Introduction
In May 1853, Russia took military action to liberate Christians in Moldavia and Wallachia (modern-day Romania) from Turkey’s harsh rule. In England, the talk was of sending troops to defend poor Turkey, and of Russia’s secret designs on western Europe. That October, Richard Cobden told a peace conference in Edinburgh that our fears and economic hardships were all of our own making.
I DON’T believe that anybody is coming to attack us at all.* I have never heard or read in modern history of anybody that meditated an attack upon our shores; I will hardly except even that of Napoleon the Great, because he came and took a look at us, and then he turned away to a more inviting foe.* But what my reading and experience have taught me is this, that the danger which the English people have to apprehend arises from that peculiarity in their temperament, that idiosyncrasy of their nature, — for nations have idiosyncrasies as well as individuals, — which leads us constantly to go and seek grounds of quarrel and objects of hostility, even to the remotest parts of the globe.
I have seen that in past times Englishmen have been successively fighting the battles of almost every people on the globe; but I have seen also that — whether the objects of our intervention in these remote quarrels have been to advance the principles of civil and religious liberty, as I have sometimes heard it said, or to promote the progress of a freer commercial intercourse — I have seen that our objects have steadily eluded our grasp.
* For the background, see The Crimean War. Cobden gave this speech at the Edinburgh Peace Conference on October 12th-13th, 1853, after Russia’s military intervention in Moldavia and Wallachia, and only a week after Turkey had declared war on Russia. Britain entered the war the following March.
* Napoleon’s mind was made up for him by the Royal Navy and especially by Horatio Nelson, who comprehensively defeated his fleets at the Nile (1799) and at Trafalgar (1805), and nullified his allies at Copenhagen (1801). See Jawaharlal Nehru on The Battle of the Nile and The Battle of Trafalgar, and Robert Southey on The Battle of Copenhagen. Cobden was neither a pacifist nor an advocate of unilateral disarmament: he recognised the importance of a professional and well-commanded navy as a deterrent. But as his speech makes clear, he thought that our armed forces would rarely, if ever, have to see deadly action were it not for London’s foolish foreign policy.
Précis
In 1853, as events moved quickly towards the Crimean War, Richard Cobden told a peace conference in Edinburgh that in his opinion no foreign power seriously contemplated an invasion of Britain. By contrast Britain had repeatedly stepped into in disputes overseas, justifying them on humanitarian or economic grounds, but rarely achieved any of our stated goals. (56 / 60 words)
In 1853, as events moved quickly towards the Crimean War, Richard Cobden told a peace conference in Edinburgh that in his opinion no foreign power seriously contemplated an invasion of Britain. By contrast Britain had repeatedly stepped into in disputes overseas, justifying them on humanitarian or economic grounds, but rarely achieved any of our stated goals.
Variations: 1.increase the length of this precis to exactly 60 words. 2.reduce the length of this precis to exactly 50 words. 3.introduce one of the following words into the precis: about, despite, may, must, not, ought, since, who.
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