By: MISES
Peter C. Earle writes: Another Halloween is upon us, bringing its late autumnal burst of costumes, candy, and merriment. Ghosts, witches, mummies, zombies, Frankenstein’s monster, film and television characters, and others will make appearances, as will the quintessential Halloween figure: Dracula.
Most people are familiar with Count Dracula’s first literary appearance in Bram Stoker’s 1897 Gothic horror novel Dracula. And many are also aware that the undead villain was loosely based on a real historical figure, Vlad Tepes III — “Vlad the Impaler” (sometimes “Vlad Dracula”) — who ruled mid-15th century Wallachia, a region of modern day Romania.Incredibly, though, there is a real but lesser-known horror story behind Dracula — a story of the long-term effects of inflationary policies and a consequent campaign of economic nationalism, rather than of a mythic, powerful undead creature: interventionism pursued terrifyingly, diligently, to its logical ends.
The Real Dracula In 1431, Vlad Tepes III, the man who would become the inspiration for Count Dracula, was born in Transylvania. With his father, Vlad II, on the Wallachian throne, early in life he and his brother were sent to the Ottoman court of Mehmet the Conqueror to act as living guarantors of their father’s fidelity (“loyalty hostages”). While his brother, Radu, flourished, Vlad III was insolent and regularly experienced beatings and imprisonment.
Typical for that time, a host of intrigues swirled about the court of Vlad II, compounded by Wallachia’s critical location as a buffer kingdom between the Ottoman and Holy Roman Empires; changes in leadership could bring about changes in policy, swiftly impacting trade and fortunes. In December of 1447, Vlad II was murdered during a coup. The Ottomans responded swiftly, appointing young Vlad III to his father’s former throne. A Hungarian force in turn responded, driving Vlad to flee to Moldavia where he undertook diplomatic duties alongside his uncle…………………………………..
full article at source: http://www.marketoracle.co.uk/Article37299.html
Related articles
- The Real Life Dracula Was an Evil, Mass Killer and Central Planner (economicpolicyjournal.com)
- Dracula’s first reign (1448) (examiner.com)
