How did the British fight in World War II? England in the second half of the XIX - early XX century England in the second

Henry VIII and church reforms. Episcopal Church. Mary Tudor. Etzabeth and Mary Stuart. Reformation in Scotland. The fate of Mary Stuart. Shakespeare and Bacon. Great English Revolution. James I. Charles I. The Long Parliament. Internecine war. Cromwell. Republic. The last Stuarts and the 16SS revolution. Charles II. Whigs and Tories. Jacob II. Wilhelm III. Culture of England. Morals. Milton. Newton

HENRY VIII AND CHURCH REFORM

Henry (1485-1509), the first Tudor king, managed to calm England after the long wars of the Scarlet and White Roses. The feudal aristocracy, weakened and ruined by these wars, had to humble itself under his firm rule. By his frugality and the confiscation of the property of the delinquent nobles, Henry had accumulated considerable sums, so that he did not need new taxes, which required the consent of Parliament; therefore, the parliament itself met quite rarely in his presence. He thus left to his son Henry kingship, strengthened to a degree that had not been achieved in England for a long time. Henry VIII (1509-1547), distinguished by his handsome appearance and friendly manner, acquired a sincere popular disposition in the first years of his reign. He also showed himself at the beginning of his reign as a zealous Catholic and wrote a book against the teachings of Luther in defense of the seven sacraments; for this book, Pope Leo X gave him the title of "defender of the faith." But then Henry himself led the Reformation in England. The reason for this change of views was the following circumstance.

Henry VIII was married to the Spanish princess Catherine of Aragon, daughter of Ferdinand II the Catholic. She had previously been married to his elder brother; and when the latter died, Henry succeeded to the throne and with him - the hand of Catherine. For about twenty years they lived peacefully. Meanwhile, Catherine grew old, became even more pious than before; Heinrich, on the contrary, loved a distracted lifestyle and pleasure. He liked the lively, lovely Anne Boleyn, the queen's maid of honor. And then he remembered that their marriage with Catherine, according to the rules of the Church, was illegal, since she was formerly the wife of his brother. Henry began to petition in Rome for a divorce. But Pope Clement VII, fearing to offend the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, the nephew of Catherine of Aragon, hesitated to make a decision. Then Henry VIII arbitrarily divorced Catherine and married Anne Boleyn (1532). At the same time, he, with the consent of Parliament, declared the Anglican Church independent of the pope, and himself its head. The pope wrote to him about the excommunication, but the message had no effect; Henry responded to papal curses by destroying Catholic monasteries, whose vast wealth and lands he took away for his own benefit or distributed to courtiers.

The Anglican Church did not accept the teachings of either Luther or Calvin, but showed its own kind of Reformation. She rejected the power of the pope, monasticism, the celibacy of priests; received worship at English language and communion under both types, but retained the rank of bishop and most of the Catholic rites during worship. Therefore, the Anglican Church is otherwise called the Episcopal Church. The Reformation in England did not meet with great opposition from the people: the power of the pope here was much weaker than in the South-West

Europe, and among the people, various opinions that disagree with Catholicism have long been circulating (for example, the teachings of Wyclif and the ideas of the humanists).

From the time of the English Reformation, throughout the second half of his reign, Henry VIII acts as a tyrant. He, without flinching, executed the nobles, incurring royal displeasure, his wives did not escape the same fate. Anne Boleyn died on the chopping block for her frivolous behavior. After her, Heinrich was married four more times.

The death of Henry VIII, as one would expect, brought England a troubled time. His son from his third wife, Jenny Seymour, sickly Edward VI, reigned for about six years. Edward was succeeded by Henry's eldest daughter by Catherine of Aragon, Mary I Tudor (1553-1558). After the death of Edward VI, the most powerful of the English nobles, the Duke of Northumberland, enthroned a relative of the royal house, Jenny Gray, who was the wife of his son. This young and well-educated woman became queen against her will and reigned for only ten days. Mary overthrew her, and Jenny paid with her head along with her husband and the Duke of Northumberland. Mary tried to restore Catholicism and began to execute Protestants; her marriage to Philip II of Spain brought England into the war with France. During this war, the British lost the city of Calais, the last remnant of their possessions across the English Channel. But the reign of Mary (nicknamed Bloody for her cruelty) lasted no more than five years.

ELIZABETH AND MARY STUART

The second daughter of Henry VIII (from Anne Boleyn) Eshzaeeta / Tudor (1558-1603) came to the throne. Almost rejected by her father (after the execution of her mother), Elizabeth spent most of her youth in seclusion and deprivation; during this time she became accustomed to firmness and frugality, and by reading books she developed her mind. Elizabeth knew how to choose her assistants - talented statesmen; William Cecil, who received the title of Lord Burley, was her first minister for forty years. But she did not give her favorites much power and knew how to protect her supreme rights. (The Earl of Leicester enjoyed her greatest favor.) She achieved the final approval of the Anglican Church, like her own father, equally crowding out both Catholics and "dissidents" (that is, Protestants who do not belong to the Episcopal Church). England in her time achieved prosperity in industry and commerce. Many of the Netherlands, fleeing the religious persecution of Philip II, settled in England and contributed to the improvement of go local manufactories (especially linen, woolen and metal products).The English sea trade spread to almost all known seas.English sailors made a number of glorious expeditions, finding new ways and founding colonies (Vorbischer, John Davies, Francis Drake, who traveled around the world, and Walter Raleigh, the latter founded a colony in North America, which he named Virginia in honor of her queen, since Elizabeth forever refused marriage and was considered a maiden, in Latin virgo).

The relationship between Elizabeth I and the Scottish Queen Mary Stuart became the property of the theatrical scene.

Mary Stuart remained a child after the death of her father, James V; her mother, having become the ruler of the state, sent Mary to the French court, in the care of her brothers Guise. Here she received a brilliant upbringing for that time. Maria loved poetry, she composed poetry herself, spoke several languages, among other things, in Latin, her beauty, grace and liveliness of character did not leave anyone around her indifferent. She became the wife of Francis II; but he, as is known, reigned for a little over a year. After his death, eighteen-year-old Mary Stuart retired to her hereditary kingdom of Scotland.

“Farewell to the country where Maria spent her happiest years was touching. For five whole hours the queen remained on the deck of the ship, leaning against the stern, with her eyes full of tears and turned to the receding shore, repeating incessantly: "Farewell, France!" Night has come; the queen did not want to leave the deck and ordered her bed to be made in the same place. When dawn broke, the coast of France was still visible on the horizon, Maria exclaimed: “Adieu chere France! je ne vous verrai jamais plus!" - "Farewell, beautiful France!"

The ship docked in the harbor of the Scottish capital of Edinburgh. The wild northern nature, the poverty of the inhabitants and their stern faces made a heavy impression on the young queen. The riding horses prepared on the shore for her retinue were so ugly and poorly dressed that Mary involuntarily remembered the luxury and splendor with which she was surrounded in France, and burst into tears. She stayed at the royal castle of Golirood. The people greeted her warmly. At night, several hundred citizens gathered under her windows - and sang a long serenade to her; but they played bad violins and so clumsily that they only prevented the poor queen, tired of the journey, from falling asleep ”(Brantome’s memoirs).

Brought up in devotion to Catholicism, Mary saw her calling in the fight against the Reformation, which took hold in Scotland during the short regency of her mother. The Scottish nobility was one of the most recalcitrant; it constantly came into conflict with the royal power for its feudal rights; most of the nobles adopted Protestantism, which spread here in the form of severe Calvinism, more suitable than other teachings to the Scottish character. The main preacher of the Reformation was the bold, eloquent John //oke, a student of Calvin. Scottish Protestants constituted the so-called Presbyterian Church, because they recognized only one spiritual order - the priest (presbyter); the most severe of them became known as the Puritans. The Catholic party received support from France, but the Protestant barons entered into an alliance with Elizabeth I Tudor and, with her help, defeated the Catholics even before the arrival of Mary Stuart in Scotland.

The “invincible armada”, equipped by Philip II the following year, was supposed to take revenge on Elizabeth for helping the Dutch Protestants and for the death of Mary Stuart. The defeat of the "Armada" dealt a strong blow to the power of the Spaniards at sea; England since then began to acquire the degree of the first sea power. Elizabeth's last years were poisoned by the execution of her favorite, the Earl of Essex. This young nobleman began to abuse the confidence of the queen, clearly disobeyed her and even started a rebellion, for which he laid down his head on the chopping block. Elizabeth was distinguished by great thrift and therefore little depended on Parliament in financial matters. She led a modest, moderate lifestyle, her court was more enlightened and stricter in morals than other European courts, and therefore had a more beneficial effect on the people.

SHAKESPEARE AND BACON

The revival of sciences and arts in Italy spread to England. The study of ancient languages ​​became so fashionable that here, as in France, many ladies of the highest circle spoke Latin and even Greek. At the same time, the birth of secular English literature, especially dramatic literature, began. Under Elizabeth I, the first permanent theaters were built in London. (Until then, performances took place only on temporary stages by itinerant actors.) The great William Shakespeare (1564-1616) also lived in her time. He was born in the town of Strafford on Avon, the son of an artisan. In his youth, Shakespeare did not escape various excesses and hobbies. He married early; then he left his wife and children and went to London, where he became an actor. Then he himself began to compose plays for the theater; plays were successful, won him the favor of the queen and noble persons. His main patron was the Earl of Southampton (a friend of the unfortunate Earl of Essex). In the last years of his life, Shakespeare retired to his native Strafford and here, among his family, peacefully ended his earthly lot. The most famous of his tragedies are "Macbeth", "Othello" and "Hamlet" *, the content of which is taken from folk traditions. His brilliant art of revealing the innermost movements of the human soul and depicting the development of any passion has received worldwide recognition. In "Macbeth" we see how ambition and the desire for power little help lead the hero to terrible crimes. In Othello, a gradual development of jealousy is presented, which completely blinds the hero and ends with the murder of his innocent wife. In Hamlet, he portrays a man richly gifted by nature, but who is tormented by doubts and indecision. (This tragedy was written under the obvious influence of the classical myth about the fate of Agamemnon.) In general, Shakespeare's tragedies abound in bloody scenes; this corresponded to the taste of his contemporaries, when manners were still rather rough and the audience loved strong sensations. In addition to tragedies from ancient times, he wrote wonderful dramas borrowed from recent events: the Wars of the Scarlet and White Roses.

A contemporary of Shakespeare was the brilliant scientist and philosopher Francis Bacon (Y56\-1626). He is considered the father of the so-called experimental (empirical) philosophy, which recognizes the only way to achieve truth through observation of nature, the study of reality. Scientific merits brought Bacon the deep respect of his contemporaries; Elizabeth's successor elevated him to the rank of Chancellor of State. But with all his talents and knowledge, Bacon was not distinguished by high morality: he loved honors and money and even decided to trade in justice. Parliament appointed a commission to investigate the state of the judiciary in England. The commission reported that there was no truth in the courts of England, that justice could be bought, and that the chancellor himself was the main promoter of abuses. Over Bacon

instituted an investigation. He was sentenced to imprisonment and a large monetary fine; the king granted him a pardon. The rest of the years Bacon spent in retirement, under the burden of his shame, and died a victim of curiosity. Moving from his estate to London in the winter, Bacon took it into his head to get out of the carriage and stuff a freshly killed bird with snow to see how long it could survive when exposed to cold. This experience cost him a fatal cold.

THE GREAT ENGLISH REVOLUTION

With the death of Elizabeth I, the Tudor dynasty ended. She appointed as her successor the son of Mary Stuart, James, who thus peacefully united both neighboring states, England and Scotland, under one crown. Jacob / (1603-1625) was a sovereign of a close mind, a timid character, and meanwhile claiming the most unlimited royal power. The English Catholics expected that he, as the son of Mary Stuart, would ease their situation, but they were mistaken. The dissidents (Puritans, Independents, and other sects) were also deceived in their calculations of James as a king brought up in Scotland, where Puritanism dominated. He showed himself to be a zealous champion of the Episcopal Church, persecuted Puritans as well as Catholics, and even tried to introduce the Episcopal Church into Scotland itself. At the same time, with his extravagance and desire for unlimited power, James set the English Parliament against him. Only the death of the king extinguished the discontent that was already beginning to flare up among the people.

The son of Jacob Karl / (1625-1649) was distinguished by the virtues of a family man and knew how to behave with truly royal dignity; the people met his reign with joy and hopes. But it soon turned out that Charles I did not surpass his father in foresight. He started wars with Spain and France and, in need of money, several times convened Parliament, so that, according to custom, he approved taxes for the entire period of his reign. But parliament did not want to approve them until the king canceled his abuses of power, since Charles arbitrarily dissolved parliament, made money without his consent and threw many citizens into prison without trial. The persecution of dissident sects continued as before. Thus, the dissension between the government and the people increased more and more. Since the time of James, many Scots and Englishmen, persecuted for their political and religious beliefs, began to leave their homeland and move to North America. The government of Charles I finally paid attention to these migrations and banned them by decree. There were several ships on the Thames at that time, ready to sail for America, and among the settlers was Oliver Cromwell. It was only thanks to this prohibition that he remained in England and soon took an active part in the overthrow of Charles L.

The first to rebel against the king were the Scots, in whom he tried to introduce episcopal worship. Then in Ireland, oppressed by the British, resentment of Catholics broke out. In order to receive funds for the maintenance of the troops, Charles was forced to convene parliament again. But this parliament began to act decisively. Relying on the common people of London, Parliament seized the supreme power and decided not to disperse against the will of the king. In history, it was called the Long Parliament. Lacking a standing army, Charles left London and called under his banner all the vassals loyal to him (1642). Most of the noble nobility joined him, who looked with displeasure at the claims of the townspeople and feared for their privileges. The royal party, or royalists, was called the Cavaliers, and the parliamentary party - round-headed (due to short-cropped hair). At the beginning of the internecine war, the advantage was on the side of the cavaliers, as they were more accustomed to weapons, but Karl failed to take advantage of the first successes. Meanwhile, the parliamentary troops, which consisted mainly of townspeople and petty nobility, gradually increased in strength, gaining experience in military affairs. The victory finally passed to the side of Parliament, when the Independents became the head of its army. (That was the name of a Protestant sect that did not recognize any clergy and aspired to a republican form of government.) Cromwell was the leader of the Independents.

CROMWELL

Oliver Cromwell (1599-1658) came from an humble noble family, he spent his youth stormily, indulging different kind excesses. But then a change took place in him: he became pious, began to lead a moderate way of life and became a good father of a family. Being elected to the lower house, Cromwell did not excel as an orator; his voice was hoarse and monotonous, his speech drawn out and confused, his features coarse, and he dressed casually. But under this unattractive appearance, the talent of the organizer and the iron will were hidden. During the internecine war, he received permission from Parliament to recruit his own special cavalry regiment. Cromwell realized that the courage of the cavaliers and their sense of honor could only be countered by religious enthusiasm. He recruited his detachment mainly from people of pious, strong character and introduced the strictest discipline. His warriors spent time in the camp reading the Bible and singing psalms, and in battle they showed reckless courage. Thanks to Cromwell and his detachment, the Parliamentary army won a decisive victory at Merstonmoor; since then, Kro\tvel has attracted everyone's attention. Charles I was again defeated (at Nasby) and, dressed in peasant dress, fled to Scotland. But the Scots handed him over to the British for £400,000. At the request of the Independents, the king was put on trial, sentenced to death as a traitor and beheaded in London in front of the royal palace of Whitehall (1649). Corrected by misfortunes, Charles 1 showed true courage in the last minutes - his death produced a deep

impressed the people and aroused regret in many.

England was declared a republic, but in essence it did not cease to be a monarchy, because Cromwell, who bore the title of Protector, had almost unlimited power. Since the Long Parliament (actually, the rest of it, or the so-called rultfparlamenpg) did not want to completely obey the protector, Cromwell one day appeared with three hundred musketeers, dispersed the meeting and ordered the building to be locked. Then he convened a new parliament of people devoted to him, from independents, who spent a significant part of their meetings in prayer and in their speeches they constantly inserted texts from the Old Testament. Cromwell's military actions were accompanied by constant good fortune. In 1649-1652, he pacified the uprising of the Irish and Scots (who called Charles II, son of Charles I, as king). Then he started a war with the Dutch Republic. The reason for it was the "Navigation Act" issued by Parliament, which allowed foreign merchants to bring to England on their own ships only goods produced in their country, all other goods had to be imported on English ships; this act greatly undermined Dutch trade and favored the development of the English merchant fleet. The Dutch were defeated and had to recognize the "Act of Navigation" (1654). Thus England regained the glory of the first maritime power, which she had acquired under Elizabeth I and lost under the Stuarts.

Under Cromwell, the internal government of the country was distinguished by activity and strict order. Everyone feared him, but did not like him. The most resolute republicans openly murmured against his despotism; and when they noticed in him a desire to appropriate the royal title, they organized assassination attempts on him. Although these attempts were unsuccessful, they were the main cause of his death. Cromwell became very restless, always wary of secret assassins and took all sorts of precautions: he surrounded himself with guards, wore armor under his clothes, rarely slept in the same room, traveled extremely fast and did not return back the same way. Constant stress led him to a debilitating fever, from which he died (1658).

THE LAST STUARTS AND THE REVOLUTION OF 1688

The people, tired of long turmoil, longed for peace. The royalist party, therefore, soon gained the upper hand over the other parties, with the help of old General Monck. The new parliament, convened through his influence, entered into relations with Charles II, then living in Holland, and finally solemnly proclaimed him king. Thus the Great English Revolution ended with the restoration of the Stuarts.

Karl //(1660-1685) was greeted with enthusiasm in England, but did not justify the hopes placed on him by the state. He was frivolous, indulged in pleasures, inclined towards Catholicism and surrounded himself with bad advisers. In his reign, the struggle between parliament and royalty resumed. At that time, two main political parties were formed in England: the Tories and the Whigs, which continued the division into cavaliers and roundheads that had already arisen in the country. The Tories stood for monarchical power; part of the aristocracy and most of the rural nobles belonged to them. And the Whigs defended the rights of the people and tried to limit the power of the king in favor of parliament; on their side was another part of the aristocracy and the population of large cities. Otherwise, the Tory party can be called conservative, and the Whigs - progressive. Thanks to the efforts of the Whigs, a famous law was issued in this reign, which approved the personal immunity of English citizens. (It is known as Habeas corpus.) By virtue of this law, an Englishman could not be arrested without a written order from the authorities, and after arrest must be presented to the court no later than three days.

Charles II was succeeded by his brother.^AW 7/(1685-1688), a stubborn and zealous Catholic. Despising the displeasure of the English, he instituted the Catholic mass in his palace, and submitted to the influence of Louis XIV to such an extent that he could be considered his vassal.

The illegitimate son of Charles II, the Duke of Monmouth, who then lived in Holland, decided to take advantage of the popular unrest; with a small detachment he landed on the coast of England to take the crown from his uncle. But he did not succeed. Monmouth was defeated and captured; in vain this handsome, brilliant prince on his knees asked for mercy from the king - he laid his head on the scaffold. Yakov opened emergency courts to punish all involved in the uprising. Chief Justice Jeffreys, who with his executioners traveled around England and carried out executions on the spot, was especially ferocious. As a reward for such jealousy, Jacob made him a great chancellor. Thinking that the people were completely intimidated by these measures, he began to clearly strive to establish unlimited royal power and restore Catholicism in England: contrary to the previous charters, public posts were distributed exclusively to Catholics.

The people still remained calm in the hope that the death of Jacob would stop the policy he had begun: since he had no male offspring, the throne was to pass to his eldest daughter Mary or, in fact, to her husband, the Dutch stadtholder William of Orange, an zealous Protestant. And suddenly the news spread that King James had a son, who immediately after birth received the title of Duke of Welsh, or heir to the throne; there was no doubt that he would be raised a Catholic. Discontent in the country has increased to an extreme degree. The leaders of the Whigs, who had long been in secret relations with William of Orange, invited him to England. Wilhelm landed with a Dutch detachment and went to London. Jacob was left alone; the army also betrayed him, even another daughter, Anna, with her husband, a Danish prince, took the side of her sister. Yakov completely lost his head, threw

state seal to the Thames and, in disguise, fled the capital. William and Mary solemnly entered London. William was recognized as king and signed the Bill of Rights. The bill consolidated all the main rights acquired by the English parliament and people during the revolution, namely: the king promised to convene parliament periodically, at certain times, not to keep a standing army in peacetime, not to collect taxes that were not approved by parliament.

Thus the Stuart dynasty was overthrown forever. This coup is known as the Revolution of 168S; however, it had a peaceful character, because it took place without the shedding of blood. From that time begins new period English history, the period of constitutional or parliamentary government. Wilhelm III (1688-1702) conscientiously carried out the conditions he signed; therefore, despite his unattractive manner and dry, uncommunicative character, he managed to win the loyalty of the people. Among the Tories, the so-called Jacobites existed for a long time, who did not abandon the hope of the return of the heirs of Jacob Stuart to England.

CULTURE OF ENGLAND

The development of education and art in England slowed down due to the protracted unrest. The Long Parliament, which was predominantly Puritan, enacted Puritan customs and banned even theatrical performances. Republican monotony of life and lack of entertainment bored the English, and when the restoration of the Stuarts took place, the desire for pleasure showed itself with particular force. Theaters were reopened, but instead of Shakespeare, the British turned to French models and their shortcomings were taken to the extreme. Theatrical performances, especially comedies, went beyond all limits of decency and fell into gross cynicism, although female roles at this time for the first time in England began to be performed not by men, but by women. A decent lady did not dare to go to the theater without knowing in advance about the content of the play, and if curiosity overcame modesty, then, going to the theater, women put on a mask. The 17th century brought to England the remarkable poets John Milton (160S-1674) and John Doyne (1572-1631). Milton was a zealous supporter of the republic and the Puritan party. Under Cromwell, he served as secretary of state, but lost his sight and was forced to leave the service. Then he turned to his favorite pastime, poetry, and dictated his works to his daughters.

He left behind the majestic religious poem "Paradise Lost", the content of which was the biblical story about the fall of the first people. The poem appeared during the restoration of the Stuarts, when purism was ridiculed, and therefore was received rather coldly by contemporaries.

John Donne also wrote the mystical poem "The Way of the Soul", but his poetry, cheerful, going to the human heart (elegies, satires, epigrams), opening up new ways English poetry baroque, did not leave contemporaries indifferent.

However, scientists and thinkers followed mainly the practical direction of Bacon, that is, experiments and observations on the external world came to the fore; this trend has largely contributed to the success of the natural sciences. The first place here belongs to Isaac Newton (1643-1727). He studied at the University of Cambridge, where he was later a professor of mathematics, and became the founder of classical physics; William III made him head of the mint (he died at the age of eighty-five, president of the Royal Society of London). Newton is credited with postcarding the law of universal gravitation. Tradition tells that once an apple that fell from a tree led Newton to the idea of ​​the gravitation of all bodies towards the center of the Earth. (From the same law, the structure of the planetary system was also explained: smaller celestial bodies gravitate to larger ones. The moon to the Earth, and the Earth and other planets to the Sun.)

Of the other English thinkers who developed Bacon's ideas, John Locke deserves special mention. His main work is "The Experience of the Human Mind", in which Locke proves that people do not have any innate concepts, and all their knowledge and concepts are obtained through external impressions, through experience and observation. At the same time, a school of philosophers was formed in English literature, known as deists (Shaftesbury, Bolingbroke): they went to extremes and fell into atheism. Of the new Protestant sects that appeared in England in the 17th century, the Quakers, who still exist today, are noteworthy. They deny church rites and gather for prayer in a simple hall. Here the Quakers sit with their heads covered, their eyes fixed on the ground, and wait for one of them, man or woman, to be inspired from above to deliver a sermon. If no one has been inspired, they silently disperse. In ordinary life, Quakers are distinguished by strict, simple morals and removal from secular pleasures (like the German Mennonites).

The modernization program was led by the 1st Lord of the Admiralty W. Churchill. Germany responded by making ironclads. The British feared a violation of the parity of the Navy.

In 1912, the British Navy from all over the world is concentrated in the North Sea. In 1914, an attempt to regulate Anglo-German relations failed.

The Irish problem in the last third of the 19th - early 20th centuries. There were 2 main problems in Ireland:

Economic. Landlords constantly raised the price for renting land, the peasants went bankrupt. The Liberal and Conservative governments in England took a number of measures to reduce the rent for land (part of it was paid by the state). The events were held during the years of the Great Depression, when the landlords themselves tried to sell the land. Thanks to these measures, the economic problem was partially resolved, many Irish received land and became farmers.

The problem of political autonomy from Britain. The struggle for the so-called "gom wheel". For the first time, a bill on it was submitted to a meeting of parliament in 1886. The initiator was the Liberal Party and Prime Minister W. Gladstone. According to the project:

The creation of a 2-chamber parliament in Dublin was envisaged;

The transfer of part of the administrative functions into the hands of the Irish themselves. Armed forces, finances, foreign policy should be concentrated in London.

The project failed because he was not supported by conservatives. At the second hearing in 1892, the project was also not adopted.

Irish organizations:

Irish league home helm. Leader - Parnel. It was believed that Ireland needed to concentrate all efforts in order to legally pass a bill of self-government for Ireland. The League waged a legal struggle, actively promoting their ideas among Irish voters.

Irish Republican Brotherhood. It was believed that the only way to achieve the independence of Ireland was by armed means. Leader - Devit. It was actively financed from the United States (military instructors from America taught street fighting, organizing terrorist attacks, and provided weapons).

Shinfeners ("shin-fein" - we ourselves). It was believed that Ireland should be independent, but should maintain a close relationship with Britain. The tactic of the struggle is non-violent resistance: not paying taxes, recalling their representatives from the British Parliament, and so on. force England to give Ireland independence.

At the beginning of the twentieth century, another attempt is made to pass a bill of self-government. The inhabitants of Ulster were worried, believing that if Ireland received self-government, then their social status would be lowered.

In 1912, for the 3rd time, the Liberal Party submits a bill on the self-government of Ireland for a hearing in Parliament (the conditions are the same). There was an open conflict between the Ulsters and the Irish. The Ulsters, in case of recognition of the self-government of Ireland, threatened to declare a union with Britain. They formed their own armed forces. Germany actively helped the Ulstermen (aviation, artillery). Already in 1912, the inhabitants of Ulster had 100,000 well-armed troops. Residents of Ireland from among the volunteers created their own armed forces. Ireland was on the brink of civil war.

Britain sends troops to Ireland, but the officers refuse to suppress the inhabitants of Ulster. August 1, 1914. The Irish Governance Act was passed, but delayed until after the outbreak of the First World War.

Labor movement. In late Victorian England, more than 10 million workers and members of their families made up the bulk of the country's population. The material situation of the British workers, in comparison with the standard of living of the workers of other countries, has always been higher. Nevertheless, real wages that did not keep up with the rise in the cost of living, long working hours of 10 or more hours, exhausting intensification of labor - all this was a manifestation of a high degree of exploitation of hired workers. The life of the workers was marked by the seal of poverty, disorder, unsanitary conditions.

However, the working class was not homogeneous. The elite, highly skilled craftsmen (in the terminology of the era - “the best and enlightened workers”, “higher class”, “working aristocracy”) separated from its broad masses.

Mechanics, machine builders, steelworkers and other workers in those industries where professionally complex, highly skilled labor was used, were in a privileged position: shortened to 9 hours, and sometimes less an average of 20 shillings), and 28 and even 40-50 shillings. However, the "Great Depression" significantly worsened the situation of all categories of workers. The main scourge of unemployment - then did not spare either highly paid or other workers.

The most common forms of organization of workers in England were all kinds of economic societies - mutual funds, insurance, loan partnerships, cooperatives. The most influential - organizationally and ideologically - remained the trade unions, strictly centralized narrow professional powerful unions, as a rule, covering workers on a national scale. The orthodox trade unionists professed apathy, a rejection of all forms of struggle, even strikes, recognized only compromises and arbitration in the relationship between labor and capital. The trade unions were united by the British Congress of Trade Unions (TUC) established in 1868, which has been meeting every year since then at its conferences.

70-90s of the XIX century. were marked by an important phenomenon with the emergence of the "new unionism". The hard times of the "Great Depression" led low-paid workers to the need to create their own professional organizations. Then the unions of agricultural workers, stokers, workers of gas production, the match industry, dockers, the Federation of Miners and others were formed. Women were admitted to the new trade unions. They also began to form independent trade unions.

"New Unionism" significantly expanded the scope of the trade union movement: before it began, the number of members of trade unions was about 900 thousand, at the end of the century it reached almost 2 million workers. "New Unionism" opened the mass stage of the trade union movement. The new trade unions were characterized by openness, accessibility, and democracy.

The mass movement of the unemployed, their rallies, demonstrations, unorganized speeches demanding bread and work often ended in clashes with the police. They were especially intense in 1886-1887. and in 1892-1893. On February 8, 1886, the protest of the desperate unemployed in London was brutally suppressed ("Black Monday"). November 13, 1887 went down in the history of the labor movement in England as " bloody sunday”: on this day, the police dispersed the rally with the use of force, there were wounded. In the 1990s, the unemployed came out under openly political and even revolutionary slogans: “Three cheers for the social revolution!”, “Socialism is a threat to the rich and hope to the poor!”

Workers' strikes then became a constant factor in English life. Numerous stubborn strikes, especially organized by new trade unions, marked the year 1889: Great strike of dock workers in London. The requirements of the "great dockers' strike" were modest: pay - not less than indicated here, hiring - not less than 4 hours, abandoning the contract system. The number of its participants reached about 100 thousand people. The main result - the strike gave impetus to the movement of new unionism.

The strike movement expanded in breadth, drawing in new detachments of workers. In the first half of the 1970s, the so-called "rebellion of the fields" took place - a mass action of the rural proletariat. Women's participation in the strike movement has become the norm.

In 1875, the workers achieved a partial victory: the Factories Act came into force, establishing a working week of 56.5 hours for all workers (instead of 54 hours, as the workers demanded). In 1894, a 48-hour work week was introduced for dock workers and workers in military factories. In 1872

As a result of the mass activity of workers, the laws "On the regulation of coal mines", "On the regulation of mines" were adopted, which for the first time in the history of the country's mining industry limited the exploitation of miners to a certain extent. Laws 1875, 1880, 1893 established the responsibility of the entrepreneur for industrial injuries. In 1887, the issuance of wages in goods was legally prohibited.

The desire of the proletariat to achieve political goals found its expression in the struggle for the election of workers' deputies to the parliament. Starting after the adoption of the electoral reform of 1867, it led to the creation of the League of Labor Representation and the Parliamentary Committee (1869) as the executive body of the BKT. The struggle intensified in the 1870s, and in the elections of 1874 two deputies from the workers were elected. However, the workers' parliamentarians did not become policymakers in the interests of their "own workers' party", but in fact took the position of the left wing of the liberal faction.

In the elections of 1892, three workers got into parliament. For the first time they declared themselves independent deputies, but only one of them, J. Keir Hardy, remained true to the interests of his class, without turning into a "labor liberal".

The struggle of the English in the workers in early XX. in. intensified and acquired a more pronounced political character. At the same time, economic reasons lay at the basis of the new upsurge of the labor movement: the frequent crisis state of the country's economy and invariably accompanied it; unemployment, high exploitation in conditions for the establishment of monopoly capitalism.

A wave of workers' protest in the form of strikes has already been designated in first years of the century. In 1906-1914. the strike struggle of the "great commotion", as contemporaries defined it, was more powerful in England than in any of the Western countries. It reached its highest point in 1910-1913. (impressive strike dockers in 1911, general strike of miners in 1912, etc.). workers led the struggle also for universal suffrage: the property qualification and the residency qualification deprived the right to elect in parliament of almost 4 million men, women remained excluded from voting. A significant role in the workers' movement was played by trade unions, which were more actively involved in political activities than before. On the eve of the world war in their ranks numbered more than 4 million members. The reaction of the employers to the vigorous activity of the trade unions was not long in coming. The offensive against the trade unions was most eloquently manifested by the Axis in organizing lawsuits against them.

"The Case of the Tuff Valley" (1900-1906) arose in connection with the strike of railway workers in South Wales (workers demanded the reinstatement of dismissed comrades, to reduce the duration of shifts and increase wages). The owners of the railway company brought legal action against the workers demanding compensation for the losses caused to them during the strike, but in fact with the aim of restricting the rights of workers to strike and organize trade unions. The highest court - the House of Lords - upheld the claim of entrepreneurs. The decision of the Lords set a precedent that extended to all trade unions. The bourgeois press launched a campaign against the "aggressiveness" of the trade unions as a "national mafia". The event stirred the whole working-class England against the legal oppression of the trade unions. It took more than six years of struggle to restore the rights of the trade unions to full-blooded activities within the law and to hold strikes.

This was followed by a lawsuit in the "Osborne Case". William Osborne, a member of the Amalgamated Society of Railway Employees, sued his trade union to stop the union from collecting contributions to the fund of a political party (meaning the Labor Party). The House of Lords in 1909 decided against the trade union in favor of Osborne. This decision severely restricted the rights of trade unions. It prohibited trade unions from contributing funds to the party and from engaging in political activities. The legal proceedings and the workers' counter-struggle lasted for five years. The Trade Unions Act of 1913 confirmed, albeit with great reservations, the right of trade union organizations to engage in political activity.

An event of great importance in the history of the British labor movement was formation of the Labor Party. In 1900, at a conference in London, the workers' and socialist organizations founded the Workers' Representation Committee (CWP) in order to find "means to get a larger number of workers' deputies into the next parliament." Its founders and members were most of the trade unions, the Fabian Society, the Independent Labor Party, the Social Democratic Federation.

In 1906 the Committee was transformed into the Labor Party. The party considered itself socialist and set itself the task of "achieving the common goal of liberating the vast mass of the people of this country from existing conditions." The fact of its creation reflected the desire of the workers to pursue an independent, independent policy. A feature of the organizational structure of the party was that it took shape on the basis of collective membership. Participation in its composition of trade unions provided a mass base for the party. By 1910 it had almost 1.5 million members. The annual national conference, which elected the executive committee, was recognized as the highest body of the party. His main activity was the leadership of election campaigns and local organizations of the party. The party rose to prominence after largely succeeding in overturning the Tuff Valley case.

socialist movement. Attention to socialism in England intensified at the turn of the 1970s and 1980s, when the Great Depression hit the working people hard, and the reform potential of Gladstone and Disraeli was exhausted. IN 1884 arose Social Democratic Federation, who announced that she shared the ideas of Marx. It united intellectuals close to Marxism and workers, anarchists. It was headed by lawyer and journalist Henry Hydman. The SDF was waiting for a revolution and believed that society was already ready for it. They underestimated organizational work, trade unions and rejected reforms. An attempt to get into the Parliament of England failed, because. Hydman asked for campaign money from the Conservatives. This became a stigma on the SDF.

Some members of the SDF (workers Tom Mann, Harry Quelch) did not agree with Hyndman's position and already in December 1884 seceded from the SDF, forming the Socialist League. She adhered to internationalism, condemned the colonial expansion of England. The League rejected parliamentary activity, engaging in the propaganda of "pure and honest socialism."

In 1884, the Fabian Society arose. Its founders were young intellectuals who came from a petty-bourgeois milieu. They saw the achievement of the goal through evolution. Its prominent figures were B. Shaw and the spouses of Sidney and Beatrice Webb, prominent historians of the English labor movement. The Fabians proceeded from the recognition that in England the transition to socialism was gradually taking place. The main role was assigned to the state, considered as a supra-class body. In their activities, they adhered to the tactics of "impregnation". To this end, the Fabians were part of political clubs, societies, primarily liberal and radical.

In general, the SDF, the Socialist League and the Fabian Society were far from the labor movement.

The results of Britain's involvement in World War II were mixed. The country retained its independence and made a significant contribution to the victory over fascism, at the same time it lost its role as a world leader and came close to losing its colonial status.

Political games

British military historiography often likes to point out that the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact of 1939 effectively untied the hands of the German war machine. At the same time, foggy Albion bypasses the Munich Agreement, signed by England together with France, Italy and Germany a year earlier. The result of this conspiracy was the division of Czechoslovakia, which, according to many researchers, was the prelude to World War II.

September 30, 1938 in Munich, Britain and Germany signed another agreement - a declaration of mutual non-aggression - which was the culmination of the British "appeasement policy". Hitler succeeded quite easily in persuading British Prime Minister Arthur Chamberlain that the Munich Accords would be a guarantee of security in Europe.

Historians believe that Britain had high hopes for diplomacy, with the help of which it hoped to rebuild the Versailles system, which was in crisis, although already in 1938 many politicians warned the peacekeepers: "Concessions from Germany will only spur the aggressor!"

Chamberlain, returning to London, said at the gangway of the plane: “I brought peace to our generation,” to which Winston Churchill, then a parliamentarian, prophetically remarked: “England was offered a choice between war and dishonor. She has chosen dishonor and will get war."

"Strange War"

On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland. On the same day, the Chamberlain government sent a note of protest to Berlin, and on September 3, Great Britain, as the guarantor of Poland's independence, declared war on Germany. Over the next ten days, the entire British Commonwealth joins.

By mid-October, the British had moved four divisions to the Continent and taken up positions along the Franco-Belgian border. However, the section between the cities of Mold and Bayel, which is a continuation of the Maginot Line, was far from the epicenter of hostilities. Here, the allies created more than 40 airfields, but instead of bombing German positions, British aviation began to scatter propaganda leaflets appealing to the morality of the Germans.

In the following months, six more British divisions arrive in France, but neither the British nor the French are in a hurry to start active operations. So the "strange war" was waged. The head of the British General Staff, Edmund Ironside, described the situation as follows: "Passive waiting with all the excitement and anxiety that follows from this."

The French writer Roland Dorgelès recalled how the Allies calmly watched the movement of German ammunition trains: "Obviously, the main concern of the high command was not to disturb the enemy."

Historians have no doubt that the "strange war" is due to the wait-and-see attitude of the allies. Both Great Britain and France had to understand where German aggression would turn after the capture of Poland. It is possible that if the Wehrmacht had immediately launched an invasion of the USSR after the Polish campaign, the Allies could have supported Hitler.

Miracle at Dunkirk

On May 10, 1940, according to the Gelb plan, Germany launched an invasion of Holland, Belgium and France. The political games are over. Churchill, who took office as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, soberly assessed the strength of the enemy. As soon as the German troops took control of Boulogne and Calais, he decided to evacuate the parts of the British Expeditionary Force that were in the pocket near Dunkirk, and with them the remnants of the French and Belgian divisions. 693 British and about 250 French ships under the command of the English Rear Admiral Bertram Ramsey planned to transport about 350,000 coalition soldiers across the English Channel.

Military experts had little faith in the success of the operation under the sonorous name "Dynamo". The advance detachment of the 19th Panzer Corps under the command of Colonel-General of the German troops Heinz Guderian was located a few kilometers from Dunkirk and, if desired, could easily defeat the demoralized allies. But a miracle happened: 337,131 soldiers, most of whom were British, reached the opposite shore with little or no interference.

Hitler unexpectedly stopped the advance of the German troops. Guderian called this decision purely political. Historians differed in their assessment of the controversial episode of the war. Someone believes that the Fuhrer wanted to save strength, but someone is sure of a secret agreement between the British and German governments.

One way or another, after the Dunkirk disaster, Britain remained the only country that had avoided complete defeat and was able to resist the seemingly invincible German machine. On June 10, 1940, the position of England became threatening when fascist Italy entered the war on the side of Nazi Germany.

Battle for England

Germany's plans to force Britain to surrender have not been canceled. In July 1940, British coastal convoys and naval bases were subjected to a massive bombardment by the German Air Force. In August, the Luftwaffe switched to airfields and aircraft factories.

On August 24, German aircraft launched the first bombing attack on central London. Some say it's wrong. The retaliatory attack was not long in coming. A day later, 81 RAF bombers flew to Berlin. No more than a dozen made it to the target, but that was enough to infuriate Hitler. At a meeting of the German command in Holland, it was decided to bring down the entire power of the Luftwaffe on the British Isles.

Within a few weeks, the sky over British cities turned into a boiling cauldron. Got Birmingham, Liverpool, Bristol, Cardiff, Coventry, Belfast. For the whole of August, at least a thousand British citizens died. However, from mid-September, the intensity of the bombing began to decline due to the effective opposition of British fighter aircraft.

The Battle of England is better characterized by numbers. In total, 2913 aircraft of the British Air Force and 4549 Luftwaffe aircraft were involved in air battles. The losses of the parties by historians are estimated at 1547 downed fighters of the Royal Air Force and 1887 German aircraft.

mistress of the seas

It is known that after the successful bombing of England, Hitler intended to launch Operation Sea Lion to invade the British Isles. However, the desired air superiority was not achieved. In turn, the military command of the Reich was skeptical about the landing operation. According to the German generals, the strength of the German army was precisely on land, and not at sea.

Military experts were sure that the British land army was no stronger than the broken French Armed Forces and that Germany had every chance to prevail over the troops of the United Kingdom in a ground operation. The English military historian Liddell Hart noted that England managed to hold on only due to the water barrier.

In Berlin, they realized that the German fleet was noticeably inferior to the English. For example, by the beginning of the war, the British Navy had seven active aircraft carriers and six more on the slipway, while Germany was never able to equip at least one of its aircraft carriers. In the open sea, the presence of carrier-based aircraft could predetermine the outcome of any battle.

The German submarine fleet was only able to inflict serious damage on British merchant ships. However, by sinking 783 German submarines with US support, the British Navy won the Battle of the Atlantic. Until February 1942, the Fuhrer hoped to conquer England from the sea, until the commander of the Kriegsmarine (German Navy), Admiral Erich Raeder, finally convinced him to abandon this venture.

Colonial interests

Back in early 1939, the British Chiefs of Staff Committee recognized the defense of Egypt with its Suez Canal as one of the most important strategic tasks. Hence the special attention of the Armed Forces of the Kingdom to the Mediterranean theater of operations.

Unfortunately, the British had to fight not at sea, but in the desert. May-June 1942 turned out for England, according to historians, a "shameful defeat" near Tobruk from the African corps of Erwin Rommel. And this is with a twofold superiority of the British in strength and technology!

The British managed to turn the tide of the North African campaign only in October 1942 at the Battle of El Alamein. Again having a significant advantage (for example, in aviation 1200:120), the British Expeditionary Force of General Montgomery managed to defeat a group of 4 German and 8 Italian divisions under the command of Rommel.

Churchill remarked about this battle: “Before El Alamein, we did not win a single victory. Since El Alamein, we haven't suffered a single defeat." By May 1943, British and American troops forced the surrender of the 250,000th Italo-German group in Tunisia, which opened the way for the Allies to Italy. In North Africa, the British lost about 220 thousand soldiers and officers.

And again Europe

On June 6, 1944, with the opening of the Second Front, British troops had the opportunity to redeem themselves for their shameful flight from the Continent four years earlier. The overall leadership of the allied ground forces was entrusted to the experienced Montgomery. The total superiority of the allies by the end of August crushed the resistance of the Germans in France.

In a different vein, events unfolded in December 1944 near the Ardennes, when a German armored group literally pushed through the lines of American troops. In the Ardennes meat grinder, the US army lost over 19 thousand soldiers, the British - no more than two hundred.

This ratio of losses led to disagreements in the camp of the allies. American Generals Bradley and Patton threatened to resign if Montgomery did not resign from command of the army. Montgomery's self-confident statement at a press conference on January 7, 1945, that it was British troops who had saved the Americans from the prospect of encirclement, jeopardized the conduct of a further joint operation. Only thanks to the intervention of the commander-in-chief of the allied forces, Dwight Eisenhower, the conflict was settled.

By the end of 1944, the Soviet Union had liberated a significant part of the Balkan Peninsula, which caused serious concern in Britain. Churchill, who did not want to lose control over the important Mediterranean region, proposed to Stalin the division of the sphere of influence, as a result of which Moscow got Romania, London got Greece.

In fact, with the tacit consent of the USSR and the USA, Great Britain crushed the resistance of the Greek communist forces and on January 11, 1945, established full control over Attica. It was then on the horizon of the British foreign policy a new enemy clearly loomed. “In my eyes, the Soviet threat has already replaced the Nazi enemy,” Churchill recalled in his memoirs.

According to the 12-volume History of the Second World War, Great Britain, along with the colonies, lost 450,000 people in World War II. Britain's war expenses accounted for more than half of foreign investment, and the Kingdom's external debt reached £3 billion by the end of the war. The United Kingdom paid off all its debts only by 2006.

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The decision to create the Oceanarium of the USSR Navy was made on June 18, 1965. In the beginning of April next year on the shore of the Cossack Bay, the first tents of builders and scientists appeared. Even now, the bay area is one of the most deserted outskirts of Sevastopol, and in those days it was a real "bear's corner", where you had to get on your own two feet, risking stumbling upon an unexploded shell that was waiting in the wings from the war. However, the remoteness and desolate nature of the area fully corresponded to the regime of strict secrecy in which the Oceanarium was created ...

TO XXI century in the north of Eastern Siberia, fur-bearing animals, especially arctic foxes, were thoroughly knocked out. Animal dealers climbed farther and farther to the Arctic Ocean. The history of the development of the Far North is full of heroic and tragic pages.

Scotland is famous for its haunted castles. But none of them is famous for such a number of mysterious phenomena as Glams Castle. It is believed that one of the rooms of the castle - Duncan Hall - inspired Shakespeare to describe the scene of the murder of King Duncan in the tragedy "Macbeth". We will also visit the most sinister castle in Europe ..!

When the British came to India in the 18th century, their biggest problem was the sweltering summer heat. Of course, the colonialists tried to fight this scourge: they slept in damp linen, hung soaked grass mats on windows and doors, hired special Abdar servants to cool water, wine and ale with saltpeter. However, all this did not give the desired result.

EPRON. This abbreviation stands for "Expedition of underwater work special purpose". The organization was created under the OGPU in 1923 to carry out a special task - to search for treasures allegedly lying off the coast of Balaklava, in the Crimea.

Lavrenty Beria for many years was considered the most terrible person in the USSR, who destroyed millions of fellow citizens. But at the same time, even in Gorbachev's times, he was not particularly demonized, and sometimes he was completely exposed as a person worthy of respect. So is there anything to respect the most famous Stalinist people's commissar for?

We know little about the life of Jesus Christ, the God-man, in whom divine and human nature are united. Christian books talk a lot about him as the Messiah, Savior, Redeemer and Son of God. But the information about Jesus as the Son of Man is fragmentary. The Bible (Gospel of Luni, 2.41-51) describes how, as a twelve-year-old youth, Jesus, along with his parents, came to Jerusalem for the Passover feast, where his parents then lost him in the crowd, but three days later they found him in full health, calmly talking in the temple with the priests . The next time the age of Jesus - about thirty years old - is mentioned only when describing his Baptism in the Jordan River (Gospel of Luni, 3.23). It remains unclear why almost 18 years have fallen out of the biblical chronology of the life of Christ.

Exactly 40 years ago, in April 1970, all Soviet media reported that the Volga Automobile Plant in Tolyatti, which had been under construction for a little over three years, had released its first products. The new car at the same time received the trade name "Zhiguli". However, it is pure Russian word it turned out to be unacceptable for foreign countries, since in a number of countries it sounded, to put it mildly, ambiguous. Therefore, in the export version, the VAZ-2101 and other models of the plant began to be called Lada.

Chapter XIII. England in the time of Richard the First, called the Lionheart (1189 - 1199)

In A.D. 1189, Richard the Lionheart succeeded to the throne of Henry II, whose father's heart he so mercilessly tormented and eventually tore to pieces. As we know, Richard was a rebel from his very youth, but having become a monarch against whom others could rebel, he suddenly realized that rebellion is a terrible sin, and in a fit of pious indignation punished all his main allies in the fight against his father. No other act of Richard's could better expose his true nature, or rather warn flatterers and hangers-on who trust lion-hearted princes.

He also chained the treasurer of his late predecessor and kept him in prison until he opened the royal treasury and his own purse to boot. So Richard, whether he was a lion heart or not, certainly snatched off the lion's share of the wealth of the unfortunate treasurer.

Richard was crowned King of England at Westminster, with incredible pomp. He walked to the cathedral under a silk canopy draped over the points of four lances, each of which was carried by an eminent lord. On the day of the coronation there was a monstrous pogrom against the Jews, which seemed to bring great joy to the mass of savages who called themselves Christians. The king issued a decree forbidding the Jews (who were hated by many, although they were the most efficient merchants in England) from attending the ceremony. But among the Jews who came to London from all over the country in order to bring rich gifts to the new sovereign, there were still daredevils who decided to drag their gifts to the Palace of Westminster, where, of course, they were not refused. It is believed that one of the onlookers, allegedly wounded in his Christian feelings, began to loudly resent this and hit a Jew who tried to slip through the gates of the palace with an offering. A fight ensued. The Jews, who had already penetrated inside, began to be pushed out, and suddenly some villain shouted that the new king had ordered the extermination of the tribe of infidels. The crowd poured into the narrow streets of the city and began to kill all the Jews that came across it on the way. Finding them no longer on the streets (since they hid in their homes and locked themselves there), the brutalized rabble rushed to smash Jewish dwellings: kick down the doors, rob, stab and cut the owners, and sometimes even throw the old people and babies out of the windows into the bonfires lit below. This terrible atrocity continued for twenty-four hours, and only three people were punished. And then they paid with their lives not for beating and robbing Jews, but for burning the houses of some Christians.

King Richard - a strong man, a fidget, a big man, with a single, very restless thought in his head: how to demolish more other people's heads - was obsessed with the desire to go to the Holy Land at the head of a huge army of crusaders. But since a huge army could not even be lured into the Holy Land without a huge bribe, he began to trade crown lands and, even worse, the highest government posts, carelessly entrusting his English subjects not to those who were able to rule them, but to those who could pay more. for this privilege. In this way, selling at a high price of pardon, and keeping the people in a black body, Richard scored a lot of money. Then he entrusted the kingdom to two bishops, and endowed brother John with great powers and possessions, hoping thereby to buy his friendship. John would have preferred to be called regent of England, but he was a cunning man and welcomed his brother's undertaking, probably thinking to himself: “Let him fight! Closer to death in war! And when he is killed, I will be the king!”

Before the newly recruited army left England, the recruits, along with the rest of the dregs of society, distinguished themselves by unheard-of mockery of the unfortunate Jews, whom in many large cities they killed by the hundreds in the most barbaric manner.

In one stronghold in York, during the absence of the commandant, a large number of Jews took refuge. The unfortunate fled there after many Jewish women and children were killed before their eyes. The commandant appeared and ordered him to be let in.

Commandant, we cannot fulfill your demand! - answered the Jews from the fortress walls. “If we open the gate even an inch, the mob roaring behind you will burst in here and tear us to pieces!”

Hearing this, the commandant flared up with unjust anger and told the scum around him that he allowed them to kill the impudent Zhnds. Immediately, a vicious fanatic monk in a white cassock stepped forward and led the mob to attack. The fortress held out for three days.

On the fourth day, the head of the Jews, Jocen (who was a rabbi, or, in our opinion, a priest) addressed his fellow tribesmen with the following words:

My brothers! We have no salvation! Christians are about to break through the gates and walls and rush in here. Since death is imminent for us, our wives and our children, it is better to die at our own hands than at the hands of Christians. Let's destroy with fire those values ​​that we brought with us, then we will burn the fortress, and then we will perish ourselves!

Some could not decide on it, but the majority agreed. The Jews threw all their riches into a blazing fire, and when it had died down, they set fire to the fortress. While the flames buzzed and crackled all around, soaring up to the sky, enveloped in a blood-red glow, Iocene cut the throat of his dearly beloved wife and stabbed himself. All the rest, who had wives and children, followed his sensitive example. When the thugs broke into the fortress, they found there (except for a few weak-hearted poor fellows huddled in the corners, who were immediately killed) only heaps of ash and charred skeletons, in which it was impossible to recognize the image of a human created by the beneficent hand of the Creator.

With such a bad start to the holy crusade, Richard and his mercenaries set off with nothing good in mind. This campaign was undertaken by the king of England together with his old friend Philip of France. First of all, the monarchs staged a review of the troops, whose number reached one hundred thousand people. Then they sailed separately to Messina, on the island of Sicily, where an assembly place was appointed.

Richard's daughter-in-law, the widow of Gottfried, married the Sicilian king, but he soon died, and his Tancred usurped the throne, threw the dowager queen into prison and seized her possessions. Richard angrily demanded the release of his daughter-in-law, the return of the seized lands to her and to equip her (as was customary in the Sicilian royal house) with a golden chair, a golden table, twenty-four silver bowls and twenty-four silver dishes. Tancred could not compete with Richard by force, and therefore agreed to everything. The French king was seized with envy, and he began to complain that the English king wanted to be the sole master both in Messina and in the whole world. However, these complaints did not move Richard in the least. For twenty thousand gold pieces he betrothed his dear little nephew Arthur, then a two-year-old toddler, to Tancred's daughter. Sweet little Arthur is yet to come.

Having settled the Sicilian affairs without killing him (which must have greatly disappointed him), King Richard took his daughter-in-law, as well as a beautiful lady named Berengaria, with whom he fell in love in France and with whom his mother, Queen Eleanor (languished, as you remember, in prison, but freed by Richard on his accession to the throne), brought to Sicily to give him as a wife, and sailed to Cyprus.

Here Richard had the pleasure of quarreling with the king of the island because he had allowed his subjects to rob a handful of English crusaders shipwrecked off the coast of Cyprus. Having easily defeated this miserable sovereign, he took his only daughter as a servant to Mrs. Berengaria, and chained the king himself in silver chains. Then he set off again with his mother, daughter-in-law, young wife and captive princess, and soon sailed to the city of Acre, which the French king with his fleet besieged from the sea. Philip had a hard time, because half of his army was cut out by Saracen sabers and mowed down by the plague, and the brave Saladin, the Sultan of Turkey, settled down in the surrounding mountains with innumerable strength and fiercely defended himself.

Wherever the allied armies of the crusaders converged, they did not agree with each other in anything, except in the most godless drunkenness and debauchery, in insulting the surrounding people, be they friends or enemies, and in the ruin of peaceful villages. The French king strove to get around the English king, the English king strove to get around the French king, and the violent warriors of the two nations strove to get around each other. As a result, the two monarchs at first could not even agree on a joint assault on Acre. When, for the sake of such a thing, they went to the world, the Saracens promised to leave the city, give the Holy Cross to the Christians, free all Christian captives and pay two hundred thousand gold coins. For this they were given forty days. However, the deadline had expired, and the Saracens did not even think of giving up. Then Richard ordered about three thousand Saracen captives to be lined up in front of his camp and hacked to death in front of their fellow countrymen.

Philip of France did not participate in this crime: he had already left home with most of his army, not wishing to endure the despotism of the English king any longer, worried about his household affairs and, moreover, sick from the unhealthy air of the hot sandy country. Richard continued the war without him and spent almost a year and a half full of adventures in the East. Every night, when his army made a halt after a long march, the heralds called out three times, reminding the soldiers of the purpose for which they raised their weapons: “To the sepulcher of the Lord!”, And the soldiers, kneeling down, answered: “Amen!” And on the way and at the stations, they constantly suffered from the hot air of the desert, full of heat, or from the Saracens, inspired and guided by the brave Saladin, or from both at the same time. Sickness and death, battles and wounds were their lot. But Richard himself overcame everything! He fought like a giant and worked like a laborer. Long, long after he had rested in the grave, legends circulated among the Saracens about his deadly ax, on whose mighty butt twenty English pounds of English steel went. And centuries later, if the Saracen horse shied away from the bush by the side of the road, the rider exclaimed: “What are you afraid of, stupid? Do you think King Richard is hiding there?”

No one admired the glorious deeds of the English king more than Saladin himself, his magnanimous and valiant adversary. When Richard came down with a fever, Saladin sent him fresh fruit from Damascus and virgin snow from the mountain peaks. They often exchanged kind letters and compliments, after which King Richard mounted his horse and rode to destroy the Saracens, and Saladin mounted his and rode to destroy the Christians. When taking Arsuf and Jaffa, King Richard fought heartily. And in Ascalon, not finding himself a more exciting occupation than the restoration of some fortifications destroyed by the Saracens, he killed his ally, the Duke of Austria, because this proud man did not want to stoop to dragging stones.

In Ascalon, he nailed the Duke of Austria because this proud man did not want to stoop to dragging stones

Finally, the crusader army approached the walls of the holy city of Jerusalem, but, completely torn apart by rivalry, disagreements and strife, soon retreated. A truce was concluded with the Saracens for a period of three years, three months, three days and three hours. The English Christians, under the protection of the noble Saladin, who guarded them from the revenge of the Saracens, went to bow to the tomb of the Lord, and then King Richard, with a small detachment, plunged into Acre on a ship and sailed home.

But in the Adriatic Sea, he was shipwrecked and was forced to make his way through Germany under the name. And you need to know that there were many people in Germany who fought in the Holy Land under the command of that proud Duke of Austria, whom Richard slightly nailed. One of them, having easily recognized such a remarkable person as Richard the Lionheart, reported his discovery to the nailed duke, who immediately captured the king in a small inn near Vienna.

The duke's suzerain, the German emperor, and the French king were both overjoyed when they learned that such a restless monarch was hidden in a safe place. Friendship based on complicity in unrighteous deeds is always unreliable, and the French king became as fierce an enemy of Richard as he was a friend in his heart in his evil intentions against his father. He invented a monstrous tale, that in the East the English king tried to poison him; he accused Richard of murdering, in the same East, a man who really owed his life to him; he paid the German emperor to keep the prisoner in a stone bag. In the end, thanks to the intrigues of two crowned persons, Richard appeared before a German court. He was charged with a variety of crimes, including the above. But he defended himself so ardently and eloquently that even the judges burst into tears. They passed the following sentence: the captive king, for the rest of his imprisonment, be kept in conditions more decent for his rank, and released upon payment of a substantial ransom. The English people meekly collected the required amount. When Queen Eleanor personally brought the ransom to Germany, it turned out that they did not want to take it there at all. Then she appealed to the honor of all the rulers of the German Empire in the name of her son, and appealed so convincingly that the ransom was accepted, and the king was released to all four sides. Philip of France immediately wrote to Prince John: “Beware! The devil is off the chain!"

Prince John had every reason to fear his brother, whom he had vilely betrayed during his imprisonment. Having entered into a secret agreement with the French king, he announced to the English nobility and people that his brother was dead, and made an unsuccessful attempt to seize the crown. Now the prince was in France, in the city of Evreux. The meanest of men, he devised the meanest way to seduce his brother. Inviting French commanders from the local garrison to dinner, John killed them all and then captured the fortress. Hoping to soften Richard's lionheart by this heroic deed, he hurried to the king and fell at his feet. Queen Eleanor fell at his side. “All right, I forgive him,” said the king. “I hope I will just as easily forget about the offense inflicted on me by him, as he, of course, will forget about my generosity.”

While King Richard was in Sicily, such a misfortune happened in his own possessions: one of the bishops, whom he left in his place, took another into custody, and he himself began to swagger and swagger, like a real king. Upon learning of this, Richard appointed a new regent, and Longchamp (that was the name of the arrogant bishop) slipped away in a woman's dress to France, where he was welcomed and supported by the French king. However, Richard remembered Philip everything. Immediately after the grand meeting arranged for him by his enthusiastic subjects, and the second coronation at Winchester, he decided to show the French monarch what the unleashed devil was, and attacked him with great ferocity.

At that time, Richard had a new misfortune at home: the poor, dissatisfied with the fact that they were taxed more unbearably than the rich, grumbled and found themselves an ardent intercessor in the person of William Fitz-Osbert, nicknamed Longbeard. He led a secret society in which there were fifty thousand people. When they tracked him down and tried to seize him, he stabbed the person who touched him first, and, bravely fighting back, reached the church, where he locked himself and held out for four days, until he was driven out of there by fire and pierced on the run with a lance. But he was still alive. Half dead, they tied him to a ponytail, dragged him to Smithfield, and hanged him there. Death has long been the favorite means of appeasing public defenders, but as you continue to read this story, I think you will realize that it is not very effective either.

While the French war, briefly interrupted by a truce, continued, a nobleman named Widomard, Viscount of Limoges, found in his lands a jug full of ancient coins. Being a vassal of the English king, he sent Richard half of the discovered treasure, but Richard demanded the whole thing. The nobleman refused to give everything entirely. Then the king laid siege to the Vidomarov castle, threatening to take it by storm and hang the defenders on the fortress walls.

In those parts there was a strange old song that prophesied that an arrow would be sharpened in Limoges, from which King Richard would die. Perhaps the young Bertrand de Gourdon, one of the defenders of the castle, often sang or listened to her on winter evenings. Perhaps he remembered her at the moment when, through the slot of the loophole, he saw the king below, who, together with his chief commander, rode along the wall, inspecting the fortifications. Bertrand, with all his strength, pulled the bowstring, aimed the arrow exactly at the target, said through his teeth: “With God, dear!”, lowered it and hit the king in the left shoulder.

Although at first the wound did not seem dangerous, it nevertheless forced the king to retire to his tent and from there lead the assault. The castle was taken, that's all. his defenders, like the king trozil, are hung. Only Bertrand de Gourdon was left alive until the sovereign's decision.

Meanwhile, inexperienced treatment made Richard's wound mortal, and the king realized that he was dying. He ordered that Bertrand be brought to his tent. The youth entered, chains jingling. King Richard gave him a hard look. Bertrand looked at the king with the same firm gaze.

Scoundrel! said King Richard. - How did I hurt you that you wanted to take my life?

What hurt? - answered the young man. - With their with my own hands you killed my oscha and my two brothers. You were going to hang me. Now you can execute me with the most painful execution you can devise. I take comfort in the fact that my torments will no longer save you. You too must die, and the world will get rid of you thanks to me!

Again the king looked at the young man with a firm gaze, and again the youth with a firm gaze looked at the king. Perhaps at that moment the dying Richard remembered his magnanimous adversary Saladin, who was not even a Christian.

Youth! - he said. - I love you. Live!

Then King Richard turned to his chief commander, who was at his side when the arrow struck him, and said:

Take off his chains, give him a hundred shillings, and let him go.

Then the king fell on the pillows. A black mist swam before his weakening gaze, covering the tent in which he so often rested after military labors. Richard's hour has struck. He died forty-two years, having reigned ten. His last will was not fulfilled. The chief military leader hanged Bertrand de Gourdon, having first flayed his skin.

From the depths of the centuries a single tune has come down to us (a sad melody sometimes survives many generations of strong people and is more durable than axes with twenty-pound butts of English steel), with the help of which, they say, the place of the king's imprisonment was discovered. According to legend, the favorite minstrel of King Richard, the faithful Blondel, set off to wander through a foreign country in search of his crowned master. He walked under the gloomy walls of fortresses and prisons, singing one song, until he heard a voice echoing him from the depths of the dungeon. Immediately recognizing him, Blowdel exclaimed in delight: “Oh, Richard! Oh my king!" Anyone who wants to can believe this, because they believe much worse fairy tales. Richard himself was a minstrel and a poet. If he had not been born a prince, then, you see, he would have become a good guy and would have gone to the other world without shedding so much human blood, for which one must answer before God.

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