http://tspwiki.com/index.php?title=1699
Here are some one liners...
Free Trade! What a Concept! -- The English Parliament establishes a free trade zone and thus create the largest fish market in the world.
Gulliver's Travels -- The fictional events portrayed in this novel begin this year. This book is political satire and required reading.
Free Trade! What a Concept!
Parliament has made the Billingsgate Fish Market a free trade zone after cries of protest from fishermen and buyers over the abuses of the Fishmongers Company. The Billingsgate port is a rectangular area cut into the bank of the Thames River that allows the offloading of cargo from small fishing vessels. An open market has been located there since 1419 and until now, the Fishmongers Company has controlled the marketplace in order to ensure cleanliness and organizing transportation. Over the years things have changed. The Fishmongers have abused their market position, charging large port fees to the ships, and forcing the fishermen to sell to the Fishmongers at low prices and the Fishmongers selling to buyers (called fisherwomen) at high prices. The fix is in, so King William the 3rd passes a law making the Billingsgate Fish Market a free trade zone. Fees for docking and various fees for the marketplace are set by law and enforced by the Lord Mayor and Court of Aldermen. Buyers and sellers are allowed to meet and work out their own prices without the dubious benefit of the Fishmongers Company. It's a little messy. (Let's be frank. It's a LOT messy.) But it works. In 1850, the marketplace will be enclosed, and a larger market of 30,000 square feet will be constructed in 1877. [1] [2] [3] [4]
My Take by Alex Shrugged
The Fishmongers Company started out filling a need for the fish market, but it is an iron-clad rule that power corrupts and absolute power stinks like three-day fish. It is easy to talk ones self into doing what is best for "all da little people," especially when they don't seem too smart. Frankly, the Billingsgate Fish Market was a vulgar, dirty place well into the 1850s and probably beyond. The name "Billingsgate" became a synonym for "crude and vulgar" and there are references to the foul tongues of Billingsgate oyster-wives. So it is easy to believe that the Fishmongers Company would see themselves as being helpful... and collecting a fee for that help. But being crude and rude doesn't mean the fishermen were idiots. In the modern day it is easy to discount people who are not well-spoken, but a person don't have to be Einstein to know what he needs and wants. My sense is that our government thinks of us as "Billingsgate oyster-wives" who are too dumb to realize what we really need, so they "help us" and collect a large fee for the helping. I often yell at my television, "They must think I'm an idiot!" Yes. Yes, they do. [5]
The Fishmongers Company started out filling a need for the fish market, but it is an iron-clad rule that power corrupts and absolute power stinks like three-day fish. It is easy to talk ones self into doing what is best for "all da little people," especially when they don't seem too smart. Frankly, the Billingsgate Fish Market was a vulgar, dirty place well into the 1850s and probably beyond. The name "Billingsgate" became a synonym for "crude and vulgar" and there are references to the foul tongues of Billingsgate oyster-wives. So it is easy to believe that the Fishmongers Company would see themselves as being helpful... and collecting a fee for that help. But being crude and rude doesn't mean the fishermen were idiots. In the modern day it is easy to discount people who are not well-spoken, but a person don't have to be Einstein to know what he needs and wants. My sense is that our government thinks of us as "Billingsgate oyster-wives" who are too dumb to realize what we really need, so they "help us" and collect a large fee for the helping. I often yell at my television, "They must think I'm an idiot!" Yes. Yes, they do. [5]
Gulliver's Travels
Gulliver's Travels is a fictional diary of the adventures of Lemuel Gulliver. After failing to find work, he signs on as a surgeon with a ship, the Antelope. They leave Bristol early this year and within a few months, the Antelope strikes a rock. Several sailors are killed and Gulliver is tossed into the sea. He awakens on dry land. As he tries to move he realizes that he has been tied down. He feels something walking across his chest and as he looks down, he sees a man 6 inches tall. He has landed on the Island of Lilliput. Although the events in Gulliver's Travels supposedly take place in 1699, the book will not be published until 1726. Of course, the author is Jonathan Swift.
My Take by Alex Shrugged
Why should we care about Gulliver's Travels? It is political satire. For one thing, Gulliver is introduced to the King of Lilliput, but the King cannot hear Gulliver unless the King's servants (called "flappers") flap his ears, and the King cannot speak until the "flappers" flap the King's lips. Thus, no matter how powerful a king might be, he is only as powerful as his servants will let him be. The Kingdom of Lilliput is at war with the Kingdom of Blefuscu over the Big-Endian/Little-Endian controversy. By convention, Lilliput breaks open an egg from the little end, while Blefuscu breaks the egg on the big end. They go to war to force each other to do it the "right way"... only there is no "right way". In the modern day this sort of controversy extends to computer processors and how each stores data. Intel x86 processors use "little-endian" byte order. Motorola (and the Internet Protocol) uses big-endian byte-order. Does it really matter? Yes. When you are reading the data you must know how the data was stored. Otherwise the byte-order is flipped and the data becomes meaningless. We are busy fighting over who is right instead of solving real problems. The lesson learned is: we do it to ourselves. Gulliver's Travels is required reading for anyone who cares about politics. [6] [7]
Why should we care about Gulliver's Travels? It is political satire. For one thing, Gulliver is introduced to the King of Lilliput, but the King cannot hear Gulliver unless the King's servants (called "flappers") flap his ears, and the King cannot speak until the "flappers" flap the King's lips. Thus, no matter how powerful a king might be, he is only as powerful as his servants will let him be. The Kingdom of Lilliput is at war with the Kingdom of Blefuscu over the Big-Endian/Little-Endian controversy. By convention, Lilliput breaks open an egg from the little end, while Blefuscu breaks the egg on the big end. They go to war to force each other to do it the "right way"... only there is no "right way". In the modern day this sort of controversy extends to computer processors and how each stores data. Intel x86 processors use "little-endian" byte order. Motorola (and the Internet Protocol) uses big-endian byte-order. Does it really matter? Yes. When you are reading the data you must know how the data was stored. Otherwise the byte-order is flipped and the data becomes meaningless. We are busy fighting over who is right instead of solving real problems. The lesson learned is: we do it to ourselves. Gulliver's Travels is required reading for anyone who cares about politics. [6] [7]
This Year on Wikipedia
Year 1699, Wikipedia.
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