103
At the Berlin Congress of Powers in 1878, the draft of the Prime Minister’s keynote speech had his anxious aides scuttling about like ants.
… The Germans had recently invaded France, Russia was demanding Turkey respect the rights of Christians and Turkey was stoking British fears that Russia meant to invade India …
On July 13th, 1878, statesmen gathered in Berlin for a Congress of Powers amid high tensions. The Germans had recently invaded France, Russia was demanding Turkey respect the rights of Christians and Turkey was stoking British fears that Russia meant to invade India. Much rested on the tact of Britain’s Prime Minister, Lord Beaconsfield — which was just what his aides were afraid of.
Posted May 4 2021
104
Plutarch tells us how Alexander the Great came to bond with Bucephalus, the mighty stallion that bore him to so many victories.
… Among them is Alexander the Great, the young King of Macedon who in the latter part of the fourth century Bc conquered cities and peoples from Egypt to India …
Plutarch’s Parallel Lives, probably written early in the second century, compares the characters of various great men of classical Greece and Rome. Among them is Alexander the Great, the young King of Macedon who in the latter part of the fourth century BC conquered cities and peoples from Egypt to India. His horse was Bucephalus, a mighty stallion that took some conquering too.
Posted March 16 2021
105
In the year that Ranjitsinhji put aside his bat to concentrate on being the Jam Sahib of Nawanagar, journalist A. G. Gardiner looked back on his dazzling career.
… In 1907, Sir Ranjitsinhji Vibhaji Jadeja (1872-1933) triumphantly ascended the throne of Nawanagar (Jamnagar) in India …
In 1907, Sir Ranjitsinhji Vibhaji Jadeja (1872-1933) triumphantly ascended the throne of Nawanagar (Jamnagar) in India, twenty-three years after the bitter disappointment of seeing a rival displace him. It was not part-time work, so in 1912 Ranji called ‘stumps’ on his spectacular career in English cricket, and A. G. Gardiner of ‘The Star’ bade him an affectionate farewell.
Posted August 17 2020
106
Richard Cobden asked Parliament to make a better effort to understand the Russian mindset.
… Back in 1801, Napoleon almost persuaded Tsar Paul I to invade India … Further lobbying fell on deaf ears but many in London still believed Russia was poised to invade India …
Back in 1801, Napoleon almost persuaded Tsar Paul I to invade India. Further lobbying fell on deaf ears but many in London still believed Russia was poised to invade India, and even Western Europe. After pre-emptive wars in Afghanistan (1838-42) and the Crimea (1853-56), Richard Cobden urged Westminster to get to know Russia better.
Posted April 6 2018
107
Edmund Burke takes time off from campaigning for liberty to reflect on the delights of captivity.
… Edmund Burke remains one of the most significant statesmen in British history, who spoke up for the American colonists and the people of India as well as the English working man …
Edmund Burke remains one of the most significant statesmen in British history, who spoke up for the American colonists and the people of India as well as the English working man. Around the time of his marriage to Jane Mary Nugent in 1757, Burke also shared with us some thoughts on his ‘Idea of a Woman’.
Posted November 29 2017
108
Was it an over-excited imagination, or an answer to prayer?
… So when the Revd St John Rivers proposes a marriage of convenience followed by a life of self-sacrifice as missionaries in India …
Jane Eyre has fled Edward Rochester’s house and arms in shame, after discovering he was hiding his insane wife in an attic. So when the Revd St John Rivers proposes a marriage of convenience followed by a life of self-sacrifice as missionaries in India, the heartbroken Jane gives the idea serious thought.
Posted September 3 2016