Austrian Maritime Development in East Asia

1869–1914

Abstract

The article describes how Trieste developed its maritime power in the Orient during the late Habsburg Empire. Austrian Lloyd had invested in the building of the Suez Canal and opened up its shipping lines to India, China and Japan. Before the opening of the Suez Canal, Pasquale Revoltella drafted a plan for the Far Eastern lines. But the actual extension of these lines proved to be quite slow: India (1869), Hong Kong (1880), Shanghai (1892) and Kobe (1893) which Lloyd regarded as an important achievement. In 1912, Austrian Lloyd finally inaugurated the high-speed »Eillinie« line between Trieste and Shanghai. Coffee and cassia were two important goods in this line. Trieste was able to attract coffee imports not only from South Asia, but also from Singapore and Philippines. Cassia, from South China, offers another example of Trieste competition with Hamburg. Trieste-Kotor (Cattaro, in Montenegro) and Trieste-Bombay were the two most profitable lines. But in East Asia, Lloyd’s performance was not successful and (most probably) more Austrian products arrived in China via Hamburg. This failure was due to various internal problems and the stagnation of Trieste.