tags:: #British-colonialism #colonialism #guttapercha #Telegraph projects:[[]]
Tully, J. (2009). A Victorian Ecological Disaster: Imperialism, the Telegraph, and Gutta-Percha. Journal of World History, 20(4), 559–579.
In another instance of colonialism and the telegraph, Tully (2009) uses their article to discuss the ecological impacts of unregulated gutta percha harvesting during the Victorian period. The author begins with highlighting the importance of the space/time convergence brought about by the telegraph. However, Tully (2009) quickly turns to the discovery of tree sap gutta percha, and how it is found to be an essential insulator for telegraph cables, shoe soles, and more. Upon figuring this out imperial powers immediately begin to exploit the tree population, nearly decimating the native source. Tully (2009) aims to raise awareness on the exploitative natures of colonization, and how this event is a pre-cursor for modern-day deforestation. The ‘slaughter’ of native tree species from the 19th century on soldify the colonial experience for indigenous populations, noting the necessity for criticism to break the cycle of environmental abuse.