Messageries Maritimes
Encyclopedia
The Messageries Maritimes is an old French maritime
company. It was originally created in 1851 as Messageries Nationales, later called Messageries Impériales, and in 1871, Compagnie des Messageries Maritimes.
and Armand Brehic joined the project encouraging the purchase of the ship building yards of La Ciotat in 1849.
In the beginning, the Company operated om routes to the middle east. Its ships were used as troop carriers during the Crimea war, and were so helpful for the army that the Emperor gave the company the right to operate on the Bordeaux-Brazil route as thanks. This was the first French transatlantic line equipped with steamers. The following year, the Societe Generale Maritime (future Compagnie Generale Transatlantique) received the North Atlantic lines.
From 1871 to 1914, the Compagnie des Messageries maritimes saw its Golden Age. This was the period of French colonial expansion and of interventionism in the Middle and Far East. The Marseille liners continuously served the Mediterrannean sea, the Black sea, then the Red sea, the Indian Ocean, the China sea and finally the Pacific ocean. In the West, the south atlantic line fills out. Even the North Atlantic knew the ships with the typical double funnel, which make the line London-Dunkerke-Le Havre-Marseille. In the Middle-East, the ports of call are Malta
, Alexandria
, Port-Saïd, Beyrouth, Syria
, Smyrna
, Constantinopolis, and the Black Sea. In the Indian Ocean, the line serves Mahé des Seychelles, La Réunion, Maurice, Zanzibar
and of course Madagascar
.But also the French establishments in India
. In Pondicherry, the inadequate harbour needs the use of "loading boats".
The Far East is the private field of the MM Company. Saïgon was rapidly becoming the second homeport of the Company.The "stationnaires", ships of small tonnage afforded to the local lines departed from there. They go to Hanoi
, Hong-Kong, Shangai, Australia and New Caledonia
.
In the South Atlantic, the Bresil line goes as far as Montevideo
. Less important, and above all less known, its homeport is Bordeaux
.
Sea
A sea generally refers to a large body of salt water, but the term is used in other contexts as well. Most commonly, it means a large expanse of saline water connected with an ocean, and is commonly used as a synonym for ocean...
company. It was originally created in 1851 as Messageries Nationales, later called Messageries Impériales, and in 1871, Compagnie des Messageries Maritimes.
History
In 1851, a little ship owner from Marseille, M. Rostand, proposed to Ernest Simons, director of a terrestrial common carrier company the messageries nationales, to merge to create a common shipping carrier company, first called Messageries Nationales, then Messageries Impériales, and finally in 1871 the "Compagnie des Messageries Maritimes". Two engineers, Dupuy de LômeDupuy de Lome
Dupuy de Lome may refer to:* Enrique Dupuy de Lôme, Spanish Minister to the United States in 1892* Henri Dupuy de Lôme, a French naval architect in the 19th century...
and Armand Brehic joined the project encouraging the purchase of the ship building yards of La Ciotat in 1849.
In the beginning, the Company operated om routes to the middle east. Its ships were used as troop carriers during the Crimea war, and were so helpful for the army that the Emperor gave the company the right to operate on the Bordeaux-Brazil route as thanks. This was the first French transatlantic line equipped with steamers. The following year, the Societe Generale Maritime (future Compagnie Generale Transatlantique) received the North Atlantic lines.
Malta
Malta , officially known as the Republic of Malta , is a Southern European country consisting of an archipelago situated in the centre of the Mediterranean, south of Sicily, east of Tunisia and north of Libya, with Gibraltar to the west and Alexandria to the east.Malta covers just over in...
, Alexandria
Alexandria
Alexandria is the second-largest city of Egypt, with a population of 4.1 million, extending about along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea in the north central part of the country; it is also the largest city lying directly on the Mediterranean coast. It is Egypt's largest seaport, serving...
, Port-Saïd, Beyrouth, Syria
Syria
Syria , officially the Syrian Arab Republic , is a country in Western Asia, bordering Lebanon and the Mediterranean Sea to the West, Turkey to the north, Iraq to the east, Jordan to the south, and Israel to the southwest....
, Smyrna
Smyrna
Smyrna was an ancient city located at a central and strategic point on the Aegean coast of Anatolia. Thanks to its advantageous port conditions, its ease of defence and its good inland connections, Smyrna rose to prominence. The ancient city is located at two sites within modern İzmir, Turkey...
, Constantinopolis, and the Black Sea. In the Indian Ocean, the line serves Mahé des Seychelles, La Réunion, Maurice, Zanzibar
Zanzibar
Zanzibar ,Persian: زنگبار, from suffix bār: "coast" and Zangi: "bruin" ; is a semi-autonomous part of Tanzania, in East Africa. It comprises the Zanzibar Archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of numerous small islands and two large ones: Unguja , and Pemba...
and of course Madagascar
Madagascar
The Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
.But also the French establishments in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. In Pondicherry, the inadequate harbour needs the use of "loading boats".
The Far East is the private field of the MM Company. Saïgon was rapidly becoming the second homeport of the Company.The "stationnaires", ships of small tonnage afforded to the local lines departed from there. They go to Hanoi
Hanoi
Hanoi , is the capital of Vietnam and the country's second largest city. Its population in 2009 was estimated at 2.6 million for urban districts, 6.5 million for the metropolitan jurisdiction. From 1010 until 1802, it was the most important political centre of Vietnam...
, Hong-Kong, Shangai, Australia and New Caledonia
New Caledonia
New Caledonia is a special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, east of Australia and about from Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of...
.
In the South Atlantic, the Bresil line goes as far as Montevideo
Montevideo
Montevideo is the largest city, the capital, and the chief port of Uruguay. The settlement was established in 1726 by Bruno Mauricio de Zabala, as a strategic move amidst a Spanish-Portuguese dispute over the platine region, and as a counter to the Portuguese colony at Colonia del Sacramento...
. Less important, and above all less known, its homeport is Bordeaux
Bordeaux
Bordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River in the Gironde department in southwestern France.The Bordeaux-Arcachon-Libourne metropolitan area, has a population of 1,010,000 and constitutes the sixth-largest urban area in France. It is the capital of the Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture...
.