Samuel Cunard - IELTS Listening Answers & Explanations

Good morning, class. In the last few lectures, I've talked about the history of technology in the business area. But today I want to use Samuel Cunard as our case study, who was a shipping magnate that founded the Cunard Line.

Now, Cunard was born in Canada. When he first left home he was still a teenager. Then he came into a US company as a worker and learned how to sail there. During the War of 1812, Cunard volunteered for service in the 2nd Battalion of the Halifax Regiment militia and rose to the rank of captain. He held many public offices, such as volunteer fireman and lighthouse commissioner, and maintained a reputation as not only a shrewd businessman, but also an honest and generous citizen. When he went to England, his friends cooperated with him and together they coined a shipping company. The company had instant wealth and could deal with more than one cargo for its major business was in North America and the Atlantic. From then onwards, Cunard became a highly successful entrepreneur in British shipping and one of a group of twelve individuals who dominated the affairs of England.

In 1838, the British government, impressed by the advantages of steam sailing for making regular passages, invited tenders to carry the transatlantic mails by steamer. Back then mail contact through steamships brought more punctuality, while other types of ships were always delayed. The journey times were 'flexible', with a transatlantic crossing lasting for six weeks, and with no fixed times of departure or arrival. So it was never known when the mail would arrive or, since so many sailing ships foundered, whether it would arrive at all. What Cunard wanted, in line with the thrusting new technology of the Victorian age, was a maritime extension of the brand—new timetabled railways on land.

Cunard's experience in steamship operation, with observations of the growing railway network in England, encouraged him to explore the creation of a Transatlantic fleet of steamships, which would cross the ocean as regularly as trains crossed land, and that's why he went to the United Kingdom seeking investors in 1837. He set up a company with several other businessmen to bid for the rights to run a transatlantic mail service between the UK and North America for £55,000 annually for 10 years. The bid was successful. Almost at the same time, Cunard cooperated with an English businessman and established the British and North American Royal Mail Steam Packet Company, the ancestor of the Cunard Line.

In 1840 the company's first steamship, sailed from Liverpool to Boston, Massachusetts, with Cunard and 63 other passengers on board, marking the beginning of regular passenger and cargo service. Establishing a long unblemished reputation for speed and safety, Cunard's company made ocean liners a success, in the face of many potential rivals who lost ships and fortunes. Cunard's ships proved successful, and he then opened many branches but their high costs saddled Cunard with heavy debts by 1842, so some of them went bankrupt. But what Cunard needed then was a port. After a lot of consideration, he finally opted for Boston because he was very familiar with this city where he had once worked in.

Fortunately, by 1843, Cunard ships were earning enough to pay off his debts and begin issuing modest but growing dividends. But the city did more than give Cunard silverware. Winters can be tough here in Boston; for example, in the year of 1844, one ship sank because of the winter freeze. The ship hit ice bergs and caused a heavy loss to the company. Then the board recommended the company to move to New York, and it was a huge success and then became one of the biggest US shipping companies.

Cunard himself made safety his priority—and to this day Cunard has never been responsible for the loss of a single passenger or a single mailbag on the Atlantic run. Cunard's conservative nature enabled his company to see off rivals and to take a measured and steady approach when it came to the introduction of new technology like radio communication. In the early years of his career Cunard took a prominent part in community activities, and various charitable organisations as well as mercantile affairs which extended throughout the Atlantic provinces. Back then, there were hardly any entertainment facilities on board. In order to make sure that the passengers could have a comfortable journey, newspapers were printed on board.

Cunard was gratefully remembered for employing his capital in shipbuilding activities in the hard times of the 1830s because this enterprise had circulated money where there would otherwise be poverty and stagnation. His competitiveness and his obsession not to waste time were important characteristics of his personality. Prior to 1912, the shipping line had focused on speed and soon was renowned for its velocity and safety. Although early in life Cunard was imperious, he learned diplomacy and became a skillful and persuasive negotiator. His contemporaries admired him for the contribution to transatlantic communication by the line popularly called by his name. After that, for affluent transatlantic passengers, Cunard brought new levels of luxury to ocean travel—lavish suites, a swimming pool, gymnasium, ballroom, electricity and more, just like luxurious hotels.

OK. So does anyone have any...