Until modern industrial times all development of the Sciences and the
Arts were under the direct control of the Monarch sometimes not to further
the cause but to prevent actually progress. The State was acutely aware that
knowledge was power and the best way to keep power was to restrict the
spread of knowledge. This initial control was exercised by the foundation of the colleges that
today form the basis of the Universities at Oxford and Cambridge. The
endowments to provide for these colleges being provided by the State or the
Church to further education in both ecclesiastical and secular matters.
As time progressed the learned members formed into groups to lecture,
demonstrate and debate their various subjects. These groups either sought
Royal Patronage or were created as memorials for the forebears of the
reigning monarch. Other colleges and foundations have been endowed by the
owners of the great landed estates and in later times by industrialists and
finally modern corporate bodies however even these 'new' ones still seek
Royal Patronage.
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