Adam Smith (June 16, 1723-July 17, 1790) was a Scottish pioneer of political economy, considered the father of modern economics. In 1759, Smith wrote The Theory of Moral Sentiments and in 1776 he wrote An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations, considered the first modern work of economics.
After the invincible Spanish Armada set sail May 19, 1588, to conquer England. Queen Elizabeth relied on Sir Francis Drake and his smaller, faster vessels. Drake ingeniously floated burning ships at night into the anchored Spanish fleet, dispersing them in a panic. Aided by gale force winds half of Spain's Armada was eventually wrecked. A coin minted in Holland in 1588 had engraved on one side Spanish ships sinking and on the other side men kneeling under the inscription "Man Proposeth, God Disposeth." Had England lost, there would have been no Pilgrims, no New England, and no United States. In 1776, Adam Smith wrote in The Wealth of Nations:
<The Spaniards, by virtue of the first discovery, claimed all America as their own, and...such was...the terror of their name, that the greater part of the other nations of Europe were afraid to establish themselves in any other part of that great continent...But...the defeat...of their Invincible Armada...put it out of their power to obstruct any longer the settlements of the other European nations. In the course of the 17th century...English, French, Dutch, Danes, and Swedes...attempted to make some settlements in the new world.> 1723AS001
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American Quotations by William J. Federer, 2024, All Rights Reserved, Permission granted to use with acknowledgement.
Endnotes:
1723AS001. William J. Federer, American Quotations (2014). Adam Smith, 1776, in An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations.