The Cable Fleet Leaving Ireland, July 1858 1865 - 1866

Robert Charles Dudley made this watercolor, "The Cable Fleet Leaving Ireland, July 1858", to document a key moment in transatlantic communication. The scene captures the optimism of the Victorian era. The painting depicts the ships involved in laying the first transatlantic telegraph cable. Consider this painting in light of Britain’s colonial ambitions. The fleet's departure symbolizes technological progress and the desire to connect disparate parts of the world. But this connection also served to reinforce imperial power, facilitating faster communication between the colonizer and the colonized. We might also reflect on the Irish context of this departure. The mid-19th century was a time of immense hardship, marked by the Great Famine. What did connection mean to a country so recently devastated and under British rule? Look closely and consider the promise and the complex realities of connection.