Лекции по "Истории Англии"

     The House of Lords also made some progress for its church members no longer outnumbered the others. It often changed the common laws or reduced their taxes. Acts of Parliament were printed and then they were sold in every village, so that all the people should know what was happening in the country. The only objections to the Reformation came from the North -ДОСТАЛИ КАШЛЯТЬ!!!! - where some of abbeys still did work among the poor. Arising of Northern laws/lords was quickly out down by an unpaid force of royal supporters. They were not against the King himself, but they disliked the rough ways of his secretary, Thomas Cromwell, who was responsible for carrying out Parliament orders. 

     Henry had no army. But he worked hard to provide dispense for his ///. He encouraged the villages to learn how to shoot with guns instead of bows. The Navy was his special interest and he helped to plan a new type of battle ship. The old kind of ship was good enough for the old kind of sea fight, when they charged each other and their men fought hand to hand on board. But such ships didn’t suit Henry’s new ideas of a war at sea. Their land was only twice their bread, which made them awkward to steer and very hard to turn qiuckly in a battle. Instead of grouping the guns at each end, as the Spaniard did, Henry put them in a long row down each side. They fired through special holes in the ship side and the gunners were protected by the board above them. This was the secret of English sea power for the next three hundred years. And the Empire could hardly have been/being won without it. The ships and guns, however, were only half the secret, the other half was their men. The English Royal Navy had a single service of fighting sea men. Before Henry’s death he had built 53 of these new ships with over 2000 of heavy guns on board and his Navy was ready for battle.

     As you probably know, Henry’s family troubles didn’t end with his marriage with Anne Boleyne. She brought him a daughter, Elisabeth, but she was unfaithful to her husband. After three years henry cut off her head. His next wife, Jane Seymour died and gave birth to his son, Edward. His secretary Cromwell then brought him a foreign wife, which suited Henry very much, Anne of Cleves, to please his German friend. But, unfortunately, his forth wife was neither well-educated, nor beautiful, so he was displeased with her and he decided to sent her home. Then he cut off Cromwell’s head, as he had advised henry to marry this ugly woman, and married a beautiful woman, actually she was a girl at that time, called Catherine Howard. But she again was unfaithful, so her head followed Cromwell’s. his sixth and last wife, Cathertine Parr, was a wise and gentless girl, but, unfortunately, she was childless.

     By January 1547 Henry knew that his end was very near. He appointed Protestant teachers to educate young Edward and a mainly Protestant council to rule until Edward was old enough. This wasn’t a sign that he specially favoured Protestants. He had killed extreme Protestants as often as extreme Catholics, because he as a person didn’t like extremes. He wanted a moderate council to keep the peace between the two extremes. But he knew that the Catholic Party was a greater danger to England’s future independence. And he was buried in his own church in Windsor Castle.

     In spite of his trouble with his wives, Henry was a great king. His courage and political wisdom left England strong and free to make her way in a new world. England was no longer tied to Europe. Its world had passed from the dead hand of the feudal church to men who would use it bowardly for developing trade across the world. While Henry was alive, he was able to control both Protestant and Catholic troublemakers. But this policy couldn’t last forever. England had to make a choice. However, before it did so, it had to learn very bitter experience. For six years under the boy Edward England suffered from extreme Protestants. Then for 5 years under Mary, it suffered from extreme Catholics. And it was enough.

     Edward VI was only fifteen, when he died. So this boy cant’s /// for the troubles of his time. First of all, because he didn’t rule that much, and secondly, because he was too young. At first his uncle, the duke of Somerset, ruled for him. But Somerset was to mild to control the greedy men, who began to seek the remaining property of churches, including their hospitals and schools. The duke of N////////, killed Somerset and took his place, but he encouraged the greedy and scorned the poor. Extreme Protestants replaced/reflamed of Catholic bishops and officials. Trade both domestic and foreign was in confusion. The cost of living went up and the value of money went down. The only good memorial of these times is /// Prayer Book. Its moderate treatment of the faith was welcomed on north/both sides, as it was a carefully chosen mixture of Catholics and Protestant material. It has given its own special religious savour to the /// church, which is still the official church of England. But ///, like Somerset was too mild to control the extreme reformers. When Edward died the people welcomed his Catholic system with open arms. But their joy didn’t last long.

     Mary had grown up with the f/// hatred of those, who had accepted her mother’s marriage. In four years she burnt more than 300 Protestants. The gentle Grammar was forced at first to sign a confession, but later he changed his mind. As the fire rose round him, he put out his right hand, with which he had signed the confession and held it in the flame. But most of those, who died were poor and harmless people. Mary was determined to destroy all her father’s work. First, she put the Church back under the power of Rome. Then she married England’s great enemy, King Philip of Spain, against the wishes of Parliament. For three years Mary ruled under Spanish influence. Although sea’s trade was ruined, since it was against Spanish interests. Again to please Spain, Mary made war on France. From this she gained nothing, but lost the last English point in France, Calais. And as you can guess, it was a serious blow to the national English pride.

     In 1558 Mary died. Her cruelty and her complete disregard for national feelings had destroyed any chance that the English people would ever again let the Roman Church control theor affairs. Even her husband had grown tired of her and had begun to take an interest in her Protestant sister, Elisabeth, who now became Queen. The English had suffered so much under the rule of Mary, that they didn’t expect anything better from her sister. They soon found, that they had been wrong. Elisabeth had many of her fathers qualities, including good sense and strength of character. Like Henry VIII, she understood her people. She loved hunting and dancing and entertainment/entertaining. She often travelled round the country, as she wanted to know her people. Her soldiers and sailors admired her courage, Parliament respected her wisdom. She could speak Latin and Greek as well as several modern languages. There was only one /// - she never married. And she used the threat of marriage as a political weapon. Her chief minister, William Cecil, was an honest and far-seeing man, who served Elisabeth faithfully for forty years.

     With his help she quickly solved her first problem – the Church. Most people wanted what her father had given them – a reformed Catholic church, that used English language and was free from foreign influence. The Anglican Church under Elisabeth satisfied all reasonable men. It also had the loyalty of both Catholics and Protestants in time of danger. Elisabeth’s next problem was to keep her enemies quiet until her country was strong enough to defend itself. France was a real danger, since the French king married Mary Stuart, the rudest Scottish queen, and a French army was in control of Scotland. Mary was Elisabeth’s nearest cousin and if Elisabeth died childless, she could claim the English crown. On settled advice Elisabeth decided to interfere. With the help of her ships and soldiers the Scottish Protestants were able to drive out the French. Eight years later, when Mary married the murderer of her second husband, she was driven out too and her son, James became king instead of her. Mary decided to flee to England, where extreme Catholics soon made plans to make her queen by murdering Elisabeth. On finding the plot out Parliament enderly/angrily demanded her death, but Elisabeth ws unwilling to kill her cousin. For eighteen years Mary was left in peace. At last the second minister Walshingham, /// Mary’s private letters, which proved her knowledge of plans to murder Queen Elisabeth. Philip of Spain had supported this plan and after this Mary’s head was cut off, whilePhilip was preparing to attack England by sea.

     The Spaniards were almost ready to sail off, when a surprised attack by Sir Francis Drake destroyed all their ships at C/// Harbour. Elisabeth still hoped to make peace by less violent means and she refused to let Drake repeat his attack next year. And it was a mistake, because in July 1558 the Great Armada of 130 Spanish ships arrived quite unexpectedly in the British Channel. But there was an immediate attack by Admiral Howard, which the enemy didn’t expect. At least 50 ships were racked on the Scottish and Irish coast and only half Armada manage to creep back to its home. The Spanish treat to England have gone forever since that battle.

     England’s commercial policy in the sixteenth century had three aims:

1. to find a quick way to India, round the North Russia or America;
2. to trade peacefully with the colonies of other powers;
3. to find empty lands, where it could plant its own colonies.

       And the majority of them was quite successfully done under Elisabeth I.

      Elisabeth I was the last Tudor monarch, and when she died in 1603, the English Parliament accepted James as their king. But they were not yet ready for political union with such a poor ans unsettled country as Scotland.