Book contents
- The Cambridge World HistoryVolume VII
- The Cambridge World History
- The Cambridge World HistoryProduction, Destruction, and Connection, 1750–Present
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Maps
- Tables
- Contributors
- Preface
- Part I Social developments
- Part II Culture and Connections
- Part III Moments
- Part IV Ligaments of Globalization
- 17 Transportation and communication, 1750 to the present
- 18 Rubber
- 19 Drugs in the modern era
- 20 The automobile
- 21 Globalization, Anglo-American style
- Index
- References
17 - Transportation and communication, 1750 to the present
from Part IV - Ligaments of Globalization
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 05 May 2015
Book contents
- The Cambridge World HistoryVolume VII
- The Cambridge World History
- The Cambridge World HistoryProduction, Destruction, and Connection, 1750–Present
- Copyright page
- Contents
- Figures
- Maps
- Tables
- Contributors
- Preface
- Part I Social developments
- Part II Culture and Connections
- Part III Moments
- Part IV Ligaments of Globalization
- 17 Transportation and communication, 1750 to the present
- 18 Rubber
- 19 Drugs in the modern era
- 20 The automobile
- 21 Globalization, Anglo-American style
- Index
- References
Summary
This chapter discusses the age of revolutions in transportation and communication: the application of new machines and energy sources to transportation, and the liberation of communication from the need to transport objects. By the eighteenth century, the quickening of business and political affairs in Western European nations was reflected in improvements in transportation and communication. In North America, the Post Office Act of 1792 inaugurated a new era in communication. The falling cost of shipping freight by sea, air, and train and the lowering of tariffs and other trade barriers since World War II have fueled the increase in world trade, a major aspect of globalization. The evolution of motorcars illustrates the divergence between communication and transportation. As all kinds of information can now be digitized and transmitted through the same computers, cables, and microwaves, the result is a convergence of media and a proliferation of new devices and organizations.
Keywords
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Cambridge World History , pp. 401 - 422Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2015
References
Further reading
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Holzmann, Gerald R. and Pehrson, Bjorn. The Early History of Data Networks. Los Alamitos, CA: IEEE Computer Society Press, 1995.Google Scholar
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