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History of the Azores, or. Western islands [signed T.A.].
History of the Azores or Western islands - signed T.A. Author:Thomas Ashe Purchase of this book includes free trial access to www.million-books.com where you can read more than a million books for free. This is an OCR edition with typos. Excerpt from book: LETTER III. GENERAL REMARKS ON THE PRESENT CONDITION OP THE AZOREANS, AND THE MEANS OF IMPROVEMENT. IT was my intention to have shewn in my last letter, th... more »at aristocratical arrogance, and political as well as religious intolerance, annexed to the extreme of political servility, have been the causes from which the Azores have been so lowly appreciated by the inhabitants, and so little known to the rest of the world : I shall, however, now assume a more pleasing task, and endeavour to point out a system for the improvement of the islands, and for raising the population to the rank of freemen. The existence of these islands, Sir, has been, for a long and gloomy period, confined to a hollow sound in a pompous title. Nature, habit, education, virtuous pride, honourable ambition, all concur to make me detest this miserable state of political degradation, and to urge the honour and propriety of making the islands free and independent; and of placing them under the protecting shield of the British government. Above all to confer on the inhabitants the name of a country, the happiness of a home. Country I consider as the great and virtuous spring and incitement to every thing generous in speculation, or magnanimous in action. With a consciousness of this sentiment, a man becomes, as a member of the community, capable of every thing good and great; without it, he loses much more than half of his value in the estimation of others, and even in his own. Without a country, a people have none of that cementing principle which constitutes the character, the honour, and courage, of a nation. May I ask—What have such a people ? They have a number, but they have not a nation. Without any inherent principle or motive of common action ; unattached to each other ; degraded in their own esti...« less