Imperial Telecommunications Through the First World War
Imperialism has existed in the world since the beginning of government all together, but this practice took a dramatic turn in the latter half of the nineteenth century. New inventions, modern thinking, and stronger governments all made imperialism easier. Now thousands of miles could be conquered in a matter of months; an empire could have a stronger hold on a colony than ever before. The result was that by the end of the century, at least one European nation had a claim to nearly every piece of land on the Earth. In the early nineteenth century, it would take a message 5-8 months to travel from England to India. Steamships cut that time to six weeks each way, but furthermore electrical telecommunications made that time, for all practical purposes, instantaneous. This new form of communication gave imperialists the ability to maintain their empire, being able to govern a colony thousands of miles away. The web of cables that was so eagerly constructed around the world gave the European empires an advantage that earlier nations never could have imagined. The following pages will cover the history and effects of electrical telecommunications from its beginning through the first world war. They will describe the basic
Russel, Colin. Science and Social Change in Britain and Europe 1700-1900. St. Martin's Press: New York, 1983 An important form of communication that was not widely used until the beginning of the war was electromagnetic radiowaves. Guglielmo Marconi (Fig. 7) first began experimenting with wireless in 1895. He was soon able to transmit across the Atlantic, but the technology was expensive and insecure. New improvements, however, made the technology very practical for military use. Ships could now keep in direct contact, the early aircraft could communicate with each other and the base, and each military unit could organize themselves strategically with direct communication (Stall 13). The British and French both had plans to create major radio networks, but these were stopped when the war broke out (Headrick 129). Now it is often gloomily predicted by purblind students of history that this tremendous agglomeration must inevitably break up and dissolve, like its predecessors. "Where," they ask, "are the Greek, the Roman, the Spanish, the Napoleonic empires? What is there in the British Empire to preserve it from the fate of these?" I venture to reply, that in the postal and telegraphic services the empire of our Queen possesses a cohesive force which was utterly lacking in former cases. Stronger than the death dealing war-ships, stronger than the might of devoted legions, stronger than wealth and genius of administration, stronger even than the unswerving justice of Queen Victoria's rule, are the scraps of paper borne in myriads over the seas, and the two or three slender wires that connect the scattered parts of her realm. (172) Telecommunication changed the world, giving imperialist nations opportunities never seen before. The ability to have instantaneous communication with every part of an empire had a sensational effect on world politics and economy. The so called "Spinal cord of the British Empire" reassured them as an economical and commercial center and reinforced political control. This selection shows how helpful and how advantageous the telecommunications network was to the British Empire. Britain began work in the early 1850's to complete a connection to India. The 1857 rebellion in India increased interest in a connection and encouraged the British government; so in 1858 they began work on a cable line. The first step was a land line from Constantinople to Baghdad. Then in 1862 Colonel Patrick Stewart of the European Telegraph Department laid a land line from Karachi to Gwadur. In 1864 a submarine cable was laid through the Persian Gulf from Gwadur to Fao. This cable weighed 2.5 tons per Km, four times that of the ill fated Red Sea cable. This cable met the Turkish land line at Fao and the British to India connection was complete. This line was slow and expensive, but sufficient for the time being. Headrick, Daniel R. The Tentacles of Progress. Oxford University Press: New Y
Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 1990
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)
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