Historical collections

chamber of commerce of the united states of america. transportation and communication department

Publications and source records attributed to chamber of commerce of the united states of america. transportation and communication department.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

Library of Congress1925

Railroad Map of Trinidad.

This map, produced by the Transportation Department of the United States Department of Commerce in 1925, shows the railroad network of Trinidad. The main rail line in Trinidad was the Trinidad Government Railway, which originally was built in 1876 to connect the major city of Port of Spain with Arima. It later was extended to other inland towns. In addition to railroad lines and tramways, the map shows towns and counties and county boundaries. Originally claimed for Spain by Christopher Columbus in 1498, Trinidad was seized by Britain in 1797. With its much smaller sister island of Tobago, it became a single British colony in 1889. In the 19th century, the economy was dominated by agriculture, chiefly the production of sugarcane and cacao. Oil was discovered in 1857 and the petroleum industry developed from the 1860s onward. The colony of Trinidad and Tobago achieved independence in 1962.

colonies↗

Library of Congress1920

Railway Map of Jamaica.

This map, produced in the 1920s by the Transportation Department of the United States Department of Commerce, shows the railroads and rail stations of Jamaica, at that time a crown colony within the British Empire. Also shown are the island's main roads and its three counties--Cornwall, Middlesex, and Surrey--and their borders. The scale of the map is in statute miles (1 mile = 1.61 kilometers). The Western Jamaica Connecting Railway was built in 1845. Running from Kingston to Angels, a distance of some 23 kilometers, it was the first railroad constructed anywhere outside Europe or North America. The Jamaican railroad system was expanded throughout the 1900s, mainly for the purpose of bringing sugar and other products to the ports of Kingston, Port Antonio, and Montego Bay. Expansion of the railway in the late-19th century opened up the interior of the country to farming and the establishment of banana and citrus plantations. The map is held in the Columbus Memorial Library of the Organization of American States (OAS). After approximately 300 years of British rule, Jamaica gained its independence in 1962. It joined the OAS in 1969.

great britain↗

Library of Congress1920

Railroad Map of British Honduras.

This map, produced in the 1920s by the Transportation Department of the United States Department of Commerce, shows the railroad network of British Honduras (present-day Belize). Under the Treaty of Versailles of 1783, the Spanish Empire granted Britain the right to harvest timber in the region between the Hondo and Belize Rivers. In 1862 the crown colony of British Honduras was established. Apart from British Guiana, it was the only British possession on the mainland of Latin America. The colony was important to Britain chiefly as a source of logwood and, later, mahogany. The railroads shown on the map are all quite small and were used primarily to transport lumber, sugar cane, and bananas to the coast. A proposed longer line from the port of Belize to Guatemala is indicated but was never built. The map also shows the colony's six administrative districts and the small number of towns and cities. British Honduras achieved full independence in 1981, becoming the country of Belize.

great britain↗