Pacific Mail Steamship Company

The Pacific Mail Steamship Company ( German about: Pacific Mail Steamship Company ) was founded in 1848 by William Aspinwall, with the participation of the company Howland & Aspinwall company that played a significant role in the history of the Wild West. Aspinwall completed before the founding of a ten-year contract, which made ​​it possible to transport mail from the Isthmus of Panama to California. Since there were no transcontinental railroad in the founding of the company, this was a profitable route to share the mail between East and West. Other lines led to New York and Hong Kong between China and Japan. Aspinwall remained until 1856 President of the company.

History

From the beginning, the company made large profits because of the California Gold Rush ( 1848-1854 ). Every year there was a return on investment of partial 30 percent. With the Government of the Republic of New Granada, a contract was negotiated, the Panama Railroad Company, some of which belonged to Aspinwall, exclusive rights were on the railway. With the completion in 1855 of the transport was accelerated. 1865 Atlantic Mail Steamship Company was acquired, so that the company post of New York transported to San Francisco. In the same year the company acquired a ten-year commercial license for the East Asia trade.

Five years after the founding of 18 steamers were operated in 1869 already 23, but fell as a consequence the gains as the transcontinental railroad was completed in the same year. Also, the passenger transport fell sharply. In addition, the ships of the company were not fast enough technologically renewed, so they increased the pressure from competitors such as the Occidental and Oriental Steamship Company felt. The company was able to maintain viable through agreements with Australia and New Zealand First, after the end however, it was taken over in 1893 by the rail company Southern Pacific Company. In 1912 Congress passed a law that forbade that ships belonging to railway companies, may pass through the Panama Canal under construction. After several more sales, most recently at the American President Lines, the company was always meaningless and finally dissolved in 1949 and formally.

Ships

The first ship of the Pacific Mail Steamship Company was the California, which was built in 1848. Sister ships were the Oregon and Panama. 1850, the company bought two ships to establish a monopoly in trade between Panama and Oregon, as well as four other ships themselves were built. 1864, Colorado was completed. In 1867 it was used for trade with China and Japan after the shell reinforced and a mast had been added. The ship City of Rio de Janeiro was put into service in 1878 and was from 1881 the Pacific Mail and drove for the trans-Pacific passenger service the route San Francisco -Honolulu -Yokohama - Hong Kong - San Francisco. The sinking of the ship on February 22, 1901 was probably the most difficult to date shipwreck in the San Francisco Bay Area.

The largest ships in the history of the shipping company were the two 13,639 -tonne Mongolia and Manchuria, which were purchased in 1903 in the unfinished condition of the Atlantic Transport Line and put into service in 1904.

Swell

  • Theshiplist.com (English )
  • FN Otis, Isthmus of Panama: history of the Panama Railroad and of the Pacific Mail Steamship Company, together with a traveler 's guide and business man 's hand -book for the Panama Railroad, and the lines of steam ships connecting it with Europe, the United States, the North and South Atlantic and Pacific costs, China, Australia, and Japan, Harper, New York, 1867 (English )
  • History of the company American President Lines (APL ) with the history of the Pacific Mail Steamship Company (English )
  • Former company (United States)
  • Former shipping company (United States)
  • Shipping (United States)
  • History of California
SS City of Rio de Janeiro USS Manchuria (ID-1633)
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