JacksonYoo9591: fix references further and updated info

2025-12-14T11:37:43Z

fix references further and updated info

← Older revision		Revision as of 17:07, 14 December 2025
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			{{Short description\|Royal Mail Ships steamship route}}
	An '''All-Red Route''' was, originally, a [[steamship]] route used by [[Royal Mail Ship]]s during the heyday of the [[British Empire]]. The name derives from the common practice of colouring the territory of the British Empire red or pink on political maps. It denoted a long-distance route where all the ports of call were in British territories or colonies, emphasising not only the usefulness of the route as a means of connecting the British [[metropole]] with the worldwide empire but also the strategic security of being able to connect (and travel between) possessions on the other side of the globe without having to rely on making stops in, or passing through, the territory of another nation.		An '''All-Red Route''' was, originally, a [[steamship]] route used by [[Royal Mail Ship]]s during the heyday of the [[British Empire]]. The name derives from the common practice of colouring the territory of the British Empire red or pink on political maps. It denoted a long-distance route where all the ports of call were in British territories or colonies, emphasising not only the usefulness of the route as a means of connecting the British [[metropole]] with the worldwide empire but also the strategic security of being able to connect (and travel between) possessions on the other side of the globe without having to rely on making stops in, or passing through, the territory of another nation.

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	In the 1880s the term "All-Red Route" was expanded to include the telegraph network (see [[All Red Line]]) that connected various parts of the Empire, and by the 1920s it was also being used in reference to proposed air routes, initially [[airship]] and then [[flying boat]], between Great Britain and the rest of the Empire, see [[Imperial Airship Scheme]].		In the 1880s the term "All-Red Route" was expanded to include the telegraph network (see [[All Red Line]]) that connected various parts of the Empire, and by the 1920s it was also being used in reference to proposed air routes, initially [[airship]] and then [[flying boat]], between Great Britain and the rest of the Empire, see [[Imperial Airship Scheme]].

	The Suez Canal route dramatically shortened the sea path between Britain and its possessions in Asia (primarily [[British Raj\|India]]). Conscious of its significance, the British sent troops to take control of the canal during the [[Anglo-Egyptian War]] in 1882. Even after British troops were withdrawn from the rest of Egypt in accordance with the [[Anglo-Egyptian Treaty of 1936]], Britain continued to control the canal and kept troops stationed in the canal zone.<ref>{{Harvnb\|Holland\|1996\|p=xix}}</ref> After Egyptian President [[Gamal Abdel Nasser]] [[Suez ~~crisis~~#Nationalization of the canal and the road to crisis\|nationalised]] the canal in 1956, sparking the [[Suez Crisis]], [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom\|British Prime Minister]] [[Anthony Eden]] declared that "The Egyptian has his thumb on our windpipe",<ref>{{Harvnb\|Herring\|2008\|p=675}}.</ref> describing the Suez as the "great imperial lifeline".<ref>{{cite ~~journal~~\|author=Unattributed\|title=Special Report: An affair to remember - The Suez crisis\|~~journal~~=[[The Economist]]\|volume=380\|issue=8488\|page=23\|date=2006-07-29}}</ref>		The Suez Canal route dramatically shortened the sea path between Britain and its possessions in Asia (primarily [[British Raj\|India]]). Conscious of its significance, the British sent troops to take control of the canal during the [[Anglo-Egyptian War]] in 1882. Even after British troops were withdrawn from the rest of Egypt in accordance with the [[Anglo-Egyptian Treaty of 1936]], Britain continued to control the canal and kept troops stationed in the canal zone.<ref>{{Harvnb\|Holland\|1996\|p=xix}}</ref> After Egyptian President [[Gamal Abdel Nasser]] [[Suez Crisis#Nationalization of the canal and the road to crisis\|nationalised]] the canal in 1956, sparking the [[Suez Crisis]], [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom\|British Prime Minister]] [[Anthony Eden]] declared that "The Egyptian has his thumb on our windpipe",<ref>{{Harvnb\|Herring\|2008\|p=675}}.</ref> describing the Suez as the "great imperial lifeline".<ref>{{cite news\|author=Unattributed\|title=Special Report: An affair to remember - The Suez crisis\|newspaper=[[The Economist]]\|volume=380\|issue=8488\|page=23\|date=2006-07-29}}</ref>

	The major "All-Red Route" ran as follows:		The major "All-Red Route" ran as follows:

>GünniX: brackets fixed

2021-10-01T19:39:01Z

brackets fixed

New page

An '''All-Red Route''' was, originally, a [[steamship]] route used by [[Royal Mail Ship]]s during the heyday of the [[British Empire]]. The name derives from the common practice of colouring the territory of the British Empire red or pink on political maps. It denoted a long-distance route where all the ports of call were in British territories or colonies, emphasising not only the usefulness of the route as a means of connecting the British [[metropole]] with the worldwide empire but also the strategic security of being able to connect (and travel between) possessions on the other side of the globe without having to rely on making stops in, or passing through, the territory of another nation.

Initially the term was used to apply only to steamship routes (as these were the only practical way of carrying communications between Great Britain and the rest of the Empire), particularly to [[India]] via the [[Suez Canal]]—a route sometimes referred to as the '''British Imperial Lifeline'''.<ref>{{Harvnb|Ayoob|1980|p=107}}.</ref> Rail transport was used across France and Italy to the Mediterranean. From 1868 to 1871 the [[Mont Cenis Pass Railway]], a temporary mountain railway line over the Mont Cenis Pass was used for mail.

After use of steamships became widespread at sea, strategically placed [[coaling station]]s were acquired to guarantee the mobility of both civil and naval fleets.

In the 1880s the term "All-Red Route" was expanded to include the telegraph network (see [[All Red Line]]) that connected various parts of the Empire, and by the 1920s it was also being used in reference to proposed air routes, initially [[airship]] and then [[flying boat]], between Great Britain and the rest of the Empire, see [[Imperial Airship Scheme]].

The Suez Canal route dramatically shortened the sea path between Britain and its possessions in Asia (primarily [[British Raj|India]]). Conscious of its significance, the British sent troops to take control of the canal during the [[Anglo-Egyptian War]] in 1882. Even after British troops were withdrawn from the rest of Egypt in accordance with the [[Anglo-Egyptian Treaty of 1936]], Britain continued to control the canal and kept troops stationed in the canal zone.<ref>{{Harvnb|Holland|1996|p=xix}}</ref> After Egyptian President [[Gamal Abdel Nasser]] [[Suez crisis#Nationalization of the canal and the road to crisis|nationalised]] the canal in 1956, sparking the [[Suez Crisis]], [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|British Prime Minister]] [[Anthony Eden]] declared that "The Egyptian has his thumb on our windpipe",<ref>{{Harvnb|Herring|2008|p=675}}.</ref> describing the Suez as the "great imperial lifeline".<ref>{{cite journal|author=Unattributed|title=Special Report: An affair to remember - The Suez crisis|journal=[[The Economist]]|volume=380|issue=8488|page=23|date=2006-07-29}}</ref>

The major "All-Red Route" ran as follows:

[[Southern Britain]] → [[Gibraltar]] → [[Malta]] → [[Alexandria]] → [[Port Said]] (after construction of the Canal) → [[Suez Canal|Suez]] → [[Aden]] → [[Muscat, Oman|Muscat]] (and access to the [[Persian Gulf]]) → [[India]] → [[Sri Lanka]] → [[Burma]] → [[British Malaya|Malaya]] → [[Singapore]] (branching out into the [[Pacific Ocean]] towards [[Hong Kong]], [[Australia]], [[New Zealand]], and [[Oceania|other British colonies]]).

The completion of the [[Canadian Pacific Railway]] in 1886 connected the Atlantic and Pacific oceans across what was then the [[Canada|Dominion of Canada]]. The CPR quickly began operating steamships between the west coast of Canada and [[East Asia]], and in 1899 entered the trans-Atlantic liner trade. This made it possible to travel from Britain to [[Hong Kong]] (as well as Japan and China) westwards entirely by the CPR's services and without ever leaving a British-registered ship or British imperial territory. The CPR advertised this as 'The All-Red Route' and by the 1920s had added [[Australia]] and [[New Zealand]] to its trans-Pacific services, adding those dominions to its network. Other British shipping lines operating in the Pacific and the Far East made it possible to travel to [[Singapore]]. [[British Malaya]] and [[India]] via the CPR. The completion of the [[Canadian Northern Railway]]'s transcontinental section in 1912 and the opening of the [[Grand Trunk Pacific Railway]] in 1917 provided alternative routes across Canada as part of this "All-Red Route".

Throughout the late 19th-century there were plans and ambitions for a [[Cape to Cairo Railway]] to link British colonies in Africa. The lack of a true "All-Red Route' - since British territory was not continuous between South Africa and Egypt was a major obstacle to this project being successful. Britain claimed the [[Tanganyika Territory]] from Germany after [[World War I]], creating the potential for an "All-Red Route" the length of Africa but the necessary sections of railway were never constructed.

With the [[British Empire#Wind of change|end of the British Empire]] and the increasing prevalence of air travel, the terms "All-Red Route" and "British Imperial Lifeline" have fallen from use, and now exist largely in a historical context, generally in reference to the routes in use during the British Empire.

==See also==
* [[All Red Line]]
* [[Imperial Airship Scheme]]
* [[Imperial Airways]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
* {{cite book
|last=Reese
|first=Trevor
|year=1973
|title=The All-Red Routes (The British Empire)
|location=London (UK)
|publisher=BBC TV/Time-Life Books}}
* {{cite book
|last=Ayoob
|first=Mohammed
|author-link=Mohammed Ayoob
|title=Conflict and Intervention in the Third World
|publisher=[[Taylor & Francis]]
|year=1980
|isbn=978-0-7099-0063-4}}
* {{cite book
|last=Herring
|first=George C.
|title=From Colony to Superpower: U.S. Foreign Relations Since 1776
|publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]
|year=2008
|location=US
|isbn=978-0-19-507822-0
|url-access=registration
|url=https://archive.org/details/fromcolonytosupe00herr
}}
* {{cite book
|last=Holland
|first=Matthew F.
|title=America and Egypt: from Roosevelt to Eisenhower
|publisher=[[Greenwood Publishing Group|Greenwood]]
|year=1996
|isbn=978-0-275-95474-1}}
* {{cite book
|last=Hopwood
|first=Derek
|author-link=Derek Hopwood
|title=Egypt: Politics and Society 1945-1990
|publisher=Taylor & Francis
|year=1991
|isbn=978-0-00-302028-1}}
* {{cite book
|last=Varble
|first=Derek
|title=The Suez Crisis 1956: Essential Histories
|publisher=[[Osprey Publishing|Osprey]]
|year=2003
|isbn=978-1-84176-418-4}}

[[Category:British Empire]]
[[Category:Sea lanes]]

All-Red Route - Revision history

JacksonYoo9591: fix references further and updated info

>GünniX: brackets fixed