The man who shipped ice from New England to India
In 1806, a New England businessman named Frederic Tudor shipped ice to the Caribbean.
Before you read
In the early 1800s, in New England, ice was a luxury for the rich. This text tells the story of Frederic Tudor, a trader who shipped ice by sea to places with very hot summers, and how he made his strange idea pay.
Key words: lujo · comerciante · almacén · beneficio
B2 · Spanish from Spain: El hombre que vendía hielo en el trópico
The man who sold ice in the tropics
Tap a word. Hold and slide to select a phrase.
A principios del siglo XIX, en Nueva Inglaterra, en el noreste de Estados Unidos, el hielo era un lujo. Solo lo tenían los ricos, que lo guardaban en sus propios almacenes de hielo. Lo cortaban en invierno de la superficie helada de estanques y arroyos.
Show English
In the early 1800s, in New England, in the northeastern United States, ice was a luxury. Only the rich had it, and they kept it in their own icehouses. In winter, they cut it from frozen ponds and streams.
Frederic Tudor, un comerciante de Nueva Inglaterra, tuvo una idea extraña para la época: llevar ese hielo en barco a lugares con veranos muy calurosos, como el Caribe y el sur de Estados Unidos, y venderlo como producto de lujo a los ricos de allí. Los hombres de negocios de la época lo veían, en el mejor de los casos, como un excéntrico, y en el peor, como un tonto.
Show English
Frederic Tudor, a New England businessman, had a strange idea for the time: to take that ice by ship to places with very hot summers, such as the Caribbean and the southern United States, and sell it as a luxury to the rich people there. Businessmen of the time saw him, at best, as an eccentric and, at worst, as a fool.
El primer viaje, en 1806, salió mal. Tudor llevó un cargamento de hielo a la isla de Martinica, pero allí no había dónde guardarlo y se derritió enseguida. Aprendió la lección: construyó un almacén de hielo en La Habana y, hacia 1810, el negocio ya funcionaba.
Show English
The first trip, in 1806, went badly. Tudor took a cargo of ice to the island of Martinique, but there was nowhere to store it there, and it melted right away. He learned his lesson: he built an icehouse in Havana and, by around 1810, the business was working.
Tudor también sabía defender su mercado. Cuando aparecía un competidor, bajaba el precio hasta un centavo por libra, aunque así perdiera dinero. Los demás no podían vender con beneficio, y su hielo terminaba derritiéndose con el calor. Después, Tudor volvía a subir el precio. A mediados de la década de 1820, de Boston salían unas 3000 toneladas de hielo al año, y dos tercios eran suyas.
Show English
Tudor also knew how to defend his market. When a competitor appeared, he lowered his price to one cent a pound, even if he lost money that way. The others couldn’t sell at a profit, and their ice ended up melting in the heat. Then Tudor raised his price again. By the mid-1820s, about 3,000 tons of ice left Boston every year, and two thirds of it was his.
La ruta más rentable fue la de la India. En 1833, Tudor y dos socios mandaron hielo a Calcuta en el barco Tuscany. Se vendieron unas cien toneladas, y ese primer viaje dejó 9900 dólares de beneficio. Entre 1833 y 1850, Tudor ganó más de 220 000 dólares solo con Calcuta.
Show English
The most profitable route was the one to India. In 1833, Tudor and two partners sent ice to Calcutta on the ship Tuscany. About a hundred tons were sold, and that first trip made a profit of 9,900 dollars. Between 1833 and 1850, Tudor made more than 220,000 dollars from Calcutta alone.
El comercio del hielo siguió creciendo durante todo el siglo: a finales del XIX daba trabajo a unas 90 000 personas en Estados Unidos. Pero llegó la competencia del hielo fabricado en plantas y, más tarde, la de las neveras en las casas. Entre las dos guerras mundiales, el comercio internacional de hielo desapareció por completo.
Show English
The ice trade kept growing all through the century: by the end of the 1800s, it employed about 90,000 people in the United States. But competition came from ice made in factories and, later, from refrigerators at home. Between the two world wars, the international ice trade disappeared completely.
Source: English Wikipedia, “Ice trade” (CC BY-SA 4.0; facts only, our own wording). How we make our texts.
Published: · Text and voice prepared with AI and checked automatically.
Words from the text 15
- lujo
- luxury
- guardaban
- they kept, they stored
- helada
- frozen
- estanques
- ponds
- arroyos
- streams
- comerciante
- merchant, businessman
- tonto
- fool
- cargamento
- cargo
- derritió
- melted; «se derritió» — it melted
- almacén
- storehouse; here, icehouse
- libra
- pound (weight)
- beneficio
- profit
- socios
- partners
- rentable
- profitable
- neveras
- fridges (Spain; in Mexico, refris or refrigeradores)
Check yourself
What went wrong on Tudor’s first trip to Martinique in 1806?
- The ship sank on the way
- There was nowhere to store the ice, so it melted
- Nobody there wanted ice
Show the answer
Answer: There was nowhere to store the ice, so it melted
The text says «allí no había dónde guardarlo y se derritió enseguida» (there was nowhere to store it there, and it melted right away).
What did Tudor do when a competitor appeared?
- He lowered his price so much that the others could not sell at a profit
- He bought the competitor’s ice
- He moved his business to another island
Show the answer
Answer: He lowered his price so much that the others could not sell at a profit
The text says «Cuando aparecía un competidor, bajaba el precio hasta un centavo por libra» and «Los demás no podían vender con beneficio» (when a competitor appeared, he lowered the price to one cent a pound, and the others could not sell at a profit).
What ended the international ice trade?
- A war between the United States and India
- A lack of ice in New England
- Ice made in factories and, later, fridges at home
Show the answer
Answer: Ice made in factories and, later, fridges at home
The text says «llegó la competencia del hielo fabricado en plantas y, más tarde, la de las neveras en las casas» (competition came from ice made in factories and, later, from fridges at home).
Practice the words
Think of the meaning, then turn the card.
- lujoluxury
A principios del siglo XIX, en Nueva Inglaterra, en el noreste de Estados Unidos, el hielo era un lujo.
In the early 1800s, in New England, in the northeastern United States, ice was a luxury. - guardabanthey kept, they stored
Solo lo tenían los ricos, que lo guardaban en sus propios almacenes de hielo.
Only the rich had it, and they kept it in their own icehouses. - heladafrozen
Lo cortaban en invierno de la superficie helada de estanques y arroyos.
In winter, they cut it from the frozen surface of ponds and streams. - estanquesponds
Lo cortaban en invierno de la superficie helada de estanques y arroyos.
In winter, they cut it from the frozen surface of ponds and streams. - arroyosstreams
Lo cortaban en invierno de la superficie helada de estanques y arroyos.
In winter, they cut it from the frozen surface of ponds and streams. - comerciantemerchant, businessman
Frederic Tudor, un comerciante de Nueva Inglaterra, tuvo una idea extraña para la época: llevar ese hielo en barco a lugares con veranos muy calurosos, como el Caribe y el sur de Estados Unidos, y venderlo como producto de lujo a los ricos de allí.
Frederic Tudor, a New England businessman, had a strange idea for the time: to take that ice by ship to places with very hot summers, such as the Caribbean and the southern United States, and sell it as a luxury to the rich people there. - tontofool
Los hombres de negocios de la época lo veían, en el mejor de los casos, como un excéntrico, y en el peor, como un tonto.
Businessmen of the time saw him, at best, as an eccentric and, at worst, as a fool. - cargamentocargo
Tudor llevó un cargamento de hielo a la isla de Martinica, pero allí no había dónde guardarlo y se derritió enseguida.
Tudor took a cargo of ice to the island of Martinique, but there was nowhere to store it there, and it melted right away. - derritiómelted; «se derritió» — it melted
Tudor llevó un cargamento de hielo a la isla de Martinica, pero allí no había dónde guardarlo y se derritió enseguida.
Tudor took a cargo of ice to the island of Martinique, but there was nowhere to store it there, and it melted right away. - almacénstorehouse; here, icehouse
Aprendió la lección: construyó un almacén de hielo en La Habana y, hacia 1810, el negocio ya funcionaba.
He learned his lesson: he built an icehouse in Havana and, by around 1810, the business was working.
