The Need.

Transatlantic migration and trade stimulated the development of a variety of communications throughout the colonial period. Investors in joint-stock companies often staked large sums of money on the success of early colonial ventures and were anxious for news of the settlements' progress. Family members who remained in Europe longed for word from loved ones separated by three thousand miles of ocean. Planters and traders in America needed reliable ways of exchanging information with European merchants concerning prices, crop yields, shipments, and supplies. Shippers, merchants, and insurers needed accurate information about piracy, outbreaks of conflict on the high seas, and important political developments so that they could calculate risks and make adjustments. Military officers needed to communicate with their superiors in Europe and with various colonial posts. This widespread need to know created an increasing demand for profitable new ways of delivering information. The...