Compagnie Générale Transatlantique, Caribbean cabotage shipowner

Roger Jaffray

A reference work resulting from the compilation of the company's archive documents, the local press and the testimonies and anecdotes of its sailors.

The “Maritime History of the French West Indies” series, of which this book is part, was honored with a mention from the Académie de Marine in October 2018.

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The Transatlantic General Company, the "Transat", was the most important French maritime transport company for more than a century. Although having been present on almost the whole planet, it deserves the name of “Caribbean and Guyanese shipowner”. Indeed, the West Indies were placed geographically at the center of its network. The Compagnie Générale Transatlantique often fitted out ships there, aboard which local sailors embarked. Ships providing local or ancillary services were called "stationary". It is to them that this study is dedicated, carried out with the local sections of the National Federation of Maritime Merit and the Medal of Honor of Sailors. It is also a collection of testimonies and anecdotes from their sailors. The author takes a humorous look at a period that is still close but bygone, when navigation was very different from what it is today.

Illustrations: period photos and sketches by the author