Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
vestors, while the discovery of huge mineral deposits in other areas of the globe - particu-
larly Australia, Mexico and the western US - led to a crash in commodity prices and
forced the closure of huge numbers of mines. Faced with joblessness and starvation, entire
communities upped sticks and emigrated to Australia, Mexico and the western United
States (a phenomenon referred to as the 'Cornish Diaspora'). It's thought that around a
third of Cornwall's mining community had emigrated overseas by the end of the 19th cen-
tury.
While mining was on the wane, the region's maritime trade continued to expand. Ply-
mouth consolidated its status as a naval base, and Falmouth established itself as the home
of the Falmouth Packet Service, which carried mail and goods around the Empire between
1689 and 1850.
Many of the West Country's newly rich industrial magnates lavished fortunes on grand
country estates, or embarked on ambitious architectural projects designed to showcase the
wealth and prestige of the English elite. The foundation of many of the southwest's finest
landscaped gardens can trace their origins back to this period.
As the Industrial Revolution rolled on, pioneering engineers set about reinventing Bri-
tain's infrastructure, constructing tunnels, canals and railways to link Britain's industrial
bases. Foremost among them was Isambard Kingdom Brunel, one of England's brightest
engineering minds, who built everything from groundbreaking bridges to the first great
transatlantic steamers. Perhaps Brunel's greatest achievement was the development of the
Great Western Railway, which provided the first rapid link between London and Bristol in
1841, and was later extended into Devon and Cornwall.
In the mid-18th century a pound of tea cost at least 8s - roughly the same as a bottle of champagne and
the average weekly wage of a manual labourer.
