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70-479: Packet boats , offering a regular scheduled mail service, had been in use for the route between Holyhead and Dublin (providing a mail connection between Britain and Ireland) since at least 1598; but for letters to and from continental Europe a different approach was taken: the post was entrusted to messengers, who would then make their own arrangements for conveying it across the Channel and beyond. This messenger service

140-576: A French port in order to ensure that there could be no trade with Britain. He also ordered all European nations and French allies to stop trading with Britain, and he threatened Russia with an invasion if they did not comply as well. His orders backfired in the Iberian Peninsula, especially in Portugal (being allied to Britain), setting off the Peninsular War. He pushed Russia too hard, both in terms of

210-491: A French privateer, the Atlante . Outgunned, outnumbered, and with all three officers dead or wounded, Antelope ' s crew triumphed after a desperate fight. On 21 June 1798, the packet Princess Royal , under the command of Captain J. Skinner, was carrying mail to New York when she encountered a French privateer brig. The packet was armed with six cannons, and had 49 people on board, some of whom were passengers and boys. Still,

280-399: A fee, if not already fee-paid. Occasionally, because of political instability when a post office could not provide normal services, incoming mail from a mail steamer would be delivered to a local delivery service, which would deliver the mail and charge the addressee an extra fee for the service. When this occurred, the local delivery service would place its own local service stamp or mark on

350-522: A long boat, with provisions, and set them adrift. After further tribulations, the Marquis of Kildare reached St Ives, Cornwall , on 31 May. Another particularly notable combat occurred on 1 October 1807 when the packet ship Windsor Castle resisted and then captured the more heavily armed French privateer Jeune Richard . The action was sanguinary and the heroism of the British crew drew press attention. At

420-460: A place to cook), drinking water (often tasting of indigo or tobacco, which the water casks had previously held), and a place to sleep. Later, scheduled services were offered, but the time journeys took depended much on the weather. In 1724, Daniel Defoe wrote about them in his novel Roxana: The Fortunate Mistress . In the mid-18th century England, the King maintained a weekly packet service with

490-501: A regular packet service was set up in addition to run between Harwich and Helvoetsluys . By the 1680s packets were running to Ostend or Nieuport from Dover, as well as to Calais. The route to France, however, was then closed in 1689 following the start of the Nine Years' War . In 1690 the packet service consisted of eleven vessels: three for the service to and from Ireland, two for Holland, two for Flanders and two for France (albeit

560-418: A steamship carrying mail was that its arrival would be advertised in advance in the newspapers, thus giving it "free advertising" as a travel option for passengers or cargo. In most cases, mail carried by mail steamers was delivered to the post office to which it was addressed. In some cases, the incoming mail would be advertised in the local newspaper for pickup at the post office or at the steamship's office for

630-598: A two-hour engagement ensued during which the passengers joined in by firing small arms. Eventually, the privateer gave up and sailed away. Later information suggested that the privateer was the Avanture , of Bordeaux, which was armed with fourteen long 4-pounder guns and two 12-pounder guns, and had a crew of 85 men. In the engagement she suffered two killed and four wounded, and was so shot up that she had to return to her home port for repairs. Then on 15 May 1800, Captain Newman, late of

700-459: A woman and her sick brother and father, also stayed on board. The privateer put on board a prize master and 17 crew, who steered her for Corunna . When they were about six leagues from Corunna, Newman, who had managed to secure a pistol, and his crew, who secured a cutlass and boarding pikes, managed to chase the French crew from the deck and to seize the vessel. Newman then put the French prize crew in

770-678: Is highly important. Yesterday afternoon, about half past three, we received it at this office being a full hour before any of the Wall street papers had their's — and by five o'clock we issued an Extra, to gratify the immense crowd that surrounded our office. One of our clippers left town at 10 o'clock, and boarded the Patrick Henry outside the bar at about one o'clock." The news was advertised as "Ten Days Later From England—Highly Important" and included articles about war preparations by Russia, Queen Victoria 's marriage that month, meetings of Parliament and

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840-731: The Admiralty took over the administration of the Packet Service. It replaced older packet vessels with naval ships made redundant by the peace that had followed the end of the Napoleonic wars. Steam vessels started to replace sail in the 1830s and this enabled a more regular and predictable service to be operated. Over time, there was a consolidation of packet stations. Most routes were transferred to Southampton, which had been linked to London by railway . Other ports handling packets include Liverpool (from 1840) and Plymouth (from 1850). In 1850,

910-624: The Black Ball Line (later the "Old Line") began operating 1 January 1818, offering a monthly service between New York and Liverpool with four ships. In 1821, Byrnes, Grimble & Co. inaugurated the Red Star Line of Liverpool Packets , with the four ships Panther, Hercules, Manhattan and Meteor. In 1822, Messrs Fish, Grinnell, & Co. began the Swallowtail Line, known as the "Fourth Line of Packets for New York," their first ships being

980-570: The Elbe , issued the Berlin Decree forbidding his allies and conquests from trading with the British. Britain responded with further orders in council issued on 10 January and 11 November 1807. These forbade French trade with Britain, its allies or neutrals, and instructed the Royal Navy to blockade all French and allied ports, and to prevent all shipping whether neutral or not. Napoleon responded again with

1050-626: The Erie Canal opened in New York state in 1825 along the Mohawk River , demand quickly rose for travelers to be accommodated. Canal packet boats included cabin space for up to 60 passengers. Unlike European and American sailing vessels, that sought to attain greater speed under sail, the canal packet boats were drawn through the Erie Canal by teams of two or three horses or mules. Compared to overland travel,

1120-733: The French Chamber , and the French King's speech. "By the arrival of the Patrick Henry, Captain Delano, we have received immense files of English papers and periodicals, due to the 25th London, 26th from Liverpool and 23rd from Paris…Neither the Cambridge nor the Independence had arrived out on the 26th of Dec. The Patrick Henry had a fine run of nine days to the long(itude) of 38, where she took, on

1190-466: The Luddite movement. The episode seriously hurt France itself. Shipbuilding, and its trades such as rope-making, declined, as did many other industries that relied on overseas markets, such as the linen industries. With few exports and lost profits, many industries were closed down. Southern France, especially the port cities of Marseille and Bordeaux , as well as the city of La Rochelle , suffered from

1260-611: The Milan Decree of 1807, declaring that all neutral shipping using British ports or paying British tariffs were to be regarded as British and seized. Napoleon's plan to defeat Britain was to destroy its ability to trade. As an island nation, trade was its most vital lifeline. Napoleon believed that if he could isolate Britain economically, he would be able to invade the nation after its economic collapse. Napoleon decreed that all commercial ships wishing to do business in Europe must first stop at

1330-497: The Silas Richards, Napoleon, George, and York , which soon moved to bi-weekly service. By 1825, vessels were advertised as leaving New York on the 8th and leaving Liverpool on the 24th of every month. Their actual schedules eventually varied, sometimes wildly, due to weather and other conditions. Mail steamers were steamships which carried the mail across waterways, such as across an ocean or between islands, primarily during

1400-483: The Spanish War of Independence occurred simultaneously, and suffered severely in, and ultimately retreated from, Russia in 1812. The British government was the central force in encouraging and financing alliances against France. Napoleon was frustrated in his repeated attempts to defeat Britain. Attacks that involved naval power had all failed, with the systematic defeats of the combined French and Spanish navies. After

1470-678: The Third Coalition , refused to comply with French demands and was attacked by Russia in February and by Denmark-Norway in March 1808. At the same time, a French force threatened to invade southern Sweden, but the plan was stopped as the Royal Navy controlled the Danish straits . The Royal Navy set up a base outside the port of Gothenburg in 1808 to simplify operations into the Baltic Sea. The Baltic campaign

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1540-474: The clipper ships. Earlier they were also known as dispatch boats , but the service was also provided by privateers during time of war, and on occasion chartered private yachts. News of "record passages" was eagerly awaited by the public, and the craft's captain and crew were often celebrated in the press. Behind this search for sailing faster than the wind , however, lay the foundations for a development in naval architecture and its science which would serve until

1610-487: The packet trade , emerged as the central information superhighway of the era, and for the development of journalism as well. For instance, in late January 1840, the American Packet ship Patrick Henry arrived ahead of schedule and beat the competition to deliver the news from the continent for eager American readers. The Morning Herald (New York) , 1 February, on the front page, reported: "The foreign news given today

1680-404: The 19th century and early 20th century, when the cost of sending a letter was declining to the point an ordinary person could afford the cost of sending a letter across great distances. In addition to carrying mail, most mail steamers carried passengers or cargo since the revenue from the mail service, if any, was insufficient by itself to pay for the cost of its travel. However, the advantage for

1750-671: The 19th century on the Mississippi and Missouri rivers, supplying and bringing personnel to forts and trading posts. Packet ships were put into use in the 18th century on the Atlantic Ocean between Great Britain and its colonies, where the services were called the packet trade . Packet craft were used extensively in European coastal mail services since the 17th century, and gradually added cramped passenger accommodation. Passenger accommodations were minimal: transportation, "firing" (i.e.

1820-470: The 4th inst, strong westerly gales, which prevailed since that time without change." Improvements in the speed of that communication was crucial for many commercial, financial and shipping business activities—speedier information made capital move faster, directly affecting world trade. In 1840, the Patrick Henry was among twenty sailing packet ships on the New York–Liverpool run, and notably among

1890-499: The Continental System in Europe. All connections with Britain were to be cut, even mail. However, there was extensive smuggling, which made the Continental System an ineffective weapon of economic war. There was some damage to British trade, especially in 1808 and 1812, but British control of the oceans led to replacement trade with North and South America, as well as large scale smuggling in Europe particularly from Malta , which

1960-479: The Continental System, and in his demands for control over part of Poland . Napoleon's 1812 invasion of Russia was a disaster which set the stage for his downfall. The Continental System had mixed effects on British trade. The embargo encouraged British merchants to seek out new markets aggressively and to engage in smuggling with continental Europe. Napoleon's exclusively land-based customs enforcers could not stop British smugglers, especially as these operated with

2030-557: The Continental System, the orders in council threatened to respond with punitive measures. This double threat created a difficult time for neutral nations like the United States. In response to this prohibition, the U.S. government adopted the Embargo Act of 1807 and eventually Macon's Bill Number 2 . This embargo was designed as an economic counterattack to hurt Britain, but it proved even more damaging to American merchants. Together with

2100-693: The Downs and several island communities). The following year additional vessels were procured for the resumption of the service between Falmouth and the West Indies, and before long packet ships were sailing from Falmouth to Buenos Ayres , Colombia, Cuba, Mexico and San Domingo . Routes ran at various times from Dover in Kent and Harwich in Essex to Calais , the Hook of Holland , Heligoland and Gothenburg . The usual packet route

2170-642: The European nations under his control, causing inflation and great debt to undermine British strength. His position was strengthened by the Fall of Berlin in October 1806, bringing swathes of Prussia under his control. In November 1806, having recently conquered or allied with every major power on the European continent, Napoleon, in retaliation to the British Order in Council of 17 May 1806 blockading all ports from Brest to

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2240-463: The Falmouth Station grew as Napoleon implemented his Continental System , attempting to exclude British trade and communications with mainland Europe. In 1810 men of the packet service at Falmouth mutinied over pay levels. Previously, the sailors had been authorised to trade for their own account. When this was banned as smuggling, they objected to the resulting loss of income. In punishment for

2310-588: The Iberian route was diverted to Lisbon . Also at this time, Edmund Dummer undertook to run a monthly packet service between Falmouth and the West Indies; problems arose, however (leaving Dummer bankrupt) and a West Indies service was not resumed until the 1740s. In 1744 there were four boats on the Falmouth station, four at Harwich, six at Dover, two based at Gibraltar and two at Minorca (while additional vessels, at various stations, provided packet services with Ireland,

2380-757: The North Atlantic route—two each year on average. Two of the ships were Falmouth packets and two were steamers, while 17 were American sailing packets. Eight were on the New York–Liverpool route, two on the Boston–Liverpool route, two on the New York–London route, and five on the New York–Havre route. Six of the ships just disappeared, and were lost with all hands. It is notable that two out of every three wrecks took place in November–February, indicating that

2450-512: The appearance of the steam vessels. In 1863, during the American Civil War , the packet boat Marshall carried the body of Confederate General Stonewall Jackson from Lynchburg to his home in Lexington, Virginia , for burial. The American canal packet boats were typically narrow, about 14 ft (4.3 m), to accommodate canals, but might be 70–90 ft (21–27 m) long. When

2520-660: The blockade was also intended to establish French industrial and commercial hegemony in Europe. Within the French Empire , the newly acquired territories and client states were subordinate to France itself, as there was a unified market within France (no internal barriers or tariffs) while economic distortions were maintained on the borders of the new territories. The Berlin Decree forbade the import of British goods into any European country allied with or dependent upon France, and it installed

2590-462: The boats cut journey time in half and were much more comfortable. Travelers could get from New York City to Buffalo in ten days, with a combination of sailing and packet boats. Some passengers took the boats to see both the Erie Canal and the natural landscapes. Significantly, thousands of others used packet boats to emigrate to Ohio and other parts of the Midwest . These boats were also instrumental in

2660-483: The connivance of Napoleon's chosen rulers of Spain, Westphalia , and other German states. British exports to the continent fell between 25% and 55% compared to pre-1806 levels. However, trade sharply increased with the rest of the world, covering much of the decline. In response to the Continental System, British orders in council prohibited other countries (that is, its trade partners) from trading with France. If they chose to trade with France or otherwise comply with

2730-540: The continent and Ireland using 15 packet vessels. Their importance is evident from the fact that the first craft built in the colony of New South Wales (in 1789) was the Rose Hill Packet . Over the two centuries of the sailing packet craft development, they came in various rig configurations which included: schooners , schooners-brigs , sloops , cutters , brigs , brigantines , luggers , feluccas , galleys , xebecs , barques and their ultimate development in

2800-454: The country's total trade dropped from 55% to 25% between 1802 and 1806. However, the British economy suffered greatly from 1810 to 1812, especially in terms of high unemployment and inflation. This led to widespread protest and violence, but the middle classes and upper classes strongly supported the government, which used the Yeomanry and militia to suppress the working class unrest, especially

2870-470: The decisive defeat at Trafalgar , Napoleon made no attempt to rebuild his navy. He turned instead to economic warfare, planning to ruin the British economy. It was thought that Britain depended completely upon trade with Europe for its prosperity, so cutting off trade with continental Europe would ruin the British economy and force it to sue for peace. A blockade was impossible because the Royal Navy controlled

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2940-537: The envelope when the extra fee was paid. Mail carried by these steamers – sometimes known as paquebot mail – was subject to various regulations by the governments involved as well as the Universal Postal Union's (UPU) regulations stated at the UPU Vienna Conference of 1891. The C-82 Packet twin-engined, twin-boom cargo aircraft designed and built by Fairchild Aircraft was named as a tribute to

3010-496: The first decade after the advent of the transatlantic steamship service. Even if the size of the sailing packets grew markedly, their service speed did not follow the trend after the introduction of steamships on the route in the late 1830s. After 1835, there seems to be no signs of speed improvements. Another phenomenon which indicates that the sailing packets were losing their hold on the first class business—mail, fine freight and cabin passengers—was that they no longer cared about

3080-537: The goods were smuggled to the many ports around the Baltic Sea. To further support the convoys, the small Danish island of Anholt was occupied in May 1809. A lighthouse on the island simplified navigation through the Danish straits. Russia also chafed under the embargo, and in 1810 reopened trade with Britain. Russia's withdrawal from the system was a motivating factor behind Napoleon's decision to invade Russia in 1812, which proved

3150-477: The government disbanded the Packet Service. Instead, the Post Office contracted for the carriage of mail with companies running other regularly timetabled services. Ships with the contract to carry mail were designated Royal Mail Ship . This change was administered by Admiral Parry . Packet came to mean a regularly scheduled ship, carrying passengers, as in packet trade , whether or not official Post Office mail

3220-456: The issues of the impressment of American seamen, and British support for Indian resistance in U.S. colonization, tensions led to a declaration of war by the U.S. in the War of 1812 . This war, not Napoleon's blockade, sharply reduced British trade with the United States. The blockade did not cause significant economic damage to the British, although British exports to the continent as a proportion of

3290-507: The lack of competition from British goods (particularly textiles, which were produced much more cheaply in Britain). In Italy, the agricultural sector flourished; but the Dutch economy, predicated on trade, suffered greatly as a result of the embargo. Napoleon's economic warfare was much to the chagrin of his own brother, King Louis I of Holland . Britain's first response to the Continental System

3360-519: The latter service was suspended). The other two packet boats worked out of Deal , and provided a mail service for warships and merchant vessels anchored in the Downs . In place of the Dover-Calais route, a packet service was established between Falmouth and Corunna in north-west Spain. At the outbreak of the War of the Spanish Succession , in 1702, the service to France was again closed and

3430-594: The packet Jane , captured the Lisbon packet Marquis of Kildare . When a French privateer captured the Jane , it permitted Newman and some of his crew to go to Lisbon. On 29 April they sailed from Lisbon aboard the Marquis of Kildare , which was bound for Falmouth. Two weeks later, a French privateer captured the Marquis of Kildare and took off her captain, officers, and almost all the crew, except for three who hid themselves; Newman and four of his crew, as well as three passengers,

3500-710: The packet boat. It was used by the United States Army Air Forces and its successor the United States Air Force following World War II. Receiving information as quickly as possible—whether regarding particulars about trade, foreign markets, decision-making, professional partnerships, business documents, legal contracts, personal letters and political, government and military news—was of urgent importance to 19th century commerce. Industry and business made special arrangements to beat their competitors so that sailing ships, especially packet ships involved in

3570-458: The packet captains took too heavy risks, especially during the rough winter sailings. The only precautionary measure to ensure solid business information transmission across the Atlantic was to send duplicates. This was very typical during the shift period. The duplicates also ensured the fastest possible dispatch of information. Most mail—especially eastwards—was still carried by sailing ships during

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3640-459: The packet station to Southampton, which was now served by a railway. The last packet arrived at Falmouth on 30 April 1851, and the Cornwall Railway did not reach Falmouth until 1863. Packets would sometimes encounter hostile vessels, with greater or lesser success. The French captured His Majesty's packet Antelope three times, but in between, on 1 December 1793, she fought and captured

3710-453: The punctuality of the sailing dates as much as they did in the 1830s. If the reliability of a mail ship service is measured by the regularity of sailings and the safety records, the performance of the American sailing packets in the mid-1840s was noticeably below such expectations. Continental System The Continental Blockade ( French : Blocus continental ), or Continental System ,

3780-663: The reduction in trade. Moreover, the prices of staple foods rose in most of continental Europe. Napoleon's St. Cloud Decree in July 1810 opened the southwest of France and the Spanish frontier to limited British trade, and reopened French trade to the United States. It was an admission that his blockade had hurt his own economy more than the British. It had also failed to reduce British financial support for its allies. The industrialised north and east of France, and Wallonia (the south of present-day Belgium) saw significantly increased profits due to

3850-610: The refusal to man ships, the Post Office moved the Falmouth Packet Station to Plymouth. Much lobbying of the Postmaster General and HM Treasury by a delegation from Falmouth and by Cornwall's forty-four members of Parliament followed. After considering Fowey as an alternative station, the Post Office agreed to return the service to Falmouth in January 1811. In 1843, Falmouth merchants persuaded H.M. Government not to move

3920-574: The sea lanes in the North Sea and Baltic Sea for the British merchant fleet. The island of Heligoland off the west coast of Denmark was occupied in September 1807. This base made it easier for Britain to control trade to North Sea ports and to facilitate smuggling. The attacks against Copenhagen and Heligoland started the Gunboat War against Denmark, which lasted until 1814. Sweden, Britain's ally in

3990-432: The seas, but if Napoleon controlled the ports of Europe, he could prevent British products from landing. On 16 May 1806, the Royal Navy imposed a naval blockade of the French and French-allied coasts. In turn, Napoleon resorted to economic warfare. Britain was Europe's manufacturing and business center as a result of the Industrial Revolution . Napoleon believed it would be easy to take advantage of an embargo on trade with

4060-412: The settling of and travel within Upstate New York through the branch canals such as the Chenango Canal . Packet boats were also popular along the James River and Kanawha Canal in Virginia, allowing travel beyond the falls upriver. Packets were the predecessors of the twentieth-century ocean liner and were the first to sail between American and European ports on regular schedules. The first company,

4130-577: The speediest. The short round trips, however, did not depend on speed, but rather changes in the schedule. Efficiency may have been improved by tightening schedules, but this may have exacerbated delays and errors of judgment. For westbound sailings, there was a high risk of disaster. Nearly one packet in six was totally lost in service. This means that out of 6,000 crossings, about 22 ended in such wrecks. More than 600 British ships, of all types, were lost each year in between 1833 and 1835 and 1841 and 1842. The loss of lives varied between 1,450 and 1,560. By

4200-500: The start of the War of 1812 , Joshua Barney in the American privateer Rossie captured the mail packet Princess Amelia after a short but intense fight on 16 September 1812. Rossie was armed with ten 12-pounder guns and one long 9-pounder on a pivot, and had a crew of 95; Princess Amelia was armed with four 6-pounders and two 9-pounders, and had a crew of 28. Princess Amelia had to strike after she had lost three men killed, including her captain, and 11 men wounded. In 1823,

4270-452: The time of the maiden voyage of the Patrick Henry , in 1839, packet captains had begun taking more risks against their competitors as steamships were coming into service. Indeed most shipwrecks took place during the period when the competition between sail and steam was hardest. From a mail, business and journalism transmission point of view, the trend was most alarming. Between 1838 and 1847 no less than 21 mail-carrying ships were lost on

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4340-428: The turning point of the war and his regime. Portugal openly refused to join the Continental System. In 1793, Portugal signed a treaty of mutual assistance with Britain. After the Treaty of Tilsit in July 1807, Napoleon attempted to capture the Portuguese fleet and the House of Braganza , and to occupy the Portuguese ports. He failed, as Prince-regent John VI , acting for his mother, Queen Maria I of Portugal , took

4410-451: Was a large-scale embargo by French emperor Napoleon I against the British Empire from 21 November 1806 until 11 April 1814, during the Napoleonic Wars . Napoleon issued the Berlin Decree on 21 November 1806 in response to the naval blockade of the French coasts enacted by the British government on 16 May 1806. The embargo was applied intermittently, ending on 11 April 1814 after Napoleon's first abdication. Aside from subduing Britain,

4480-408: Was a packet station since around 1688 and the station has been the subject of studies by Arthur Norway (1895), Susan Gay (1903) and Tony Pawlyn (2003). During most of the 18th century and the early part of the 19th century, Britain was at war. The locale of Falmouth in Cornwall was favourable to the successful transmission of mail through the gauntlet of enemy naval ships and privateers. The value of

4550-407: Was carried. Packet boats Packet boats were medium-sized boats designed for domestic mail, passenger, and freight transportation in European countries and in North American rivers and canals, some of them steam driven. They were used extensively during the 18th and 19th centuries and featured regularly scheduled service. Steam driven packets were used extensively in the United States in

4620-418: Was far from reliable, so in the 1630s Thomas Witherings set about establishing a regular Dover-Calais packet service and entered into negotiations with Flemish and French postmasters-general to negotiate for effective cross-border carriage of letters for mutual benefit of the nations concerned (and the messengers were promptly dismissed). To begin with, letters to and from Holland went via France; but in 1668

4690-515: Was from Holyhead in Anglesey , Wales to Dublin , or Dún Laoghaire (previously Kingstown). A second routes between Waterford and Milford Haven was revived in 1653 by the Council of State . A new road was built by Thomas Telford to link London with Holyhead over the Menai Suspension Bridge . There was also a route to the Isle of Man The stations from which the packet ships departed were: Dover , Harwich , Great Yarmouth , Falmouth , Plymouth , Milford Haven and Holyhead . Falmouth

4760-418: Was to launch a major naval attack on the weakest link in Napoleon's coalition, Denmark . Although ostensibly neutral, Denmark was under heavy French and Russian pressure to pledge its fleet to Napoleon. London could not take the chance of ignoring the Danish threat. In the Second Battle of Copenhagen in August–September 1807, the Royal Navy bombarded Copenhagen , seized the Danish fleet, and assured control of

4830-421: Was under the command of Vice-admiral James Saumarez . In November 1810 France demanded that Sweden should declare war upon Britain and stop all trade. The result was a phony war between Sweden and Britain . A second navy base was set up on the island of Hanö in the south of Sweden in 1810. These two bases were used to support convoys from Britain to Gothenburg, then through the Danish straits to Hanö. From Hanö

4900-441: Was used by the British to sell their goods to southern Italy . The loss of Britain as a trading partner also hit the economies of France and its allies. Angry governments gained an incentive to ignore the Continental System, which led to the weakening of Napoleon's coalition. As Napoleon realised that extensive trade was going through Spain and Russia , he invaded those two countries. His forces were tied down in Spain, in which

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