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CAPÍTULO UNO Confucio, el gran filósofo chino 551 a. C.-479 a. C. El que aprende pero no piensa, está perdido. El que piensa pero no aprende está en gran peligro. El verdadero conocimiento es entender que en realidad sabemos muy poco. *** Nací hace mucho tiempo: la historia de mi vida no se escribió hasta mucho después de mi muerte, por lo que muchos de los hechos son inciertos. Pero aquí les contaré lo que se creía sobre mi vida y los hechos que moldearon mi pensamiento. Nací en China en el verano de 551 a. C., nadie puede ponerse de acuerdo sobre la fecha exacta y, naturalmente , yo era demasiado joven para recordarlo. Nací en la aldea de Zou, en el estado de Lu, cerca de la actual Qufu en la provincia de Shandong. Mi padre era de una familia aristocrática de guerreros, luchadores valientes y experimentados , y murió cuando yo tenía tres años. Esto no es de extrañar cuando se sabe que era unos cuarenta años mayor que mi madre. A pesar de sus antecedentes familiares, mi padre nos dejó poco dinero (la familia había perdido su fortuna hacía algún tiempo) y a menudo teníamos hambre. En la provincia de Shandong, los inviernos eran extremadamente fríos y, a veces, era difícil mantenerse con vida. Me las arreglé para ganar algo de dinero trabajando como pastor, cuidando ovejas, y también cuidé las vacas de un granjero local, por lo que no pasamos hambre. Mi madre hizo todo lo posible para educarme y me enseñó muchas buenas lecciones sobre la vida. Las horas que pasé con los animales me dieron la oportunidad de pensar sobre la vida y lo que la hacía buena. Me pregunté cómo deberíamos vivir, qué era justo e injusto y cómo deberíamos vivir juntos. A medida que crecí y me convertí en adolescente, estas preguntas se volvieron más importantes para mí. Cuando tenía 19 años, conocí a una chica llamada Qi Guan. En poco tiempo nos casamos y cuando yo tenía 20 años, habíamos formado nuestra familia. Después del nacimiento de nuestro hijo, el rey Li, tuvimos dos hijos más, pero nuestro matrimonio no fue feliz. Cuando tenía 23 años, mi madre murió, lo que me afectó profundamente durante los siguientes tres años. Después de la muerte de mi madre, comencé a estudiar filosofía. Ya se había respondido una de mis preguntas de "vida": como familia, aprendimos a comprender las necesidades emocionales de los demás. Sin embargo, como tenía esposa e hijos y todos los costos adicionales que conlleva una familia, tenía que asegurarme de que nuestras necesidades prácticas y emocionales fueran satisfechas. Necesitaba ganar algo más de dinero. Como sabía leer y escribir, y mucha gente en ese momento no podía, encontré un trabajo como empleado, llevando registros y haciendo las cuentas, para el duque de Lu, el gobernante del estado. Lu era un hombre poderoso que pasaba todos los días tomando decisiones sobre la vida de otras personas. Algunas personas pensaron que era justo, mientras que otras sintieron que estaba en contra de ellos. De acuerdo con la forma en que cada persona había sido tratada, vi alegría, tristeza e ira en sus rostros. Al comprender cuánto nos afectan las cosas que la gente dice y hace, desarrollé mi regla de oro: no debes hacer a los demás lo que no te gustaría que te hicieran a ti. Cada día en el trabajo, viendo cómo la gente tomaba decisiones, formé mis puntos de vista. Las soluciones a las preguntas que me hice fueron probadas y comprobadas cada día y la gente llegó a respetarme. Disfruté trabajando duro y traté de ser confiable, los cuales se destacaron y me ascendieron. *** Viví durante lo que se conoció como el Período de Primavera y Otoño en la historia china. El país estaba formado por muchos estados pequeños que luchaban constantemente por el poder. La sociedad china estaba pasando por muchos cambios a medida que se desafiaban los valores tradicionales. Había tensión y estrés a mi alrededor y quería encontrar una manera en la que pudiéramos vivir en armonía, un estado de cooperación pacífica. Tenía puntos de vista muy claros sobre cómo las personas deberían comportarse entre sí. Cada uno tenía un lugar específico en la sociedad y según el lugar que ocupaban, tenían diferentes roles que desempeñar y diferentes deberes de los que eran responsables. Llevando esto un paso más allá, creía que había cinco tipos diferentes de relaciones en el mundo. La primera era entre gobernante y súbdito: la persona que vivía bajo la autoridad del gobernante. La segunda fue la que hubo entre padre e hijo. El tercero fue entre el hermano mayor y el hermano menor. El cuarto fue entre marido y mujer, y el último fue entre amigo y amigo. Aparte del último tipo, todos los demás implican que una persona tiene autoridad sobre otra. La persona que no estaba en la posición superior de autoridad tenía que obedecer y respetar a la persona que lo estaba, y el que tenía todo el poder tenía el deber de ser responsable y amable con el otro. En mi idioma, llamé ren a este deber de ser una persona amorosa. *** En 518 a. C., dejé mi trabajo y dediqué mi tiempo a leer y enseñar. Mi objetivo era alentar y motivar a mis alumnos, no solo decirles lo que estaba bien y lo que estaba mal. No me importaba quiénes eran mis alumnos oa qué clase social pertenecían, simplemente me encantaba enseñar. Esto era inusual porque en ese momento, la educación era algo a lo que solo los ricos tenían acceso. Mi enfoque pareció ser popular porque no pasó mucho tiempo antes de que tuviera una gran cantidad de seguidores, personas que me apoyaban y creían en lo que decía. Decidí viajar a la capital imperial de China, Lo-yang, para conocer las costumbres y tradiciones del imperio. Luego, en 517 a. C., cuando regresé, el estado de Lu estaba envuelto en una guerra y me fui de nuevo, junto con el duque de Lu, y fui a un estado vecino llamado Qi. Aquí aprendí sobre música. El siguiente período de mi vida lo pasé con mis seguidores y también fui maestro. A la edad de 51 años en el año 500 a. C., me convertí en Ministro de Justicia del estado. Este era un trabajo que requería un equilibrio entre la ley y la política y me vi a mí mismo no como un inventor de la ley sino como un mensajero de la misma. En cada caso que escuché, todos los hechos tuvieron que ser recopilados y luego interpretados y aplicados. Creía que tener un punto de vista moral, en lugar de simplemente seguir la ley, era vital. La gente me preguntaba si necesitábamos leyes. Mi respuesta fue que si las personas siempre se portaban bien entre sí, entonces eso sería suficiente, y no, no era necesario tener leyes. Pero las personas pueden ser codiciosas e injustas, queriendo más de lo que les corresponde, en cuyo caso, la sociedad no puede funcionar sin leyes. Otra de mis creencias era que debemos apreciar a nuestros ancestros porque sin ellos no estaríamos aquí. Pensé que era vital mostrar respeto por nuestros mayores vivos y familiares, porque sin ellos estaríamos solos. Para mí, la base de una comunidad sólida era ayudar a los demás, con la esperanza de que ellos te ayudaran a cambio. La vida es una serie de elecciones, elecciones que pueden beneficiar a algunas personas y perjudicar a otras. Pero puede ser difícil anteponer las necesidades de los demás a las cosas que queremos. Creía que una de las claves de la felicidad era comprender a los demás y sus necesidades. Otra clave era ser virtuoso y por eso me refiero a comportarse de una manera honesta y moral. Sin embargo, es mucho más fácil ser virtuoso en el pensamiento que en la práctica. Por ejemplo, nadie quiere encontrarse en una posición en la que pueda perder el respeto de los demás. Esto puede suceder si comete un error estúpido. Para evitar parecer estúpidos, a veces tratamos de ocultar el error que cometimos y en el proceso cometemos más errores. Siempre pensé que era mejor ser honesto y admitir haber cometido el primer error. De esta forma, no solo evitamos empeorar la situación original, sino que también podemos aprender y mejorar, y cometer menos errores en el futuro. Pero para hacer esto, tienes que llegar a conocerte a ti mismo. Conocerse a uno mismo es el primer paso para comprender a los demás. Sin este primer paso, no podrás convivir con otras personas de forma tranquila y agradable . Además de preguntarme sobre la necesidad de leyes, la gente a mi alrededor sentía curiosidad por la religión. ¿Necesitábamos tener religión en nuestras vidas?, me preguntaron. Mi respuesta fue que no encontraba lógica la religión. Todas las religiones tienen ideas de lo que es bueno y malo y, a menudo, las reglas religiosas sobre lo que está permitido y lo que no está permitido no son lo suficientemente flexibles. La sociedad cambia, pero estas reglas siguen siendo las mismas. Otro aspecto de la religión con el que tuve dificultades fue la existencia de un dios. ¿Era posible que hubiera un solo dios, y que este dios tuviera todas las respuestas? Lo dudaba mucho. De lo que no dudaba era de la necesidad de algún tipo de sistema de creencias, pero no sabía qué forma debería tomar. Por el contrario, realmente creía en la democracia. En cualquier momento, solo puede haber un gobernante, pero debe ser el pueblo el que decida quién va a gobernar. Entonces, los gobernantes crueles e injustos pueden ser removidos del poder. Veía el liderazgo como un don, no como un derecho absoluto, y creía que la persona a la que se le otorgaba el honor de gobernar debía ser una persona virtuosa en todo momento. Si no se comportan de manera correcta y ética, entonces la gente se rebelará y elegirá un nuevo líder. Sabía que este sistema funcionaría bien en un lugar pequeño donde todos se conocían, pero no estaba seguro de si podría aplicarse a un lugar mucho más grande. ¿Cómo podría un gobernante comunicar sus creencias y reglas en un área donde había que recorrer grandes distancias ? Si su palabra no era ampliamente conocida, ¿cómo podría ser apoyada? Si un líder no era apoyado, no podía ser respetado, y sin respeto, su futuro estaba en riesgo. La virtud, para mí, era la característica más importante para un líder. Si las personas se rigieran por leyes y fueran castigadas cuando las violaran, tratarían de evitar el castigo pero no cambiarían su comportamiento. Sin embargo, si un gobernante fuera una persona virtuosa y gobernara con el ejemplo, es decir, comportándose siempre de manera moral y ética, entonces las personas cambiarían su 'mal' comportamiento y comenzarían a ser virtuosas también, sin necesidad de ser castigadas. . Permanecí en mi cargo de Ministro de Justicia en el estado de Qi durante cuatro años y en ese tiempo fui ascendido a Primer Ministro, pero debido a serios desacuerdos políticos, en el año 495 a. C. decidí dejar tanto mi trabajo como el estado de Qi. Viajé, yendo de una región a otra, siempre en compañía de mis seguidores. Hablaba con la gente dondequiera que iba, con la esperanza de que algunos de mis principios fueran adoptados por ellos. Tenía especial esperanza de que los gobernantes guiaran a su pueblo basándose en un sistema de virtud, pero no vi muchos ejemplos de esto. En 483 a. C. regresé al estado de Lu y continué con mis enseñanzas. En 479 a. C., cuando tenía 72 años, morí. Mis seguidores me trataron como si hubiera sido su padre y, como era la costumbre en ese momento, me lloraron durante tres años. Después de mi muerte, mis seguidores comenzaron a escribir algunas de mis teorías y produjeron una publicación que ahora se conoce como las Analectas. Mis creencias ahora podrían ser enseñadas por otros a generaciones posteriores de estudiantes. Así nació la escuela de pensamiento filosófico, el confucianismo. La vida de Confucio 551 a. C. Confucio nació en el pueblo de Zou en el estado chino de Lu, cerca de la actual Qufu, provincia de Shandong. 548 a. C. Cuando Confucio tenía tres años, su padre murió. Fue criado por su madre, en la pobreza. 532 a. C. A los 19 años, se casó con Qi Guan y tuvieron un hijo y dos hijas. Trabajó como pastor, vaquero, oficinista y contador. Debido a su habilidad para leer y escribir, consiguió un trabajo con el duque de Lu, como empleado. 528 a. C. Su madre murió y él pasó los siguientes tres años de luto. Durante ese tiempo, estudió filosofía. Quería crear armonía entre las personas en su país de origen, China, que estaba en conflicto y peleando muchas guerras. 519 a. C. Confucio comenzó a enseñar costumbres antiguas. Sus enseñanzas se basaban en principios morales y éticos para la vida cotidiana. Él creía que había cinco relaciones diferentes en el mundo. 518 a. C. Viajó a la capital imperial, Lo-yang, y estudió las tradiciones del imperio. 517 a. C. Cuando hubo guerra en el estado de Lu, el duque de Lu y Confucio escaparon al estado vecino de Qi. Confucio aprendió el arte de la música. 500 a. C. A la edad de 51 años, fue nombrado Ministro de Justicia del estado de Lu. Fue ascendido a primer ministro. 495 a. C. Confucio dejó el estado de Lu y su puesto en el gobierno. Pasó los siguientes años viajando de una región a otra con la esperanza de poner en práctica sus principios. 483 a. C. Regresó al estado de Lu y rechazó cualquier oferta de un puesto en el gobierno. 479 a. C. Confucio murió a los 72 años en el estado de Lu. CAPÍTULO DOS Sócrates: el gran filósofo griego c.470 a. C.-399 a . Si tiene un problema y quiere encontrar la solución adecuada para usted, debe asegurarse de hacer las preguntas correctas. *** Nací en la ciudad de Atenas, Grecia en el año 470 a. Mi padre, Sofronisco, era albañil, alguien que corta la piedra para trabajos de construcción , y escultor, y mi madre, Fenarete, era partera. Como se puede imaginar, no éramos ricos y vivíamos una vida sencilla. Tuve la educación más básica y luego cuando terminé la escuela, mi padre me enseñó su oficio. También aprendí mucho observándolo mientras trabajaba. Siendo un hombre práctico, mi padre dejaba que sus manos, en lugar de su boca, hablaran. Me entrené para prestar atención a los detalles y traté de ser un buen aprendiz, trabajando duro. Aunque lo intenté, no estaba muy interesado en convertirme en albañil. Mi verdadera pasión era escuchar las historias que contaban los ancianos de nuestro pueblo. Todos los días, escuchaba a estos sabios ancianos compartir sus puntos de vista con cualquiera que los escuchara. Hablaban de lo que sabían y sus opiniones diferían según cómo veían la vida. Hablarían de problemas del presente, como por ejemplo, cómo se podría mejorar nuestra forma de vida. Mirarían ejemplos del pasado para ayudarlos a llegar a conclusiones. También se consideraron ideas para el futuro, por ejemplo, si se deberían introducir nuevas leyes para mejorar la sociedad y, de ser así, cuáles. Además de cuestiones prácticas, también discutieron temas más abstractos, como si la verdad y la certeza realmente existían. Cada uno trataría de convencer a los demás de que su punto de vista era el correcto. Aquellos que fueron respetados por su actitud y contribuciones, ya que no todos fueron juzgados por igual, generalmente tuvieron el mayor éxito. Para mí, estos debates estaban en el centro de la realidad. A diferencia de la piedra y la madera sin vida con las que trabajaba todos los días, las personas eran cálidas y vivas y eran capaces de pensar. Creí que era nuestro deber compartir y comparar lo que había en nuestras mentes para mejorar y desarrollarnos como seres humanos. Esto y sólo esto conduciría a la felicidad ya una vida rica y contenta. Había visto que las personas ricas no eran necesariamente más felices que el resto de nosotros. Me había dado cuenta de que hay momentos en nuestras vidas en los que hay que tomar decisiones difíciles y no sabemos qué dirección tomar para obtener el mejor resultado. Déjame explicarte lo que quiero decir. Desde temprana edad había visto a personas - mi madre es un buen ejemplo - preocuparse por áreas de sus vidas que pensaban que eran problemáticas. Como todas las familias, tuvimos muchos desacuerdos. A mi madre le resultaba difícil mantener la paz y ser justa al mismo tiempo. A veces estoy seguro de que yo era el responsable de hacerla enfadar y enojar, pero a menudo no me preguntaba por qué me estaba portando mal. En cambio, ella decidiría por sí misma lo que me preocupaba y actuaría en consecuencia. No siempre tenía razón y descubrí lo importante que era compartir pensamientos e ideas. *** En 431 a. C., comenzó la Guerra del Peloponeso entre Atenas y Esparta. Yo era un soldado en ese momento, haciendo mi servicio militar. En el fragor de la batalla había poco tiempo para debatir y compartir los pensamientos de uno -las diferencias se resolvían peleando- pero tener un conjunto de principios ayudó a guiarme. Traté de ser valiente y valiente. Más tarde la gente me dijo que lo era. Tuve la suerte de poder salvar la vida de un general ateniense llamado Alcibíades, que era respetado y querido en Atenas. La sociedad griega en el siglo IV a. C. estaba dividida en ciudades, cada una de las cuales funcionaba como un estado con su propio gobierno y reglas. Era normal que todos estuvieran en conflicto entre sí, pero había una forma alternativa de lidiar con tales conflictos: una gran competencia que llamamos Juegos Olímpicos. Los Juegos Olímpicos originales se celebraron en honor a Zeus, quien, según la mitología griega, era uno de los doce dioses que vivían en el templo de los dioses en el Monte Olimpo. Zeus era el padre y rey ​​de los dioses. En la ciudad de Olimpia se construyó una enorme e impresionante estatua suya y griegos de todo el país acudían a verla. Fue aquí donde se celebraron por primera vez los Juegos. Todas las ciudades estado griegas enviaron representantes para competir en los juegos. Todos los participantes debían prestar juramento al rey de los dioses y debían poder hablar griego. Era importante no sólo que los atletas compitieran en competencias deportivas, sino también que participaran en los múltiples eventos de teatro, poesía, escultura, danza y canto que se realizaban. Los Juegos fueron la ocasión perfecta para que todos celebraran su cultura, su religión y sus talentos artísticos. En un principio, las competiciones deportivas estaban abiertas tanto a hombres como a mujeres, y las mujeres participaban en una serie de carreras denominadas Juegos de Herea, dedicadas a la diosa Hera. Más tarde, sin embargo, las mujeres fueron excluidas de competir y ni siquiera se les permitió ingresar al estadio. Eventualmente, esta regla se relajó y se permitió a las mujeres competir en eventos ecuestres, es decir, aquellos que involucraban caballos. Una princesa espartana llamada Cynisca, que conducía un carro de cuatro caballos, fue la primera mujer en convertirse en ganadora olímpica. En contraste, el primer campeón olímpico masculino fue un hombre llamado Coroebus, un cocinero que ganó el primer evento de carrera que cubrió la distancia de 192 metros. Para los hombres, hubo una variedad de eventos, todos diseñados para evaluar la fuerza física y mental , así como la resistencia. Era una regla que los atletas debían entrenar durante al menos diez meses antes de los Juegos. Los ganadores no obtuvieron medallas. En cambio, se les dio una corona hecha de hojas, llamada corona de laurel. También se les dio una rama de un olivo. Además de convertirse en un valioso evento deportivo, los antiguos Juegos Olímpicos también se convirtieron en una gran ocasión social. Las personas de las ciudades estado que no eran atletas se reunían para compartir ideas y hacer negocios y, de esta manera, los Juegos ayudaron a desarrollar la cultura y el estilo de vida griegos. Pero, por supuesto, la vida real no se trata solo de participar en eventos deportivos y culturales, ni se trata de ser amables con los demás. La política también tenía su lugar y donde había política también había conflicto, causado por varios tipos de mala conducta. La gente trató de dominarse unos a otros; intentaron engañarse unos a otros; y estaban celosos, deseando lo que tenían sus vecinos y ellos no. Me había interesado por la filosofía y me preguntaba cómo se podrían mejorar las condiciones sociales, por ejemplo, ¿cómo podríamos evitar la injusticia? Desarrollé un método de investigación que más tarde la gente llamó el Método Socrático. Consistía en hacerle preguntas a la gente, tanto a los ricos como a los pobres, basadas en cuestiones políticas y éticas. Los temas abarcaron, entre otras cosas, el coraje, el amor y el respeto, y la forma en que las personas se veían a sí mismas. Interrogué a todos los que encontré en las calles de la ciudad y no me importó si estaban dispuestos o no a hablar conmigo. Debo haber desarrollado un estilo particular porque los jóvenes copiarían mi forma de hablar. A partir de las respuestas de la gente, tenía la intención de crear lo que veía como 'verdades'. Tendría la evidencia que necesitaba para afirmar que tenía algo más que una teoría. Entonces usaría mi evidencia para tratar de hacer un mundo mejor y mejores condiciones de vida. Pero encontrar evidencia real podría ser difícil porque la gente no siempre quería responder a mis preguntas. Cuando respondían, a menudo no decían la verdad. Yo creía que los que se resistían a dar respuestas eran los que tenían algo que ocultar. Pronto descubrí que eran las personas honestas las que no tenían problema en decir la verdad. También creía que para que existiera el mundo mejor que buscaba, la política tenía que ser conducida de manera honesta. Eso volvió a la gente de nuevo. El gobierno funcionaba mejor cuando estaba gobernado por personas que tenían la mayor capacidad y conocimiento, y que poseían una comprensión completa de sí mismos. La única forma de lograr este entendimiento era hacer las preguntas correctas y responderlas con la verdad. Cuando tenía 50 años, después de haber dedicado muchos años a mi trabajo, conocí a una mujer mucho más joven que yo, llamada Xantipa, y en el 419 a. C. nos convertimos en marido y mujer. Tuvimos tres hijos, todos varones, y aunque me gustaría decir que nuestra vida familiar fue feliz, no lo fue. Xanthippe siempre sintió que no les prestaba suficiente atención a ella y a los niños. Me temo que ella puede haber tenido razón. *** En 404 a. C., después de 25 años de conflicto y lucha, Atenas finalmente fue derrotada en la última batalla de la Guerra del Peloponeso. La ciudad estaba pasando ahora por un período de inestabilidad y su gente se sentía insegura. No querían dejar atrás sus recuerdos de batallas exitosas, sus ideas de riqueza y su obsesión por la belleza física. Se consideraba que la buena apariencia era increíblemente importante para cualquiera que quisiera tener éxito en el mundo de la política. Durante mucho tiempo, la belleza y la idea de bondad habían estado vinculadas. Si no eras guapo, la gente pensaba que tampoco podías ser una buena persona. Mi propia apariencia no me ayudó, ya que nadie podría haberme descrito como guapo , probablemente ni siquiera mi propia madre. Tampoco me interesaba el dinero y lo que podía comprar. Esto probablemente fue algo bueno ya que siempre fui bastante pobre. No traté de lucir como un hombre exitoso usando buena ropa o tratando de lucir limpio y ordenado. Traté de convencer a la sociedad de que la mente era lo más importante. Desafortunadamente, muchas personas se sintieron amenazadas por lo que, en su opinión, era un ataque a su forma de vida. Traté de usar el humor mientras desafiaba su sabiduría convencional, pero no siempre tuve mucho éxito y logré molestar tanto a los políticos como a los militares. Un gobierno militar llamado los Treinta Tiranos tomó el control de la ciudad y gobernó durante aproximadamente un año. Durante ese tiempo, me volví aún más impopular entre las autoridades. En una ocasión un hombre había sido condenado a muerte y pensé que la forma en que había sido juzgado era injusta. Objeté, ya que no era el tipo de hombre que guarda silencio sobre la injusticia social. Una vez más, decir lo que pienso condujo a algunas situaciones peligrosas. Sin embargo, mi mensaje debe haber tenido alguna influencia porque en el 406 a. C. fui invitado a ser miembro de la Boule. El Boule era un consejo formado por residentes de la ciudad. Se ocupó de asuntos como los desacuerdos de propiedad y el acceso a las instalaciones de la ciudad. Para que el consejo tuviera éxito, tenía que ser justo y tomar decisiones que la gente pudiera aceptar, pero a menudo había problemas. Otros miembros de la sociedad que no formaban parte del consejo querían que las cosas sucedieran a su manera. Sabían que el dinero era una herramienta poderosa y lo usaron para conseguir lo que querían. La justicia fue sustituida por la corrupción, algo que me pareció inaceptable. Protesté, con el resultado de que hice más enemigos. No había dejado de usar mi método de hacer preguntas para encontrar soluciones, pero las preguntas que hice a los que estaban en el poder ofendieron. La verdad a menudo era un inconveniente, porque si respondían con la verdad, se expondrían como deshonestos o corruptos. Aún así, no me rendí y con cada pregunta que planteé, la temperatura política también subió. Tengo que admitir que disfruté bastante ver a esta gente discutiendo. Al menos estaban hablando de lo que estaba bien y lo que estaba mal. Sin embargo, resultó que también estaban hablando de mí y de lo que se iba a hacer conmigo. Durante el año 399 a. C., llegó un mensaje que decía que iba a ser arrestado. Mis amigos me aconsejaron que escapara, pero para mí eso era admitir la derrota. Siempre había pensado que huir de un problema no era la respuesta. Lo correcto era enfrentar a mis acusadores, así que eso fue lo que hice. Había muchos de ellos. Se reunió un jurado de 500 hombres atenienses para juzgarme. En ese momento, la religión era algo serio en Atenas. Había muchos festivales religiosos en los que la gente, por ley, tenía que participar. Los muchos templos y santuarios, los lugares donde la gente iba a rezar y adorar, se cuidaban con dinero público. Mostrar falta de respeto religioso era un delito grave. Mis acusadores afirmaron que yo no creía en los dioses atenienses, sino que adoraba a mis propios dioses. Ellos creían que mi actitud era peligrosa y que mis puntos de vista estaban corrompiendo a los jóvenes, quienes también se estaban comportando de manera irrespetuosa. Otros me acusaron de interferir con el progreso. Pocas personas dijeron abiertamente lo que realmente les asustó, pero yo sabía lo que era. Yo era la voz de los pobres, la mayoría de los ciudadanos que no podían votar y no podían ser escuchados. ¿Qué pasaría si me permitieran convertirme en su campeón político? ¿Habría una revolución? ¿Ganaríamos? ¡Ese era el verdadero miedo! Al darse cuenta del peligro de permitirme ser libre, la mayoría de los poderosos 500 se salieron con la suya y me encontraron culpable de ser un revolucionario. Estaba preso, pero no era un asesino ni un ladrón. En realidad, era culpable de dos cosas, ninguna de las cuales consideraba un delito. Uno buscaba la verdad y el otro intentaba abolir la desigualdad de la sociedad. Fui sentenciado a muerte por veneno, que yo mismo bebí. El final de mi vida, sin embargo, no fue el final de la búsqueda de la justicia y la verdad, y ciertamente no impidió que mis ideas cobraran vida propia. Me gusta pensar que mis principios de ética y moral tuvieron una influencia considerable en el desarrollo del pensamiento científico. La vida de Sócrates 470 a. C. Sócrates nació en Atenas. Era hijo de Sofronisco, albañil ateniense, y Fenaretes, partera. Sócrates aprendió el oficio de su padre a una edad temprana. Sus intereses estaban en las ideas y luego se centró en la educación y la filosofía. 459 a. C. Sócrates obtuvo una educación básica y, a través de su curiosidad, comenzó a aprender sobre las costumbres y la cultura de Atenas. 449 aC Probablemente estaba trabajando en el negocio de su padre en ese momento. 439 a. C. Sócrates estaba desarrollando su filosofía, basada en hacer preguntas sobre la vida social. Estos cubrieron temas como qué es la justicia y qué es la bondad. 435 a. C. Aproximadamente en ese momento, Sócrates desarrolló la opinión de que la mejor manera de tener una vida feliz es centrarse en el desarrollo personal, en lugar de perseguir la riqueza. Construir relaciones vino antes que ganar dinero. 431 a. C. Comienza la Guerra del Peloponeso (Atenas contra Esparta). Sócrates participó como soldado en tres campañas militares durante la guerra, en Potidea, Deliurn y Anfípolis . Salvó la vida de Alcibíades, un popular general ateniense. Sócrates era conocido por su coraje y valentía en la batalla. 425 a. C. Sócrates continuó planteando preguntas sobre la vida social y es posible que se haya ganado la vida como maestro. 418 a. C. Sócrates luchó en la batalla de Mantinea. 419 a. C. A la edad de 50 años, Sócrates se casó con Xantipa, que era mucho más joven. Tuvieron tres hijos: Lamprocles, Sofronisco y Menéxeno. 412 a. C. Sócrates tuvo la oportunidad de probar sus teorías e ideas, como padre. Continuó pronunciando discursos y atrayendo el interés de los pobres y la juventud, además de molestar a algunos políticos y militares. 404 a. C. Termina la Guerra del Peloponeso. Los atenienses entraron en un período de inestabilidad y dudas sobre su identidad. Sócrates criticaba a los líderes que habían fracasado en la guerra. 406 a. C. Sócrates era miembro de la organización gobernante llamada Boule. 407 a. C. Conoció a Platón y compartió sus ideas. Platón escribió su memoria de las reuniones, que sirvió como registro, ya que no había evidencia directa de que Sócrates escribiera un libro de su filosofía o psicología. 400 a. C. Sócrates se llamó a sí mismo filósofo y crítico social. Mucha gente escuchó sus críticas a los políticos y líderes militares. Fue visto por algunos como un revolucionario que alentó las ambiciones de los pobres. 399 a. C. Sócrates fue condenado a muerte por ser un revolucionario. Se decía que adoraba a sus propios dioses nuevos y no a los dioses griegos y que animaba a los jóvenes a hacer lo mismo. CAPÍTULO TRES Aristóteles: el primer hombre en organizar el conocimiento científico 384-322 a. EC Si le pide a la gente que mencione los nombres de tres grandes filósofos, mi nombre aparecerá junto con los de Sócrates y Platón. La gente también me recuerda porque Alejandro Magno fue mi alumno más famoso. *** Nací en el año 384 a. C. en Macedonia, en el norte de Grecia, en un pueblo llamado Estagira, que era un puerto concurrido. Hoy en día, muchos turistas quieren ver el lugar que es famoso porque fue mi lugar de nacimiento. No queda mucho del casco antiguo, solo ruinas, pero la gente disfruta viendo parte de la muralla que rodeaba el pueblo, algunas de las casas antiguas y el mercado, el Ágora. Esta era la parte más importante de la ciudad porque era aquí donde la gente iba a hacer negocios, hablar de política y, por supuesto, socializar. Tuve la suerte de tener padres que me enseñaron muchas cosas, pero también se podría decir que tuve bastante mala suerte, porque ambos murieron cuando yo era solo un niño. Mi padre, cuyo nombre era Nicómaco, era médico, pero no era un médico cualquiera. Fue el médico personal del rey Amintas de Macedonia. Fue mi padre quien me hizo interesarme en aprender sobre medicina. Naturalmente, en realidad no sabíamos mucho sobre cómo funcionaba el cuerpo humano, ni sabíamos exactamente qué causaba que las personas se enfermaran. Cuando estaban enfermos, tratábamos de curar sus enfermedades con hierbas y oraciones. Lo que sí entendimos, sin embargo, fue que mantenerse en forma haciendo ejercicio regularmente era extremadamente importante. Vimos que los que estaban en forma se enfermaban con menos frecuencia que los que nunca hacían ejercicio. La medicina no era el único tema que me interesaba. Por naturaleza, era un niño curioso y, desde muy temprana edad, escuchaba con gran interés las conversaciones familiares que a menudo tenían lugar en casa. Estos debates, porque eran más que discusiones, eran sobre la situación política de nuestro pueblo. Se centraron en las actividades de todas las personas influyentes que vivían allí. No sé si era o no el deseo de mi padre que me convirtiera en político. Desafortunadamente, murió mucho antes de que yo mismo supiera qué quería hacer con mi vida. Cuando murió mi padre, dejándome huérfana, mi hermana mayor Arimneste y su esposo Próxeno me acogieron y cuidaron. Mi padre había sido un hombre rico y había mucho dinero disponible para mi educación. Además de mi interés existente por la política y la medicina, lo que realmente me fascinaba era la filosofía y la ciencia. Not only did I want to continue my studies in these subjects but I also wanted to study in the city that was the most important academic place on the planet. So in 366 BCE, at the age of eighteen, I packed up and moved to Athens. *** Athens was a completely new world for me. My first impression was of all these city people rushing noisily through the streets trying to make their fortune. They were so busy in their attempts to make money that very few of them actually had the time to discover new things and explore the world around them. This, however, was exactly what I intended to do with my time. Having come from an aristocratic family, I had enough money to follow my dream and to live comfortably. In Athens, I joined Plato's Academy. Plato was a great thinker and teacher and I learnt a great deal from him. For the next twenty years, until his death, I worked at the Academy. It was the perfect chance to research and teach and I focused on the 'science of living' which included politics, physics, logic, biology and psychology. In one sense, original thought was easier in my time because there was so much that we didn't know. We could research a subject, and with the results, we could expand and develop what we already knew about it. When Plato died in 347 BCE, many people believed that I would become the new director of the Academy, but I was not offered the position. Before his death, Plato had requested that it would be his nephew, not I, who would inherit the position. During our time together Plato and I had had many academic differences and it was inevitable that we would disagree sometimes. Perhaps his decision was based on these differences, perhaps not, but anyway, I decided instead to travel. Travelling was hard work and took a long time on dangerous rough roads. I walked, or rode on horses or camels, whatever the weather. In the summer, it was hot and dusty; in the winter, I froze in the snow, ice and fierce winds. In autumn and spring, I got very wet when it rained. Of course, every season had its spectacular moments but there was no doubt that however rich you were, travelling was uncomfortable. When I finally reached Assos in Asia Minor, I visited an ex-student of mine, Hermias, who had once been a slave. As well as gaining his freedom, he had managed, surprisingly, to become King of Atarneus. I stayed with Hermias's family for three years and met his niece, Pythias. We fell in love and got married. I was already a happy man, but one of the best days of my life was when little Pythias, our daughter, was born. *** In 343 BCE King Philip II, whose son would become Alexander the Great, invited me back to Macedonia to educate the thirteen-year-old boy, and there I became the head of the Royal Academy. I taught Alexander and a few of his friends philosophy, poetry, drama, science and politics. Alexander dreamed of being a hero on the battlefields and, when he was 16, he took part in his first battle. Two years after that, he helped his father to defeat armies from both Athens and Thebes. King Philip II was head of the Corinthian League and he managed to get all the Greek city states, with the exception of Sparta, to agree to belong to it. When Philip died in 336 BCE, Alexander became King of Macedonia, but being King did not give him the right to be the leader of the League. Athens was being ruled by Dimosthenis, whose aim was to control the League himself. Alexander sent his army south and persuaded the members of the League to accept him as their leader. *** In 334 BCE, while Alexander was fighting for control of Asia, I decided to return to the city with my family. I still wanted to teach and I was given permission to open my own school, at the edge of the city, which we called the Lyceum. I gathered together a group of research students who became known as the 'peripatetics'. Their name was based on the Greek for 'walking' because of their habit of wandering around the school while they were thinking and discussing different topics. I wanted education to be available for everyone and so many of our lectures were open to the public and were free of charge. It was in this school of mine that my type of thinking was given a name: 'Aristotelian logic', the key aspect of which was clarity of thought, and here I wrote, among many others, two of my better known books: De Anima and Parva Naturalia. Academic life wasn't easy. We worked by the light of candles which was hard on the eyes, and it was often cold. It wasn't only at the Lyceum where conditions were difficult. Poverty and disease surrounded us and tragically, because we did not have enough knowledge of medicine to save her, my poor wife died in 335 BCE at a very young age. I was sure that we wouldn't have lost her if our level of education had been higher and we'd been able to carry out proper scientific research. *** Education, in my view, consisted of three parts and to be thorough and correct, had to include all three: the practical, the poetical and the theoretical. The practical covered politics and ethics in government and business, the poetical was concerned with the arts and humanities, while the theoretical was all about mathematics and metaphysics. The scientific method that I was in favour of provided a link between the three areas, but I was convinced that evidence, rather than just opinion, had to be the basis for assessment. The problem with evidence, however, was that it was proving hard to find for many of my theories. Before I returned to Athens and set up the Lyceum, I had gone to the island of Lesbos for a while in the hope of finding such evidence. I wanted to study natural life in its natural form. In the sea, marine life provided new understanding and I was completely fascinated by botany - the study of plants. I knew that plants had secrets that could bring help to those who were ill. I had learnt that much from my father, but I was sure that there was still so much more to be discovered. In the field of agriculture, too, we had to find better ways of growing crops so that we could become more efficient at feeding ourselves. In contrast, I believed that because the study of ethics is a personal subject, the best way to learn about it was through life experience. By 'life experience' I mean learning by thinking about the decisions we make and the things that we do. This means studying our thoughts as they are acted out. Politics, however, is a public matter. People in general use politics to survive. It is all about using your skills to negotiate who gets what, when and how. Depending on how good you are at politics, the results will either be positive with peace and prosperity all around you, or negative, leading to a state of conflict and revolution. Philosophy became a key area of my thought and teaching as I tried to find a way to integrate logic, feelings and evidence. Later, much of my approach was adopted and turned into what was called Scholasticism and some of my ideas were kept alive. In a world where time destroys almost everything, my life's work has survived. Not only has it survived, it is now better known than it was when I was alive, although it did disappear for a while. In about 1500 CE, after hundreds of years in a world where science was forgotten, my work suddenly came to life again as universities began to teach Greek. My work became visible and important once more. However, much of what I suggested then was guesswork. My claim that the earth was the centre of the universe took more than 2,000 years to be proved. Theory is fine, but scientific evidence is hard to establish because it requires clear thinking and the strength not to give up. Theories are ideas that mark the way for change and development. To get evidence, experiments need to be made and we need to learn from our actions. We need more people to face the challenge of the unknown, people who will advance understanding, despite the ignorance of others. Innovation takes time to succeed, and it seems to be a fact that having evidence by itself is not enough. It is also necessary to have a quick mind and make good judgments. You need to be able to publicize your ideas and have the confidence to tell the whole world about them and make people believe in you. Only in this way can people move forward. In 323 BCE, Alexander the Great died and the Macedonian government lost power. In Athens there were considerable anti-Macedonian feelings and I felt that my life was in danger. I made the decision to leave the city and to go to the island of Euboea. A year later I died there of natural causes. The Life of Aristotle 384 BCE Aristotle was born in Stagira, Chalcidice, near Thessaloniki, Greece. The name Aristotle means 'the best purpose'. 366 BCE He was sent to Plato's Academy in Athens to study. 347 BCE Plato died and Aristotle left Athens for Assos, Asia Minor. There he met a former student, Hermias, and later married Hermias' niece, Pythias. They had one daughter, who they also named Pythias. 344 BCE Aristotle lived on the island of Lesbos for some time where he carried out botanical research. 343 BCE Philip II of Macedonia invited Aristotle to tutor his son, Alexander (the Great) and he was appointed as head of the Royal Academy there. 334 BCE He returned to Athens and established his own school, called the Lyceum. 335-323 BCE His wife Pythias died and he then became involved with Herpyllis, with whom he had a son that he named after his father, Nicomachus. During these years, he wrote many of his works including De Anima and Parva Naturalia. 323 BCE Alexander the Great died and anti-Macedonian feelings increased in Athens. Fearing a death sentence, Aristotle escaped to the island of Euboea. 322 BCE Aristotle died of natural causes, aged 61 or 62, on Euboea. CHAPTER FOUR William Wilberforce - the man who ended the British slave trade 1759-1833 Freedom, slavery and Christianity - these were the words that had the biggest impact on my life. They began to influence my thinking and action as soon as I became mature enough to understand their true meaning. *** I was born in 1759 in the town of Hull, in the north of England. My father was a rich merchant and we lived a comfortable life. My parents were religious people, Christians, who often mentioned the word slavery. Of course, as a child it didn't really mean much to me, nor did the concept of freedom. I only knew that my own freedom to play and join in games with other boys was limited by my poor eyesight and bad health. When I was nine years old, my father died. My mother's grief was deep and resulted in her not being able to look after me, so I was sent south to London to live with my aunt and uncle. Religion to them was more than going to church and praying, and they worked to end poverty and slavery. After a while, when my mother had recovered from my father's death, I returned home. However, I had been influenced by my time with my relatives in London and their views on life stayed with me. I was lucky having had a privileged upbringing but I realized that most people did not share my luck. When I was seventeen, I went to St John's College, Cambridge University. I had inherited money from different relatives, so with money of my own I was financially independent. This meant that I could do what I wanted and enjoy student life to the full. I experienced a world of luxury that most people at the time could only dream about while all around me there was poverty and misery. I lived in an academic world where there was a lot of talking and very little action. Talking about the real world and the difficulties most people were facing was not enough for me. I knew that with my wealth, education and contacts, I could make a difference. My friend, William Pitt, who later became Prime Minister, suggested that I enter Parliament. He knew a lot of influential people and introduced me to political life. I managed to get elected - using eight thousand pounds of my own money undoubtedly helped - and in 1780 I became a Member of Parliament for Kingston-upon-Hull while I was still a student. I decided not to join a political party but to be an Independent. In that way, I could lead rather than follow - I didn't want the restrictions that belonging to a party would involve. I had money, and with money it was possible to have influence. It was also possible to have a very enjoyable social life. In the evenings, I went to various gentlemen's clubs. These were clubs where upper-class men would meet their friends, enjoy expensive dinners, and gamble. Some said that I was clever with words, a talent that certainly helped me when speaking in Parliament. So my life as a wealthy politician began. It was a pleasant type of existence and while on a tour of Europe in 1785, I continued enjoying the privileged kind of life that money could buy. But something had started to worry me. I began to question why, when Britain was a relatively rich country, there were very poor people in every town and city. There were people who were living in the most desperate poverty. The upper classes, however, were not only living well, but were increasing their wealth, for example by renting out land and property to the poor. My interest in spiritual matters grew and I started asking myself what sort of a life I should be leading. To find answers, I read the Bible and I realized that there was a better way. I wanted to share my beliefs and make other people think in the same way. Naturally, this affected my politics but I was doubtful if this was a good thing. Would people take seriously a politician who was as deeply religious as I was? I asked William Pitt, who by this time was Prime Minister, for advice, and he encouraged me to continue and to act on what I believed in. One of these beliefs was that slavery was wrong. The British slave trade began in the 16th century when Britain began to acquire territories to add to its Empire. Colonists started farming the land and they needed workers. In the beginning, they hired people but as the farms grew larger, they needed more people than were available. In the British territories in North America, American Indians weren't suitable because they easily caught diseases the Europeans had brought with them like pneumonia and tuberculosis and they usually died as a result. The Portuguese and Spanish were already using slaves from Africa in their own colonies and so the British decided to do the same. Most of the British slave trade was centred in the West Indies - a group of islands in the Caribbean - which was part of the British Empire. The main crop on the plantations was sugar, which was sent to Britain and other places in the Empire. The money that came from the plantations was invested by the owners in other types of industry such as banking and insurance, and Britain's economy became partly dependent on the slave trade. Slaves were not only a valuable source of income for the slave traders, they were also the main reason the plantations were so profitable. The owners did not have to pay wages and by encouraging female slaves to have children, there were future generations of workers born into slavery. It was clear that British business people were leaders in the slave trade, although Portugal, Spain, France and North America were also involved. Our supply of sugar, coffee, tobacco, cotton, silver and gold was completely dependent on using slaves in the great plantations. By the 1730s some of the plantation owners, many of whom lived in Britain, had become extremely wealthy. They had also become members of Parliament. This meant that they were able to influence the laws dealing with the colonies of the Empire. For two hundred years, laws were not passed that would affect the source of their wealth - in this case, the slave trade. The North Americans had declared independence in 1776. The colonists, many of them slave owners, had defeated the British army, and the United States of America had elected their own politicians and were making their own laws. However, it was British businessmen in British ships who were still running the slave trade. They had developed a three-way system, which was known as the triangular trade. Guns, alcohol and other goods produced in Britain were shipped from there to Africa. Then local rulers exchanged the goods for people - human beings who had been captured and had become slaves. The ships took the slaves across the Atlantic Ocean where they were sold to plantation owners. The ships, once they had delivered their human cargo, would load up with products like sugar or tobacco and would then sail back to Britain. One evening at dinner, in 1783, I met a man called James Ramsay, who had been a ship's doctor in the West Indies and later a Church of England priest. He told me what he had seen on the ships arriving from Africa and I was horrified. Slave traders would travel to Africa to find or hunt and capture healthy-looking men and women, who were taken to large ships. They were chained together and put below decks with hardly enough space for them to breathe, let alone move. Conditions on the ships were terrible and thousands died during the voyage. When the ships arrived at their destinations, the slaves had to face the humiliating experience of being sold to their new owners. Those who had survived the trip were usually in the most terrible physical condition - at best, they were exhausted, starving and thin. On arrival they were washed, the men were shaved and oil was put on their skins to make them look healthier. When the slaves had been made to look as good as possible, potential buyers would come and examine them as if they were animals, to choose which ones they wanted. The slaves were then sold in one of two ways. Sometimes an auction was held. At an auction, buyers would offer an amount of money for a slave and the person offering the greatest amount would be the one to buy him or her. On other occasions, the slaves would be put together into one room. The doors would open and the buyers would all rush in and grab the slave or slaves they wanted. Either way, it was brutal. The slaves did not know what was going to happen to them or where they were going to be taken, and they did not understand English. In total, more than fifteen million Africans became slaves and it was estimated that over two million died during the dreadful eight- to ten- week voyage from Africa. In 1787, a man called Thomas Clarkson came to see me. He had researched and written an essay on the slave trade, and the facts were shocking. The British Parliament found itself able to accept slavery, but for me, the question was what could be done about it. Looking around me, at the sugar, cotton, tobacco, silver and gold that we took for granted in our everyday lives, I felt that everything I touched was tainted by slavery. The people who had power in government had to be persuaded that slavery was wrong. Clarkson, with two other men, had started the Society for the Abolition of the Slave Trade. The Quakers, a religious group that did not believe in slavery or war, also protested but they were not taken seriously. Because they disagreed with the principles of the Church of England, the Quakers were unpopular and so their protests had little effect. James Ramsay had published An Inquiry into the Effects of Putting a Stop to the African Slave Trade and Treatment and Conversion of African Slaves in the British Sugar Colonies. Because he was a Church of England priest he had more influence in the government than the Quakers. Ordinary people had to be told the truth about slavery. Most of them had no idea where their sugar or tobacco came from and the few who did know had no idea how terrible life was for the slaves on the plantations. A campaign was started to educate the British people about the truth of slavery and slowly people began to listen. From then onwards, I focused all my energy on trying to achieve my goal of making the slave trade illegal. Day after day and night after night, I tried to convince people. But it was a hard fight. All around me there were people - rich influential people - who benefited from slavery. In 1790, I was allowed to set up a committee to look at the slave trade and examine how it was operated. The following year I introduced the first bill to abolish slavery but the politicians voted against it. They said there were more important issues to be considered because of the threat presented by the French Revolution and the rise of Napoleon. They were also afraid of the new United States of America and questioned if it was right that we should interfere with their slave system. The politicians even went as far as to suggest that it was the Americans' job, not ours, to stop the practice of slavery. This did not stop me, however, and I continued to raise the question of slavery at every opportunity. *** I was so busy working and fighting for my beliefs that my personal life had suffered and I was alone. Romance was the last thing on my mind until I met the woman I would marry. In 1797 a friend introduced me to a young woman called Barbara Ann Spooner, whose smile filled me with joy. The day after I met her, I sent a note suggesting that we meet again. She agreed and we talked about my work. Within a few days, I had made up my mind and at a private dinner, I asked her if she would be my wife. To my delight she agreed and we starting making plans for our wedding. Our family and friends were not so enthusiastic as we had only known each other for eight days. Barbara may have been eighteen years younger than I was - which was not unusual at the time - but I knew I had found true love. In the next ten years we had six children and my life at home filled me with the strength to continue my battles at work. My political campaign against slavery continued at full speed, gradually gaining support and on 22nd February 1807, the Slave Trade Act was passed, making the buying and selling of slaves illegal. The British Parliament had decided with 283 votes for, and only 16 against, the Act. The next year, the USA also made the slave trade illegal, but it did not succeed in actually stopping the trade of slaves, nor slavery itself. There was clearly a lot more to be done before the practice of slavery would end and the slaves would be given their freedom. In 1816, the names and personal details of all the slaves were written down in an official list, and I started looking at other important issues. I wanted Parliament to pass laws to improve working conditions, especially for children and factory workers. What I did not agree with was giving workers the right to organize unions because I was worried that this would lead to revolution, as it had in France. I was also concerned about people's morals and I fully supported Bible studies for children at Sunday School as well as helping to establish the Church Missionary Society. But my focus remained on abolishing slavery. In 1833, the Slave Abolition Act was passed, banning slavery in most colonies of the British Empire and giving the slaves their freedom. Full credit should go to Thomas Clarkson and others for their efforts. By that time, I was nearly blind and very much poorer than when I had started my campaign. My death came within days of the passing of the Act but my sacrifices were minor compared to those of the slaves. While their 'Christian' owners had been seen praying in church, more than two million slaves had been killed, millions more had been beaten and countless were badly-treated and worked to death. With the 1833 Act, my life's work to ban slavery by the British had been achieved. But elsewhere the battle continued. The Life of William Wilberforce 1759 William Wilberforce was born in Hull, Yorkshire, England. 1767 He began his schooling at Hull Grammar School. 1768 At the age of nine, William's father died. He was sent to live with his aunt and uncle at their homes in London and Wimbledon. William was sent to a boarding school in Putney and spent his holidays with relatives. 1771 William's mother and grandfather were concerned about his religious instruction, and therefore brought him back to Hull. 1776 He attended St John's College, in Cambridge. His grandfather died, followed by his uncle. Their deaths left William with his own money to spend as he pleased. 1780 While still a student, on September 11th, William was elected as a Member of Parliament for Kingston-upon-Hull. 1783 His friend, William Pitt, was elected Prime Minister. 1784 William was elected as a Member of Parliament for the county of Yorkshire in the general election. In October, he toured Europe with his mother, sister and Isaac Milner, the brother of his former headmaster. 1785 He returned to England to support Pitt's Parliamentary changes before continuing his travels to Italy and Switzerland. William read The Rise and Progress of Religion in the Soul which had a serious effect on him. He began to pray and read the Bible. 1786 William rented a house near Parliament, in Westminster. He used his position to promote changes in the law. 1787 Thomas Clarkson began calling on William and asked him to bring forward the case to the House of Commons for the Abolition of Slavery. The first meeting of the Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade took place. 1789 On May 12th, William delivered his first speech in the House of Commons against the slave trade. He also introduced his first bill to abolish the slave trade. 1790 He gained approval for a Parliamentary Select Committee to consider the slave trade and examine the evidence. 1791 In April, the first Parliamentary Bill was introduced. It was defeated by 163 votes to 88. From then on, William introduced a motion of favour of abolition during every session of Parliament. 1793-1798 The war in France meant that although the subject of the slave trade continued to be debated in Parliament, serious consideration was never given to it. 1797 William met and married Barbara Spooner. They had six children over the next ten years. 1799 The Slave Trade Regulation Act was passed to reduce overcrowding on slave ships. 1804 William helped to start the British and Foreign Bible Society and the Church Missionary Society. 1806 The new Foreign Slave Trade Act was passed. It banned all British people from helping in any way or taking part in the slave trade to the French colonies. In effect, the Act stopped two-thirds of the British slave trade. 1807 On February 23rd, the British Parliament finally abolished the slave trade. Then on March 25th the Abolition of the Slave Trade Act was passed. It stopped the trading of slaves, but did not actually abolish slavery. 1822 William helped form the Anti-Slavery Society. 1823 He launched the campaign for slaves to be given their freedom. 1825 He retired from Parliament after 45 years of service. 1833 William died aged 73, in London, England. Just three days before his death, on July 26th, the Slavery Abolition Act was passed. Slavery was abolished in the whole of the British Empire and all the slaves within it were given their freedom. CHAPTER FIVE Karl Marx - the man who wrote The Communist Manifesto and Das Kapital 1818-1883 I was not born into poverty but I hated the inequality between the very rich and the very poor. I spent my life, through my writing, fighting for equality. I believed that everybody, whatever their class and financial state, should have the same rights. *** I was born in 1818 in the city of Trier in Germany. My father was a lawyer and my mother had more than a full-time job looking after my father, myself and my eight brothers and sisters. We had a comfortable life and I didn't go to school until I was twelve because until that point I had been educated at home by private tutors. After attending the high school in Trier for five years, I went to the University of Bonn and studied law. Like many students suddenly thrown into an adult world, I found myself in a bit of trouble. I got into debt, had fights and once was even sent to prison. My father was not very pleased with my behaviour and insisted that I take my studies more seriously. At his suggestion - and as he was paying the bills, I didn't really have much choice - I moved to the University of Berlin, where I studied law and philosophy. In Berlin I joined a group of students called the Young Hegelians, who were occupied with criticizing the political and religious authorities. The group was based on the teachings of the philosopher Hegel. I was not, in the beginning, that interested in his theories but I became an active member as my interest in politics grew. It was during this time that I met my future wife, Jenny von Westphalen. Jenny came from quite an upper-class family and there were many people who were interested in her apart from me. She was also four years older than I was. We got engaged, secretly, and did not get married until seven years later. In 1841, I got my Doctorate in Philosophy but due to my political beliefs, which others saw as being extreme and unwelcome, I was not able to get a teaching position at the university. In fact, I was forced to leave altogether. The people in power were feeling increasingly threatened by the articles I was publishing which demanded a better life for the poor. I went to live in Cologne, where I started a left-wing political newspaper, then I moved to Paris for a short time, where Jenny and I got married. However, it didn't seem to matter where I went to live, because wherever I was, my views on life were unpopular. After Cologne, the city of Brussels, in Belgium, seemed to be a good place to live and we stayed there for two years. I met my dear and life-long friend Friedrich Engels and also I became involved with people from the Communist League. The communists believed that the government should own a country's wealth - its industry, property and natural resources - and that it should be shared equally with everyone. They thought it was unfair that the upper classes and the aristocracy, who were a tiny minority of the population, should have so much while the working classes had almost nothing. The Communist League asked me to write down the principles of communism in a document that could be read and used by everyone, which I did. I explained in my writing that the working class is exploited by the upper-class capitalists whom I called the bourgeoisie. Capitalists get rich from the work done by the poor. The true value of something - goods or services - is the amount of work actually done. Any extra money that is made - profit - should belong to the people who did the work and not the capitalists. The only way that this situation can be changed is if the workers have the power to make rules. This can only be done if working classes take power away from the capitalists by using force and violence. No wealth should belong to individuals and all governments should be abolished. I ended with the following: 'Working men of all countries, unite!' My involvement in the League drew attention to my political views and I made yet more enemies by speaking out for change and equality. I was accused of trying to cause a revolution, but I answered that if a revolution happened, it would be the poverty of the people, not me, that was responsible. The poor were in the majority, but they had no votes and therefore no power to change the situation. By 1849, many European countries were in the middle of bitter revolutions and it was then that Engels and I, now back in Cologne, published The Communist Manifesto, which was based on the written work I had done for the Communist League. This was seen as a huge challenge to the civilized life enjoyed by the upper classes, and the continuous threats that were being made to my life made it necessary for me to leave Cologne, too. I had not shot or injured anyone, but I was seen as an enemy, so I decided we should move to London. There I could write and spread my message through my publications. Perhaps the British would be more open to hearing what I had to say. *** Living conditions in Berlin, Paris and Brussels had been bad but the poverty and misery in London were far worse than anything I had ever seen. The streets were full of people who had no choice other than to steal food or even pick out rotting food from the rubbish to survive. Many had no homes and were forced to live on the streets, which were filthy and full of rats. Then there was the workhouse. In 1834 the first workhouses were opened. They were supposed to be places where people who had absolutely nothing could go and live. The government was afraid that 'lazy' people would take advantage and so conditions inside were made incredibly brutal and humiliating. They did provide food and shelter for those who would have died otherwise, but they were widely hated, so much so that many preferred to take their chances out in the streets than face the shame and stigma of the workhouse. There had been much whispering of the word revolution and a group called the Chartists had long been planning a series of political attacks. The Chartists were an organization that wanted the government to be elected in a fairer way. They wanted every man over the age of twenty-one to have the right to vote. At the time, only men who had property that could be rented for at least ten pounds a year could vote. This meant that six out of every seven men did not have the right to vote. The Chartists were also campaigning for a more acceptable system of representation in the government. Large cities, where mainly poor people with no property lived, often did not have even one member of parliament representing them. Unfortunately, the Chartists were neither well-organized nor successful. I agreed with their principles and set to work in the British Library - where it was only possible to get access if you could prove you were a serious researcher - to write the plan that would get rid of capitalism. This would be a plan that would remove the great class divides between the rich and the poor. My ideas were ahead of their time as the people in London had not yet heard about communism. In the north of England, however, factory and mine workers started to join together to form unions to try and negotiate with the government over working conditions. New innovations like electricity and gas were comforts for those who already had comfortable lives. The living conditions of the poor, who would not have either electricity or gas for a long time, were not getting better. In fact, life became worse as more and more people were attracted to the large cities. The major cities, already too full, were becoming unbearably overcrowded as people like myself arrived from Europe. In 1845-1846 a terrible famine happened in Ireland when that year's potato crop failed. The potato was one of the basic foods in Ireland and without it, people starved. The Irish who could, travelled to other countries. Many moved to the USA but many others came to England. By 1849, 20 per cent of the population of London were now Irish and like my family, they were all immigrants - people who had come from another country in search of a better life. We lived at 28 Dean Street, and paid twenty-two pounds a year in rent for two basic rooms in very bad condition. It was very cramped as we were a large family. My wife gave birth to seven babies but only three of them lived to adulthood. This horrible situation was far from unusual and I was sure the terrible conditions - the filth and poverty - played a major role in the high death rate among children. My family's accommodation and living standards were far better than some, even though I was not able to earn a living. Nobody would employ me and if it had not been for the generous help of my friend, Engels, I do not think any members of my family would have survived at all. The Dukes of Bedford, Norfolk and Westminster in their country estates were earning huge rents from the poor, who had to live in filthy, disgusting conditions. We all lived in the same country but it was as if we were in two different worlds: ours, the working class, and the other that belonged to the upper class. I could not accept that a person who was unlucky enough to have been born into a poor family was forced to live a life of misery. Across the English Channel, many countries were in a state of anxious confusion, with people demonstrating in the streets to get better conditions. I was sure that this would happen in Britain, too. After all, it was the place where the Industrial Revolution had begun, I spent my days researching and writing. 'A spectre is haunting Europe,' I wrote. 'The spectre of Communism.' Looking around the miserable streets of London, I waited. Surely the working class would rise up and take action. But despite my best efforts to develop protest through my writing, there was no revolution. Some capitalists had produced useful innovations - in addition to the gas and electricity we already had, the invention of the telephone improved communications. But despite this, the working people continued to be exploited in industry and agriculture, in the factories and fields. My proposal was to have a revolution by democratic means - let all men have the right to vote and elect the government of their choice and then if that was not successful, we would need to fight. 'From each according to his abilities, to each according to their needs.' That was the message I was trying to communicate in Das Kapital - the most famous of all my books. I wanted to look in more depth at what I had outlined in The Communist Manifesto. I tried to explain how capitalism had developed and what its future might be. I focused on economic theory and described more fully the relationship between workers and capitalists, showing how workers are exploited and giving specific examples from the past. My aim was to demonstrate that capitalism is unstable and why it should be abolished. I believed there was a need for a 'science of society'. I saw that the class struggle was inevitable - the struggle between capitalism and communism or more simply, between the 'haves' and the 'have nots'. It would be an economic civil war that would change politics forever. In 1871, after the Paris Commune rebellion, where the people of Paris fought against the government, I wrote a pamphlet - a short book - called The Civil War in France, which became famous. I hoped that the struggle for equality would occur peacefully, but feared that it would not, especially not in my lifetime. In 1883, I died at the age of sixty-four, two years after the death of my wife, Jenny, and I was buried in Highgate Cemetery in north London. The Life of Karl Marx 1818 Karl Heinrich Marx was born in Trier, in the Prussian Rhineland. 1819 The family moved to a ten-room property near the Porta Nigra, in Trier. 1830 Karl attended Trier High School after his private education ended. 1835 He studied law at the University of Bonn. The following year, Karl studied at the University of Berlin, where he continued to study law. 1837 Karl joined the Young Hegelians. He wrote a novel, Scorpion and Felix and a drama, Oulanem, but they were not published. 1841 Karl earned his Doctorate in Philosophy with his thesis The Difference Between the Democritean and Epicurean Philosophy of Nature. 1842 Karl lived as a refugee in Cologne, where he was a journalist for a left-wing newspaper called Rhenish. He later became the Editor-in-Chief 1843 Karl married Jenny von Westphalen. They moved to Paris, where Karl studied political economy, the French socialists and the history of France. 1844 He met German socialist Friedrich Engels. On the Jewish Question and The Economic and Philosophical Manuscripts were published. The following year, he wrote Theses on Feuerbach, which was not published until after his death. 1845 Karl, Jenny and Friedrich moved to Brussels, Belgium. Karl and Friedrich published a criticism of the philosophical ideas of Bruno Bauer called The Holy Family. They visited London and met the leaders of the Chartists. With Friedrich, Karl wrote The German Ideology, which was published after his death. 1847 He wrote The Poverty of Philosophy. 1848 Karl and Jenny moved back to Cologne. He started the publication of the left-wing political paper, New Rhenish Newspaper. Karl and Friedrich published The Communist Manifesto. Europe was in the middle of violent revolutions. 1849 Unable to return to Germany or Belgium, Karl and Jenny moved to London, where he became involved in the German Workers' Educational Society. 1851 Karl wrote about the French Revolution of 1848, The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Napoleon. 1852 He wrote for the New York Daily Tribune. 1859 Karl published Contribution to the Critique of Political Economy. 1864 He became involved in the International Workingmen's Association and was elected to the General Council. 1867 The first volume of Capital: Critique of Political Economy (Das Kapital) was published. 1871 When the citizens of Paris rebelled against the government during the Paris Commune, Karl wrote one of his most famous pamphlets, The Civil War in France. 1881 His wife, Jenny, died. 1883 Karl died aged 64, in London, England. CHAPTER SIX Mahatma Gandhi - the man who helped free India from British rule 1869-1948 All my life, all I ever wanted was for India to be an independent, united country. I wanted a peaceful end to 350 years of British rule. The British did leave but to my deepest regret, they left behind an India that was divided in two. *** I was born in Porbandar, a city on the west coast of India, where most people lived in poverty and hardship. We were lucky - my father was the chief minister of the city - so we had a decent standard of living. My mother was a true follower of Jainism - an Indian religion that believed, among other things, in complete self-control. This meant that although we were not poor, our lifestyle was a simple one. India was under the rule of the British Raj and many white men from the British Isles were sent to our country. They forced their law on us, but could not change our customs and beliefs. People who believed in Jainism thought that differences between people should be solved with respect, mutual tolerance and understanding - not violence. I followed these principles faithfully my entire life. I was married at the age of thirteen to a girl a year older than me who was called Kasturba. As was the custom, it was an arranged marriage with neither of us having any say in the matter. Over the years we had four sons, although our first child, born two years into our marriage, died just a few days after birth. Medical facilities were limited and basic and many babies and children died as a result. I was fortunate enough to have a good education and I decided that I wanted to study law. I had heard a great deal about all the fine cities in Britain and the place I wanted to go was London, which, I had heard, was the greatest of them all. So, having gained a place at University College London, I left India. It was a complete culture shock to arrive in such a big city after living my whole life in Porbandar. I was used to the heat of India, and the cold and never-ending damp of England was not a pleasant experience for me. I no longer kicked up dust on the roads of my hometown - in London you were more likely to be covered in mud than dust. Before, I had been just one of many. Now I was one of the few - an Indian man amongst the British. I was a long way from home and each day was a challenge. I spent many lonely days studying my law books. Law to me was not just about what was legally right or wrong. I also wanted it to help people behave in a way that was socially acceptable and this meant looking at the principles behind the law. My early life in Porbandar influenced me greatly, as the Jainist principles I had brought with me guided me both in my studies and my social life. One of the battles everyone has to face is how to beat their own inner enemies, such as anger, intolerance and immorality. I believed that self-control was important and that taking responsibility for your own actions was essential. It was no use blaming someone else for your own bad behaviour or lack of will-power. Where I came from, these beliefs guided poor and rich alike but in London I found many different views. It was not Jainism that was being debated but capitalism and communism, or democracy and theocracy and I found it fascinating to be exposed to so many new ideas. However, no matter what I heard, I held strongly to my beliefs and managed to resist all the temptations facing a young man in the city. In 1891, I graduated from university and was called to the Bar. I thought it was a strange expression, as if one was going to be served drinks but in reality, it meant that I had become a qualified barrister and could now represent people in the law courts. *** Two days after my graduation, on 12th June 1891, I set sail for India. On arriving, instead of the joy I had been expecting at coming home, I was told my mother had died. Days of sadness were followed by hard times financially as I tried to care for my family. I set up a law practice in Mumbai but the lack of clients meant that I soon had to close it down. I decided to apply for a job as a school teacher but I was unlucky there, too, and my application was rejected. In 1893,1 accepted a one-year contract in the British colony of Natal in South Africa. It was a relief to have some paid work but frustration took its place as I experienced countless acts of discrimination. This is one example. One day I was travelling, quite legally, in the first-class carriage of a train, when I was told by a guard to go and sit in third class. When I refused to move, I was actually thrown off the train. My Jainist beliefs of tolerance for all people told me that action against prejudice was required. Realizing that the law was not enough to protect one's rights, I knew I had to do something myself. *** I decided to stay and campaign for civil rights for minority groups. The Natal Indian Congress was formed in 1894, providing the Indian community with a voice. I persuaded my family to join me in South Africa, but life there was not easy for us. I had seen poverty, injustice and suffering and my life-long aim was to bring about peace and prosperity all over the world. However, in South Africa it seemed a very long way away - for example, Indian marriages had been declared illegal. In 1908, I was arrested for leading resistance and spent two months in prison, which strengthened my determination to stand up for my beliefs. On the streets, prejudice against Indians remained. In 1913, I led 2,500 Indians in a protest and once again, I was arrested and put in prison. In Europe the First World War had begun, with more violence and destruction than had ever been seen before. I was worried that such a conflict could happen in India. I wanted to help our nation develop in a peaceful way, which I called Ahimsa, but I didn't know what role I could play. South Africa was burning with racial conflict. We had children born in a country where Indians, an Asian minority, were always seen as immigrants. However, the Indian population was caught in the middle of a larger battle - the tribal groups fighting against the British and Dutch settlers. I wondered if I should be using my talents in my own country. After twenty-one years in South Africa, it was time to return to India. Aged 45, I took my family home. *** In India, we had the same issues of prejudice. Indians were subservient to the British and we were a divided nation under the Raj. We were also divided between Hindus, Muslims and other religions. My family and followers needed support and so I set up a farm, a place for them to go, called Sabarmati Ashram. I believed that Indians, not the British, should rule India, and my political campaign for independence began when I spoke at the Indian National Congress. The turning point in my campaign happened when I visited a place called Champaran. Here my goal was to help poor farm workers working for British landlords. The British ordered me to leave, but I refused and told the workers to hold non-violent protests. I was arrested. Hundreds of thousands of people marched in mass protests and eventually, the law was changed, giving the farm workers more control. The 'satyagraha' non-violent approach had worked. News of the success spread through cities, towns and villages but the prejudice and violence did not stop. In 1919 in Amritsar, the Jallianwala Bagh massacre happened. 379 people were murdered and over 1,000 wounded, and I realized that self-government for India was essential. By 1920, I was the president of the All India Home Rule League and our cry was 'Independence from the British Empire'. In 1921, the 'swadeshi policy' was introduced where we decided not to buy foreign goods, particularly cloth from Britain. Other protests were organized to raise political awareness but it was a long, slow and difficult process. Those in power were reluctant to admit defeat. Month after month, I travelled across India, encouraging people to protest. I was arrested and put in prison for two years for trying to make people disobey the government. No prison is pleasant but the conditions there were truly terrible. Despite this, they could not break my spirit and on my release, I became president of the Indian National Congress (the INC). Support for our cause was growing and on 30th January 1930, I published the Declaration of Independence of India. I had not forgotten the bitter war that took place when the Americans made their own declaration of independence from Britain all those years before. I decided on non-violent action. On 12th March, I led a 385 kilometre march to the Gujarat coast in the west of the country. Here I committed an 'act of defiance' against the British, who had a monopoly of the salt production. I made salt from sea water. I was arrested for this 'crime' and immediately non-violent protest broke out across India, and thousands of Indians were imprisoned. News of this had spread across the world and the leader of the British in India, Lord Irwin, wanted satyagraha to end. I was released from prison and I promised to give up the satyagraha salt campaign on three conditions. The first was the release of those who had been imprisoned, the second was to allow Indians to make their own salt. The third was for the INC to be invited to the 1931 Round Table talks in London, where the future of India was to be discussed. Irwin agreed and on 5th March 1931 we signed the Gandhi-Irwin agreement. I felt that the people of Britain needed to know more about our cause. While I was in England in 1931 attending the Round Table talks, I was invited by the Davies family, who owned several mills, to meet the mill workers in the north of England. The mills were the factories that made cloth and many mill workers had lost their jobs when India stopped buying British cloth. The Davies family wanted me to see the hardship that the now unemployed workers were experiencing. I understood their difficulties and I tried to be sympathetic, but I wanted to make them understand how much worse living conditions were for the Indians. I hope I made an impression on them. In 1932 I started another major protest against British rule. This time it was on behalf of India's disadvantaged lowest caste, the Dalits, better known as the 'untouchables'. I preferred to call them Harijans - 'God's Children'. The British rulers were planning a new political system that would increase discrimination against the Dalits, and would damage Hindu society. To gain attention, I refused to eat. To no one's surprise, I was again thrown into prison. Although I was furious, I kept to my principle of non-violence and I still refused to eat. After six days of fasting, it was agreed that the new system would not be introduced, and it seemed that our non-violent protest was again having an effect. *** There was, however, still much to protest about and I spoke at many meetings. The British officials objected and they arrested me again. Had they learnt nothing from the loss of their American colonies? How could such well-educated men act in such stupid ways? More long days were wasted in prison. As a lawyer, I knew the law but what good did it do me? On my release, I was 63 years old and it was time to travel. Over the next four years, I toured rural communities. The poverty was depressing, but the spirits of the people uplifted me and gave me new energy. However, far away, there was more conflict as the Second World War had begun. As India was a British colony it became involved in the war, with many fine men going into battle. My principles of non-violence were tested to the full. Could one be a pacifist when mass murder was being committed? If it had been Jains instead of Jews being gassed, could I have stood by? The reality of Nazism and the death camps made me think about pacifism. The major aim of the Indian National Congress was for India to be free of British rule but we also wanted the country to remain united. For a long time there had been violent racial conflict between Hindus and Muslims. The Muslims had their own organization, the Muslim League, which wanted India to be divided so that there could be an independent Muslim state. This was something that the British also supported. In 1942 I led a movement called 'Quit India', calling for immediate independence and I was arrested. In the meantime, the Muslim League promised the British that the Indian army, whose soldiers were mainly Muslim, would continue to fight with them. This promise was on the understanding that two things would happen. Firstly, negotiations would begin for the British to leave India, and secondly, before they left, they would divide India to create an independent Muslim state. In the summer of 1947, Indian independence from the British was declared. This was on the day after the British created the Muslim state of Pakistan, dividing India. My wife did not live to see the independence of India as she died in 1944. I am sure she hadn't realized what marriage to me meant - at the age of thirteen I did not know myself what I was going to do with my life. In truth, I was more married to the causes I was following than to her, but whether she knew it or not, her support kept me going. Four years later, my spirit was also set free when I was assassinated at a prayer meeting. Ironically, it was not the British or the Pakistanis that fired the gun, both of whom had their reasons for killing me, but a Hindu nationalist. The Life of Mahatma Gandhi 1869 Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born in Porbandar, Gujarat, British India. Later in life, he was referred to as Mahatma, meaning 'great soul'. 1876 The family moved to Kajkot. 1883 At the age of 13, Gandhi married Kasturba Makhanji, in an arranged marriage. 1885 The couple's first child was born, but died a few days later. 1888 Gandhi went to England to study law at University College London. He joined the Vegetarian Society and developed an interest in religious thought. 1891 He passed the bar examination for lawyers in London. He then returned to India to discover his mother had died. He opened a law practice, which was unsuccessful. 1893 Gandhi accepted a one-year contract from an Indian firm to travel to South Africa and work as a lawyer. 1894 He helped set up the Natal Indian Congress and started to campaign for Indian rights. 1896 Gandhi returned to India and took his family back to South Africa. 1901-1902 Gandhi returned to India to attend the Indian National Congress, where he met nationalist leaders. He also opened a law firm in Mumbai. 1903 He opened a law office in Johannesburg. 1906 He led a protest against anti-Indian laws. 1907 The Transvaal Government bought in a new Act forcing registration of the Indian population. 1908 Gandhi led a mass non-violent protest using his method of satyagraha (devotion to the truth). Gandhi spent two months in prison. 1909 He wrote a book, Hind Swaraj, or Home Rule, as it was called in English. This was the blueprint for the Indian Independence Movement. 1913 Gandhi led 2,500 Indian miners in a protest. He was arrested and put in prison. 1914 Aged 45, he left South Africa and planned to return to India, after making a short stopover in England. While he was travelling home, the First World War broke out. 1915 Gandhi left England and returned to India. He was welcomed as a hero. He joined the Indian National Congress. As a form of protest, he began the first of many fasts. 1918-1919 Gandhi used his satyagraha method during the Champaran and Kheda protests. The local farmers were being forced to grow crops that they could not use themselves, but that were to be sold, and were being highly taxed. Gandhi also became a high-profile spokesperson for Muslims in the Khilafat movement. 1919 The Jallianwala Bagh massacre took place. Gandhi led the first nationwide campaign against Britain's unfair rule. 1921 Gandhi took on leadership of the India National Congress. 1922 He led a non-cooperation movement and, as a result, he was arrested and imprisoned for two years. 1925-1929 He wrote a series of articles, later called The Story of My Experiments with Truth. 1930 The Indian National Congress declared the independence of India. Gandhi led the 385 km Dandi Salt March to protest about the tax on salt, and was imprisoned. He published the Declaration of Independence of India. The first Round Table Conference was held in London, where not one representative from the Indian National Congress was invited. 1931 The Gandhi-Irwin agreement was signed and Gandhi attended the second Round Table Conference in London. He also visited the cloth mills in the north of England. 1932 The Indian National Congress refused to attend the third Round Table Conference. Gandhi began a long fast to protest against the British Government's treatment of the Indian people. 1934 Gandhi launched the All India Village Industries Association. 1942 Gandhi led the 'Quit India' movement, during the Second World War. He called for immediate independence and was arrested by the British and held in Aga Khan Palace, Pune. 1944 His wife, Kasturba, died. 1947 The Indo-Pakistan war took place. The British divided the land to create Pakistan, and India and Pakistan were each given independence from British rule. 1948 Mahatma Gandhi died aged 78, as a result of an assassination by a Hindu nationalist, in New Delhi, India.