Packet ship
Encyclopedia
A "packet ship" was originally a vessel employed to carry post office
mail packets to and from British embassies, colonies and outposts. In sea transport, a packet service is a regular, scheduled service, carrying freight and passengers. The ships used for this service are called packet ship
s or packet boats, the seamen are called packetmen and the business is called packet trade
.
"Packet" can mean a small parcel but, originally meant a parcel of important correspondence or valuable items, for urgent delivery. The French language term "paquebot" derives from the English term "packet boat," but means a large ocean liner.
This sense became extended to mean any regularly scheduled ship, carrying passengers, as in packet trade. The word "packet" is frequently modified by the destination, e.g. Sydney packet, or by motive force, e.g. Steam packet.
systems for high value goods, especially confidential correspondence and bullion. In times of war, regular shipments ran the gauntlet of warships and privateers, and even in peacetime, pirates could be a threat on some routes. In 1829, the pirate Mansel Alcantra
captured the packet Topaz and murdered her crew after looting her, leaving alive only one man who had disguised himself as a priest.
The UK General Post Office developed a packet service
that used small, fast, lightly armed ships to carry state papers to overseas destinations on a regular schedule. This service operated from Tudor
times until 1823, when the Admiralty assumed the responsibility for running the service. In the 1850s the Post Office moved to using contract carriers.
During the French Revolutionary
and Napoleonic Wars
the packet ships were targets for privateers and warships seeking prize money. Although some were captured, others managed to fight back.(See: Post Office Packet Service
)
The European states with empires too developed mail systems for overseas transport of packets. Eventually, however, commercial steam liners began to work regular international schedules and received contracts from governments to carry mail as well as passengers and high-value cargo. Their services retained the name "Packet".
Packet shipping companies included:
Post office
A post office is a facility forming part of a postal system for the posting, receipt, sorting, handling, transmission or delivery of mail.Post offices offer mail-related services such as post office boxes, postage and packaging supplies...
mail packets to and from British embassies, colonies and outposts. In sea transport, a packet service is a regular, scheduled service, carrying freight and passengers. The ships used for this service are called packet ship
Packet ship
A "packet ship" was originally a vessel employed to carry post office mail packets to and from British embassies, colonies and outposts. In sea transport, a packet service is a regular, scheduled service, carrying freight and passengers...
s or packet boats, the seamen are called packetmen and the business is called packet trade
Packet trade
Packet trade generally refers to any regularly scheduled cargo, passenger and mail trade conducted by ship. The ships are called "packet boats" as their original function was to carry mail.-United States:...
.
"Packet" can mean a small parcel but, originally meant a parcel of important correspondence or valuable items, for urgent delivery. The French language term "paquebot" derives from the English term "packet boat," but means a large ocean liner.
History
Many states, civilisations and organisations set up mailMail
Mail, or post, is a system for transporting letters and other tangible objects: written documents, typically enclosed in envelopes, and also small packages are delivered to destinations around the world. Anything sent through the postal system is called mail or post.In principle, a postal service...
systems for high value goods, especially confidential correspondence and bullion. In times of war, regular shipments ran the gauntlet of warships and privateers, and even in peacetime, pirates could be a threat on some routes. In 1829, the pirate Mansel Alcantra
Mansel Alcantra
Mansel Alcantra or Alcantara was a Spanish pirate active in the South Atlantic during the early 19th century. As well as committing acts of piracy, he was also responsible for several incidents of mass murder. The most infamous of these acts occurred in 1829 when his brig, the Macrinarian,...
captured the packet Topaz and murdered her crew after looting her, leaving alive only one man who had disguised himself as a priest.
The UK General Post Office developed a packet service
Post Office Packet Service
The Post Office Packet Service dates to Tudor times and ran until 1823, when the Admiralty assumed control of the service. Originally, the Post Office used packet ships to carry mail packets to and from British embassies, colonies and outposts. The vessels generally also carried bullion, private...
that used small, fast, lightly armed ships to carry state papers to overseas destinations on a regular schedule. This service operated from Tudor
Tudor dynasty
The Tudor dynasty or House of Tudor was a European royal house of Welsh origin that ruled the Kingdom of England and its realms, including the Lordship of Ireland, later the Kingdom of Ireland, from 1485 until 1603. Its first monarch was Henry Tudor, a descendant through his mother of a legitimised...
times until 1823, when the Admiralty assumed the responsibility for running the service. In the 1850s the Post Office moved to using contract carriers.
During the French Revolutionary
French Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of major conflicts, from 1792 until 1802, fought between the French Revolutionary government and several European states...
and Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
the packet ships were targets for privateers and warships seeking prize money. Although some were captured, others managed to fight back.(See: Post Office Packet Service
Post Office Packet Service
The Post Office Packet Service dates to Tudor times and ran until 1823, when the Admiralty assumed control of the service. Originally, the Post Office used packet ships to carry mail packets to and from British embassies, colonies and outposts. The vessels generally also carried bullion, private...
)
The European states with empires too developed mail systems for overseas transport of packets. Eventually, however, commercial steam liners began to work regular international schedules and received contracts from governments to carry mail as well as passengers and high-value cargo. Their services retained the name "Packet".
Packet shipping companies included:
- Baltimore Steam Packet CompanyBaltimore Steam Packet CompanyThe Baltimore Steam Packet Company, which was also known as the , was an American steamship line from 1840 to 1962, providing overnight steamboat service on the Chesapeake Bay, primarily between Baltimore, Maryland, and Norfolk, Virginia...
- Black Ball Line (trans-Atlantic packet)Black Ball Line (trans-Atlantic packet)The Black Ball Line initially consisted of four packet ships, the Amity, Courier, Pacific and the James Monroe. All of these were running between Liverpool, England and New York City. This first scheduled trans-Atlantic service was founded in 1817...
- City of Dublin Steam Packet CompanyCity of Dublin Steam Packet CompanyThe City of Dubin Steam Packet Company was a shipping line established in 1823. It served cross-channel routes between Britain and Ireland for over a century. For 70 of those years it transported the mail...
- Cunard LineCunard LineCunard Line is a British-American owned shipping company based at Carnival House in Southampton, England and operated by Carnival UK. It has been a leading operator of passenger ships on the North Atlantic for over a century...
- Isle of Man Steam Packet Company
- Liverpool PacketLiverpool PacketLiverpool Packet was a privateer schooner from Liverpool, Nova Scotia, which captured 50 American vessels in the War of 1812. During the war the privateer ship was briefly captured by American privateers, eventually being recaptured by the British...
- Woolwich Steam Packet CompanyWoolwich Steam Packet CompanyThe Woolwich Steam Packet Company , operated between 1834 and 1888 and offered steamer services from central London to Woolwich and later to the Kent, Essex and Suffolk...
- Robert Kermits Red Star Line
See also
- Post Office Packet ServicePost Office Packet ServiceThe Post Office Packet Service dates to Tudor times and ran until 1823, when the Admiralty assumed control of the service. Originally, the Post Office used packet ships to carry mail packets to and from British embassies, colonies and outposts. The vessels generally also carried bullion, private...
- Mail steamerMail steamerMail steamers were steamships which carried the mail across waterways, such as across an ocean or between islands, primarily during 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...
- Dispatch boatDispatch boatDispatch boats were small boats, and sometimes large ships, tasked to carry military dispatches from ship to ship or from ship to shore or, in some cases from shore to shore...
- Packet boatPacket boatPacket boats were small boats designed for domestic mail, passenger and freight transportation in Europe and its colonies, including North American rivers and canals...
- Packet tradePacket tradePacket trade generally refers to any regularly scheduled cargo, passenger and mail trade conducted by ship. The ships are called "packet boats" as their original function was to carry mail.-United States:...