‘Around the World in 80 Days’ — PHILEAS FOGG AND PASSEPARTOUT'S JOURNEY

London to Suez - Neither the original novel nor the play go into detail regarding the European portion of Fogg's trip. Fogg and Passepartout do leave London via train from Charing Cross station, and typically, travelers to Europe would train to Dover, England. From Dover, a ferry would be caught for Calais, France, which is the closest distance between the two countries. From Calais, it was usual for southbound travelers to catch a train for Paris, and change there for Milan or Venice, Italy. There a train was taken to Brindisi, Italy, which was then, as it is today, the starting point for ferries that called on the major ports of the Mediterranean and Aegean Seas. From Brindisi, Fogg took the steamer The Mongolia, which crossed through the recently opened (1869) Suez Canal to the city of Suez for refueling. Fogg expected this to take 7 days, and it does.

The French were responsible for creating the Suez Canal by linking several lakes with deep canals, thereby connecting the Mediterranean with the Red Sea. The canal, begun in 1859, is approximately 100 miles long and was privately controlled by the French and Egyptian governments, with a lease of 99 years. The British government bought the Egyptian half of the deal in 1875. In 1956, close to the end of the 99-year deal, war broke out between Egypt and France and England over control of the Canal and the Egyptian refusal to admit ships that served Israeli ports.

Suez to Bombay - From Suez, which is at the southern tip of the canal, the Mongolia continues its journey south through the long Gulf of Suez in the Red Sea, and then out into the Arabian Ocean. The Mongolia then heads west for Bombay in India, which was at that time an English colony. Fogg expects this leg of the trip to take 22 days. It takes 20 days.

India, before becoming a colony of England in 1858, was literally run by a British corporation, The East India Company. It all started in 1608, when the British established the company to export goods back to England. The company grew increasingly stronger, and by 1773, the British Parliament took control of the company, establishing a Governor-General to oversee operations. The British slowly and deliberately annexed native states, overthrowing local ruling families either by war or by an edict that if no son were born, the lands would come under British rule. The British empire included what is now India, Pakistan, and Bangladesh. These countries did not gain independence until 1947.

Bombay to Calcutta - At the port of Bombay, Fogg boards a train for a three-day trek across India. Fogg has read in a London newspaper that "The Great Indian Peninsula Railway" from Bombay to Calcutta has been finished, but is surprised to discover that the railroad is in fact incomplete. With fifty miles distance to the next train station in Allahabad, Fogg must find his own transportation, and hires an elephant and handler to carry the group to Allahabad. Along the way, they rescue Aouda. Here, they catch the next train to Calcutta. This train ride was to take only 3 days, but with the rescue and the elephant ride, it takes 5 days.

Today, India is the second largest nation in the world and is extremely diverse. Hindi is the primary language, though English is still spoken by most. India major exports include cotton and fabrics, chemicals and petroleum, gems and jewelry, and tea.

Calcutta to Hong Kong - After being briefly detained at Calcutta, Fogg boards the steamship Rangoon for Hong Kong. After making a refueling stop at Singapore, the Rangoon docks in Hong Hong. What was expected to be a 14-day trip, takes 15 days.

Hong Kong became a British colony in 1841 after the Opium Wars pitted the Chinese Emperor, who was trying to stamp out the drug, against the British, who were making a fortune off the addictive drug. The British, supported by the French, sent forces into China in 1859, and won control over the Kowloon Peninsula, which borders Hong Kong to the north. The British relinquished control of Hong Kong and the Kowloon Peninsula to China in 1997.

Hong Kong to Yokohama - Fogg and Passepartout leave Hong Kong for Yokohama, Japan, two different ways: Passepartout on the steamship Carnatic, Fogg and Aouda on the steamship Tankadere. The journey is expected to take 6 days. Fogg has lost a day due to missing the Carnatic, and is in peril of missing the steamer to San Francisco. With the help of a typhoon, Fogg reaches Yokohama in 5 days.

Yokohama was a small fishing village in 1853, when American Commodore Matthew Perry arrived with a letter from American President Franklin Pierce to the Japanese Emperor demanding the Empire open trade with the rest of the world. Perry told the court he'd be back in a year for the answer. A year later, Perry returned and signed a treaty with Japan, effectively opening the country to import and export. The Emperor made Yokohama the main foreign port as it was far from Tokyo, and would save him the bother of speaking with foreign representatives. Yokohama quickly became Japan's second largest city, and to this day remains a major international trading destination.

Yokohama to San Francisco - Fogg and Passepartout become reunited in Yokohama and sail on to San Francisco on the General Grant. The journey takes 22 days, and Fogg remains on schedule.

San Francisco was only inhabited by Native Americans when Francis Drake entered the Bay in 1579 on his circle around the globe (see History of Travel Around The World). In 1769, Spaniard Jose Ortega creates a settlement in the Bay area in what is Spanish territory. In 1776, the first Spanish colonizers arrive and found La Mision de San Francisco de Assisi (The Mission of Saint Francis of Assisi). In 1820, ships from Boston arrived in San Francisco to engage the Spanish in trade of fur and other materials. The United States annexed California in 1846. In 1848, gold was discovered outside of San Francisco, bringing tens of thousands of people in search of fame and fortune. San Francisco became the chief trading center.

San Francisco to New York - Fogg boards a train to New York, and plans to make connections in Omaha and Chicago. Along the way, the train is attacked by Apache Indians and must be abandoned. A sled rigged like a ship is made available, and Fogg "skates" across the frozen American plains to the train station in Omaha. There he boards the train to Chicago, where he changes for the train to New York City. The trip is expected to take 7 days, but takes 8.

Before the transcontinental railroad was completed in 1869, it typically took four to six months to cross the United States on what is now known as the Oregon Trail, many times through dangerous territory. Once the railroad was completed, the time was reduced to six or seven days.

Congress had begun surveying for a transcontinental railroad in 1853, but it wasn’t until Theodore Judah, a Sacramento merchant, found and mapped a path through the Sierra Nevada mountains in 1860 and 1861 that plans became definite for the project. Abraham Lincoln signed the Pacific Railroad Bill in 1862, allowing the Central Pacific Railroad to build from the West, and creating the Union Pacific Railroad, which would build from the East (from the Missouri River). Planning went on through the Civil War, and work began in 1865, including the hand-drilling of numerous mountain tunnels. The two railroads met at Promontory Point, Utah, on May 10, 1869.

New York to Liverpool, England - Fogg, behind one day due to the trouble in the American West, misses the scheduled steamer to Liverpool. He hires the Bordeaux, France-bound merchant steamer, the Henrietta. Fogg, after stripping the steamer of her wood for extra fuel, makes the trip in 8 days as planned.

Liverpool, on the west coast of England, was in the 19th century the major shipping center of the British Isles. Most trade with the West Indies, the United States, Canada, Africa, and Asia passed through the port of Liverpool, and most emigration to the United States occurred from Liverpool. Nine million people emigrated to America from Liverpool between 1830 and 1930.

Liverpool to London - The end of Fogg’s trip takes six hours on the train. After being imprisoned in Liverpool, Fogg thinks he has lost the bet.

Before the train connected Liverpool with London, the coach ride took four days.

The train was invented in England. After the steam engine was invented by Scottish engineer James Watt in 1769, George Stephenson began experimenting with steam locomotion in 1814. In 1825, after laying nine miles of track, Stephenson engineered the first steam train engine, which was named the "Locomotion." The first American train was the Tom Thumb, which carried passengers thirteen miles between Baltimore and Ellicott’s Mills, Maryland, in 1830.