Sharing History

In Europe, the main impetus to the development of transport had been given by the Industrial Revolution to bring together two physically separated components: the industrial centres and the natural resources. The changes in transport affected relations between Europe and the Arab and Ottoman world. In general, innovations in transportation were celebrated with a deep trust in the triumph of progress. Contacts, travelling and trade became easier. However, both local policy and the international context also affected transport. Concessions were a way for European powers to enter Arab and Ottoman regions; the concessions’ controversial presence was either accepted, as a way to speed up modernisation, or refused, as an obstacle to independence. Transport improved communication but at the same time it was a means to control and penetrate entire regions. The introduction of steamships and railways and the building of a network of roads vastly accelerated communication both outside and within the region.