Submarine Telegraph Cables
Title: Submarine Telegraph Cables: Business and Politices, 1838-1939. date: 2023-03-06 type: reference
Date: 2023-03-06
Reference¶
[!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.
Headrick, Daniel R., and Pascal Griset. “Submarine Telegraph Cables: Business and Politics, 1838-1939.” The Business History Review, vol. 75, no. 3, 2001, pp. 543–78. JSTOR, https://doi.org/10.2307/3116386. Accessed 10 Mar. 2023.
Summary & Key Takeaways¶
Headrick and Griset use this chapter Submarine Telegraph Cables: Business and Politics, 1838-1939 to inform and explore the history of submarine telegraph companies, not just as businesses but as assets to government power and military gain. Detailing the history of both on land and underwater telecommunication cables, this article explains the development of the latter's use and the power it provided to Western government heads and their militaries.