1267
John Kapodistrias had an instinct for how a long-oppressed people might think.
In 1821, the people of Greece rose up against the Ottoman Empire that had conquered the ailing Roman Empire and its dependent territories in 1453. Life under the Turkish yoke had been hard, and John Kapodistrias, the man chosen by the Greeks in 1827 to lead their newly liberated nation, faced daunting problems of industry and education, but on his first arrival he had a more pressing issue: food.
Picture: Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 3.0.. Source.
Posted September 24 2016
1268
Samuel Sidney, a Victorian expert on Australian matters, explained how cutting tax and regulation on Britain’s global trade made everyone better off.
Writing for ‘Household Words,’ Samuel Sidney, a rising authority on Australia, was full of praise for William Huskisson MP and his then-unfashionable free trade policies. Sidney believed that by adding new trade partners far beyond Europe, British business had raised living standards, cut prices and created jobs for millions worldwide.
Picture: © Colin Davis (CSIRO), Wikimedia Commons. Licence: CC BY-SA 3.0.. Source.
Posted September 22 2016
1269
A sympathetic understanding of the trials of other people is essential for getting along.
In his motivational book Character (1871), Samuel Smiles reminded us that getting along with others requires a willingness to pass over their weaknesses, faults and occasional offences, and gave the example of Queen Caroline Matilda of Denmark and Britain, sister of King George III.
Picture: Painted by Francis Cotes (1726-1770). Licence: Public domain.. Source.
Posted September 21 2016
1270
Within little more than half a century a British penal colony turned into a prosperous, free-trade democracy.
Australia is a partner to be proud of: a sovereign constitutional monarchy with our Queen as Head of State, a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, and a prosperous democracy built on and dedicated to free trade that gave us priceless support in two world wars.
Picture: © Andy Mitchell. Licence: CC BY-SA 2.0.. Source.
Posted September 21 2016
1271
The mother of the Roman Emperor goes to Jerusalem on a quest close to her heart.
In AD 326 Helen, mother of Emperor Constantine the Great, went to the Holy Land to search for the cross on which Jesus Christ had been crucified. The story is told in one of the oldest pieces of English literature, the epic Anglo-Saxon poem ‘Helen’ by Cynewulf.
Picture: Photo by Tamerlan, Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain.. Source.
Posted September 19 2016
1272
The closure of slave plantations following the Abolition of Slavery Act in 1833 had a curious side-effect.
One might imagine that slave labour keeps prices down, but the break-up of the slave trade by the British Empire following the Abolition of Slavery Act in 1833 demonstrated just how mistaken that supposition is. Low prices come when free people do business together: more freedom, more business, lower prices.
Picture: From the Imperial War Museums collection, via Wikimedia Commons. Licence: Public domain. Source.
Posted September 17 2016