Cargo Liners

Book excerpt: The British maritime historian explores the golden age of cargo liners and the routes they took around the world in this beautifully illustrated volume. From 1850 to 1950, the cargo liner grew to dominate the world’s trade routes, providing regular services that merchants, shippers and importers could rely on. They carried much of the world’s high-value goods and their services spread to most corners of the world. They were the tool of the world’s first phase of globalization. Illustrated with more than 300 photographs, Cargo Liners tells the story of these majestic ships, beginning with the establishment of routes around Europe and across the North Atlantic in the 1850s. When marine engineer Alfred Holt developed high-pressure compound engines, vessels began to steam further afield, reaching ports in the Far East and Australia. Then the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 cemented the dominance of the cargo liner. Only with the appearance of the first container ship in the 1950s was that dominance finally overthrown.