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Oswald Mosley | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | 16 November 1896 Mayfair, London, England |
| Died | 3 December 1980 (aged 84) Orsay, Essonne, France |
| Nationality | British |
| Political orientation | Fascism |
| Political party | British Union of Fascists(1932–1940) |
Oswald Ernald Mosley, was a British aristocrat, and politician who became a fascist, and consequently founded, and led the British Union of Fascists (BUF).
Early Life
Childhood
On 16 November 1896 Mosley was born in London, to the wealthy aristocratic family, of 5th Baronet Oswald Mosley, and Katherine Heathcote. He was the eldest of three brothers, and was raised primarily by his mother and his paternal grandfather due to his father being absent owing to his extravagant lifestyle, with the absence of his father being only strengthened when his parents separated in 1905. From a young age Mosley was taught traditional Christian and patriarchal values leading to an obsessive idealisation of the male role.[1]
The Mosley family have a long history of exploiting the poor for their own gain; they gained their fortune in the 16th century from expropriating English common lands for sheep farming, and soon after they were rewarded with a baronetcy from Queen Elizabeth I. When the Industrial Revolution came to England, the Mosley's transitioned from feudal landlords to bourgeois capitalists allowing them to continue their exploitation of the working class. Growing up in this family, Mosley learnt the typical privilege of the upper classes; learning how to oppress the lower classes and pursue wealth above all was his legacy.[1]
In 1906 at nine years old Mosley went to West Downs school, the best English prep school, to be educated before entering Winchester college, yet another institution for the elite, in 1909 aged twelve. In school he was taught traditional values favoured by the bourgeoise such as loyalty, honour, leadership, chivalry, and patriotism, which perpetuated his sense of egocentric privilege, and bigotry and allowed him to be prepared for a future role in the capitalist system.[1]
Military career
In January 1914 Mosley entered the Royal Military College, Sandhurst where he learnt the art of violence among other young members of the upper class, seeing war as a sporting event.[1] At the outbreak of the First World War in 1914, seventeen year old Mosley signed up to join the military, earning a place in the 16th Queen's Lancers cavalry division through family connections.[2]
Fascism
On January 2 1932 Mosley arrived in Rome, Italy with some of his compatriots, and on January 7 he met with Italy's fascist dictator Mussolini at the Palazzo Venezia. Mosley came away from the meeting with nothing but praise for the dictator, and after attending a fascist parade with Mussolini he merely continued on his way to Munich, Germany where he studied Nazism.[3]
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Stephen Dorril (2006). Blackshirt: Sir Oswald Mosley and British Fascism: 'Chapter One: ‘Tommy’'.
- ↑ Stephen Dorril (2006). Blackshirt: Sir Oswald Mosley and British Fascism: 'Chapter Two: The First World War'.
- ↑ Stephen Dorril (2006). Blackshirt: Sir Oswald Mosley and British Fascism: 'Chapter Eleven: The New Movement'.