William Cobbett

William Cobbett (March 9, 1763 – June 18, 1835) was a radical agriculturist and prolific journalist. He was born at Farnham, Surrey. He thought that the reform of Parliament and the abolition of the rotten boroughs would help cure the poverty of the farm labourers. Cobbett constantly attacked the borough-mongers, sinecurists and tax-eaters. He opposed the Corn Laws, a tax on imported grain. Through the many apparent inconsistencies in Cobbett's life, one strand continued to run: an ingrained opposition to authority and a suspicion of novelty. Early in his career, he was a "loyalist" supporter of King and Country; later, he joined (and arguably helped inspire) the burgeoning radical movement. One particularly "seditious" rhyme attributed to Cobbett was:

France and the United States (1792-1800)

He had developed a disdain for the corrupt officer class, gathering evidence while in New Brunswick, but his charges against officers were sidetracked. He fled to France in March 1792 to avoid retribution. Intending to stay a year to learn the language he found the French Revolution breaking out so Cobbett sailed for the United States in September 1792.

Related Topics:
1792 - French Revolution

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

He was first at Wilmington and then Philadelphia by the Spring of 1793. Cobbett initially prospered by teaching English to Frenchmen and translating texts from French to English. He became a controversial political writer and pamphleteer writing with a pro-British stance under the pseudonym 'Peter Porcupine'.

Related Topics:
Wilmington - Philadelphia - 1793

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

A disastrous lawsuit led to his financial ruin in 1799 and he returned to England in 1800 sailing from New York, via Halifax, to Falmouth.

Related Topics:
1799 - 1800 - Falmouth

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~