JOHN PAUL; GETTY III

A boy stood at the roadside trying to stop a lorry in December 1973 near the town of Lagonegro in southern Italy. The lorry driver was too nervous to stop but told the local caribinieri (Italian police). The boy told the police that he is Paul Getty and asked for a cigarette and showed them the cut off his ear.
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The 17 year old was the world most famous kidnap victim and it lasted over 138 days. His grandfather the richest man but was also known for his stinginess. He flatly refused to pay any ransom money because he and the family thought that his Grandson pretended trying to get some money out of his grandfather. He gave in when the kidnappers sliced off his ear and sent it to a newspaper with further threats to cut bit by bit. He handed over £1.2million. He demanded that his son, John Paul Ghetty Jr, father of Paul Getty IIII, would pay it back and with 4 per cent interest.

Afterwards he refused to talk to his grandfather or father. Instead of realizing that John Paul was traumatised his grandfather disinherited him when he married a radical German film-maker six years his senior.

                                                 

JOHN PAUL GETTY III  --  AFTER HE HAD A STROKE 

Like most of high society John Paul Getty III and his father John Paul Getty Jr, went on hard drugs. His hippie-stepmother Talitha died of an overdose. This must have hit him hard and at the age of 25 he had a massive stoke which was also caused by heroin, alcohol and heroin substitute methadone.

He ended up nearly blind and quadriplegic and he spent the rest of his tragic like that life. He died after 30 years in 2011.
The sage began with the orignal patriarch George Franklin Getty. He was a lawyer in Minnesota and made the family's fortune by drilling for oil in California. He lent his son Jean Paul, later renamed John Paul, money to invest in oil wells. Largely excluding him from his will because of his playboy lifestyle at that time. 

The grandfather J Paul Getty was shrewd. By the age 24 he was a dollar millionaire. He believed in "rise early, work hard and strike oil". He proved himself right when he started drilling in South Arabia. He sold out to the large Arabian American Oil Company (Aramco). He became a double dollar billionaire. His father was already involved in oil and accumulated a fortune of $1billion which was a fortune in the end of 19th century beginnig of -the century. 

However, all these monies didn't touch his heart. Grandfather J Paul Getty had five sons (four by his five wives)one committed suicide. He had a terrible relationship with John Paul Jr and didn't approve of him marrying Gail Harrison 1956. He left him $500,000 in his will. They divorced  and he got involved with the Hippies and drugs. There he met Talitha  who died of drug overdose.. 

As well as his marriage not being approved John Paul Jr went completely into drugs. He admitted that he took a gramme of heroin a day. One day he woke up and his wife Talitha was lying dead next to him. After that he became a reclusive and lived in Chelsea. Till his father died in 1976 he was not seen in public.

He had four children with Gail and a son by Talitha called Tara Gabriel Galaxy Gramophone  who became a conservationists in Africa..

The eldest was John Paul III was born in 1956. His childhood was spent in Rome where his father ran Getty Oil's Italian business. When his parents divorced he stayed there but was expelled from his internal school in Rome at the age of 14.

When he was over 16 he was attack in the city's historic Piazza Farnese. The kidnappers hit him over the head and put him into the car which they drove 350 miles south. In the five months of capture he was living in caves, derelict mountain huts in very cold conditions. He never saw his kidnappers' faces. He said later on that he didn't expect to live.

The kidnappers demanded at first  more. However, the grandfather pointed out that this would only encourage further kidnapping one of his other grandchildren. He further pointed out that it would lead to lawlessness, terrorism, sky-jacking and killing hostages.

He had a point there but that he demanded his son John Paul Jr not only repay the money but with interest showed his meanness. was a nerve. John Paul Jr did not have access to the family fortune.

One year after his release John Paul III married 24 year old Gisela Zacher and became stepfather to her daughter Anna. Their son, Balthazar, became an actor and acted in the Lord Of The Flies. Recently he acted in the TV series Brothers and Sisters. His other son Mark ownes a famous photographic agency Getty Images. He is also a trustee of the National Gallery.  A major beneficiary due to his father's generosity. The dynasty does not mean meanness any more.

John Paul Jr went into New York' society in full swing and was in Andy Wahol set. He ended up with great health problems because of drugs and alcohol taking.. His father refused to pay his huge medical bill even so he just received a big inheritance from a family trust. After lengthy treatments he was almost cured and lived a normal live. After they found Talitha dead he fought hard not to be charged with neglegence. After that he went to England to escape the continued harrassment of the press.

After Talitha's death he became an reclusive and he went to England lo live in Chelsea.  He was never seen in public. Being still a drug user and savering eventually from bad health. He went for a long spell to a London clinic to get off drugs and to improve his health. He met Victoria Holdworth, a farmers' daughter, who brought him out into the public again, In 1994 John Paul Getty Jr married her  He bought Wormsley a 3,000 acre estate and improved greatly the house and garden  At his death he bequethed it to his wife and several billions of pounds..

During his stay in England he gave away £140million to various causes. Even the Conservatives benefitted from his generosity with £5billion. His father must not only turned in his grave but must have been hopping mad of giving all this money away.

John Paul Jr had a passion for England which made him relinquis his American passport. He became a British citizen and it enabled the government not only to give him a honorary knighthood but a real one. By the time of his death he loved cricket, and was a friend of Sir John Major and Lady Thatcher as well as with Mick Jagger. He died in 2003. He left some of his fortune to Mark, his second son because his first borne son John Paul Getty III had already a stroke and was seriously disabled.  Balthazar, his third son became an actor.

John Paul Jr's daughter Aileen, was diagnosed as HIV positive in 1985. Today she is the world's longest survivors. She said that she feels victimised by her legacy, by her parents and by life. She had been in seven institutions, 12 shock treatments, seven miscarriage, anorexic, self mutilator and had been there and back.

Nobody had ever known such a fortune and misfortune on such a huge scale and at the same time as John Paul Getty III. He died on 6 February 2011 and may he have found the peace he always was longing for.

BEGINNING OF FIRST WORLD WAR 100 YEARS AGO

ARCHDUKE FRANZ FERDINAND
AND HIS WIFE SOFIE AND  
THEIR THREE CHILDREN 
IN 1910

When Gravilo Princip fired a shot at the Archduke Franz Ferdinand, killing him, heir to the Austro-Hungarian throne, he did not realize that he started something that would spin out of control. Although, in general, he was blamed for the First World War but there always playing other factors into it to ignite such devastation.

On one hand, there was Germany united since the Franco-Prussian war of 1879-1. The balance of Europe started to shift which was frowned on by other countries. Tensions started to build up by national ambitions, economic rivalry and setting up colonies.

In the year 1914 there existed a Triple Alliance of Austria-Hungary, Germany and Italy. This other Triple entente was between Britain, France and Russia. These two Triple Alliances caused the spreading of the conflict. Therefore, when Kaiser William II invaded Belgium, for unknown reason, it seemed that the stage was set for the First World War. Britain had to declare on Germany on 4 August, 1914 because Britain guaranteed Belgium to protect their independence.  

At that time Britain had the largest Navy for obvious reason but they did not have any army.  The secretary of state for war, Lord Kitchener, rushed around to get a volunteer army together.  In 1915 he counted around 2.5million man. Since the war continued the number of volunteer slumped and the casualties rose rapidly; he was forced to introduce a compulsory army.

Germany’s attempt to defeat France before Russia could mobilise failed at the Battle of the Marne in September 1914. Trenches were tugged in on both sides. Due to the accuracy of modern weapons, especially the machine gun, it was realized that soldiers can safe themselves by taking shelter in the trenches.

At the battle of Ypres in November 1914 the British Expeditionary Force under Sir John French was almost wiped out.  By December 1914 there were trenches from the English Channel all the way down to Switzerland.

After that the Allies and the Germans tried to end the stalemate.  The only way they could do it by bombarding the enemy’s position, using poisonous gas and built tanks. The loss of men was huge. The Battles of Verdun and the Somme in 1916 cost the Allies 1.1million. The Germans had the same number of men lost.  British forces under the command of Sir Douglas Haig lost around 44,000 men a month which rose to 75,000 by 1918.

In spite of the Russia enormous effort to mobilise in 1917 they suffered great losses. They won a great victory in 1916 over Austria in the offensive of General Alexei Brusilov but at the end they were exhausted. We also got to remember they had a revolution in 1917 while whole Europe was at war.  After the revolution the Provisional Government led by Alexander Kerensky the offensive in summer was a failure. It is assumed that the Bolsheviks got tired of fighting. In March 1918 Lenin signed a peace treaty which was humiliating, the treaty of Brest Litovsk.

PLANTATION AND PIRACY

TEA  PLANTATION

It was not a strange coincidence that as the plantations developed and the shipping increased it piracy also grew.

Right through, from the earliest centuries, where there were ships, there were pirates.

Even Julius Caesar was captured in 78 BC and held for ransom. However, once released the pirates lived to regret it.

The Vikings were notorious for raiding the settlements along the shores of England and Ireland from 834 till 930 BC.

Corsar, a Mediterranean pirate captured Christians and sold them as slaves in North America.

Drake Hawkins and Walter Raleigh were encouraged by Queen Elizabeth I to pirate the Spanish Ships and bring her the treasures.

COTTON PLANTATION 
AT THE BEGINNING 
OF THE 20TH CENTURY

PIRACY  FLAG OR 
JUST A BLACK FLAG

Piracy was at its height from 1500 till 1750.  Merchant ships laden with treasures plied the seas without protection. When the navy grew bigger, they could protect the ships and piracy was declining.

After they discovered America and a route to India, the trade really began to increase by the 100-fold. That also encouraged the pirates. Ships went from Europe to Africa and America. Or from Europe to Africa and the East. They carried tea, coffee, spices, sugar, tobacco and slaves.

Indian and Arab pirates operated once in the Indian Ocean only. After the European discovered the route round the Cape of Good Hope pirates came from every nation to get their hands on those merchant ships.

From the islands on the east coast of Africa, especially Madagascar, the goods were silk. jewels, ivory and spices. The pirates took the lot plus clothing, food and tools.

Drake and his sailors used to pirate the Spanish merchants ships coming from the Spanish Main loaded with treasures. The mass islands were a paradise for pirates' ships with their deep harbours and secluded inlets for hiding out.

Treasure ships were less in the 16th century and those few were heavily guarded. The merchant shipping increased because of the New World which was being colonized rapidly.

The settlers in the Spanish West Indies, the English colonies in Virginia and Georgia and the Portuguese and Dutch colonies in South America were planters and grew rich on growing sugar and tobacco for the European market.

Tea and coffee became fashionable and demand of sugar grew. Tobacco were smoked or chewed by many people.

Plantations multiplied and so did the demand for people to work on it. The Caribs and Native Americans had been either killed off or died of diseases brought over by Europeans for which they had no resistance. Therefore, slaves were brought over from Africa and sold to planters.

With that a triangular was slowly established and proved to be very lucrative. The ships took manufactured goods to West Africa and exchanged them for human cargo. They were shipped in appalling conditions to the Caribbeans and colonies in North and South America to be sold. From that money they bought sugar and tobacco to be taken to Europe.

The trade companies tried to reduce cost and increase profits. They shipped the goods in undermanned and under gunned ships which were an easy target for pirates. National government directly or indirectly encouraged piracy. To 'unload' an enemies' ship when you are at war with the country was thought of as patriotic act.

Another reason for becoming a pirate was that in the national navies the conditions were appalling and low pay. They turned into pirates because they would get rich on the loot although the conditions weren't any different.

There were three types of sea villains operating:

PIRATES who were sea-going thieves.

PRIVATEERS who were licensed by government or shipping companies but just the same sea-going thieves.

BUCCANEERS who belonged to a band of sea-going thieves.

Many of those people have been settlers but after being dispossessed by the Spaniards turned to be sea-going thieves to survive.

The status of one of those three types was important. Piracy was punishable by death or branding. However, if you did it for someone else, you could get away with it or even got a reward from some king.

The pirates of the Caribbean or elsewhere did not died out. Owners of luxury yacht are given guns to protect themselves. These pirates are now after luxury goods which are easily to carry.

Pirates also operate in the South China Sea and have high-speed motor vessels. Kidnapping and demand for ransom is mostly their businesses and rapidly increasing.

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