I’ve also had a very busy few days so I hadn’t had the foresight to write a blog ahead of time.

But this trauma of not having access to the internet got me to thinking of communication during the Regency.

This past Saturday was the 196th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo. I wondered how long it took for the folks back in London to learn of the battle and its outcome.

Wellington sent an official dispatch on June 19 and it arrive in London on June 21. The news was published as a London Gazette Extraordinary on June 22. Three days. And I can communicate with a blog in an instant (if the internet is working).

The news of Wellington’s victory at Waterloo did travel across the English Channel a bit faster than the official dispatch. The Rothschild family had several agents working on both sides of the line at Waterloo. By the afternoon of June 18, the Rothschild couriers boarded a chartered boat and brought the news of the victory to Nathan Rothschild two days before the official dispatch. The difference, you might say, between email and a text message. Or maybe between a blog and twitter.

By the way, the story that Rothschild used this prior knowledge to make a killing on the bond market, is not exactly truthful. Actually, Rothschild felt that the war would last a long time. The battle ending the war so quickly almost ruined the Rothschilds.

Has the internet (or any other kind of communication) failed you at an important time?

Thursday on Diane’s Blog, I’ll tell you what made my weekend so busy.