Question

How did the country become more connected in the first half of the 19th century?

Answer 1

The 19th century introduced new and increasingly efficient forms of transportation and communication to Newfoundland and Labrador. Roads and railways linked many isolated communities by providing fast and convenient modes of land-based transportation, while government-subsidized steamships transported mail, freight, and passengers to remote coastal settlements and urban centres. At the same time, the telegraph and telephone replaced mail as more efficient means of communication able to place people in almost instant contact with friends, family, or business associates in other parts of the country and the world. The island of Newfoundland, strategically located between Europe and mainland North America, also played an important role in advancing global telecommunications by providing a terminus for the world's first transatlantic telegraph cable. Aside from a few paths and trails, no actual roads linked Newfoundland and Labrador's communities until 1825, when the government built a carriage road between St. John's and Portugal Cove. Instead, the ocean served as the country's highway and marine vessels were its principal means of transportation. Most of the country's settlements were along the coast and surrounded by rugged terrain. Bogs, rocks, forests, and hills discouraged land-based travel and made attempts at road construction costly, difficult, and dangerous. The boat, however, provided an accessible means of transport for the country's largely seafaring population.

As the number of new coastal communities increased throughout the 19th century, so too did their demand for regular delivery of food, mail, passengers, and other cargo from St. John's and elsewhere. Government-subsidized ferries ran regular routes to Trinity, Placentia, Bonavista, and Fortune Bays, while private operators provided marine services to Harbour Grace, Brigus, Conception Bay and elsewhere.

During the second half of the 19th century, many operators replaced sail boats with new and efficient steam-powered vessels. The government began to subsidize local firms that owned steamers – including Bowring Brothers and the Reid Newfoundland Company – to transport passengers and freight within the country, as well as to Nova Scotia and the United States.