Dean Swift

Disasters waiting to happen: Getúlio Vargas

Getulio Vargas / elreports.com.uy

Vargas was born in 1883. A small, chubby and discreet man, he grew to become a rich cattle man in Brazil, and in 1928 became the Governor of his state –Rio Grande do Sul. In 1930 he was propelled into the Presidency of his country by the army, which claimed that too much of the country’s wealth was being invested in the coffee trade, in effect propping it up, which it needed due to bad management. The second of many things the army disliked was that too much money was going in the direction of one state of Brazil –Sao Paulo.

Having Vargas in the presidency did not amuse the coffee barons, and they (and the rest of this enormous country) came to dislike even more Vargas’s methods of governing, which he did by decree. He replaced state governors at will, and constructed a patronage network in individual states. Historians agree that he appeared not to recommend any particular political stance, Right or the Left for instance. He was, however, a master of political opportunism, changing policies according to circumstances, and coinciding with the mood in general of the nation. (more…)

By Dean Swift| 2012-10-17T11:06:46+00:00 October 17th, 2012|German History, History of Portugal, Italian History, South American History, US History, World History|0 Comments

Switzerland: where Italians, Frenchmen & Germans don’t bother with nationalism

A half-dozen of the planet’s most important countries are now infected by the nationalist mosquito. Europe (after the Second War) invented a large country called Yugoslavia which has again been divided into different nations in order to provide more jobs for high-earning politicians as well as to keep Balkan nations from reaching for each other’s throat. Spain has its autonomous community Cataluña itching for total independence, and threatening the country’s elected government in everything from school curriculuae to the language to be spoken in the courtroom. Scotland already has its own Parliament in Edinburgh, where no seats are held by anyone English. The British Parliament in Westminster has a multitude of seats occupied by Scotsmen. (more…)

By Dean Swift| 2012-10-16T13:15:52+00:00 October 16th, 2012|A History of North America, Austrian history, British History, English History, EU History, French History, German History, History in The Balkans, History of the Low Countries, Italian History, Philosophy, Russian history, Scottish history, Today|0 Comments

Quis? Who was this man?

Here you see an ancient photograph of a very 20^th century man who was actually born in the 19^th. Can you figure out who he is? Let us know in the Comments section. This is (I hope) the first of a series. (more…)

By Dean Swift| 2012-10-15T10:07:38+00:00 October 15th, 2012|EU History, French History, Spanish History, Today, World History|2 Comments

Disasters waiting to happen: Marcus Licinius Crassus

Olivier plays Crassus in the film Spartacus / morphsplace.com

Crassus was not the first man to combine business with politics and, through lack of foresight, or because he was too proud to think, come a terrible cropper. He was born around 115 BC, both parents patrician. Naturally he went into the Roman army.

Still a young and inexperienced officer, he supported Lucius Cornelius Sulla during a civil war between Sulla and Gaius Marius. When the latter seized the city of Rome in 87 BC, Crassus vanished as fast as he could, but came back to help Sulla take power in 82. Historians agree that the origin of Crassus’ hatred of Pompey lie in the latter’s clear preference for Sulla. (more…)

By Dean Swift| 2012-10-14T16:21:16+00:00 October 14th, 2012|History of Rome, History of the Cinema, Jewish History, World History|0 Comments

Humour on Friday: what British public schoolboys think (and say) about each other

The public (i.e. private) schools of Great Britain are not so full of toffs these days. Britain’s democracy since the two world wars has led to a caste system that is never mentioned, but still exists. The great, historic, expensive public schools used to be represented at an archaic tribal gathering called ‘The Headmasters’ Conference’. Grave middle-aged gentlemen, some with a paunch, would debate grave issues such as school meals, the uselessness of the Classics , the need for more mathematics, how finance could be raised to build a bigger gym and the terrible cost of school blazers at Gorringes. (more…)

By Dean Swift| 2012-10-12T16:11:08+00:00 October 12th, 2012|British History, English History, English Language, Humour, Philosophy|0 Comments

Disasters waiting to happen: Salazar (disaster for some – not all)

Salazar of Portugal / blogoteca.com

Antonio de Oliveira Salazar was one of those Iberian dictators who stayed dictating for a long time. General Franco ruled Spain for nearly forty years, and General Salazar ruled Portugal for thirty-six years.

He was born in 1889 in a peasant family, conservative, devoutly Catholic and certainly reactionary if given the chance. He got his education at a seminary but decided against becoming a priest, perhaps because of his experiences at the seminary. The monks assuredly educated him however, for he became a lecturer at the Coimbra Universityin 1917 when he was twenty-eight years old. He never married and had no reputation as a lady-killer. Nor the opposite either, so he was probably asexual. (more…)

By Dean Swift| 2012-10-11T10:41:26+00:00 October 11th, 2012|History of Portugal, World History|0 Comments

Disasters waiting to happen: General Gordon

Gordon meets his end at Khartoum / dailymail.co.uk

Charles George Gordon was born in 1833. When his father discovered that the boy was wilful, obstinate, brave, selfish and over-fond of himself, he decided to send him to rough schools which would smooth things out a bit. They did not. His qualities seemed to indicate the Army, so to the Army he went.

When the Crimean War started in 1853 Gordon was already a junior field officer, and he distinguished himself at Sebastopol for being brave, wilful, obstinate etc. Later he took part in the second Opium War, and was present at the occupation of Pekin (we must learn to say Beijing) in 1860. As Gordon was annoyed with the ancient Empress of China, who had shown no interest in the murder of European missionaries, and less in the assassination of the German consul, and whose ministers had orchestrated the two opium wars anyway, Gordon decided to burn the Summer Palace to the ground, which he did. This act did not do either Gordon or Britain much good, and was to be remembered by the Chinese. (more…)

By Dean Swift| 2012-10-10T12:25:39+00:00 October 10th, 2012|British History, English History, History of China, History of Egypt, History of the Cinema, The Arab races, World History|0 Comments

What the English language owes to Shakespeare

One of the very authentic painting of Shakespeare / biografiasyvidas.com

English owes more than you know to William Shakespeare. Yes, that playwright from four hundred years ago now considered so unimportant by British educational authorities that not a single play by Shakespeare is included in ‘O’ or ‘A’ Level examinations. It would be difficult to understand the importance one single playwright has had on the English language as we know it. There are 357 instances where Shakespeare is the only recorded user of a word in one or other of its senses. There are more than a thousand instances where he is the first of several writers to use a word, though later examples occur some 25 years after Shakespeare; therefore it seems likely that he introduced or popularized the word. There are 642 instances where he is the first of several writers to use a word. More importantly, at least 800 of Shakespeare’s words are still used to this day. He brought meaning to existing stems by introducing prefixes such as Dis-, Un-, Im-, and In-, or by adding the suffix –less. Let us take a look at what English owes to the man from Stratford-upon-Avon. (more…)

By Dean Swift| 2012-10-09T12:20:54+00:00 October 9th, 2012|English History, English Language, Philosophy, Today, World History|0 Comments

Disasters waiting to happen: Nuffield

Morris, who became Lord Nuffield / bbc.co.uk

William Richard Morris Nuffield started off well, but ended as the man who almost singlehandedly destroyed the British car industry. I don’t suppose this was his intention, but he did, helped by his opposite number at the Rootes Group.

In the 1950s, Britain had a long line of prosperous carmakers, famous for the typical British design, safety, elegance and comfort. The names of these motor cars filled two columns on a double page spread in Motor Magazine. Now only Morgan, LandRover, Jaguar and Aston-Martin and perhaps Bristol remain British and independent. Rolls-Royce and Bentley are German. The Mini is German. Vauxhall is American, and designed by Opel. Nuffield is solely responsible for the loss of Austin, Morris, Wolseley, Riley, MG & Rover (he started the rot here). Jaguar survived, though it was briefly a Ford. Here is how the disaster happened. (more…)

By Dean Swift| 2012-10-09T10:04:28+00:00 October 9th, 2012|British History, English History, German History, History of the Cinema, Today, US History, World History|2 Comments

Disasters waiting to happen: Huey Long

Huey Long receives an honorary doctorate / inkwell.com

Huey Pierce Long was born in 1893, almost instantly recognised as being energetic, intelligent and with an assured future. For example, he took on a three-year course in Law and passed it in eight months. By the time he was twenty-one he was a practising lawyer.

Perhaps it was all too much too soon: when he became a railway commissioner in the state of Louisiana he proclaimed himself the ‘poor man’s friend’, forcing the railroad companies to reduce their rates. Naturally he made powerful enemies. (more…)

By Dean Swift| 2012-10-07T20:18:41+00:00 October 7th, 2012|US History, World History|0 Comments

admin

About Dean Swift