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Feature

The Economic Impact of Titanic’s Sinking

Rehmat Kaur

Volume 4 Issue 1

November 6, 2023

The Economic Impact of Titanic’s Sinking

Image provided by History | A+E Networks

 The Titanic's sinking on April 15, 1912 was one of the deadliest maritime disasters in history, resulting in an estimated loss of $21 billion for the global economy. The Titanic was intended to produce a large profit on the ship's numerous journeys, with passengers paying for how they wished to be served. Wealthy passengers were on board, ignorant that the ship would sink due to a collision with an iceberg in the Atlantic Ocean throughout the night of April 14th and 15th, 1912. At first, the Titanic's lookouts were relieved to find that the iceberg had not left any visible damage but failed to notice that it had created a 300-foot gash in the hull. The captain predicted that the ship would stay afloat for an hour and a half and directed that the lifeboats be filled. Women and children boarded the boats first, however, due to the chaotic process, the majority of the casualties were women and children. The ship remained afloat for about three hours before sinking, resulting in hundreds of fatalities once it sank. 706 individuals survived the Titanic's sinking, nevertheless, this catastrophe claimed the lives of 1517 individuals, but historians believe that number may have been lower.  


The sinking resulted in the loss of lives, cargo, and investments, as well as a decrease in tourism and trade. In Canada, the sinking resulted in the loss of many jobs, a decrease in the standard of living for many Canadians, and a decrease in the amount of cargo being transported. The RMS Titanic had people of 29 different nationalities, including British, Irish, and American passengers. Among the cargo were 3,364 bags of mail, as well as grand pianos, golf clubs, literal tons of potatoes,  toothpaste, 75,000 pounds of fresh meat and fish, beer, wine, liquor, fruits and vegetables, one Renault 35-horsepower automobile owned by William Carter, and eight dogs and one cat. The Titanic's maiden voyage resulted in a massive loss of material things, including a jeweled copy of Omar Khayyam's "The Rubaiyat" with pictures by Eliku Vedder. 


The Titanic disaster was the result of a storm of unlucky events that resulted in tragedy. Survivors filed insurance claims for everything from the most valuable cargo to commonplace possessions, including a hand-bound poetry book inlaid with 1,500 priceless jewels. Despite many people assuming the ship was indestructible, the incident demonstrates that even the most advanced ship can encounter unexpected disasters. The tragedy significantly impacted the development of maritime technology, the demand for maritime expertise and safety measures. The safety measures included installing radio beacons and distress flares on all ships to prevent such a disastrous event.  

 

Sources:

 

https://www.infolibs.com/history/the-economic-impact-of-the-titanics-sinking 

https://phdessay.com/a-study-of-the-economic-impact-of-the-sinking-of-the-titanic/ 

https://patch.com/connecticut/cheshire/titanic-100-years-later-remarkable-cargo-also-lost 

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