Cobden, who started the calico trade in 1828, opened a textile factory in 1831. He became rich in a short time, and with this money, he traveled to France, England, Germany, Switzerland, the United States, and Middle Eastern countries.
COBDEN, Richard (1804-1865)
British industrialist and politician. He is the leader of the free trade movement.
He was born near Midhurst in Sussex on 3 June 1804. He died in London on 2 April 1865. He is the son of a poor farmer. After an irregular and short-term school education, he started working in his uncle's warehouse in London. Cobden, who started the calico trade in 1828, opened a textile factory in 1831. He became rich in a short time, and with this money, he traveled to France, England, Germany, Switzerland, the United States, and Middle Eastern countries.
Richard Cobden (3 June 1804 – 2 April 1865) was an English Radical and Liberal politician, manufacturer, and campaigner for free trade and peace. He was associated with the Anti-Corn Law League and the Cobden–Chevalier Treaty.
He became one of England's leading politicians between 1839 and 1846. He worked to abolish the Corn Laws in England, and the "Anti-Corn Law League" he founded in 1838 was quickly adopted as a national organization. According to Cobden, only landowners benefited from protectionism because the Corn Laws introduced customs duties that protected agricultural products. While landowners were getting richer, the middle classes and workers were getting poorer. Cobden, the president of this union, was elected to the British Parliament in 1841.
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The Letters of Richard Cobden Online
https://www.cobdenletters.org/