Thursday, January 28, 2016

History: The year is 1719

I've uploaded year 1719 to the TSP Wiki...

http://tspwiki.com/index.php?title=1719

Here are some one liners...


Professional Boxing and the George Foreman Grill -- Bare-knuckle boxing makes a comeback in England. In later years so does the boxer, George Foreman.

The Age of Liberty in Sweden -- They will call it the Age of Liberty later on... but if you think this is real liberty, think again.





Professional Boxing and the George Foreman Grill

Centuries ago, boxing was an event at the Olympic Games in Greece, but the practice was banned by the Romans in the 4th century due to its perceived brutality. It was replaced by more civilized sword fighting. Now, professional boxing is making a comeback in England... no-gloves, bare-knuckled boxing. (Ouch!) The rules are fairly loose. No time limit. Head-butting is allowed. Eye-gouging is no problem. Death is certainly a possibility. James Figg is the first to win the championship and he will keep the title for 15 long years until his retirement in 1730. In 1743 new rules will be introduced. No more grabbing below the belt (if you know what I mean) and if you are knocked down and can't get up after 30 seconds, the fight is over. The familiar "Marquess of Queensberry rules" won't be introduced until 1867. They will define the size of the ring, require gloves and probably the most important rule will be that one wins only by following the rules... not by any means possible. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]
My Take by Alex Shrugged
Those of us old enough to recall the boxer Cassius Clay (later calling himself Muhammad Ali) will also remember "The Rumble in the Jungle" in 1974 where he fought George Foreman in the Congo. Ali won the championship from Foreman in a knockout. After that defeat, George Foreman made several "comebacks" and he made a bigger comeback with his famous George Foreman Grill. "This machine knocks out the fat!" He has sold over 100 million of his machines world-wide. I saw him on TV about a year ago and he was still pushing hard. Always moving forward. He looked happy. Muhammad Ali has fared less well over the years, at least physically. He is currently suffering from Parkinson's syndrome, probably due to the hits he took to the head during his boxing career. He has always been a controversial figure, but he's paid for all that so I'll just let it be. [6] [7] [8]

The Age of Liberty in Sweden

Sweden's military power reached its zenith during the 30 Years' War and has been in decline ever since. They were doing well for a while during the Great Northern War. Great Britain and Poland helped Sweden fight against Russia and it's allies: Great Britain and Poland. It was a long war and nations switched sides at various times. This proves the rule that nations don't have friendships. They have interests, and King Charles the 12th of Sweden was interested in fighting. He was killed last year when a lucky shot hit him as he was inspecting the troops. His kingship was an absolute monarchy. That means he ruled with unrestricted political power. Now that he is gone, the Swedish Parliament has taken the opportunity to curtail the power of the monarchy. The King's sister is allowed to take the throne only after she agrees to the lesser powers granted by the Parliament. This is considered the beginning of the Age of Liberty for Sweden. It will last until 1772 when Gustav the 3rd will take advantage of a Parliament in chaos and seize power in a coup. [9] [10] [11]
My Take by Alex Shrugged
They called it the "Age of Liberty" but peasants were still peasants, and the idea that they had a say in how the country was run at the time is a pipe dream. They did have some representation in the Parliament, but their actual power was insignificant. Until the coup by Gustav the 3rd there was freedom of the press but this was seen as permissiveness by the nobles. After the coup, censorship was reestablished. Freedom of the press did not return until 1810 after Gustav the 4th was overthrown. [12]

This Year in Wikipedia


Year 1719, Wikipedia.

No comments:

Post a Comment