A University or No Taxes: take your pick!

Posted on | November 29, 2009 | 1 Comment

Tradition has it that the fine University of Leiden was founded when William of Orange, in gratitude to the townspeople for their stout defence against Spanish attacks, offered the good people the choice between exemption from taxes for a number of years or the founding there of a university. The Leideners, knowing that tax-exemption would be for a limited time, opted for the university.

So, in 1575, the University of Leiden came into being.

I wonder what the response would be today to such a choice were it offered to a town in the UK, or in any part of the developed world? And what would the Daily Mail or its Scottish equivalent say about the choice?

Technorati Tags: university of leiden, william of orange, taxes, education

Category: education, enlightenment, higher education, history, learning, media

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One Response to “A University or No Taxes: take your pick!”

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November 29th, 2009 @ 5:39 pm

[...] A University or No Taxes: take your pick! : John Connell: The Blog http://www.johnconnell.co.uk/blog/?p=2325 – view page – cached Tradition has it that the fine University of Leiden was founded when William of Orange, in gratitude to the townspeople for their stout defence against Spanish attacks, offered the good people the… Read moreTradition has it that the fine University of Leiden was founded when William of Orange, in gratitude to the townspeople for their stout defence against Spanish attacks, offered the good people the choice between exemption from taxes for a number of years or the founding there of a university. The Leideners, knowing that tax-exemption would be for a limited time, opted for the university. Read less [...]