Submarine telegraphy and the hunt for gutta percha : : challenge and opportunity in a global trade / / by Helen Godfrey.

• Superior document: Global economic history series ; Volume 15
• VerfasserIn: Godfrey, Helen L.,
• Place / Publishing House: Leiden, Netherlands ;, Boston, [Massachusetts] : : Brill,, [2018]; ©2018
• Year of Publication: 2018
• Language: English
• Series: Global economic history series. Volume 15.
• Physical Description: 1 online resource (342 pages).

In Submarine Telegraphy and the Hunt for Gutta Percha , Helen Godfrey traces the connections between submarine telegraphy and the peoples of Singapore and Sarawak (Borneo) who supplied 'gutta percha', the latex insulating the world network of undersea telegraph cables. The book examines the complex inter-relationships linking metropolitan and local environments in a trade once described as a matter of interest to the whole civilized world. Using previously untapped corporate and official archives, trade data and a rich documentary record, the study explores the roles of cable producers, scientists, administrators, and local Chinese and indigenous traders. It reveals how a global trade may transcend technological, geographic and cross-cultural challenges, even hostilities. Motivations and outcomes are more complex than simple commercial gain.

Table of Contents

Front Matter -- Contents -- Introduction -- Submarine Telegraphy: The Forces of Science and Commerce -- The Significance of Gutta Percha and the Rise of Submarine Telegraphy -- Gutta Percha and the Challenge of Submarine Telegraphy -- The Rise and Challenges of the Gutta Percha Trade -- Factory to Forest: Opportunity at the Periphery -- Power, Profit and the Periphery -- The Gutta Percha Trade of Sarawak -- Operation of the Gutta Percha Trade in Sarawak -- Impact of the Gutta Percha Trade – Opportunity -- Impact of the Gutta Percha Trade – Change and Challenge -- Conclusions.