crown. Continuing deterioration of the financial situation despite cutbacks to the royal retinue and court expenses ultimately forced
10309-454: The King, the Queen and the Controller-General of Finances, Charles Alexandre de Calonne , at the urging of Vergennes, to call a session of the Assembly of Notables , after a hiatus of 160 years. The assembly was held for the purpose of initiating necessary financial reforms, but the Assembly refused to cooperate. The first meeting took place on 22 February 1787, nine days after the death of Vergennes on 13 February. Marie Antoinette did not attend
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#173287336585010478-403: The Parisian populace and press. The measure also blocked the access of 'commoners', mainly sons of members of the professional classes, and of more recently elevated nobility to important positions in the armed forces. As such, the decree became an important grievance for social classes that had been habitually supportive of the monarchy and established order, and which went on to supply the bulk of
10647-416: The Polignacs' dominance at court, and also fueled the increasing popular disapproval of Marie Antoinette, mostly in Paris. De Mercy wrote to the empress: "It is almost unexampled that in so short a time, the royal favour should have brought such overwhelming advantages to a family". In June 1783, Marie Antoinette's new pregnancy was announced, but on the night of 1–2 November, her 28th birthday, she suffered
10816-406: The Queen was able to obtain her brother's support against Great Britain in the American Revolution and she neutralized French hostility to his alliance with Russia. In 1782, after the governess of the royal children, the Princesse de Guéméné , went bankrupt and resigned, Marie Antoinette appointed her favourite, the Duchess of Polignac , to the position. This decision met with disapproval from
10985-461: The Queen's support and its overwhelming popularity at court, where secret readings of it had been given by Marie Antoinette. The play was a disaster for the image of the monarchy and aristocracy. It inspired Mozart 's The Marriage of Figaro , which premiered in Vienna on 1 May 1786. On 24 October 1784, putting the Baron de Breteuil in charge of its acquisition, Louis XVI bought the Château de Saint-Cloud from Louis Philippe I, Duke of Orléans in
11154-445: The Second World War the three worst disasters were the loss of the Cunarder Lancastria in 1940 off Saint-Nazaire to German bombing while attempting to evacuate troops of the British Expeditionary Force from France, with the loss of more than 3,000 lives; the sinking of Wilhelm Gustloff , after the ship was torpedoed by a Soviet submarine, with more than 9,000 lives lost, making it the deadliest maritime disaster in history; and
11323-525: The United Kingdom and the United States. Over time, the paddle wheel, impractical on the high seas, was abandoned in favour of the propeller. In 1840, Cunard Line's RMS Britannia began its first regular passenger and cargo service by a steamship, sailing from Liverpool to Boston , Massachusetts. As the size of ship increased, the wooden hull became fragile. Beginning with the use of an iron hull in 1845, and then steel hulls, solved this problem. The first ship to be both iron-hulled and equipped with
11492-473: The United Kingdom for supremacy in the North Atlantic. Her older sister , Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse had been introduced in 1897 and was a great success. Her popularity prompted North German Lloyd to build three more superliners , namely Kronprinz Wilhelm (1901), Kaiser Wilhelm II (1903) and, finally, Kronprinzessin Cecilie . As designed the ship had 287 first-class, 109 second-class cabins and 7 compartments for steerage passengers. Passenger capacity
11661-453: The United States Army ; Col. Edward M. House , Special Adviser to President Wilson ; and Newton D. Baker , Secretary of War . On 17 October 1919 Mount Vernon was transferred to the War Department for operation by the Army Transport Service where the ship was assigned to the Army's Pacific fleet based at Fort Mason in San Francisco. USAT Mount Vernon made one trip between March and July 1920 to Vladivostok , Russia embarking elements of
11830-480: The United States during this time. The year 1858 was marked by a major accident: the sinking of SS Austria . The ship, built in Greenock and sailing between Hamburg and New York twice a month, suffered an accidental fire off the coast of Newfoundland and sank with the loss of all but 89 of the 542 passengers. In the British market, Cunard Line and White Star Line (the latter after being bought by Thomas Ismay in 1868), competed strongly against each other in
11999-402: The accusations damaged her reputation further. During the French Revolution, she became known as Madame Déficit because the country's financial crisis was blamed on her lavish spending and her opposition to social and financial reforms proposed by Anne Robert Jacques Turgot and Jacques Necker . Several events were linked to Marie Antoinette during the Revolution after the government placed
12168-506: The actions of Joseph II in the Kettle War , the purchase of Saint-Cloud and the Affair of the Diamond Necklace combined to turn popular opinion sharply against the Queen, and the image of a licentious, spendthrift, empty-headed foreign queen was quickly taking root in the French psyche. A second daughter, her last child, Marie Sophie Hélène Béatrix , Madame Sophie , was born on 9 July 1786 and lived only eleven months until 19 June 1787. She
12337-438: The added amenity of large portholes, electricity and running water. The size of ocean liners increased from 1880 to meet the needs of immigration to the United States and Australia. RMS Umbria and her sister ship RMS Etruria were the last two Cunard liners of the period to be fitted with auxiliary sails. Both ships were built by John Elder & Co. of Glasgow, Scotland, in 1884. They were record breakers by
12506-431: The age of 13, important writing skills. Nonetheless, he also complimented her, stating "her character, her heart, are excellent". He found her "more intelligent than has been generally supposed," but since "she is rather lazy and extremely frivolous, she is hard to teach". Under the recommendation of Étienne François de Choiseul, Duke of Choiseul , a strong supporter of her prospective marriage, Maria Antonia also received
12675-496: The brief conflict, with the Queen imposing French mediation at her mother's insistence and Austria's gaining the Innviertel territory of at least 100,000 inhabitants—a strong retreat from the early French position which was hostile towards Austria. This gave the impression, partially justified, that the Queen had sided with Austria against France. Meanwhile, the Queen began to institute changes in court customs. Some of them met with
12844-438: The cabin class and the steerage class. The passengers travelling on the former were wealthy passengers and they enjoyed certain comfort in that class. The passengers travelling on the latter were members of the middle class or the working class. In that class, they were packed in large dormitories. Until the beginning of the 20th century, they did not always have bedsheets and meals. An intermediate class for tourists and members of
13013-416: The child and to a noticeable decline of the Queen's reputation in public opinion. The majority of Marie Antoinette's and Louis XVII's biographers believe that the young prince was the biological son of Louis XVI, including Stefan Zweig and Antonia Fraser , who believe that Fersen and Marie Antoinette were indeed romantically involved. Fraser has also noted that the birthdate matches up perfectly with
13182-696: The civil unrest it was beginning to cause. As early as 1774, Marie Antoinette had begun to befriend some of her male admirers, such as the Baron de Besenval , the Duc de Coigny , and Count Valentin Esterházy , and also formed deep friendships with various ladies at court. Most noted was Marie-Louise, Princesse de Lamballe , related to the royal family through her marriage into the Penthièvre family . On 19 September 1774, she appointed her superintendent of her household, an appointment she soon transferred to her new favourite,
13351-579: The coast of the North Sea and the Baltic Sea , including Blohm & Voss and AG Vulcan Stettin . Many of these shipyards were destroyed during World War II; some managed to recover and continue building ships. In France, major shipyards included Chantiers de Penhoët in Saint-Nazaire , known for building SS Normandie . This shipyard merged with Ateliers et Chantiers de la Loire shipyard to form
13520-515: The competition from Cunard Line, White Star Line ordered the Olympic -class liners at the end of 1907. The first of these three liners, RMS Olympic , completed in 1911, had a fine career, although punctuated by incidents. This was not the case for her sister, the RMS ; Titanic , which sank on her maiden voyage on 15 April 1912, resulting in several changes to maritime safety practices. As for
13689-471: The condition that they be available for conversion into armed cruisers when needed by the navy. The result of this partnership was the completion in 1907 of two sister ships: RMS Lusitania and RMS Mauretania , both of which won the Blue Riband during their respective maiden voyages. The latter retained this distinction for twenty years. Their great speed was achieved by the use of turbines instead of conventional expansion machines. In response to
13858-567: The construction of the Queen Mary while progressively sending their older ships to the scrapyard. The Queen Mary was the fastest ship of her time and the largest for a short amount of time, she captured the Blue Riband twice, both off Normandie . The construction of a second ship, the Queen Elizabeth , was interrupted by the outbreak of the Second World War . The Second World War was
14027-478: The context of the conflict and then retained. The Tirpitz , whose construction was delayed by the outbreak of war eventually became the RMS Empress of Australia . Of the German superliners, only Deutschland , because of her poor state, avoided this fate. After a period of reconstruction, the shipping companies recovered quickly from the damage caused by the First World War. The ships, whose construction
14196-499: The country was facing a grave financial crisis and the population was suffering. Rose Bertin created dresses for her, and hairstyles such as poufs , up to three feet (90 cm) high, and the panache — a spray of feather plumes. She and her court also adopted the English fashion of dresses made of indienne , a material banned in France from 1686 until 1759 to protect local French woolen and silk industries, percale and muslin . As
14365-486: The court as the duchess was considered to be of too modest origins to occupy such an exalted position. In contrast, both the king and the queen trusted Madame de Polignac completely, gave her a thirteen-room apartment in Versailles and paid her well. The entire Polignac family benefited greatly from royal favour in titles and positions, but its sudden wealth and lavish lifestyle outraged most aristocratic families, who resented
14534-409: The crowding of passengers, and faster ships, to reduce the duration of transatlantic crossings. The iron and steel hulls and steam power allowed for these advances. Thus, SS Great Western (1,340 GRT) and SS Great Eastern (18,915 GRT) were constructed in 1838 and 1858 respectively. The record set by SS Great Eastern was not beaten until 43 years later in 1901 when RMS Celtic (20,904 GT)
14703-476: The date. Shortly after her birth she was placed under the care of the governess of the imperial children, Countess von Brandeis. Maria Antonia was raised together with her sister, Maria Carolina of Austria , who was three years older, and with whom she had a lifelong close relationship. Maria Antonia had a difficult but ultimately loving relationship with her mother, who referred to her as "the little Madame Antoine". Maria Antonia spent her formative years between
14872-417: The dawn of the jet age . Such routes included Europe to African and Asian colonies, Europe to South America, and migrant traffic from Europe to North America in the 19th and first two decades of the 20th centuries, and to Canada and Australia after the Second World War. Shipping lines are companies engaged in shipping passengers and cargo, often on established routes and schedules. Regular scheduled voyages on
15041-464: The death of Louis XV, the king gave his wife the Petit Trianon , a small château on the grounds of Versailles that had been built by Louis XV for his mistress, Madame de Pompadour . Louis XVI allowed Marie Antoinette to renovate it to suit her own tastes; soon rumours circulated that she had plastered the walls with gold and diamonds. The Queen spent heavily on fashion, luxuries, and gambling, though
15210-458: The death of her mother would jeopardise the Franco-Austrian alliance, as well as, ultimately, herself, but her brother, Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor, wrote to her that he had no intention of breaking the alliance. A second visit from Joseph II, which took place in July 1781 to reaffirm the Franco-Austrian alliance and also to see his sister, was tainted by false rumours that Marie Antoinette
15379-475: The deck promptly ordered right full rudder, but the ship could not turn in time to avoid the missile, which struck her amidships, knocking out half of her boilers, flooding the midsection, and killing 36 sailors and injuring 13. Mount Vernon ' s guns kept firing ahead of the U‑boat's wake and her crew launched a pattern of depth charges . Damage-control teams worked to save the ship, and their efforts paid off when
15548-504: The departments of State , Treasury , Commerce and the United States Revenue Cutter Service (USRCS) with the result USRC Androscoggin was ordered to Bar Harbor to prevent unauthorized departure of foreign vessels but primarily to protect the transfer of gold and silver, as well as all mail and passengers, from Kronprinzessin Cecilie to shore to be transported by train to New York. Androscoggin , joined by
15717-423: The destroyer USS Warrington , arrived at Bar Harbor on 6 August with wild speculation in the press. On 7 November the ship moved to Boston where she was to remain while civil suits against the ship were resolved in federal court. Kronprinzessin Cecilie was commandeered by the United States on 3 February 1917 and transferred from the United States Shipping Board (USSB) to the U.S. Navy when America entered
15886-410: The disapproval of the older generation, such as the abandonment of heavy make-up and the popular wide-hooped panniers . The new fashion called for a simpler feminine look, typified first by the rustic robe à la polonaise style and later by the gaulle , a layered muslin dress Marie Antoinette wore in a 1783 Vigée-Le Brun portrait. In 1780 she began to participate in amateur plays and musicals in
16055-409: The duration of a transatlantic crossing shortened to around 7 days, owing to the technological progress made in the propulsion of ships: the rudimentary steam boilers gave rise to more elaborate machineries and the paddlewheel gradually disappeared, replaced first by one screw then by two screws. At the beginning of the 20th century, Cunard Line's RMS Lusitania and RMS Mauretania reached
16224-630: The early leadership of the French Revolution. Count Axel von Fersen , after his return from America in June 1783, was accepted into the Queen's private society. There were claims that the two were romantically involved, but since most of their correspondence has been lost, destroyed, or redacted, for many years there was no conclusive evidence. Starting in 2016, scientists at the Centre for Research and Restoration of Museums of France (CRCC), uncovered some of
16393-476: The festivities, the day ended with the ritual bedding . The couple's longtime failure to consummate the marriage plagued the reputations of the royal couple for the next seven years. The initial reaction to the marriage between Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI was mixed. On the one hand, the Dauphine was beautiful, personable and well-liked by the common people. Her first official appearance in Paris on 8 June 1773
16562-403: The first auxiliary cruiser in history. In the time of war, ships could easily be equipped with cannons and used in cases of conflict. Teutonic succeeded in impressing Emperor Wilhelm II of Germany, who wanted to see his country endowed with a modern fleet. In 1870, the White Star Line's RMS Oceanic set a new standard for ocean travel by having its first-class cabins amidships, with
16731-546: The first ship that was powered by this technology, the Clermont , which succeeded in travelling between New York City and Albany, New York in thirty hours before entering into regular service between the two cities. Soon after, other vessels were built using this innovation. In 1816, the Élise became the first steamship to cross the English Channel . Another important advance came in 1819, when SS Savannah became
16900-557: The first steamship to cross the Atlantic Ocean. She left the U.S. city of the same name and arrived in Liverpool, England in 27 days. Most of the distance was covered by sailing; the steam power was not used for more than 72 hours during the travel. The public enthusiasm for the new technology was not high, as none of the thirty-two people who had booked a seat boarded the ship for that historic voyage. Although Savannah had proven that
17069-471: The inexperienced—then still only 22-year-old—Louis XVI had confided in him the course of action he had been undertaking in their marital bed; saying Louis XVI "introduces the member," but then "stays there without moving for about two minutes," withdraws without having completed the act and "bids goodnight." Suggestions that Louis suffered from phimosis , which was relieved by circumcision , have been discredited. Nevertheless, following Joseph's intervention,
17238-488: The jewelers Boehmer and Bassenge of the price of an expensive diamond necklace they had originally created for Madame du Barry . The main actors in the scandal were Cardinal de Rohan , Prince de Rohan-Guéméné , Grand Almoner of France , and Jeanne de Valois-Saint-Rémy , Countess de La Motte, a descendant of an illegitimate child of Henry II of France of the House of Valois . Marie Antoinette had profoundly disliked Rohan since
17407-565: The last ocean liners to be built primarily for crossing the North Atlantic, could not be converted economically and had short careers. At the beginning of the 19th century, the Industrial Revolution and the inter-continental trade rendered the development of secure links between continents imperative. Being at the top among the colonial powers, the United Kingdom needed stable maritime routes to connect different parts of its empire :
17576-399: The late 1860s. The struggle was symbolised by the attainment of the Blue Riband, which the two companies achieved several times around the end of the century. The luxury and technology of ships were also evolving. Auxiliary sails became obsolete and disappeared completely at the end of the century. Possible military use of passenger ships was envisaged and, in 1889, RMS Teutonic became
17745-400: The life of the mother. Her godparents were Joseph I and Mariana Victoria , King and Queen of Portugal; Archduke Joseph and Archduchess Maria Anna acted as proxies for their newborn sister. Maria Antonia was born on All Souls' Day , a Catholic day of mourning, and during her childhood her birthday was instead celebrated the day before, on All Saints' Day , due to the connotations of
17914-523: The liner Olympic or another ship of the British White Star Line as a form of disguise. Due to the liner's dwindling fuel Bar Harbor, Maine , though not a large port, was selected with the ship being brought on 4 August 1914 piloted by a local banker and yachtsman as none of the ship's officers were familiar with the port. North German Lloyd representatives met in Washington with officials of
18083-521: The liners. Some of them, like the Mauretania , Aquitania , and Britannic were transformed into hospital ships during the conflict. Others became troop transports, while some, such as the Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse , participated in the war as warships. Troop transportation was very popular due to the liners' large size. Liners converted into troop ships were painted in dazzle camouflage to reduce
18252-498: The marriage was finally consummated in August 1777. Eight months later, in April 1778, it was suspected that the queen was pregnant, which was officially announced on 16 May. Marie Antoinette's daughter, Marie-Thérèse Charlotte , Madame Royale , was born at Versailles on 19 December 1778. The child's paternity was contested in the libelles , as were all her children's. In the middle of
18421-412: The meeting and her absence resulted in accusations that the Queen was trying to undermine its purpose. The Assembly was a failure. It did not pass any reforms and, instead, fell into a pattern of defying the King. On the urging of the Queen, Louis XVI dismissed Calonne on 8 April 1787. On 1 May 1787 Étienne Charles de Loménie de Brienne , Archbishop of Toulouse and one of the queen's political allies
18590-438: The middle class gradually appeared. The cabins were then divided into three classes. The facilities offered to passengers developed over time. In the 1870s, the installation of bathtubs and oil lamps caused a sensation on board SS Oceanic . In the following years, the number of amenities became numerous, for example: smoking rooms, lounges, and promenade deck. In 1907, RMS Adriatic even offered Turkish baths and
18759-420: The morning of 5 September 1918, as the transport steamed homeward in convoy some 200 nautical miles (370 km) from the French coast, her No. 1 gun crew spotted a periscope some 500 yards (460 m) off her starboard bow. Mount Vernon immediately fired one round at German U-boat U-82 . The U‑boat simultaneously submerged, but managed to launch a torpedo at the transport. Mount Vernon ' s officer of
18928-416: The name of his wife, which she wanted due to their expanding family. She wanted to be able to own her own property, one that was actually hers, to then have the authority to bequeath it to "whichever of my children I wish," choosing the child she thought could use it rather than it going through patriarchal inheritance laws or whims. It was proposed that the cost could be covered by other sales, such as that of
19097-477: The necklace as a gift to Marie Antoinette, for him to gain the queen's favour. When the affair was discovered, those involved, except de La Motte and Rétaux de Villette, who both managed to flee, were arrested, tried, convicted, and either imprisoned or exiled. Madame de La Motte was sentenced for life to confinement in the Pitié-Salpêtrière Hospital , which also served as a prison for women. Judged by
19266-470: The new ministers rejected any major change to the structure of the old regime. More than that, the decree by de Ségur, the minister of war, requiring four quarterings of nobility as a condition for the appointment of officers, mainly served the interest of older noble families including poorer provincial ones, who were widely seen as a reactionary interest group by ambitious members of the middle and professional classes, by some more recent nobility, and even by
19435-570: The number of people crossing the Atlantic and at the same time reducing the number of profitable transatlantic voyages. In response, shipping companies redirected many of their liners to a more profitable cruise service. In 1934, in the United Kingdom, Cunard Line and White Star Line were in very bad shape financially. Chancellor of the Exchequer Neville Chamberlain proposed to merge the two companies in order to solve their financial problems. The merger took place in 1934 and launched
19604-538: The ocean liners came to an end. By the early 1970s, many passenger ships continued their service in cruising. In 1982, during the Falklands War , three active or former liners were requisitioned for war service by the British Government . The liners Queen Elizabeth 2 and Canberra , were requisitioned from Cunard and P&O to serve as troopships, carrying British Army personnel to Ascension Island and
19773-663: The only ocean liner still in service to this day. The category does not include ferries or other vessels engaged in short-sea trading, nor dedicated cruise ships where the voyage itself, and not transportation, is the primary purpose of the trip. Nor does it include tramp steamers , even those equipped to handle limited numbers of passengers. Some shipping companies refer to themselves as "lines" and their container ships , which often operate over set routes according to established schedules, as "liners". Though ocean liners share certain similarities with cruise ships, they must be able to travel between continents from point A to point B on
19942-403: The only ship still in service as an ocean liner is RMS Queen Mary 2 . Ocean liners were the primary mode of intercontinental travel for over a century, from the mid-19th century until they began to be supplanted by airliners in the 1950s. In addition to passengers, liners carried mail and cargo. Ships contracted to carry British Royal Mail used the designation RMS . Liners were also
20111-606: The operation was expensive. The sinking of two of its ships was a major blow to the company which was dissolved in 1858. In 1858, Brunel built his third and last giant, SS Great Eastern . The ship was, for 43 years, the largest passenger ship ever built . She had the capacity to carry 4,000 passengers. Her career was marked by a series of failures and incidents, one of which was an explosion on board during her maiden voyage. Many ships owned by German companies like Hamburg America Line and Norddeutscher Lloyd were sailing from major German ports, such as Hamburg and Bremen, to
20280-461: The outbreak of World War I . On 4 August 1914, at sea after leaving New York, she turned around and put into Bar Harbor, Maine , where she later was interned by the neutral United States. After that country entered the war in April 1917, the ship was seized and turned over to the United States Navy , and renamed USS Mount Vernon (ID-4508) . While serving as a troop transport, Mount Vernon
20449-541: The outbreak of war. In addition to 1,216 passengers, including some British reservist, she was carrying US$ 10,679,000 in gold and US$ 3 million in silver. The ship, bound for Bremen, was nearing Liverpool when directed to head back to the closest port in the neutral United States to avoid capture by the British Navy and French cruisers. Captain Polack had her normally all-buff funnels painted with black tops so as to resemble
20618-449: The outset, the new queen had limited political influence with her husband, who, with the support of his two most important ministers, Chief Minister Maurepas and Foreign Minister Vergennes , blocked several of her candidates from assuming important positions, including Choiseul. The queen did play a decisive role in the disgrace and exile of the most powerful of Louis XV's ministers, the Duc d'Aiguillon . On 24 May 1774, two weeks after
20787-465: The preferred way to move gold and other high-value cargoes. The busiest route for liners was on the North Atlantic with ships travelling between Europe and North America. It was on this route that the fastest, largest and most advanced liners travelled, though most ocean liners historically were mid-sized vessels which served as the common carriers of passengers and freight between nations and among other countries and their colonies and dependencies before
20956-455: The project of making the voyage directly from New York to Liverpool, it was perfectly chimerical, and they might as well talk of making the voyage from New York to the moon. The last step toward long-distance travel using steam power was taken in 1837 when SS Sirius left Liverpool on 4 April and arrived in New York eighteen days later on 22 April after a turbulent crossing. Too little coal
21125-451: The queen and a variety of other nobles in a political statement decrying the immoral practices of the court. As time went on, these came to focus more on the queen. They described amorous encounters with a wide range of figures, from the Duchess of Polignac to Louis XV. As these attacks increased, they were connected with the public's dislike of her association with the rival nation of Austria. It
21294-537: The queen's pregnancy, two events occurred which had a profound effect on her later life: the return of her friend, the Swedish diplomat Count Axel von Fersen the Younger to Versailles for two years, and her brother's claim to the throne of Bavaria , contested by Saxony and Prussia. Marie Antoinette pleaded with her husband for the French to intercede on behalf of Austria. The Peace of Teschen , signed on 13 May 1779, ended
21463-401: The redacted text of the queen's letters to Fersen. The revealed texts do not mention a physical relationship, but do confirm a very strong emotional relationship. Around this time, pamphlets describing farcical sexual deviance including the Queen and her friends in the court were growing in popularity around the country. The Portefeuille d'un talon rouge was one of the earliest, including
21632-527: The risk of being torpedoed by enemy submarines . The war was marked by the loss of many liners. Britannic , while serving as a hospital ship, sank in the Aegean Sea in 1916 after she struck a mine. Numerous incidents of torpedoing took place and large numbers of ships sank. Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse was defeated and scuttled after a fierce battle with HMS Highflyer off the coast of west Africa, while her sister ship Kronprinz Wilhelm served as
21801-801: The royal family under house arrest in the Tuileries Palace in October 1789. The June 1791 attempted flight to Varennes and her role in the War of the First Coalition were immensely damaging to her image among French citizens. On 10 August 1792, the attack on the Tuileries forced the royal family to take refuge at the Assembly , and they were imprisoned in the Temple Prison on 13 August 1792. On 21 September 1792, France
21970-468: The ship been pumped out and repaired, before finally setting out. In comparison with a $ 2,500 first-class-suite ticket, the immigrant could sail on Kronprinzessin Cecilie for a mere $ 25—one hundred times cheaper. The interiors of the "four flyers", as they were called, were special. The entire ship was fitted with the best of craftsmanship Germany could offer; the salons were full of ornamented wood and gilded mirrors. While her sister, Kaiser Wilhelm II
22139-518: The ship was transferred to the United States Shipping Board and laid up at Solomons Island, Maryland until September 1940 when she was scrapped at Boston , Massachusetts. Kronprinzessin Cecilie , built at Stettin , Germany, in 1906 by AG Vulcan Stettin , was the last of a set of four liners built for North German Lloyd, and the last German liner to carry four smokestacks. She was the product of ensuing competition between Germany and
22308-427: The sinking of SS Cap Arcona with more than 7,000 lives lost, both in the Baltic Sea , in 1945. SS Rex was bombarded and sunk in 1944, and Normandie caught fire, capsized, and sank in New York in 1942 while being converted for troop duty. Many of the superliners of the 1920s and 1930s were victims of U-boats , mines or enemy aircraft. Empress of Britain was attacked by German planes, then torpedoed by
22477-665: The standards of the time, and were the largest liners then in service, plying the Liverpool to New York route. SS Ophir was a 6,814-ton steamship owned by the Orient Steamship Co. , and was fitted with refrigeration equipment. She plied the Suez Canal route from England to Australia during the 1890s, up until the years leading to World War I when she was converted to an armed merchant cruiser . In 1897, Norddeutscher Lloyd launched SS Kaiser Wilhelm der Grosse . She
22646-404: The substantial extra cost of redecorating, ensured that much less money was going towards repaying France's substantial debt. On 27 March 1785, Marie Antoinette gave birth to a second son, Louis Charles, who bore the title of Duke of Normandy . The fact that the birth occurred exactly nine months after Fersen's return did not escape the attention of many, leading to doubt as to the parentage of
22815-471: The teaching of Christoph Willibald Gluck , Maria Antonia developed into a good musician. She learned to play the harp , the harpsichord and the flute . She sang during the family's evening gatherings, as she was known to have had a beautiful voice. She also excelled at dancing, had "exquisite" poise, and loved dolls. The death of her older sister Maria Josepha from smallpox during the epidemic in Vienna in October 1767 made an everlasting impression on
22984-463: The third sister, HMHS Britannic , she never served her intended purpose as a passenger ship, as she was drafted in the First World War as a hospital ship , and sank to a naval mine in 1916. At the same time, France tried to mark its presence with the completion in 1912 of SS France owned by the Compagnie Générale Transatlantique . Germany soon responded to the competition from
23153-553: The time he had been the French ambassador to Vienna when she was a child. Despite his high clerical position at the Court, she never addressed a word to him. Others involved were Nicole Lequay , alias Baronne d'Oliva , a prostitute who happened to look like Marie Antoinette; Rétaux de Villette , a forger; Alessandro Cagliostro , an Italian adventurer; and the Count de La Motte, Jeanne de Valois' husband. Madame de La Motte tricked Rohan into buying
23322-524: The time, first-class passengers in the dining saloon could choose à la carte dishes for no extra charge instead of being limited to a fixed menu. The liner operated on North German Lloyd's transatlantic route travelling from Bremen , with occasional calls at other ports, including Boston and New Orleans . The ship was steaming toward Germany from America with Captain Charles Polack, who had succeeded Dietrich Hogemann in 1913, when she received word of
23491-674: The transport was able to return to Brest under her own power. Repaired temporarily at Brest, she proceeded to Boston for complete repairs. Mount Vernon rejoined the Cruiser and Transport Service in February 1919 and sailed on Washington's Birthday for France to begin returning veterans to the United States. Mount Vernon pulled out of port on 3 March 1919 at 11 PM to return to the United States. Some of her notable passengers during her naval service were: Admiral William S. Benson , Chief of Naval Operations ; General Tasker H. Bliss , Chief of Staff of
23660-454: The use of sail. This aspect particularly appealed to the postal companies, which leased the services of ships to serve clients separated by the ocean. In 1839, Samuel Cunard founded the Cunard Line and became the first to dedicate the activity of his shipping company to the transport of mails, thus ensuring regular services on a given schedule. The company's vessels operated the routes between
23829-456: The war that April. She was commissioned 28 July 1917 and renamed USS Mount Vernon after George Washington 's Virginia home . She was fitted out at Boston to carry troops and materiel to Europe. Mount Vernon left New York for Brest on 31 October 1917 for her first U.S. Navy crossing, and during the war made nine successful voyages carrying American troops to fight in Europe. However, early on
23998-512: The young Maria Antonia. Maria Antonia, in her later life, recalled the ailing Maria Josepha taking her in her arms. She told her that she would not be traveling to Naples to marry King Ferdinand IV of Naples , to whom she was betrothed, but for the family vault . Later in 1768, Mathieu-Jacques de Vermond was dispatched by Louis XV to tutor Marie Antoinette as she became the future wife to Louis XVI. Serving as an educator, Abbé de Vermond found her to be unsatisfactorily educated and lacking in, at
24167-471: Was married by proxy with Louis Auguste at the Augustinian Church, Vienna , with her brother Archduke Ferdinand standing in for the Dauphin. On 14 May 1770 she met her husband at the edge of the forest of Compiègne . Upon her arrival in France, she adopted the French version of her name: Marie Antoinette. A further ceremonial wedding took place on 16 May 1770 in the Palace of Versailles and, after
24336-409: Was 775 first-class, 343 second-class and 770 steerage passengers for a total of 1,888 supported by a crew of 679 that included 229 stewards and stewardesses and 42 cooks, pantrymen, barbers, hairdressers and other passenger service people. Two "Imperial suites" had a parlor, private dining room, bedroom and bath room with toilet while eight other suites had all but the dining room. Twelve deluxe rooms had
24505-586: Was a guest at Versailles. He met his sister and her husband on 18 April 1777 at the Château de la Muette , and spoke frankly to his brother-in-law, curious as to why the royal marriage had not been consummated, arriving at the conclusion that no obstacle to the couple's conjugal relations existed save the Queen's lack of interest and the King's unwillingness to exert himself. In a letter to his brother Leopold, Grand Duke of Tuscany , Joseph II described them as "a couple of complete blunderers." He disclosed to Leopold that
24674-456: Was a resounding success. On the other hand, those opposed to the alliance with Austria had a difficult relationship with Marie Antoinette, as did others who disliked her for more personal or petty reasons. Madame du Barry proved a troublesome foe to the new dauphine. She was Louis XV's mistress and had considerable political influence over him. In 1770 she was instrumental in ousting Étienne François, duc de Choiseul , who had helped orchestrate
24843-459: Was also a separate children's dining room aboard. Named after Crown Princess Cecilie of Prussia , she was launched by her father in law Wilhelm II, German Emperor . In July 1907, the new Kronprinzessin Cecilie was planned to leave Bremerhaven on her maiden voyage. However, before the voyage could take place, the ship sank in Bremerhaven harbour. It was not until the next month on 6 August, had
25012-469: Was also significantly smaller and less intricate than many other nobles'. Around this time she accumulated a library of 5,000 books. Those on music, often dedicated to her, were the most read, though she also liked to read history. She sponsored the arts, in particular music. Marie Antoinette preferred to hold her musicales in the salon of her Petit appartement de la reine in the Palace of Versailles, or in
25181-489: Was appointed by the King at her urging to replace Calonne, first as Controller-General of Finances and then as Chief Minister . He began to institute more cutbacks at court while trying to restore the royal absolute power weakened by the Parlement. Brienne was unable to improve the financial situation, and since he was the Queen's ally, this failure adversely affected her political position. The continued poor financial climate of
25350-617: Was beached in Zhanjiang, China as a tourist attraction called Hai Shang Cheng Shi in 1998, though has been closed as of 2022. Funchal was purchased by Brock Pierce in 2021, with the intent of turning her into a hotel. Her future is uncertain as it was reported in July 2021 that no progress has been made since then. Since their beginning in the 19th century, ocean liners needed to meet growing demands. The first liners were small and overcrowded, leading to unsanitary conditions on board. Eliminating these phenomena required larger ships, to reduce
25519-584: Was born on 2 November 1755 at the Hofburg Palace in Vienna , Archduchy of Austria, at 20:30. She was the youngest daughter and 15th child of Empress Maria Theresa , ruler of the Habsburg monarchy , and her husband Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor . Maria Theresa gave birth to all of her previous children without any problems. During the birth of her last daughter, serious complications arose, and doctors even feared for
25688-435: Was commenced, and, with it, the tradition of the Blue Riband . With Great Western , Isambard Kingdom Brunel laid the foundations for new shipbuilding techniques. He realised that the carrying capacity of a ship increases as the cube of its dimensions, whilst the water resistance only increases as the square of its dimensions. This means that large ships are more fuel-efficient, something very important for long voyages across
25857-545: Was completed. The tonnage then grew profoundly: the first liners to have a tonnage that exceeded 20,000 were the Big Four of the White Star Line . The Olympic -class ocean liners , first completed in 1911, were the first to have a tonnage that exceeded 45,000 and the Imperator -class ocean liners first completed in 1913 became the 1st liners with tonnage exceeding 50,000. SS Normandie , completed in 1935, had
26026-544: Was declared a republic and the monarchy was abolished . Louis XVI was executed by guillotine on 21 January 1793. Marie Antoinette's trial began on 14 October 1793; two days later, she was convicted by the Revolutionary Tribunal of high treason and executed by beheading by guillotine on 16 October 1793 at the Place de la Révolution during the French Revolution. Marie Antoinette, full name Maria Antonia Josepha Johanna,
26195-493: Was decorated in the "modern Roman style", according to The Marine Review , with painted scenes of Mecklenburg , the home of the ships' namesake Crown Princess Cecilie , decorating the walls. The dining saloon was illuminated from a skylight four decks above and its walls were upholstered in blue silk tapestry. The saloon's seating was innovative in that it dispensed with the long tables typical of other liners, instead featuring 76 round tables seating two, five or seven people. There
26364-402: Was done by air. The Italian Line's SS Michelangelo and SS Raffaello , launched in 1962 and 1963, were two of the last ocean liners to be built primarily for liner service across the North Atlantic. Cunard's transatlantic liner, Queen Elizabeth 2 , was also used as a cruise ship. By the early 1960s, 95% of passenger traffic across the Atlantic was by aircraft. Thus the reign of
26533-541: Was followed three years later by three sister ships . The ship was both luxurious and fast, managing to steal the Blue Riband from the British. She was also the first of the fourteen ocean liners with four funnels that have emerged in maritime history. The ship needed only two funnels, but more funnels gave passengers a feeling of safety and power. In 1900, the Hamburg America Line competed with its own four-funnel liner, SS Deutschland . She quickly obtained
26702-478: Was named after the King's aunt, Princess Sophie of France . Marie Antoinette began to abandon her more carefree activities to become increasingly involved in politics in her role as queen of France. By publicly showing her attention to the education and care of her children, the queen sought to improve the dissolute image she had acquired in 1785 from the "Diamond Necklace Affair", in which public opinion had falsely accused her of criminal participation in defrauding
26871-658: Was not until 1952 that SS United States set a record that remains today: 34.5 knots (3 days and 12 hours of crossing the Atlantic). In addition, since 1935, the Blue Riband is accompanied by the Hales Trophy , which is awarded to the winner. The first ocean liners were designed to carry mostly migrants. On-board sanitary conditions were often deplorable and epidemics were frequent. In 1848, maritime laws imposing hygiene rules were adopted and they improved on-board living conditions. Gradually, two distinct classes were developed:
27040-600: Was prepared for the crossing, and the crew had to burn cabin furniture in order to complete the voyage. The journey took place at a speed of 8.03 knots. The voyage was made possible by the use of a condenser, which fed the boilers with fresh water, avoiding having to periodically shut down the boilers in order to remove the salt. The feat was short-lived. The next day, SS Great Western , designed by railway engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel , arrived in New York. She left Liverpool on 8 April and overtook Sirius ' s record with an average speed of 8.66 knots. The race of speed
27209-422: Was publicly suggested that her supposed behaviour was learned at the Austrian court, particularly lesbianism, which was known as the "German vice". Her mother again expressed concern for the safety of her daughter, and she began to use Austria's ambassador to France, Comte de Mercy , to provide information on Marie Antoinette's safety and movements. In 1783, the Queen was busy with the creation of her " hamlet ",
27378-596: Was reported to have been sold for scrap in January 2023, but this has been denied by the ship's owner. United States has been docked in Philadelphia since 1996, but following a legal dispute between the organization that owns United States and the pier owners, she was purchased by Okaloosa County , Florida to be turned into the world's largest artificial reef. There are plans for a land-based museum and several pieces of United States are planned to be preserved. Brazil Maru
27547-476: Was sending money to him from the French treasury. Despite the general celebration over the birth of an heir, Marie Antoinette's political influence, such as it was, was perceived to greatly benefit Austria. During the Kettle War , in which her brother Joseph attempted to open the Scheldt river for naval passage, Marie Antoinette succeeded in obliging Vergennes to pay huge financial compensation to Austria. Finally,
27716-605: Was started before the war, such as SS Paris of the French Line , were completed and put into service. Prominent British liners, such as the Olympic and the Mauretania , were also put back into service and had a successful career in the early 1920s. More modern liners were also built, such as SS Île de France (completed in 1927). The United States Lines , having received the Vaterland , renamed her Leviathan and made her
27885-400: Was the largest ship afloat at the time of her completion in 1935. She was also the fastest, winning the Blue Riband in 1935. A crisis arose when the United States drastically reduced its immigrant quotas, causing shipping companies to lose a large part of their income and to have to adapt to this circumstance. The Great Depression also played an important role, causing a drastic decrease in
28054-404: Was thought by some to be too extravagant, Kronprinzessin Cecilie was a popular ship. Some of her first-class suites were fitted with dining rooms so the passengers who booked the suite could dine in private if they did not wish to take their meals in the main restaurant. Also, a fish tank was placed in the kitchen, providing first-class passengers with the freshest of fish. In what was a novelty at
28223-448: Was too old. The ship was scrapped in Boston, Massachusetts, the demolition began on 13 September 1940. Ocean liner An ocean liner is a type of passenger ship primarily used for transportation across seas or oceans. Ocean liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes (such as for pleasure cruises or as hospital ships ). The Queen Mary 2 is
28392-679: Was torpedoed in September 1918. Though damaged, she was able to make port for repairs and returned to service. In October 1919 Mount Vernon was turned over for operation by the Army Transport Service in its Pacific fleet based at Fort Mason in San Francisco. USAT Mount Vernon was sent to Vladivostok , Russia to transport elements of the Czechoslovak Legion to Trieste , Italy and German prisoners of war to Hamburg , Germany. On return from that voyage, lasting from March through July 1920,
28561-707: Was very impressed with the service of the Cunard's Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth as troopships during the war. To ensure a reliable and fast troop transport in case of a war against the Soviet Union, the U.S. government sponsored the construction of SS United States and entered it into service for the United States Lines in 1952. She won the Blue Riband on her maiden voyage in that year and held it until Richard Branson won it back in 1986 with Virgin Atlantic Challenger II. One year later, in 1953, Italy completed
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