The First Subsea Communication Cable: London to Paris

Americans like to focus on the first short lived Trans-Atlantic cable, a project completed in 1858. But the first commercial and successful subsea communication cable connected Paris and London. The honors go to the startup English Channel Submarine Cable Company, which two engineer brothers, Jacob and John Watkins Brett, founded. Its first attempt in 1850 failed. There are several differing accounts. What these accounts have in common is that the cable had no protection. One colorful story is that the cable lasted 24 hours before a French fisherman cut the cable thinking it was a new type of seaweed. According to this account, the cable sent a telegraph message to Prince Louis Napoleon Bonaparte before the cable died. Other more reliable accounts suggest the cable never worked at all. But the second attempt in 1851 using armored cable was successful. Commercial telegraph service between London and Paris began November13, 1851. Landing points were near Calais and Dover. It was viewed at the time as a symbol of British-French cooperation after centuries of conflict and war between the two countries. Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo had happened only 33 years earlier. The telegraph cable had a long operational life according to historical chronicles. It operated from 1851 to 1875, 24 years with only minor repairs. It was highly profitable. From November 30, 1851 to June 30th, 1852 the company generated a profit of 2,000 British pounds. This is equivalent to 359,000 GBP today. The long life is remarkable given the primitive state of technology and the lack of any burial.

The cable and landing stations cost 15K British pounds at the time. That is equivalent to 2,676,000 GBP today adjusted for inflation. Ordinary Brits or French did not use these early telegraph systems as a message would cost several weeks or months salary. Governments were the primary customers as well as a few large commercial clients. 

The cable itself consisted of four copper wires insulated with gutta percha from Indonesian rubber trees. It was wrapped in ten galvanized iron armoring wires for protection. Factory samples of the cable below. Galvanized iron is coated in zinc to prevent corrosion. It worked extremely well in this case. Twenty four years of service is a remarkable life span. 

For full details including how the cable was manufactured I refer you to https://atlantic-cable.com/Cables/1851DoverCalais/index.htm and and https://collection.sciencemuseumgroup.org.uk/objects/co32953/sample-of-1851-dover-calais-telegraph-cable-1851.











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