In 1869 R. Singlehurst & Co. Ltd., of Liverpool who had traded sailing ships for many years to northern Brazil, founded the Red Cross Line. This was in direct competition to Alfred Booth & Co., but in 1870 agreement was reached to share the trade. A fortnightly service being instigated.
In 1897 the Red Cross Iquitos Steamship Co. Ltd., was formed by Singlehurst's and a direct service from Liverpool to Iquitos, Peru was introduced for the first time. In 1901 the Singlehurst family decided to withdraw from operating their own fleet. The two companies amalgamated under the name of The Booth Steamship Co. (1901) Ltd. From the amalgamation of the the Booth Iquitos Steamship Co, Ltd. and the Red Cross Iquitos Steamship Co, Ltd. was born The Iquitos Steamship Co. Ltd. In 1911 The Iquitos Steamship Company was absorbed into the main Booth fleet.

It was into this period of change that the S.S. Manco entered service on the Amazon, with her graceful lines she must have been a fine sight passageing the Amazon.

The name Manco is after Manco Capac, d. 1544, last of the Inca rulers, son of Huayna Capac. After the deaths of Huáscar and Atahualpa, Manco Capac was crowned (1534) emperor by the Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro but was tolerated only as a puppet. He escaped, levied a huge army, and in 1536 laid siege to Cuzco, the Inca capital; the defence was commanded by Hernando Pizarro. Although the Native Americans had by now learned some European tactics of war they were outclassed by technical advantages. Also, Manco Capac could not prevent dismemberment of his army at harvest time. The heroic siege, which virtually destroyed the city, was abandoned after ten months, but during the ensuing eight years the Inca's name became a terror throughout Peru. Manco Capac fought a bloody guerrilla war against soldiers and settlers. He was treacherously murdered after giving refuge to the defeated supporters of  Diego de Almagro, who had rebelled against Pizarro.

The distance from the Atlantic ocean to Iquitos is around 2,117 nautical miles. Present day  the cargo vessels usually enter at the Port of Macapa (Brasil) , then on to Manaus some 925 nautical miles and terminate in Iquitos. The average passage time for a cargo vessel is around 15 days from Atlantic ocean to Iquitos ( you are going against the current ). Also depending on the vessel size, at times navigation is only possible  during day light hours due sand banks in the river.

The Port of Manaus was largely developed by Booth Line and consists of floating pontoons to allow for the huge changes if river levels. It was also one of the first ports to be illuminated by electricity and the original steam reciprocating engine driven generators are still to be seen in the Harbour Museum along with ledgers from that period.