And These People Have Jobs ... BBC Jobs!

Idly tuning into BBC2 yesterday I encountered of programme on the history of lighting, in which our hero recounts (inter alia) the story of sperm-oil lamps.  This involves telling us about the United Company of Spermaceti Chandlers of Nantucket (1761) which attempted to establish what he describes as "one of the first ever monopolies".

First ever ?  Pardon me while I get up off the floor and reach for my sources.

The term "monopoly" first appears in Aristotle's Politics. Aristotle describes Thales of Miletus's cornering of the market in olive presses as a monopoly (μονοπωλίαν) ... Under mercantilist economic systems, European governments with colonial interests often granted large and extremely lucrative monopolies

An enactment published by Gratian, Valentinian and Theodosius was not content merely to proclaim the manufacture of purple an official monopoly but also made a monopoly of the sale of fabrics dyed with blatta, oxyblatta and hyacinthina

At the time of Edward VI the sovereign was accustomed to grant special privileges to his favourites, which constituted a practical monopoly  

Etc etc etc, through ancient Chinese salt monopolies, the East India Company ...  Sheesh.  Is there no such thing as an 'editor' at the Beeb these days?  Still, what would they be expected to know about monopolies, eh ..?

ND