Communicating anyone anywhere in this world is so easy today but it was not so easy to get it done. Laying a cable to connect Europe and America took years. It all started in 1857 and after 5 attempts in 9 years finally a transatlantic cable could be laid today in 1866.
They began it from Ireland, the Great Britain on July 13th, 1866. On July 27th, 1866 the cable was spliced with the shore-end at Heart’s Content Newfoundland, the cable was laid.
“Heart’s Content, July 27 – we arrived here at nine o’clock this morning. All well. Thank God, the cable is laid, and is in perfect working order.
An earlier attempt in 1865 had been fruitful but the cable got broken in between. After laying the 1866 cable, plans were made to complete the 1865 attempt, thus the 1865 cable, which was repaired by Isambard Kingdom Brunel’s ship SS Great Eastern.
Before the first transatlantic cable, communications between Europe and the Americas took place only by ship. Sometimes, however, severe winter storms delayed ships for weeks. The transatlantic cable reduced communication time considerably, allowing a message and a response in the same day.