tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6722137562852954269.post3874854996333234980..comments2024-03-28T12:16:58.318+00:00Comments on Paul's Beer & Travel Blog: A Flemish Hop-GrowerPaul Baileyhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09678639237696546268noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6722137562852954269.post-41890496670215678122015-09-08T21:12:16.741+01:002015-09-08T21:12:16.741+01:00Jeff, as promised here is my more detailed respons...Jeff, as promised here is my more detailed response to your earlier comment. To put the record straight history is one of my other interests. I wouldn’t quite describe it as a passion in the same way that beer or walking is, but your dismissal of my knowledge of early 20th Century history is still way off the mark.<br /><br />I admit that I was somewhat flippant in my dismissal of the Great War as a squabble between the royal houses of Europe, but the post was about hop-growing and the conflict was one of the major reasons for the decline of this activity in Belgium. <br /> <br />I have read quite extensively on the events which led to the outbreak of the First World War, even though this is a subject on which historians still disagree to this day. I am well aware that at the eleventh hour, the Kaiser tried to pull back from the brink, but found himself outmanoeuvred by the military, and others. I remain uncertain about Czar Nicholas’s role; he ruled as an absolute monarch, and his word was law, but he also seems to have been weak and possibly open to manipulation.<br /><br />Wilhelm though was more duplicitous and does share some responsibility, however unintentional, for the conflict. His dismissal of Bismarck as Chancellor was a major faux pas and this, combined with his posturing and sabre rattling, led to Germany becoming isolated and surrounded by potentially hostile powers. His decision to massively expand the German navy caused a head on arms race with Britain, which drive his uncle (King Edward VII), to seek an entente with the country’s old enemy, France. Thus two nations, Britain and Germany, with two centuries of ties between them, due to their royal households (Hannover & Saxe-Coburg and Gotha), found themselves on opposite sides of the fence.<br /><br />I could go on, but another time and another place, preferably over a pint or three! This is, after all a beer blog, and the subject of hop-growing was supposed to be the main point of the post. <br />Paul Baileyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09678639237696546268noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6722137562852954269.post-81182404901268292422015-09-08T13:56:40.789+01:002015-09-08T13:56:40.789+01:00Not a problem Jeff and no offence taken. I’m at wo...Not a problem Jeff and no offence taken. I’m at work at present, so will respond in greater detail later on today. You may be surprise to learn though that I know rather more about early 20th Century history than my remarks on the causes of the Great War suggest! Paul.Paul Baileyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09678639237696546268noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6722137562852954269.post-44474170923405364692015-09-08T13:36:42.499+01:002015-09-08T13:36:42.499+01:00eeee sorry Paul that comment I wrote was a bit str...eeee sorry Paul that comment I wrote was a bit strongly wordedStonchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07001578598975666535noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6722137562852954269.post-48420429007044176872015-09-08T00:43:49.628+01:002015-09-08T00:43:49.628+01:00Oh Paul. Oh dear. If you sincerely think that the ...Oh Paul. Oh dear. If you sincerely think that the Great War was due to the ambitions of the Royal houses of Europe you really do know nothing of early 20th century history. I mean I really don't know where to start on putting you right. Even the biggest critic of hereditary monarchy would not subscribe to such a view as expressed by you. It just isn't a credible position.<br /><br />In some ways the reverse was true - the fact the war began the way it did demonstrated, among other things, how little control over affairs the Royal houses had, and how a new order that noone really understood had arisen. Certainly Wilhelm and Nicholas wanted to avoid it and confided such in one another in a very sad display of their own impotence on the very eve of conflict. But the military and industrial powers in their country had already set the wheels in motion.<br /><br />I appreciate this is a beer blog but I just don't feel ignorance like that can go unchallenged. Sorry to be so blunt as you're nice.Stonchhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07001578598975666535noreply@blogger.com