It is perhaps a little-known fact that, in the 1700s, Britain's American colonies provided a very handy place for the mother country to dump its undesirables (some 52,000 convicts were sent there between 1718 and 1775). Unfortunately, that all came to a stop when the pesky Americans declared independence, and Britain's jails soon became overcrowded.
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Is property investment still as safe as houses? Why golden era could be overThe golden era of property is over and investors are better off in the stock market, new research suggests
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What Santander’s takeover of TSB means for customersSantander is set to buy rival TSB for £2.65 billion. What does it mean for customers, and could we see the TSB brand disappear from the high street?
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31 August 1957: the Federation of Malaya declares independence from the UKFeatures On this day in 1957, after ten years of preparation, the Federation of Malaya became an independent nation.
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13 April 1960: the first satellite navigation system is launchedFeatures On this day in 1960, Nasa sent the Transit 1B satellite into orbit to provide positioning for the US Navy’s fleet of Polaris ballistic missile submarines.
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9 April 1838: National Gallery opens in Trafalgar SquareFeatures On this day in 1838, William Wilkins’ new National Gallery building in Trafalgar Square opened to the public.
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3 March 1962: British Antarctic Territory is createdFeatures On this day in 1962, Britain formed the British Antarctic Territory administered from the Falkland Islands.
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10 March 2000: the dotcom bubble peaks
Features Tech mania fanned by the dawning of the internet age inflated the dotcom bubble to maximum extent, on this day in 2000.
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9 March 1776: Adam Smith publishes 'The Wealth of Nations'
Features On this day in 1776, Adam Smith, the “father of modern economics”, published his hugely influential book The Wealth of Nations.
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8 March 1817: the New York Stock Exchange is formedFeatures On this day in 1817, a group of brokers moved out of a New York coffee house to form what would become the biggest stock exchange in the world.
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7 March 1969: Queen Elizabeth II officially opens the Victoria Line
Features On this day in 1969, Queen Elizabeth II took only her second trip on the tube to officially open the underground’s newest line – the Victoria Line.
