@headrickSubmarineTelegraphCables2001
Title: [@headrickSubmarineTelegraphCables2001] date: 2023-03-10 type: reference project: Memex2
tags:: Memex2, telegraph, business, politics, agency, control
Reference¶
Headrick, DR and Griset, P. 2001 Submarine Telegraph Cables: Business and Politics, 1838–1939. Business History Review 75(3): 543–578. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/3116386.
Summary & Key Take Aways¶
Headrick and Griset, in Submarine Telegraph Cables, narrates the shift of a British imperial monopoly to the increasing of a competition in the market (Headrick, and Griset, 2001, 543). In the late nineteenth-century, the British submarine telegraph cables monopolized the communication market between North America and Europe (Headrick, and Griset, 2001, 544). With the telegraph in their hands, they ensured military and political uphold of colonies (Headrick, and Griset, 2001, 544). The authors recount the numerous competitions that helped develop the telegraph as a reliable system of global communications (Headrick, and Griset, 2001, 545). They also revisit the North Atlantic cable market in the late 19th century, which saw increasing competition for the political power of telegraphs (Headrick, and Griset, 2001, 554). The race for the telegraph and global communications continues to all the way to World War 2, with countries battling for technological power. The highly political potential of the telegraph is made apparent throughout the article, highlighting the how the telegraph contributed to the politics of power, especially in the World Wars, where communication between allies against enemies were critical. The United-States, through years of experimentation and pressure for power, replaced the British monopoly of the telegraph, creating inertia for an explosive global economy (Headrick, and Griset, 2001, 578).
How does it relate to class?¶
This reading is relevant to the main themes of the course since it demonstrates how the development of the telegraph cannot be explored within an implicit vacuum. The internet did not start in the 60s, but much earlier, and as such must be studied in a broader context of innovations and competences. The reading also highlights the race for technological power as global communications offered immense political power and advantages.