| Submarine Telegraphy and the Hunt for Gutta Percha: Challenge and Opportunity in a Global Trade Approx. 368 Pp. Edition Contributor(s): Godfrey, Helen (Author) |
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ISBN: 9004344330 ISBN-13: 9789004344334 Publisher: Brill OUR PRICE: $178.60 Product Type: Hardcover Published: March 2018 |
| Additional Information |
| BISAC Categories: - Political Science | Political Ideologies - Communism, Post-communism & Socialism - History | Social History - Social Science | Ethnic Studies - General |
| Series: Global Economic History |
| Physical Information: 0.9" H x 6.3" W x 9.4" (1.30 lbs) 342 pages |
| Descriptions, Reviews, Etc. |
| Publisher Description: 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. |