Modern History
Posts in The Copybook tagged ‘Modern History’
(That’s cat-tails, obviously.) And who ever said cats were unpredictable?
Charles Fox was a Whig politician who served briefly as Foreign Secretary. A staunch opponent of King George III, he once dressed himself in the colours of the American revolutionary army. But he was also friends with Prince George, the King’s son.
Twenty-five-year-old Robert Clive’s extraordinary daring helped to prevent India falling into the hands of the French King.
In 1751, France, Holland and Britain were all vying for the friendship of India’s ruling princes. Chunda Sahib, Nawab of Arcot, backed by the French, had Britain’s ally Mohammed Ali pinned down in Trichinopoly; so Robert Clive persuaded his superiors to let him capture Arcot itself. Immediately, Chunda’s son Rajah brought ten thousand men to relieve it.
The proof of Thomas Ferres’s rags-to-riches tale is quite literally written in stone, but popular lore adds some tantalising and romantic detail.
The rags-to-riches story of Thomas Ferres (d. 1631) has blended fact with a good deal of romantic fiction. But Thomas was a real historical figure, and however he came by his wealth, the way he used it to help the poor and vulnerable is deeply moving.
The Jay Treaty can be seen as the start of the ‘special relationship’ between Britain and America.
In 1794, America had to choose between France, a new republic like herself, or Britain, whose oppressive rule she had just thrown off. America’s choice was surprising - but wise, as events quickly showed.
When Parliament sent the Army against American colonists, people still calling themselves ‘British’ had to decide very quickly what that meant to them.
Paul Revere, a Massachusetts silversmith and professional courier, was in the city of Concord when news came that Parliament had ordered the Army to move against its own people. With no time to lose, he was despatched on an errand which proved to be the spark that ignited a revolution.
In the time of King George III, Parliament forgot that its job was not to regulate the people, but to represent them.
Ever since the days of King James II, the East India Company had enjoyed a very cosy relationship with the Crown. When King George III came to the throne in 1760, many high-ranking Government officials now owed their salaries to it, and the Exchequer’s entire fiscal policy rested on it. Naturally, Parliament would do anything to protect it.