Articles Tagged with “Europe”

18/11/2007: USD/EUR Exchange Rate Graph

The chart above shows the fall of the US dollar against the Euro over the last eight years, with some key events in American politics and economics noted, which may or may not be seen as causes or effects of the falling dollar.

18/11/2007: William Tell: 700 Years On

Today marks 700 years since the date traditionally regarded as the day when William Tell shot an apple off the top of his son’s head with a crossbow and kick-started a resolution against the Austrians which led to the founding of Switzerland.

The legend goes that the Austrian Hermann Gessler was appointed vogt (sheriff) of Altdorf. The power went to his head, and he had erected in the town square a wooden pole; Gessler’s hat was placed atop the pole and the townspeople were expected to salute the pole whenever they passed it. Perhaps as an act of defiance, or perhaps because no-one had told him about the new rule, Tell happened to walk through the town square without saluting. Gessler ordered him to be arrested.

Upon hearing of Tell’s reputation as an archer, Gessler decided on a very unusual punishment: for Tell to be ordered to perform a seemingly impossible task, and shoot an apple off his own son’s head from a great distance. If he refused, or failed in the task, both William Sr and William Jr would…

17/11/2007: Belgium

A story that seems to have had surprisingly little coverage in the British media is the fact that for almost half a year, Belgium has had no official government. Since the elections of 10 June, no government has been able to form a working majority, despite a lot of effort from the Belgian royal family to broker a deal between rival parties.

Much of the problem stems from the fact that Belgium is a somewhat artificial nation. By the early 19th century, a large number of formerly separate micronations (the “low countries”), each with their own cultures and histories came under the rule of the House of Orange-Nassau. William of Orange united them, establishing the United Kingdom of the Netherlands. (William was also Grand Duke of Luxembourg, but the Grand Duchy was not incorporated into the Netherlands, and due to differences in inheritance laws in the two countries, the royal families of the Netherlands and Luxembourg have…