During The 19th Century Britain's Maritime, Commercial And Colonial Interests All Depended Upon A Regular And Reliable Flow Of Seaborne Information From Around The Globe. Whilst The Telegraph Increasingly Came To Dominate Long-distance Communication, Postal Services By Sea Played A Vital Role In The Network Of Information Exchange, Particularly To The More Distant Locations. Much Importance Was Placed Upon These Services By The British Government Which Provided Large Subsidies To A Small Number Of Commercial Companies To Operate Them. Concentrating Initially On The Mail Service Between Britain And South America, This Book Explores The Economic And Political Involvement Of, At The Outset, The Royal Mail Steam Packet Company (later, Royal Mail Lines), Which Held Contracts For The Service From 1851 Until 1874. Series Editor's Foreword -- Author Preface -- List Of Tables & Illustrations -- 1840. The West Indies Mail Contract -- 1851. Across The South Atlantic -- A Decade Of Contrasting Fortunes -- The Second Epoch -- Difficult Trading Conditions -- A Period Of Uncertainty -- Focus On South America -- World War One And The Aftermath -- Post-war Downturn And Collapse -- Royal Mail Lines, Ltd -- The War Years, 1939-1945 -- Strong Recovery -- The End Of The Line -- Bibliography -- Fleet List -- Index. By Robert E. Forrester. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 229-234) And Index.