An All-Red Route was, originally, a steamship route used by Royal Mail Ships during the heyday of the British Empire. The name derives from the common practice of colouring the territory of the British Empire red or pink on political maps. It denoted a long-distance route where all the ports of call were in British territories or colonies, emphasising not only the usefulness of the route as a means of connecting the British metropole with the worldwide empire but also the strategic security of being able to connect possessions on the other side of the globe without having to rely on making stops in, or passing through, the territory of another nation.