Mountbatten Medallic History of Great Britain and the Sea Medal: Britannia Pioneers regular Tra…

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Mountbatten Medallic History of Great Britain and the Sea Medal: Britannia Pioneers regular Transatlantic Steamship Service

AssociatedAssociated with Lord Mountbatten of Burma (Frogmore House, Windsor, England, 1900 - 1979)

Medallist John Pinches, Medallists

DateMay 2004

Object NameMedal

MediumSterling Silver

ClassificationsMedals

AcquisitionPresented in 2004 by Dr Joan M Burrell.

LocationView by Appointment - Aberdeen Treasure Hub

Object numberABDMS072500.54

Keywords

About MeSamuel Cunard was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, in 1787, the son of a merchant who had established a business there after the War of American Independence. Samuel soon extended and diversified the family business in Nova Scotia and elsewhere in Canada, becoming a considerable shipowner, banker, agent for the East India Company, and canal promoter; he also found time to engage in politics as a member of the Legislative Council for Nova Scotia. In 1831, Samuel Cunard, with other members of his family, took a financial interest in the pioneer wooden paddle steamer Royal William which made a successful Atlantic crossing to Europe in 1833. This voyage, and the almost simultaneous voyage of the steamer Cape Breton from east to west (a steamer which later became part of the Cunard fleet), fired the imagination of the Nova Scotian, who crossed the Atlantic himself in 1839, determined to exploit the opportunities which awaited the first man to achieve a regular transatlantic steamship service.

The British government, too, was alive to the desirability of such a service in order to speed the delivery of mails, and so make commercial dealings with the New World easier.

After protracted negotiations, Cunard signed an agreement for a steamship service with the Lords of the Admiralty. This proved to be the essential basis for Cunard's visionary plans: in return for an annual subvention from the state, Cunard undertook to provide a steamship service capable of discharging the onerous tasks of a mail service.

Assured of predominantly Scottish capital, and backed by Scottish shipbuilding and marine engineering skills, Cunard ordered four wooden paddle steamers, with engines designed and built by Robert Napier. The four vessels, Britannia, Columbia, Acadia and Caledonia, were the precursors of a large fleet which was to become a household word on both sides of the Atlantic, renowned for reliability and safety.

A joint-stock company was floated, known as the British and North American Royal Mail Steam Packet Company, with the initial authorized capital of £270,000, of which Samuel Cunard himself invested £55,000. Subsequently, the share capital was increased and the name of the firm was changed to the more familiar Cunard Steam Ship Company - a name that dominated the North Atlantic for more than a century.

Thus, a regular, reliable and safe means of steam communication was promoted, largely at the instance of one man of enterprise and vision - Samuel Cunard, who became a legend in his own lifetime.

The Mountbatten Medallic History of Great Britain and the Sea, John Pinches Medallists Ltd.