Page 44 - 201710_BWISC-Convention_Booth_BWI-MaritimeMail

ROYAL MAIL STEAM PACKET - THE FIRST TWO YEARS

Royal Mail Steam Packet obtained the West Indies mail contract in early 1840. This involved the
building of 14 new steamships and 3 sailing vessels for inter-island work, plus the construction of repair
and re-fuelling depots (there was no coal in the West Indies) for an annual subsidy of £240,000. James
MacQueen, the brains behind the scheme, had spent a great deal of time in the West Indies planning the
introduction of the new service, which was only part of much more grandiose plan for a world-wide system
linking the various parts of the Empire. He had no great understanding of steam ships and his plans were
put together like a jigsaw, with virtually no allowance for things going wrong. He was effectively demoted
as soon as the first ship sailed in January 1842 and resigned 6 months later. The schedule fell apart. Kenton
& Parson’s study of the first 18 months is full of gaps and contradictions because the ships were running
out of course. From 1st October calls in North America were abandoned entirely as were many of the
foreign West Indian islands and much of the littoral along the north coast of South America. Nine months
later Bermuda, Havana, the Bahamas, Mexico, and many other places were reduced to a call once a month
instead of twice. The problems of poor charts and an absence of navigation aids meant that 3 ships,
Medina, Isis & Solway were lost in 11 months, the West Indies hub was changed from the Turks to St
Thomas and the UK terminal from Falmouth to Southampton.
The exhibit records these events in rough chronological order, with emphasis on the ships carrying the
mail.
References: - “Early Routeings of the Royal Mail Steam Packet Co 1842-79.” - Kenton & Parsons.
“Royal Mail. A Centenary History.” Bushell.
“MacQueen’s Legacy.” Nicol.

NB Particularly rare or significant covers are boxed in red, and rate information is in red.
The Vi oz. rates during this period were B.W.I. & U.S.A. 1/-: Curacao, Guadeloupe, Martinique,
Puerto Rico, St. Croix, St. Thomas & Haiti l/5d: Cuba, Mexico, New Granada, Venezuela &
Nicaragua 2/3d. Problems of storage in the West Indian climate means there is an imbalance in the covers
available, with east bound predominating.

“MEDWAY”

Glasgow 28th January 1842. Paid 1/-, the Vi oz. rate.
Southampton 1st February. The third regular sailing. Maiden voyage.
Barbados 20th February, a transit of 19 days.