Some have argued that Europe was not wealthier than China at the eve of the industrial revolution, circa 1800 AD, that only after this date that Europe pulled ahead of China. It is also argued that before 1800 AD all societies had similar living standards and that only after 1800 that divergences in standards of living emerged. Well, we need to collect empirical data to verify such claims.

First, we start by with a quote of Adam Smith, from the late 18th century and thus before 1800...

William Shakespeare was a prominent playwright, poet and actor in Elizabethan England, writing in the late Renaissance. At the time of his death, Shakespeare had written or co-written thirty-eight plays and several volumes of poetry, including The Sonnets published in 1609. The Shakespearean sonnets are a unique addition to Shakespeare’s works, which enjoy continued prominence to the present day. They provide a way to look at Shakespeare through another medium in addition to his plays. They also...

Alexis de Tocqueville was a 19th century liberal who observed the paradoxes of a world that had undergone vast change in a short period of time. Born in 1805 in France, Tocqueville belonged to an aristocratic family and rose to prominence in French society as a Judge and a political theorist. In 1831, Tocqueville left France to study the penitentiary system of the United States of America. Tocqueville viewed the democratic society of the United States with the skeptical eye of an aristocrat and...

The First World War began with the promise of glory and ended with the realization of the horrific reality of death and destruction. The poetry penned during this time, much of it by soldiers who served in and witnessed the war firsthand, provide a valuable insight to this progression. One significant poet was Wilfred Owen, who served under the British as an infantry lieutenant during the First World War, fought in the Battle of the Somme and was killed on November 4th 1918, a week before the Armistice....

This is just an essay I wanted to share with you about the Battle of Vimy Ridge, which many call a defining moment in Canadian history.

“April 9, 1917, will be in Canada’s history one of the great days, a day of glory to furnish inspiration to her sons for generations,” stated The New York Times in 1917. Canada, then a dominion of Britain, had just won a stunning victory against the Germans at Vimy Ridge, a feat that had previously evaded both the British and the French. There...