@headrickSubmarineTelegraphCables2001
[!info] - Cite Key: @headrickSubmarineTelegraphCables2001 - Link: JSTOR Full Text PDF - Abstract: International telecommunication is not only a business but also a political enterprise, the subject of great-power rivalries. In the late nineteenth century, British firms held a near monopoly, because Britain had more advanced industry, a wealthier capital market, and a merchant marine and colonial empire that provided customers for the new service. After the 1880s, they encountered increasing competition on the North Atlantic from American, German, and French firms. Elsewhere, the British conglomerate Eastern and Associated retained its hegemony until the 1920s. Following World War I, radiotelegraphy threatened the dominance of cables. In the 1930s, cable companies were almost bankrupted by the Depression and by competition from shortwave radio. - Bibliography: Headrick, DR and Griset, P. 2001 Submarine Telegraph Cables: Business and Politics, 1838-1939. The Business History Review 75(3): 543–578. DOI: https://doi.org/10.2307/3116386.
Annotations¶
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Imported on 2023-03-05 12:21 pm¶
Relevant / important¶
[!quote|#a28ae5] Highlight , British firms held a near monopol
Similar to how Canada is right now, its a monopoly between Bell and Rogers. With the Rogers-Shaw merge it could enhance that.
Page 2 [[2023-03-04#10:39 am]]
[!quote|#a28ae5] Highlight ' This article, in contrast, analyzes the history of submarine telegraph companies, both as global enterprises and as extensions of the diplomatic and military power of their home nations outside their borders.
Thesis (pg3)
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[!quote|#a28ae5] Highlight e, the Eastern and Associated Telegraph Compan
Monopoly
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[!quote|#a28ae5] Highlight an. A year later, Thomas Crampton founded the Submarine Telegraph Company. With ?7,500 of his own money and another ?7,500 from two associates, he was able to purchase and lay a second cable across the Channel, this one protected by an armor of iron wire wrapped around the core of copper insulated with gutta percha. This cable was a success (it lasted thirty-seven years) and launched a new industr
The big technological discovery before underwater cables became a feasable thing.
Page 5 [[2023-03-04#10:58 am]]
[!quote|#a28ae5] Highlight uipment. The French government, eager to communicate with its troublesome colony of Alge
Again, more colonial needs.
Page 5 [[2023-03-04#11:03 am]]
[!quote|#a28ae5] Highlight The first generation of cables, laid in response to the urgent needs of the two major colonial powers, failed because the technology was not yet sufficiently developed to satisfy the demands of its customers.
Page 6 [[2023-03-04#11:05 am]]
[!quote|#a28ae5] Highlight The failure of the Red Sea cable did not diminish the British government's demand for communications to India
desperation to keep their hold. Could be foreshadowing their economy stagnating in the early 20th century.
Page 6 [[2023-03-04#11:06 am]]
[!quote|#a28ae5] Highlight If governments were eager to communicate with their colonies, the business community was much more interested in the North Atlanti
Page 7 [[2023-03-04#11:09 am]]
[!quote|#a28ae5] Highlight of Jacob B
name has been mentioned many times.
Page 7 [[2023-03-04#11:12 am]]
[!quote|#a28ae5] Highlight e Atlantic Telegraph Comp
Page 7 [[2023-03-04#11:12 am]]
[!quote|#a28ae5] Highlight He merged the London Gutta Percha Company with Glass Elliot to form Telegraph Construction and Maintenance, or TC&M, a full-service supplier of cable
possibly another monopoly.
Page 8 [[2023-03-04#11:15 am]]
[!quote|#a28ae5] Highlight Not only did Britain have a large colonial empire long before other nations, but its colonies-especially India-generated a great deal of trade. Several of them-Canada, Australia, and South Africa in particular-had substantial European settler populations; hence, they were of special interest to the newspaper-reading public in Britain and in its empire
Again, the interest of keeping their economy strong through their colonial empire
Page 10 [[2023-03-04#11:19 am]]
[!quote|#a28ae5] Highlight he owners of a cargo ship could communicate with its captain whenever it reached a harbor that was linked to the global telegraph network and direct it from port to port according to the latest information about prices and supplies
The ability to make shipping more efficient led to more profits.
Page 10 [[2023-03-04#11:20 am]]
[!quote|#a28ae5] Highlight . Nations with colonies needed cables to maintain control of their "men-on-the-spot," not all of whom appreciated the supervision. This demand grew especially urgent in times of crisis, as we have seen in the case of the Sepoy Rebellion in Indi
This reading is really stressing the importance of colonial empires in the laying of these cables.
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[!quote|#a28ae5] Highlight Such communications were often fraught with difficulties, for foreign offices generally operated on tight budgets that did not permit extensive use of the telegraph. Yet they were often forced to use cables in order to keep pace with the pressure of public opinion aroused by the p
A balance of making the most of your dollar and keeping up appearances.
Page 11 [[2023-03-04#11:22 am]]
[!quote|#a28ae5] Highlight C&M, manufactured two-thirds of the cables laid in the nineteenth century and almost half those laid after 1900
monopoly
Page 12 [[2023-03-04#11:25 am]]
[!quote|#a28ae5] Highlight ."28 In order to avoid technological innovations that would render their costly investments obsolete, the cable companies restricted the entry of competitors into the market by exclusive concessions or ca
Wanting to keep their monopoly by hindering competition, something we still see in the modern day.
Page 13 [[2023-03-04#11:31 am]]
[!quote|#a28ae5] Highlight response, the Anglo-American Company used its considerable reserves to buy half its competitor's shares and force it into the joint purs
More monopoly behavior, since there werent any global laws on this tactics it was extremely hard for a small competitor to become notable without being bought out.
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[!quote|#a28ae5] Highlight t. In response, Anglo-American lowered its rates by 50 percent, then by 84 perc
Imagine if a big gas company did this today, there would be outrage from the other gas stations.
Page 15 [[2023-03-04#11:35 am]]
[!quote|#a28ae5] Highlight nt. While Anglo-American had ample reserves, the price war brought PQ close to bankruptcy, canceled its hopes of laying a second cable, and forced it into the cartel as a dependent of Anglo-America
Page 15 [[2023-03-04#11:35 am]]
[!quote|#a28ae5] Highlight r price w
seeing this term frequently, its like a proxy war for companies.
Page 15 [[2023-03-04#11:37 am]]
[!quote|#a28ae5] Highlight s. Henceforth, there was a duopoly on the Atlanti
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[!quote|#a28ae5] Highlight res. The British government, which had hitherto welcomed all cable companies, rejected the German request, citing an agreement, signed by Britain and Germany in 1888, that all Anglo-German traffic would pass through jointly owned
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[!quote|#a28ae5] Highlight es. Finally, in 1885, he founded the African Direct Telegraph Company to serve Britain's fast-expanding West African colonial emp
more colonialism
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[!quote|#a28ae5] Highlight Great Northern Telegraph Company to connect Denmark with Norway, England, and Russia
the nordic coutries
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Agree¶
[!quote|#5fb236] Highlight ies. Telecommunications enterprises are so vital to national security, economic prosperity, and the dissemination of news that all governments regulate them to a greater or lesser degr
Canada has some of the highest data cost in the modern world. (find paper about it)
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[!quote|#5fb236] Highlight Britain's lead in global trade and shipping; and, most important, the subsidies and hidden support provided by the British government. This third factor was essential to the success of the industry because submarine cables, like shipping and aviation, were enmeshed in international politics and, occasionally, in warfar
Britain's vast network of colonies gave them a reason to build this network, so they can have more direct power over them. Instead of it taking weeks or months for information to get from the homeland to India it could now be done in a matter of minutes.
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[!quote|#5fb236] Highlight had been transformed from business enterprises into weapons of war.
It is a true tested fact that intelligence wins wars. As an example on the main reasons Hitler dominated Europe was because of the Enigma letting the German's have ultra secure communication.
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[!quote|#5fb236] Highlight cable. Manufacturers of iron cables for mines and bridges like R. S. Newall and Company and Kuper and Company, of telegraph equipment like W. T. Henley and Siemens und Halske, and of molded plastic like the London Gutta Percha Company, as well as new firms like Glass Elliot and Company, all vied for a share of the new business. In the process, they encountered many unforeseen obstacles in manufacturing long cables, laying them on the ocean floor, and understanding their electric properties. There were few successes and many spectacular fai
Competition promotes innovation. Seems to be trend throughout multiple readings especially with the telegraph.
Page 5 [[2023-03-04#11:00 am]]
[!quote|#5fb236] Highlight The first long-distance cables were government ventures undertaken for military and colonial pu
It is a trend throughout history that war/military promotes the most amount of innovation. An example would be Chappe's manual telegraph, Napoleon liked it because he could use it for his military.
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[!quote|#5fb236] Highlight he British government at the time was desperate to communicate with India, where a major uprising, called the "Sepoy Rebellion" (after the Indian Army soldiers who mutinied), threatened to overthrow British rul
I was right earlier about communications with India and about military needs.
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[!quote|#5fb236] Highlight handwringing in the business community but also serious technological research and a complete commercial restructuring.
people were mad they lost their money
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[!quote|#5fb236] Highlight John Pender, a Manchester cotton magnat
cotton was very profitable, especially if gotten from the confederate south, makes sense he would have the money.
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[!quote|#5fb236] Highlight ue. And when war broke out, as we shall see, cables proved to be powerful weapo
I alluded to this earlier with how communication wins wars.
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[!quote|#5fb236] Highlight British cables extended around Africa and Asia and had more than enough capacity to handle whatever traffic other nations' traders, shippers, and colonial officials could generate
All that money Britian poured into the RND of these cables are finally paying off.
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[!quote|#5fb236] Highlight the end of the century, Germany was fully competitive in the manufacture of electric equipment, cables, and cable ships, and German operating companies ceased relying on TC&M and other British suppliers.
This could be giving German's a sense of nationalism, of them not having to rely on other countries
Page 12 [[2023-03-04#11:26 am]]
[!quote|#5fb236] Highlight e, "This exceedingly long life has the inevitable consequence that a cable network must always mainly consist of cables which are technically out of d
The longevity of these cables will be its own demise, since Britian laid their cables first theirs may soon become old and slow.
Page 13 [[2023-03-04#11:30 am]]
[!quote|#5fb236] Highlight st. In response, Anglo-American lowered its rates by 50 percent, then by 84 perc
Looking at this from a consumer perspective in a short term view it must be great, being able to pay 80% of the original price must have been good. But, looking at the business side, they just attracted new customers and as soon as the war is over they can just raise prices freely.
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[!quote|#5fb236] Highlight , during which rates dropped 50 percent or mor
Seeing all these rate drops reminds me of what Uber did. They started off making their rides super cheap and actually losing money to as soon as they had the majority of the market they raised prices substantially, which everyone was forced to accept because there is minimal competition in the ride share space.
Page 15 [[2023-03-04#11:38 am]]
[!quote|#5fb236] Highlight s. By 1887, when Commercial Cable had obtained 50 percent of the traffic, the two cartels came to an agreement and fixed their pric
Finally someone who could challange the Anglo-American monopoly! (Although a duopoly is not much better).
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[!quote|#5fb236] Highlight Faced with mounting deficits, it merged with another small company, the Societe Fran,aise des Telegraphes Sous-Marins, to form the Compagnie Francaise des Cables Telegraphiques, or CFCT, in ?189
The French do not give up.
Page 16 [[2023-03-04#11:42 am]]
[!quote|#5fb236] Highlight DAT formed an alliance with Commercial Cable. Each company would lay a cable from the Azores to New York, they would split the traffic, and DAT would gain access to the Postal Telegraph Company's network of telegraph offices
great deal for DAT a new comer in the industry
Page 18 [[2023-03-04#11:48 am]]
[!quote|#5fb236] Highlight As Table 1 indicates, in 1892 two-thirds of the world's cables (by length) belonged to Great Britain, and almost all of them to British firm
Even though new competition emerged, the brits still held a dominance in the industry
Page 18 [[2023-03-04#11:52 am]]
[!quote|#5fb236] Highlight ises, and Pender was able to raise ?1.2 million without difficulty. In the years 1868 to 1870, Pender founded a series of companies: the Marseilles, Algiers, and Malta Telegraph Company; the AngloMediterranean Telegraph Company (to connect Malta with Alexandria); the Falmouth, Gibraltar, and Malta Telegraph Company (from England to Malta); and the British Indian Submarine Telegraph Company (from Su
Smart, it gives the illusion of competition but in reality its all owned by the same guy. Similar to a lot of the major brands like Nestle.
Page 19 [[2023-03-04#11:53 am]]
[!quote|#5fb236] Highlight In the years 1868 to 1870, Pender founded a series of companies: the Marseilles, Algiers, and Malta Telegraph Company; the AngloMediterranean Telegraph Company (to connect Malta with Alexandria); the Falmouth, Gibraltar, and Malta Telegraph Company (from England to Malta); and the British Indian Submarine Telegraph Company (from Su
This is similar to how major real estate companies handle their properties. They make a company for each individual property so if someone sues they can only get money from that place.
Page 19 [[2023-03-04#11:55 am]]
[!quote|#5fb236] Highlight , in 1902, the governments of Britain, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand formed a joint enterprise, the Pacific Cable Board, to lay a transpacific cable and thereby complete what was called the "All-Red Route," a telegraphic link around the world entirely in British hands.40
again to strengthen their colonial ties.
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[!quote|#5fb236] Highlight sting. But it was also a consequence of the British Empire's possessing islands and colonies conveniently located to provide both landing sites and markets for telegraphic services as well as having the largest merchant marine in
again, the idea of colonialism that further enhanced the British's network
Page 21 [[2023-03-04#12:28 pm]]
[!quote|#5fb236] Highlight In 1872, the Great Northern China and Japan Extension Telegraph Company laid cables connecting Vladivostok, Nagasaki, Yokohama, Shanghai, and Hong Kong. W
noticing a pattern of clusters of countries connecting themselves then joining the world, the Denmark, Norway,Russia and the eastern one are examples.
Page 22 [[2023-03-04#2:16 pm]]
[!quote|#5fb236] Highlight . In the Spanish-American War, the U.S. Navy cut several British-owned cables in Cuban waters
again, the emergence of the idea that information is key in war.
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[!quote|#5fb236] Highlight France's first priority was always a cable to Algeria, which was close to France and had many European settlers. The close human, commercial, military, and administrative ties between France and Algeria generated enough telegraph traffic to warrant several ca
very important cable.
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Interesting but not relevant¶
[!quote|#f19837] Highlight 1790
use for timeline
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[!quote|#f19837] Highlight e 1830
use for timeline
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[!quote|#f19837] Highlight 1840
use for timeline
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Definitions / concepts¶
[!quote|#2ea8e5] Highlight reverse salient."
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[!quote|#2ea8e5] Highlight the A
region in portugal
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[!quote|#2ea8e5] Highlight eir co
dutch east indies, Germany's claims in africa
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[!quote|#2ea8e5] Highlight xenophobic
dislike of or prejudice against people from other countries.
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Interesting but not relevant¶
[!quote|#aaaaaa] Highlight The first, and weakest, challenger was Franc
A new challenger Approaches!
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Questions / confusion¶
[!quote|#ffd400] Highlight Yet, geographically, the Germans were at a distinct disadvantage
communications could be another reason why germany wanted to expand.
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[!quote|#ffd400] Highlight Germany now had what it had sought for a decade: communications with North America independent of Great Britain.3
I wonder how useful this is going to be in WW1 for Germany.
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Interesting but not relevant¶
[!quote|#e56eee] Highlight ain. In fact, the real reason for the refusal was that the British government wished to prevent the Azores from becoming a rival cable node for the all-important transatlantic traf
More monopoly behavior. The laying of telegraph lines has essentially become a political and economical war.
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