The Allan Shipping Line was started in 1819, by Captain Alexander Allan of

Saltcoats Saltcoats ( gd, Baile an t-Salainn) is a town on the west coast of North Ayrshire, Scotland. The name is derived from the town's earliest industry when salt was harvested from the sea water of the Firth of Clyde, carried out in small cottages al ...

Ayrshire Ayrshire ( gd, Siorrachd Inbhir Àir, ) is a historic county and registration county in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine and it borders the counties of Re ...

, trading and transporting between

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

and

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

, a route which quickly became synonymous with the Allan Line. By the 1830s the company had offices in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a popul ...

and

. All five of Captain Allan's sons were actively involved with the business, but it was his second son,

Sir Hugh Allan Sir Hugh Allan (September 29, 1810 – December 9, 1882) was a Scottish-Canadian shipping magnate, financier and capitalist. By the time of his death, the Allan Shipping Line had become the largest privately owned shipping empire in the wor ...

, who spearheaded the second generation. In 1854, Hugh launched the Montreal Ocean Steamship Company as part of the Allan Line, and two years later ousted

Samuel Cunard Sir Samuel Cunard, 1st Baronet (21 November 1787 – 28 April 1865), was a British-Canadian shipping magnate, born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, who founded the Cunard Line, establishing the first scheduled steamship connection with North America. H ...

to take control of the

Royal Mail , kw, Postya Riel, ga, An Post Ríoga , logo = Royal Mail.svg , logo_size = 250px , type = Public limited company , traded_as = , foundation = , founder = Henry VIII , location = London, England, UK , key_people = * Keith Williams ...

contract between

Britain Britain most often refers to: * The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands * Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...

and

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

. By the 1880s, the Allan Line was the world's largest privately owned shipping concern. In 1891, the company took over the State Line (founded 1872) and was often referred to as the Allan & State Line. In 1897, Andrew Allan amalgamated the various branches of the Allan shipping empire under one company, Allan Line Steamship Company Ltd., of Glasgow. The company by then had added offices in

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

and

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. In 1917, under

Sir Montagu Allan Lieutenant-Colonel Sir Hugh Andrew Montagu Allan, (October 13, 1860 – September 26, 1951) was a Canadian businessman and philanthropist. He was the principal heir of his father, Sir Hugh Allan, and became deputy chairman of the family-owned A ...

, who represented the third generation of the Allan family, the company was purchased by

Canadian Pacific Steamships CP Ships was a large Canadian shipping company established in the 19th century. From the late 1880s until after World War II, the company was Canada's largest operator of Atlantic and Pacific steamships. Many immigrants travelled on CP ships fr ...

, and by the following year the Allan name had disappeared from commercial shipping.

Media

The 1970s British television series ''

The Onedin Line ''The Onedin Line'' is a BBC television drama series that ran from 1971 to 1980. The series was created by Cyril Abraham. The series is set in Liverpool from 1860 to 1886 and covers the rise of a fictional shipping company, the Onedin Line, nam ...

'' (1971-1980) is a complex and veiled take on the Allan Line Family and their steamships. Sardinian ALLAN LINE c1890

Notable collisions

In 1891, the Allan Line steamer ''Carthaginian'' collided with the York River Line steamer ''Charlotte'' in the shipping channel at

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

. Among those aboard the Carthaginian was the Danish-American composer

Asger Hamerik Asger Hamerik (Hammerich) (April 8, 1843 – July 13, 1923) was a Danish composer of the late romantic period. Life and career Born in Frederiksberg (near Copenhagen), he studied music with J.P.E. Hartmann and Niels Gade, being related to the f ...

. While both boats were damaged, neither sank. In 1905, the Allan Line steamer ''Parisian'' was involved in a collision with the ''Albano'' off of

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348,634 people in its urban area. The ...

. The owners of the ''Albano'' were found by the Exchequer Court of Canada to be fully at fault, according to ''Reports of Cases Relating to Maritime Law.'' The case was later appealed to Canada's supreme court.

List of steamships

The Allan Line fleet evolved over the course of decades, changing as new ships were added, lost at sea, sold, or scrapped: * SS ''Alsatian''Ships List
Allan Line, Steamships
- later RMS ''Empress of France'' * SS ''America'' * SS ''

Anglo Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo-Saxons happened wit ...

''Norway Heritage
Allan Fleet List
/ref> * SS ''Assyrian'' * SS ''Austrian'' * SS ''Australasian'' (1857) * SS ''Australasian'' (1901) * SS ''Bavarian'' (1899) * SS ''Bohemian'' * SS ''Brazilian'' * SS ''Buenos Ayrean''Gjenvick-Gjønvick Artchives

/ref> * SS ''Calgarian'' * SS ''Californian'' * SS ''Canadian'' (1854) * SS ''Canadian'' (1859) * SS ''Canadian'' (1872) * SS ''Carthaginian'' * SS ''Caspian'' * SS ''Castilian'' * SS ''Circassian'' * SS ''City of Vienna'' * SS ''City of Bombay'' * SS ''Corean'' * SS ''Corinthian'' * SS ''Corsican'' * SS ''Damascus'' * SS ''Diamant'' * SS ''European'' * SS ''Gallia'' * SS ''Germany'' * SS ''Grampian'' * SS ''Grecian'' * SS ''Hanoverian'' * SS ''Hesperian'' * SS ''Hesperian'' * SS ''Hibernian'' (1861) * SS ''Hibernian'' (1888) * SS ''Hibernian'' (1902) * SS '' Hungarian'' (1859) * SS ''Hungarian'' (1902) * SS ''Huronian'' * SS ''Indian'' * SS ''Ionian'' * SS ''John Bell'' * SS ''Jura'' * SS ''Lake Erie'' * SS ''Laurentian'' * SS ''Livonian'' * SS ''Lucerne'' * SS ''Manitoban'' * SS ''Melita'' * SS ''Mersey'' * SS ''Mongolian'' * SS ''Monte Videan'' * SS ''Moravian'' * * SS ''North American'' * SS ''North Briton'' * SS ''Norway'' * SS ''Norwegian'' (1861) * SS ''Norwegian'' (1865) * SS ''Nova Scotian'' * SS ''Numidian'' * SS ''Ontarian'' * SS ''Orcardian'' * SS ''Ottawa'' * SS ''Palestine'' * SS ''Parisian'' * SS ''Pretorian'' * SS ''Prussian'' * SS ''Peruvian'' * SS ''Phoenician'' * SS ''Polynesian'' * SS ''Pomeranian'' * SS ''Roacian'' * SS ''Roumanian'' * SS ''Saint Andrew'' * SS ''Saint David'' * SS ''Saint George'' * SS ''Saint Patrick'' * SS ''Samaritan'' * SS ''Sardinian''"The Steamer Sardinian; She Passes Queenstown in Tow -- The Story of the Voyage by a Passenger,"
''New York Times.'' February 22, 1882. * SS ''Scandinavian'' (1869) * SS ''Scandinavian'' (1898) * * SS ''Siberian (1946) '' * SS ''Sicilian'' * SS ''Southwark'' * SS ''State of California'' * SS ''State of Georgia'' * SS ''State of Indiana'' * SS ''State of Nebraska'' * SS ''State of Nevada'' * SS ''State of Pennsylvania'' * SS ''Sweden'' * SS ''Tainui'' * SS ''Tower Hill'' * SS ''Tunisian'' * SS ''Turanian'' * RMS ''Victorian'' * RMS ''Virginian'' * SS ''Waldensian''

References

Bibliography

* Appleton, Thomas E. (1974)
''Ravenscrag: The Allan Royal Mail Line.''
Toronto:

McClelland and Stewart McClelland & Stewart Limited is a Canadian publishing company. It is owned by Random House of Canada, Penguin Random House of Canada, a branch of Penguin Random House, the international book publishing division of German media giant Bertelsmann. ...

. (cloth)
"C.P.R. Gets Allan Line; Report Declared to be Correct in Spite of Official Denials,"
''New York Times.'' August 17, 1910.

External links

{{commons category, Allan Line

GG Archives Defunct shipping companies of Canada Transport companies disestablished in 1918 Transport companies established in 1819 1819 establishments in Scotland 1918 disestablishments in Scotland British companies established in 1819 British companies disestablished in 1918