Editing Cunard Line (section)

===Early years: 1840–1850===
[[File:RMS Britannia 1840 paddlewheel.jpg|250px|thumb|left|[[RMS Britannia Class|''Britannia'']] of 1840 (1150 [[Gross register tonnage|GRT]]), the first Cunard liner built for the transatlantic service]]
The British Government started operating monthly mail [[brig]]s from [[Falmouth, Cornwall]], to New York in 1756. These ships carried few non-governmental passengers and no cargo. In 1818, the [[Black Ball Line (trans-Atlantic packet)|Black Ball Line]] opened a regularly scheduled New York–Liverpool service with [[clipper ship]]s, beginning an era when American sailing [[packet ship|packets]] dominated the North Atlantic saloon-passenger trade that lasted until the introduction of [[steamships]].<ref name=gibbs /> A Committee of Parliament decided in 1836 that to become more competitive, the mail packets operated by the Post Office should be replaced by private shipping companies. The [[British Admiralty|Admiralty]] assumed responsibility for managing the contracts.<ref name=parry>{{cite book | last = Parry | first = Ann | title = Parry of the Arctic | publisher = London | year = 1963 }}</ref> The famed Arctic explorer Admiral Sir [[William Edward Parry]] was appointed as Comptroller of Steam Machinery and Packet Service in April 1837.<ref name=grant>{{cite book | last = Grant | first = Kay | title = Samuel Cunard | publisher = London | year = 1967}}</ref> Nova Scotians led by their young Assembly Speaker, [[Joseph Howe]], lobbied for steam service to [[City of Halifax|Halifax]]. On his arrival in London in May 1838, Howe discussed the enterprise with his fellow Nova Scotian Samuel Cunard (1787–1865), a shipowner who was also visiting London on business.<ref name=langley>{{cite book | last = Langley | first = John G. | title = Steam Lion | publisher = Nimbus | year = 2006 }}</ref> Cunard and Howe were associates and Howe also owed Cunard £300<ref name=beck>{{cite book | last = Beck | first = J. Murray | title = Joseph Howe, Conservative Reformer | publisher = McGill-Queens | year = 1984 }}</ref> ({{Inflation|UK|300|1838|fmt=eq|cursign=£}}).{{Inflation-fn|UK|df=y}} Cunard returned to Halifax to raise capital, and Howe continued to lobby the British government.<ref name=langley /> The [[Rebellions of 1837–1838]] were ongoing and London realised that the proposed Halifax service was also important for the military.<ref name=arnell>{{cite book | last = Arnell | first = J.C | title = Steam and the North Atlantic Mails | publisher = Toronto | year = 1986 }}</ref>

That November, Parry released a tender for North Atlantic monthly mail service to Halifax beginning in April 1839 using steamships with 300 horsepower.<ref name=arnell /> The [[Great Western Steamship Company]], which had opened its pioneer Bristol–New York service earlier that year, bid £45,000 for a monthly Bristol–Halifax–New York service using three ships of 450 horsepower. While [[British and American Steam Navigation Company|British American]], the other pioneer transatlantic steamship company, did not submit a tender,<ref name=fox>{{cite book | last = Fox | first = Stephen | title = Transatlantic: Samuel Cunard, Isambard Brunel and the Great Atlantic Steamships | year = 2003 | isbn = 9780060195953 | url = https://archive.org/details/transatlanticsam00foxs | url-access = registration }}</ref> the [[St George Steam Packet Company]], owner of [[SS Sirius (1837)|''Sirius'']], bid £45,000 for a monthly Cork–Halifax service<ref name=body>{{cite book | last = Body | first = Geoffey | title = British Paddle Steamers | publisher = Newton Abbot | year = 1971 }}</ref> and £65,000 for a monthly Cork–Halifax–New York service. The Admiralty rejected both tenders because neither bid offered to begin services early enough.<ref name=bacon>{{cite book | last = Bacon | first = Edwin M. | title = Manual of Ship Subsidies | url = https://archive.org/details/manualshipsubsi00bacogoog | year = 1911 | publisher = Chicago, A. C. McClurg }}</ref>

Cunard, who was back in Halifax, did not know of the tender until after the deadline.<ref name=fox /> He returned to London and started negotiations with Admiral Parry, who was Cunard's good friend from when Parry was a young officer stationed in Halifax 20 years earlier. Cunard offered Parry a fortnightly service beginning in May 1840. While Cunard did not then own a steamship, he had been an investor in an earlier steamship venture, [[SS Royal William|''Royal William'']], and owned coal mines in Nova Scotia.<ref name=langley /> Cunard's major backer was [[Robert Napier (engineer)|Robert Napier]] whose [[Robert Napier and Sons]] was the Royal Navy's supplier of steam engines.<ref name=fox /> He also had the strong backing of Nova Scotian political leaders at the time when London needed to rebuild support in British North America after the rebellion.<ref name=arnell />

[[File:RMS Europa.jpg|thumb|right|[[RMS America Class|''Europa'']] of 1848 (1850 [[Gross register tonnage|GRT]]). This is one of the earliest known photos of an Atlantic [[steamship]].]]
Over Great Western's protests,<ref name=corlett>{{cite book | last = Corlett | first = Ewan | title = The Iron Ship: the Story of Brunel's ss Great Britain | publisher = Conway | year = 1975 }}</ref> in May 1839 Parry accepted Cunard's tender of £55,000 for a three-ship Liverpool–Halifax service with an extension to Boston and a supplementary service to Montreal.<ref name=langley /> The annual subsidy was later raised £81,000 to add a fourth ship<ref name=fry>{{cite book | last = Fry | first = Henry | title = The History of North Atlantic Steam Navigation with Some Account of Early Ships and Shipowners| location = London | publisher = Sampson, Low & Marston | year = 1896 | oclc = 271397492 }}</ref> and departures from Liverpool were to be monthly during the winter and fortnightly for the rest of the year.<ref name=gibbs /> Parliament investigated Great Western's complaints, and upheld the Admiralty's decision.<ref name=bacon /> Napier and Cunard recruited other investors including businessmen James Donaldson, [[Sir George Burns]], and David MacIver. In May 1840, just before the first ship was ready, they formed the British and North American Royal Mail Steam Packet Company with initial capital of £270,000, later increased to £300,000 (£{{formatnum:{{Inflation|UK|300000|1840|r=0}}}} in {{Inflation-year|UK}}).{{Inflation-fn|UK|df=y}} Cunard supplied £55,000.<ref name="langley"/> Burns supervised ship construction, MacIver was responsible for day-to-day operations, and Cunard was the "first among equals" in the management structure. When MacIver died in 1845, his younger brother Charles assumed his responsibilities for the next 35 years.<ref name=fox /> (For more detail of the first investors in the Cunard Line and also the early life of Charles MacIver, see Liverpool Nautical Research Society's ''Second Merseyside Maritime History'', pp.&nbsp;33–37 1991.)

In May 1840 the coastal [[paddle steamer]] ''Unicorn'' made the company's first voyage to Halifax<ref>''Ships of the Cunard Line''; Dorman, Frank E.; Adlard Coles Limited; 1955</ref> to begin the supplementary service to Montreal. Two months later the first of the four ocean-going steamers of the [[RMS Britannia Class|''Britannia Class'']], departed Liverpool. By coincidence, the steamer's departure had patriotic significance on both sides of the Atlantic: she was named ''Britannia'', and sailed on 4 July.<ref name="Miles2015">{{cite book|author=Miles, Vincent|title=The Lost Hero of Cape Cod: Captain Asa Eldridge and the Maritime Trade That Shaped America|url=http://vjmiles.com/lost-hero|year=2015|publisher=Yarmouth Port, Massachusetts: The Historical Society of Old Yarmouth.}}</ref> Even on her maiden voyage, however, her performance indicated that the new era she heralded would be much more beneficial for Britain than the US. At a time when the typical packet ship might take several weeks to cross the Atlantic, ''Britannia'' reached Halifax in 12 days and 10 hours, averaging 8.5 knots (15.7&nbsp;km/h), before proceeding to Boston. Such relatively brisk crossings quickly became the norm for the Cunard Line: during 1840–41, mean Liverpool–Halifax times for the quartet were 13 days 6 hours to Halifax and 11 days 4 hours homeward. Two larger ships were quickly ordered, one to replace the [[RMS Britannia Class|''Columbia'']], which sank at [[Seal Island, Nova Scotia]], in 1843 without loss of life. By 1845, steamship lines led by Cunard carried more saloon passengers than the sailing packets.<ref name=gibbs /> Three years later, the British Government increased the annual subsidy to £156,000 so that Cunard could double its frequency.<ref name=fry /> Four additional wooden paddlers were ordered and alternate sailings were direct to New York instead of the Halifax–Boston route. The sailing packet lines were now reduced to the immigrant trade.<ref name=gibbs />

From the beginning Cunard's ships used the line's distinctive red funnel with two or three narrow black bands and black top. It appears that Robert Napier was responsible for this feature. His [[Robert Napier and Sons|shipyard]] in Glasgow used this combination previously in 1830 on [[Thomas Assheton Smith II|Thomas Assheton Smith]]'s private steam yacht "Menai". The renovation of her model by Glasgow Museum of Transport revealed that she had vermilion funnels with black bands and black top.<ref>The National Archives, BT107/202, Beaumaris 1830 No. 24, 132'2" x 20'6" x 12'8", 138 tons.</ref> The line also adopted a naming convention that utilised words ending in "IA".<ref>{{cite web |url= https://chrisframe.com.au/post/628311901907173376/naming-cruise-ships |title= Naming Cruise Ships |access-date= 4 September 2020}}
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Cunard's reputation for safety was one of the significant factors in the firm's early success.<ref name="graham"/> Both of the first transatlantic lines failed after major accidents: the British and American line collapsed after the [[SS President|''President'']] foundered in a gale, and the Great Western Steamship Company failed after [[SS Great Britain|''Great Britain'']] stranded because of a navigation error.<ref name=gibbs /> Cunard's orders to his masters were, "Your ship is loaded, take her; speed is nothing, follow your own road, deliver her safe, bring her back safe – safety is all that is required."<ref name=graham /> In particular, Charles MacIver's constant inspections were responsible for the firm's safety discipline.<ref name=fox />