- The document discusses the optical telegraph system invented by Claude Chappe in 1792 in France, which used a series of towers with movable arms to transmit messages over long distances without electricity. - It describes how the French government initially denied but then provided funding for Chappe's system after the French Revolution in 1789 and France's entry into wars in the 1790s. The first messages were sent between Paris and Lille in 1794. - The system allowed for faster communication than riders on horseback and helped the growing French nation-state integrate territories during the Napoleonic era, though the government forbade public use until 1850 and justified its huge costs for military purposes.

1. The Telegraph (1): Erasing Time, Compressing Space Presentation by Mindy McAdams Week 8.1 / MMC 2265

2. The Optical Telegraph: 1792-3 Invented by Claude Chappe (1763 – 1805), a Frenchman In 1794 , first messages sent between Paris and Lille, France No electricity used Line of sight only (no good at night or on rainy days)

3. Timing Is Everything 1789: Storming of the Bastille in Paris 1792: Chappe asks the French legislature for funding to build telegraph ; he is denied 1792–1797: French at war with Austria and Prussia 1793: Chappe asks the French legislature for funding (again); he gets money! 1793: King Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette executed 1793–1794: In the Reign of Terror, at least 18,000 people are executed (many on the guillotine)

4. Distance and Speed This is not the first time people had tried to communicate between two distant points The goal: Get the message to its destination faster than a man (or a horse) could travel Top: African drums were used to send a signal to a nearby village. Bottom: Homing pigeons were used by the ancient Persians and Greeks.

6. Chappe’s System (Hardware) The vertical bar can be moved to four positions (only two were used) The two boards (one on each end) could each be moved into seven positions

7. Chappe’s Code 98 possible positions Six position reserved for instructions 92 could be employed With a codebook, the 92 positions could be made to represent 8,464 words or phrases (not letters) 92 positions of the Chappe telegraph

8. “Hardware” and “Software” The hardware was slow The software made it more efficient The human factor: Two men required at each station had to repeat (accurately) the signal sent by the previous station

9. Chappe's telegraph stations, c. 1840 Most stations were about 3 to 4 miles apart

10. Getting the Message Visibility Average 6 hours a day in summer Average 3 hours a day in winter A line of telegraphs transmitted 1 to 3 signals per minute Speed improved over time It took 15 to 30 minutes to decode the message at the end of the line

11. Government Control Even though the French government changed drastically several times, each government supported the telegraph system Napoleon provided funds to expand the network along with his growing empire (1804 – 1814) Military operations justified the huge expense needed to run the network Public use of the network was forbidden until 1850 (except for transmission of lottery numbers )

12. Republic and Empire France had its revolution (1789 – 1799) Then seesawed between republic and empire for 80 years 1792–1804: First Republic 1804–1814: First Empire (Napoleon I) 1848–1852: Second Republic 1852–1870: Second Empire (Napoleon III) 1870–1940: Third Republic

13. Communications and Democracy Claude Chappe, among others, argued that the network of telegraph stations would enable the nation-state to coalesce Fast communication over long distances: The key to a republican style of government? Critics (who supported empire) said France was “too large” to operate as a republic

14. Connections: The Age of Reason “ Modern” philosophy began in the 1600s (with Descartes, who died in 1650) Followed the Renaissance (da Vinci, Michelangelo, Machiavelli; the Protestant Reformation) Preceded the Enlightenment (Voltaire, Rousseau, Thomas Paine), where the seeds of democracy were sown

15. Connections: The Nation-State State : political and geopolitical ( note: the liberal state) Nation : cultural and/or ethnic (language, religion, customs) Contrast: An empire is a state usually consisting of many diverse (conquered) nations

16. Other Countries Copied France Britain and others built their own optical telegraph networks , copying Chappe’s ideas An aide to the King of Sweden learned of Chappe’s system by reading a magazine in 1794

17. The Telegraph (1): Erasing Time, Compressing Space Presentation by Mindy McAdams University of Florida