All experts in the history of the Second World War know the story of the English cruiser Edinburgh, which transported approximately 5.5 tons of gold in 1942. Nowadays it is often written that this was payment for Len-Lease supplies for which the USSR supposedly paid in gold.

Any unbiased specialist dealing with this issue knows that gold was paid only for pre-Lend-Lease deliveries of 1941, and for other years deliveries were not subject to payment.

The USSR paid in gold for supplies before the conclusion of the Lend-Lease agreement, as well as for goods and materials purchased from allies other than Lend-Lease.

On Edinburgh there were 465 gold bars with a total weight of 5536 kilograms, loaded in Murmansk in April 1942 and they were payment by the Soviet Union to England for weapons supplied in excess of the list stipulated in the Lend-Lease agreement.

But this gold did not reach England either. The cruiser Edinburgh was damaged and scuttled. A, Soviet Union, even during the war years, received insurance in the amount of 32.32% of the value of gold, paid by the British War Risk Insurance Bureau. By the way, all the gold transported, the notorious 5.5 tons, at prices of that time cost just over 100 million dollars. For comparison, the total cost of goods delivered to the USSR under Lend-Lease is $11.3 billion.

However, this was not the end of Edinburgh's gold story. In 1981, the English treasure hunting company Jesson Marine Recovery entered into an agreement with the authorities of the USSR and Great Britain on the search and recovery of gold. "Edinburgh" lay at a depth of 250 meters. In the most difficult conditions, the divers managed to lift 5129 kg. According to the agreement, 2/3 of the gold was received by the USSR. Thus, not only was the gold transported by Edinburgh not a payment for Lend-Lease and that this gold never reached the allies, but a third of its value was reimbursed to the USSR during the war years , so, another forty years later, when this gold was raised, most of it was returned to the USSR.

Let us repeat once again, the USSR did not pay in gold for deliveries under Lend-Lease in 1942, since the Lend-Lease agreement stipulated that material and technical assistance would be supplied to the Soviet side with a deferred payment or even free of charge.

The USSR was subject to the US Lend-Lease law based on the following principles:
- all payments for supplied materials are made after the end of the war
- materials that will be destroyed are not subject to any payment
- materials that will remain suitable for civilian needs,
paid no earlier than 5 years after the end of the war, in order
providing long-term loans
- the US share in Lend-Lease was 96.4%.

Supplies from the USA to the USSR can be divided into the following stages:
Pre-Lend-Lease - from June 22, 1941 to September 30, 1941 (paid in gold)
First Protocol - from October 1, 1941 to June 30, 1942 (signed October 1, 1941)
Second Protocol - from July 1, 1942 to June 30, 1943 (signed October 6, 1942)
Third Protocol - from July 1, 1943 to June 30, 1944 (signed October 19, 1943)
The fourth protocol - from July 1, 1944, (signed on April 17, 1944), formally
ended on May 12, 1945, but deliveries were extended until the end of the war
with Japan, which the USSR pledged to join 90 days after the end
war in Europe (that is, August 8, 1945).

Many people know the story of Edinburgh, but few know the story of another British cruiser, the Emerald. But this cruiser had to carry gold in volumes incomparably larger than the Edinburgh. Only on its first voyage to Canada in 1939, the Emerald transported a cargo of 650 million dollars in gold and securities, and it had several such voyages.

The beginning of the Second World War was extremely unsuccessful for England, and after the evacuation of troops from the Continent, the fate of the island depended on the fleet and aviation, since only they could prevent a possible landing of the Germans. At the same time, in the event of the fall of England, Churchill's government planned to move to Canada and from here continue the fight against Germany. For this purpose, the English gold reserves were transported to Canada, a total of about 1,500 tons of gold and about 300 billion dollars in securities and currencies at modern prices.

Among this gold there was also part of the gold of the former Russian Empire. How this gold got to England, and then to Canada, few people know.

Before the First World War, Russia's gold reserves were the largest in the world and amounted to 1 billion 695 million rubles (1311 tons of gold). At the beginning of the First World War, significant amounts of gold were sent to England as a guarantee for war loans. In 1914, 75 million rubles in gold (8 million pounds) were sent through Arkhangelsk to London. On the way, the ships of the convoy (the cruiser Drake and the transport Mantois) were damaged by mines and this route was considered dangerous. In 1915-1916, 375 million rubles in gold (40 million pounds) were sent by railway to Vladivostok, and then transported on Japanese warships to Canada and placed in the vaults of the Bank of England in Ottawa. In February 1917, another 187 million rubles in gold (20 million pounds) were sent the same way through Vladivostok. These amounts of gold became a guarantee of British loans to Russia for the purchase of military equipment in the amount of 300 and 150 million pounds sterling, respectively. It is known that from the beginning of the war until October 1917, Russia transferred a total of 498 tons of gold to the Bank of England; 58 tons were soon sold, and the remaining 440 tons were kept in the Bank of England vaults as collateral for loans.

In addition, part of the gold paid by the Bolsheviks to the Germans after the conclusion of the Brest-Litovsk Peace Treaty in 1918 also ended up in England. Representatives of Soviet Russia pledged to send 250 tons of gold to Germany as indemnity and managed to send two trains with 98 tons of gold. After the surrender of Germany, all this gold went to the victorious countries of France, England and the USA as an indemnity.

With the outbreak of the Second World War, already in September 1939, the British government decided that deposit holders holding securities in British banks must declare them to the Royal Treasury. In addition, all deposits of individuals and legal entities from countries adversaries of Great Britain and countries occupied by Germany and its allies were frozen.

Even before the operation of transporting the Bank of England's valuables to Canada, millions of pounds in gold and securities were transferred to purchase weapons from the Americans.

One of the first ships to transport these valuables was the cruiser Emerald under the command of Augustus Willington Shelton Agar. On 3 October 1939, HMS Emerald anchored in Plymouth, England, where Agar received orders to proceed to Halifax in Canada.

On October 7, 1939, the cruiser sailed from Plymouth with gold bullion from the Bank of England bound for Montreal. As this voyage was a closely guarded secret, the crew wore tropical white uniforms to confuse German agents. As an escort, Emerald was accompanied by the battleships HMS Revenge and HMS Resolution, and the cruisers HMS Enterprise and HMS Caradoc.

Fearing a German landing in England, Churchill's government developed a plan to allow Britain to continue the war even if the island was captured. To achieve this, all gold reserves and securities were transported to Canada. Using its wartime powers, Churchill's government confiscated all securities held by banks in England and, under cover of secrecy, moved them to the port of Greenock in Scotland.

Within ten days, recalled one of the participants in this operation, all the deposits selected for transfer in the banks of the United Kingdom were collected, folded into thousands of boxes the size of orange crates and taken to regional collection centers. All this was wealth brought to Great Britain by generations of its traders and sailors. Now, together with the accumulated tons of gold of the British Empire, they had to cross the ocean.

The cruiser Emerald, now commanded by Captain Francis Cyrille Flynn, was again chosen to transport the first batch of secret cargo; on June 24, it was supposed to leave Greenock harbor in Scotland.

On June 23, four of the best specialists in the field left London by train for Glasgow. financial matters from the Bank of England with Alexander Craig at its head. Meanwhile, a heavily guarded special train brought the last shipment of gold and securities to Greenock for loading onto a cruiser docked in Clyde Bay. During the night, the destroyer Kossak arrived to join the Emerald's escort.

By six o'clock in the evening on the 24th, the cruiser was loaded with valuables like no other ship before it. His artillery magazines were filled with 2,229 heavy boxes, each containing four gold bars. (The load of gold turned out to be so heavy that at the end of the voyage, the corners of the floors of these cellars were found bent.) There were also boxes of securities, there were 488 of them, totaling more than 400 million dollars.

Thus, already in the first transportation there were valuables worth more than half a billion dollars. The ship left port on June 24, 1940 and, accompanied by several destroyers, sailed for Canada.

The weather was not very favorable for swimming. As the storm intensified, the speed of the escort destroyers began to drop, and Captain Vaillant, in command of the escort, signaled Captain Flynn to go in an anti-submarine zigzag so that the Emerald would maintain its higher and, therefore, safer speed. But the ocean raged more and more, and in the end the destroyers fell so far behind that Captain Flynn decided to continue sailing alone. On the fourth day the weather improved, and soon, on July 1, somewhere after 5 a.m., the shores of Nova Scotia appeared on the horizon. Now, in calm water, the Emerald sailed towards Halifax, making 28 knots, and at 7.35 on July 1, it safely docked.

In Halifax, the cargo was transferred to a special train, which was already waiting on the railway line approaching the dock. Representatives of the Canadian Bank and the Canadian National Express railway company were also present. Before unloading began, extraordinary precautions were taken and the pier was carefully sealed off. Each box, when removed from the cruiser, was registered as delivered, and then entered into the list when loaded into the carriage, and all this happened at an accelerated pace. At seven o'clock in the evening the train with the gold departed.

On July 2, 1940, at 5 p.m., the train arrived at Bonaventure station in Montreal. In Montreal, the cars with securities were uncoupled, and the gold moved on to Ottawa. On the platform, the cargo was met by David Mansour, acting manager of the Canadian Bank, and Sidney Perkins from the exchange control department. Both of these people were aware that the train was carrying a secret cargo codenamed "Fish". But only Mansur knew that they were about to take part in the largest financial transaction ever carried out by states in peace or war.
As soon as the train stopped, armed guards came out of the carriages and surrounded it. Mansur and Perkins were led into one of the carriages, where a thin, short man with glasses - Alexander Craig from the Bank of England - was waiting for them, accompanied by three assistants.

Now the valuables became their responsibility, and they had to put these thousands of packages somewhere. David Mansur has already figured out where.
The 24-story granite building of the Sun Life insurance company, which occupied an entire block in Montreal, was the most convenient for these purposes. It had three underground floors, and the lowest of them in wartime was supposed to be allocated for the storage of valuables like this “Valuable Deposit” papers of the United Kingdom,” as it was called.

Shortly after 1 a.m., as traffic died down on Montreal streets, police cordoned off several blocks between the marshalling yard and Sun Life. After this, trucks began to circulate between the cars and the rear entrance to the building, escorted by armed Canadian National Express guards. When the last box was in its place - which was duly recorded - the deposit officer, Craig, on behalf of the Bank of England, took from David Mansour a receipt on behalf of the Bank of Canada.

Now it was necessary to quickly equip a reliable storage facility. But making a chamber 60 feet long and wide and 11 feet high required enormous amounts of steel. Where can I get it in wartime? Someone remembered an unused, abandoned railroad line whose two miles of track had 870 rails. It was from these that the walls and ceiling, three feet thick, were made. Ultra-sensitive microphones of sound-collecting devices were installed in the ceiling, recording even the faintest clicks of drawers being pulled out of the iron cabinet. In order to open the vault doors, it was necessary to dial two different digital combinations on the locking device. Two bank employees were given one combination, two others were given a second. “Another combination was unknown to me,” one of them recalled, “and every time it was necessary to enter the cell, we had to gather in pairs.”

The Emerald's voyage was only the first in a series of "golden" transatlantic crossings of British ships. On July 8, five ships left British ports carrying the largest combined cargo of valuables ever transported by water or land. At midnight, the battleship Ravenge and the cruiser Bonaventure left Clyde Bay. At dawn, they were joined in the North Channel by three former liners: Monarch of Bermuda, Sobieski and Batory (the latter two were Free Poland ships). The escort consisted of four destroyers. This convoy, commanded by Admiral Sir Ernest Russell Archer, was carrying approximately $773 million worth of gold bullion and 229 boxes of securities with a total value of approximately $1,750,000,000.

Throughout the crossing of the Atlantic, eight 15-inch and twelve 6-inch guns and batteries of 4-inch anti-aircraft guns were in constant combat readiness. On July 13, the first three ships entered Halifax harbor. Soon after this, Bonaventure appeared, and then Batory. Five special trains were required to transport the gold bullion to Ottawa. The load was so heavy that no more than 200 boxes were stacked in each carriage so that the floor could support it. Each train carried from 10 to 14 such freight cars. Each carriage was locked with two guards who replaced each other every four hours.

All this gold was transported without insurance. Who could or would even want to insure hundreds of millions of dollars worth of bullion, especially in wartime? The gold cargo delivered by the Ravenge convoy led to another record: the expenses of the Canadian National Express for its transportation turned out to be the highest in its history - something like a million dollars.

In Ottawa, the Canadian National Railroad arranged for special trains to arrive so that they could unload and transport the gold to the Canada Bank on Wellington Street at night. Who would have thought just recently that this five-story bank building, just 140 feet high, would become like Fort Knox, the largest repository of valuables in the world? For three days, the cargo of the Ravenge convoy poured into a golden stream into the bank's vault, which measured 60 by 100 feet. The trucks were unloaded, and the 27-pound pigs, like large bars of yellow soap in wire wrappers, were neatly stacked in the vault, row by row, layer by layer, into a huge, ceiling-high stack of tens of thousands of heavy gold bars.
During the three summer months, three dozen cargoes of securities arrived in Montreal by rail.

Almost 900 four-door cabinets were required to accommodate all the certificates. The valuables hidden underground were guarded around the clock by 24 police officers, who ate and slept there.

A spacious, high room next to a vault filled with securities was equipped as an office for working with deposits. Mansour brought in 120 people - former bank employees, specialists from brokerage firms and stenographers from investment banks - who were sworn to secrecy.

The office was certainly exceptional. There was only one elevator leading down to the third floor, and each employee had to present a special pass (which changed every month) - first before entering it, and then below - to the guards from the Mounted Police and sign for their arrival and departure daily. The guards' desks had buttons that triggered alarms directly at the Montreal and Royal Canadian Mounted Police departments, as well as at the Dominion Electrical Protection Service. Throughout the summer, during which the total number of boxes of securities reached almost two thousand, Craig's employees worked ten hours every day with one day off per week. All these securities, belonging to thousands of different owners, had to be unpacked, disassembled and sorted. As a result, it was established that there were approximately two thousand different types stocks and bonds, including all separately listed shares of high dividend paying companies. By September, deposit man Craig, who knew everything he was supposed to have, knew that he did have it all. Each certificate was recorded and entered into the card index.

Gold, like securities, arrived continuously. As documents available at the Admiralty show, between June and August, British ships (along with several Canadian and Polish ones) transported more than $2,556,000,000 worth of gold to Canada and the United States.

In total, more than 1,500 tons of gold were transported during Operation Fish, and taking into account the gold received by England from Russia during the First World War, every third gold bar stored in Ottawa was of Russian origin.
In modern gold prices, the smuggled treasure corresponds to approximately $230 billion dollars, and the value of the securities stored in the Sun Life building is estimated at more than $300 billion in modern prices.

Despite the fact that thousands of people were involved in the transport, the Axis intelligence services never learned about this operation. This speaks volumes incredible fact that during these three months during which transportation was carried out, 134 allied and neutral ships were sunk in the North Atlantic - and not one of them was carrying a gold cargo.

Countries such as Germany-occupied Belgium, Holland, France, Norway and Poland stored their gold in Canada.

According to information published by the Central Bank of Canada on November 27, 1997, a total of 2,586 tons of gold were sent to Canada for storage by various states and individuals during the Second World War, between 1938 and 1945.

It is interesting that at present, Canada has generally sold all of its gold reserves, and not at all due to an emergency need for money.

For many decades, Canada has been among the top ten countries with the highest standard of living and was even in first place. The government explained this step by saying that the liquidity of securities is much higher than gold and gold has long been no longer a guarantor of the stability of the national currency, since The volumes of gold reserves, in monetary terms, even the most significant ones, constitute only an insignificant share in the total volume of circulating money supply in the commodity turnover of developed countries.

Henry VIII and church reforms. Episcopal Church. Maria Tudor. Ezebeth and Mary Stuart. Reformation in Scotland. The fate of Mary Stuart. Shakespeare and Bacon. The 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. James II. William III. Culture of England. Manners. Milton. Newton

HENRY VIII AND CHURCH REFORM

Henry (1485-1509), the first king of the Tudor family, 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 resign itself under his firm rule. By his frugality and confiscations of the property of guilty nobles, Henry accumulated significant sums, so that he did not need new taxes, which required the consent of Parliament; therefore, the parliament itself met quite rarely under him. Thus, he left to his son Henry royal power, strengthened to a degree that it had not reached in England for a long time. Henry VIII (1509-1547), distinguished by his handsome appearance and friendly manner, acquired sincere popular favor in the first years of his reign. He also showed himself at the beginning of his reign to be 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 “Defender of the Faith.” But then Henry himself carried out 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. Previously, she was married to his older brother; and when the latter died, Henry inherited the throne and with him Catherine’s hand. For about twenty years they lived peacefully. Meanwhile, Catherine grew older and became even more devout than before; Henry, on the contrary, loved an absent-minded lifestyle and pleasures. He took a liking to the lively, lovely Anne Boleyn, the queen's maid of honor. And then he remembered that his marriage to Catherine was illegal according to the rules of the Church, since she was previously his brother’s wife. Henry began to seek a divorce in Rome. But Pope Clement VII, fearing to offend the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, nephew of Catherine of Aragon, hesitated to make a decision. Then Henry VIII voluntarily divorced Catherine and married Anne Boleyn (1532). At the same time, with the consent of parliament, he declared the Anglican Church independent of the pope, and himself as its head. The pope wrote to him about excommunication, but the message had no effect; Henry responded to the papal curses by destroying Catholic monasteries, the enormous wealth and lands of which he took away for his own benefit or distributed to the courtiers.

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

In Europe, and among the people, various opinions that disagreed with Catholicism have long been spreading (for example, the teachings of Wycliffe and the ideas of humanists).

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

The death of Henry VIII, as might be expected, brought troubled times for England. His son from his third wife, Jenny Seymour, the 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 executing Protestants; her marriage to Philip II of Spain involved England in a 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 STEWART

The second daughter of Henry VIII (from Anne Boleyn) Yeshaeta / Tudor (1558-1603) ascended the throne. Almost rejected by her father (after the execution of her mother), Elizabeth spent most of her youth in solitude and deprivation; During this time, she learned to be firm and thrifty, and developed her mind by reading books. Elizabeth knew how to choose her assistants - talented statesmen; William Cecil, who received the title of Lord Burghley, was her first minister for forty years. But she did not give much power to her favorites and knew how to protect her sovereign rights. (The Earl of Leicester enjoyed her greatest favor.) She achieved the final establishment of the Anglican Church, like her own father, equally crowding out both Catholics and "dissidents" (that is, Protestants not belonging to the Episcopal Church). England during her time achieved prosperity in industry and trade. Many Dutch, fleeing the religious persecution of Philip II, settled in England and contributed to the improvement of local manufactures (especially linen, woolen and metal products).The English maritime trade spread to almost all famous seas. English sailors made a number of glorious expeditions, finding new routes and founding colonies (Forbisher, John Davis, 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 his queen, since Elizabeth forever refused marriage and was considered a maiden (virgo in Latin).

The relationship between Elizabeth I and the Scottish Queen Mary Stuart became the property of the theater stage.

Mary Stuart remained a child after the death of her father, James V; her mother, having become the ruler of the state, sent Maria to the French court, in the care of her Guise brothers. Here she received a brilliant upbringing for that time. Maria loved poetry, composed poems herself, spoke several languages, including Latin, among other things, her beauty, grace and liveliness of character did not leave anyone around her indifferent. She became the wife of Francis II; but, as is known, he reigned for just 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 most happy years, was touching. For five whole hours the queen remained on the ship’s deck, leaning on 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 a bed to be made for herself in the same place. When dawn broke, the shores of France were still visible on the horizon, Maria exclaimed: “Adieu chere France!” je ne vous verrai jamais plus!” - “Farewell, beautiful France!”

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

Brought up a devoted Catholic, Mary saw her calling in the fight against the Reformation, which took hold in Scotland during her mother's short regency. The Scottish nobility was one of the most rebellious; it constantly came into conflict with the royal power for its feudal rights; Most of the nobles accepted Protestantism, which spread here in the form of stern Calvinism, which was more suitable to the Scottish character than other teachings. The main preacher of the Reformation was the brave, eloquent John //oke, a student of Calvin. Scottish Protestants constituted the so-called Presbyterian Church, because they recognized only one clergy - priest (presbyter); the strictest 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 Mary Stuart arrived in Scotland.

The "invincible armada", equipped by Philip II the following year, was supposed to take revenge on Elizabeth both for helping the Dutch Protestants and for the death of Mary Stuart. The Armada was defeated swipe the power of the Spaniards at sea; England has since begun to acquire the status of the first maritime power. Elizabeth's last years were poisoned by the execution of her favorite, the Earl of Essex. This young nobleman began to abuse the queen’s trust, clearly disobeyed her and even started a rebellion, for which he laid his head on the chopping block. Elizabeth was distinguished by great frugality and therefore depended little 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 influence on the people.

SHAKESPEARE AND BACON

The revival of sciences and arts in Italy spread to England. The study of ancient languages ​​has become such a fashion that here, as in France, many ladies upper circle they spoke Latin and even Greek. At the same time, the emergence 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 traveling actors.) During her time, the great William Shakespeare (1564-1616) also lived. He was born in Strafford-on-Avon, the son of a craftsman. In his youth, Shakespeare did not avoid 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; The plays were a success and earned him the favor of the queen and nobles. His main patron was the Earl of Southampton (a friend of the unfortunate Earl of Essex). IN last years 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 legends. His brilliant art of revealing the most intimate movements of the human soul and depicting the development of any passion received worldwide recognition. In Macbeth we see how ambition and the desire for power little by little lead the hero to terrible crimes. Othello presents the gradual development of jealousy, which completely blinds the hero and ends with the murder of his innocent wife. In Hamlet he portrays a man who is 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 are replete with bloody scenes; this corresponded to the taste of his contemporaries, when morals were still quite rude and spectators 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 (U56-1626). He is considered the father of the so-called experimental (empirical) philosophy, which recognizes the only way to achieve truth through observation of nature and the study of reality. Bacon's scientific achievements brought him deep respect from his contemporaries; Elizabeth's successor elevated him to the rank of state chancellor. But for all his talents and information, 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 justice in England. The commission reported that there was no truth in the English courts, that justice could be bought, and that the main promoter of abuses was the Chancellor himself. Above Bacon

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

THE GREAT ENGLISH REVOLUTION

With the death of Elizabeth I, the Tudor dynasty ended. She appointed Mary Stuart's son, James, as her successor, who thus peacefully united both neighboring states, England and Scotland, under one crown. Jacob /(1603-1625) was a sovereign of a narrow mind, timid character, and yet claiming the most unlimited royal power. 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 expectations of James as a king, brought up in Scotland, where Puritanism reigned. He proved himself a zealous champion of the Episcopal Church, persecuted the Puritans as well as the Catholics, and even tried to introduce the Episcopal Church into Scotland itself. At the same time, with his extravagance and desire for unlimited power, Jacob antagonized the English parliament. Only the death of the king extinguished the discontent that was already beginning to flare up among the people.

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

The Scots were the first to rebel against the king, among whom he tried to introduce Episcopalian worship. Then in Ireland, oppressed by the British, Catholic indignation broke out. In order to obtain funds for the maintenance of troops, Charles was forced to convene parliament again. But this parliament began to act decisively. Relying on the London common people, Parliament seized supreme power into its own hands 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 all his loyal vassals under his banner (1642). He was joined by most of the noble nobility, who looked with displeasure at the claims of the townspeople and feared for their privileges. The royal party, or royalists, were called the Cavaliers, and the parliamentary party - the Roundheads (due to their 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 Charles was unable to take advantage of the first successes. Meanwhile, the parliamentary troops, consisting mainly of townspeople and minor nobility, gradually strengthened, gaining experience in military affairs. Victory finally went to the side of parliament when independents became the head of its army. (This was the name of a Protestant sect that did not recognize any clergy and strove for a republican form of government.) The leader of the Independents was Cromwell.

CROMWELL

Oliver Cromwell (1599-1658) came from a humble noble family; he spent his youth stormily, indulging in all sorts of excesses. But then a change occurred in him: he became pious, began to lead a moderate lifestyle and became a good father of the family. Having been elected to the lower house, Cromwell did not distinguish himself as an orator; his voice was hoarse and monotonous, his speech drawn out and confused, his facial features were rough, and he dressed casually. But under this unattractive appearance hid the talent of an organizer and an iron will. During the internecine war, he received permission from parliament to recruit his own special cavalry regiment. Cromwell realized that the bravery of the cavaliers and their sense of honor could only be countered by religious inspiration. He recruited his detachment mainly from pious people, strong in 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, Cro\twell has attracted everyone's attention. Charles I was defeated again (under Nasby) and, dressed in peasant dress, fled to Scotland. But the Scots gave it to the British for 400,000 pounds sterling. 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 in last minutes true courage - his death produced a deep

impressed the people and aroused regret in many.

England was declared a republic, but in essence 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 remainder of it, or the so-called rultfparlamenpg) did not want to completely obey the protector, Cromwell appeared one day 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, of independents, who spent a significant part of the meetings in prayers and in their speeches constantly inserted texts from Old Testament. Cromwell's military actions were accompanied by constant success. He pacified the uprising of the Irish and Scots in 1649-1652 (who called Charles II, the 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 accept the Navigation Act (1654). Thus, England regained the glory of the first maritime power, which it acquired under Elizabeth I and lost under the Stuarts.

Under Cromwell, the internal government of the country was characterized by activity and strict order. Everyone was afraid of him, but did not love him. The most determined republicans openly complained of his despotism; and when they noticed his desire to appropriate the royal title to himself, they organized assassination attempts on him. Although these attempts were unsuccessful, they served main reason his death. Cromwell became very restless, was 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 the same way. Constant stress led him to a debilitating fever, from which he died (1658).

THE LAST STEWARTS AND THE REVOLUTION OF 1688

The people, tired of long unrest, longed for peace. Therefore, the royalist party soon gained the upper hand over the other parties with the help of old General Monck. The new parliament, convened thanks to his influence, entered into communication with Charles II, who then lived in Holland, and finally solemnly proclaimed him king. Thus the Great English Revolution ended with the Stuart restoration.

Charles //(1660-1685) was greeted with enthusiasm in England, but did not live up to the hopes placed on him by the state. He was frivolous, indulged in pleasure, leaned towards Catholicism and surrounded himself with bad advisers. During his reign, the struggle between parliament and royal power resumed. At that time, two main political parties: Tories and Whigs, who continued the division that had already arisen in the country into cavaliers and roundheads. The Tories stood for monarchical power; part of the aristocracy and most of the rural nobles belonged to them. And the Whigs defended people's rights and tried to limit the power of the king in favor of parliament; on their side were the other 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, during this reign a famous law was issued that established the personal integrity 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 he 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 introduced 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 was then living 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 failed. Monmouth was defeated and captured; In vain did this handsome, brilliant prince on his knees ask for mercy from the king - he laid his head on the scaffold. Jacob opened extraordinary courts to punish everyone involved in the uprising. Chief Judge Jeffreys, who with his executioners traveled around England and carried out executions on the spot, was particularly ferocious. As a reward for such zeal, Jacob made him great chancellor. Thinking that the people were completely frightened by these measures, he began to clearly strive to establish unlimited royal power and restore Catholicism in England: contrary to previous statutes, government positions 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 had to pass to his eldest daughter Mary or, in fact, to her husband, the Dutch stadtholder William of Orange, a zealous Protestant. And suddenly the news spread that King James had a son, who immediately after his birth received the title of Duke of Wales, or heir to the throne; there was no doubt that he would be raised Catholic. Discontent in the country increased to an extreme degree. The Whig leaders, 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. Yakov was left alone; the army also betrayed him, even his other daughter, Anna, with her husband, the Danish prince, sided with her sister. Yakov completely lost his head and abandoned

state seal into the Thames and, in disguise, fled from 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 the people during the revolution, namely: the king promised to convene parliament periodically, at certain times, not to keep standing troops in Peaceful time, do not collect taxes not approved by parliament.

Thus the Stuart dynasty was overthrown forever. This coup is known as the Revolution of 168S; however, it was peaceful in nature, because it was accomplished without the shedding of blood. From that time on, a new period in English history began, the period of constitutional, or parliamentary, government. William III (1688-1702) faithfully fulfilled the terms he signed; therefore, despite his unattractive manners and dry, unsociable character, he managed to acquire the devotion of the people. Among the Tories, for a long time there were so-called Jacobites who did not give up hope for 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 prolonged unrest. The Long Parliament, composed predominantly of Puritans, prescribed Puritan customs and even banned theatrical performances. The Republican monotony in the way of life and the lack of entertainment bored the English, and when the Stuart restoration took place, the desire for pleasure was revealed with particular force. Theaters were reopened, but instead of Shakespeare, the British turned to French models and their shortcomings were carried to the extreme. Theatrical performances, especially comedies, went beyond all limits of decency and fell into crude cynicism, although female roles at this time for the first time in England began to be played 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 when 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 a majestic religious poem “ Lost heaven”, the content of which was the biblical story about the fall of the first people. The poem appeared during the Stuart restoration, 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 (elegy, satire, epigram), opening new paths of English Baroque poetry, did not leave his contemporaries indifferent.

Most scientists and thinkers followed Bacon's predominantly practical direction, that is, experiments and observations of the external world came to the fore; This direction greatly contributed to the success of the natural sciences. The first place here belongs to Isaac Newton (1643-1727). He studied at Cambridge University, where he was later professor of mathematics, and became the founder of classical physics; William III made him head of the mint (he died at eighty-five years old, president of the Royal Society of London). Newton is credited with postcarding the law of universal gravitation. Tradition tells that one day an apple falling from a tree gave Newton the idea that all bodies gravitate towards the center of the Earth. (The same law explained the structure of the planetary system: smaller celestial bodies gravitate towards larger ones. The Moon towards the Earth, and the Earth and other planets towards the Sun.)

Of the other English thinkers who developed Bacon's ideas, John Locke deserves special mention. His main work is “An Essay on the Human Mind,” in which Locke proves that people do not have any innate concepts, but receive all their knowledge and concepts through external impressions, through experience and observation. At the same time, a school of philosophers known as deists (Shaftesbury, Bolin-gbrock) was formed in English literature: 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 notable. They deny church ceremonies and gather for prayer in a simple hall. Here the Quakers sit with their heads covered, their eyes cast down to the ground, and wait until one of them, a man or a woman, having received inspiration from above, preaches a sermon. If no one is inspired, they silently disperse. In ordinary life, Quakers are distinguished by strict, simple morals and a distance from secular pleasures (like German Mennonites).

Questions

1. What was the reason for the fall of Cromwell’s protectorate? Could it have survived if Cromwell had lived another 10-15 years?

Cromwell's protectorate fell due to the fact that people were dissatisfied with the police regime in the country and the omnipotence of the district governors. In addition, even Protestants began to be divided into right and wrong (for example, the Dutch were declared wrong Protestants). And almost any person could be classified as wrong at any moment. Also, the reason was in the personality of Richard Cromwell, who had too few supporters. Whenever Oliver Cromwell died, there would still be popular discontent, and Richard Cromwell would still be a weak politician.

2. What was the meaning of the Habeas Corpus Act? Was it beneficial to the whole of English society or some part of it?

In fact, he acted in the interests of all Englishmen, because he protected them from judicial arbitrariness. But he was accepted by the king’s opponents in order to protect themselves and their supporters.

3. Why did the English (as a whole) support William of Orange, but did not support the Duke of Monmouth? What distinguished (besides the formal grounds) these two attempts to seize the throne?

Firstly, by the time of the landing of William of Orange negative traits The reign of James II manifested itself longer and brighter. Secondly, the Duke of Monmouth had very dubious rights to the throne, while William of Orange's wife was from the Stuart family, and no one doubted this. Thirdly, the Duke of Monmouth landed with too few forces; most of the British simply did not have time to speak out for or against his power when the landing was defeated. And William of Orange brought with him large forces.

Too much time passed between the execution of Charles I and the Glorious Revolution. In addition, in 1688 completely different parties were operating in parliament. Therefore, it cannot be combined with the main revolution in England.

Tasks

1. The Act of Abolition of Royal Power (March 1649) stated: “... Usually every person, having such power, becomes interested in gradually narrowing the legal freedom and liberties of the people and promoting the strengthening of his personal will and power, placing it above the law...” Can these words be attributed to the soon-established dictatorship of Cromwell? Justify your answer.

These words fully refer to the absolute power of Cromwell. It was not for nothing that he dissolved parliament and established a police regime in the country - he was afraid of the indignation of the population.

2. One of the pamphlets of the Digger leader Winstanley said: “Private property is a curse, and this is clear from the fact that the landlords who buy and sell land got it either by oppression, or murder, or theft...” Do you agree with such a statement? Express your attitude towards private property and the idea of ​​its abolition. Is such abolition realistic in practice?

We cannot agree with this statement. Private property can be used for good, that’s why it is needed. There were attempts to abolish private property in the 20th century, but they did not lead to anything good. However, this was done much later by Winstanley, who could not know what the implementation of his demands would lead to.

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

In 1912, British navies from all over the world concentrate 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 increased the price for renting land, the peasants went bankrupt. The Liberal and Conservative governments in England took a number of measures to reduce land rent (part of which 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 people received land and became farmers.

The problem of political autonomy from Britain. The fight for the so-called “gom rudder”. For the first time, a bill on it was introduced at a parliamentary meeting in 1886. The initiator was the Liberal Party and Prime Minister W. Gladstone. According to the project:

It was envisaged to create a 2-chamber parliament in Dublin;

Transfer of some administrative functions into the hands of the Irish themselves. Armed forces, finance, foreign policy should concentrate in London.

The project failed because... Conservatives did not support him. At the rehearing in 1892, the project was also not adopted.

Irish organizations:

Irish League Home helm. Leader - Parnell. It was believed that Ireland needed to concentrate all its efforts in order to legally pass a bill of self-government for Ireland. The League waged a legal fight, actively promoting its ideas among Irish voters.

Irish Republican Brotherhood. They believed that only by armed means could Irish independence be achieved. Leader – Devit. It was actively financed from the United States (military instructors from America taught street fighting, organizing terrorist attacks, and provided weapons).

Schinfener (“Shin Fein” - ourselves). It was believed that Ireland should be independent, but should maintain close ties with Britain. The tactics of struggle are non-violent resistance: not paying taxes, recalling your representatives from the British Parliament, etc. force England to grant Ireland independence.

At the beginning of the twentieth century, another attempt was made to pass a Home Rule Bill. The people of Ulster became worried, believing that if Ireland were to gain home rule, their social status would be reduced.

In 1912, the Liberal Party introduced a bill on Irish self-government for a hearing in parliament for the third time (the conditions are the same). An open conflict arose between the Ulsters and the Irish. If Irish self-government were recognized, the Ulstermen threatened to declare a union with Britain. They formed their own armed forces. Germany actively helped the Ulsterers (aviation, artillery). Already in 1912, the inhabitants of Ulster had a well-armed army of 100 thousand. The people of Ireland created their own armed forces from among the volunteers. Ireland was on the brink of civil war.

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

Labor movement. In late Victorian times in England, more than 10 million workers and members of their families made up the bulk of the country's population. The financial situation of English workers in comparison with the standard of living of workers in other countries has always been higher. However, real wages that did not keep pace with the rising cost of living, long working days of 10 or more hours, and grueling intensification of labor - all this was a manifestation of the high degree of exploitation of hired workers. The life of the workers was marked by poverty, instability, and 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”, “a higher class”, “the labor aristocracy”) were 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: a shortened to 9 hours, and sometimes shorter working day, weekly wages - not the usual, like most workers (in on average 20 shillings), and 28 and even 40-50 shillings. However, the Great Depression significantly worsened the situation for all categories of workers. The main scourge of unemployment did not spare either highly paid or other workers.

Common forms of workers' organization in England were all kinds of economic societies - mutual aid funds, insurance and loan partnerships, and cooperatives. The most influential - organizationally and ideologically - remained trade unions, strictly centralized, narrowly professional powerful unions, as a rule, covering workers on a national scale. True trade unionists were apolitical, rejected all forms of struggle, even strikes, and 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), created in 1868, which has met annually at its conferences since then.

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

“New Unionism” significantly expanded the scope of the trade union movement: before it began, the number of trade union members was about 900 thousand; at the end of the century it reached almost 2 million workers. “New Unionism” opened a 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 protests 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 desperate unemployed people 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 meeting with force, and there were injuries. In the 90s, the unemployed spoke out under openly political and even revolutionary slogans: “Three cheers for the social revolution!”, “Socialism is a threat to the rich and hope for the poor!”

Workers' strikes then became a constant factor in English life. The year 1889 was marked by numerous persistent strikes, especially those organized by new trade unions: strikes of match production workers, workers of gas enterprises, the powerful so-called The Great Dockers' Strike in London. The demands of the “great dockers' strike” were modest: payment not lower than that indicated here, hiring for at least 4 hours, abandonment of the contract system. The number of its participants reached about 100 thousand people. The main result is that the strike gave impetus to the movement of new unionism.

The strike movement grew in breadth, involving new groups of workers. In the first half of the 70s, the so-called “revolt of the fields” took place - a mass uprising of the rural proletariat. Women's participation in the strike movement became the norm.

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

As a result of mass worker activism, laws “On the Regulation of Coal Mines” and “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 of 1875, 1880, 1893 established the entrepreneur's liability for industrial injuries. In 1887, the payment of wages in goods was legally prohibited.

The desire of the proletariat to achieve political goals found its manifestation in the struggle for the election of workers' deputies to parliament. Starting with the electoral reform of 1867, it led to the creation of the Labor Representation League and the Parliamentary Committee (1869) as the executive body of the TUC. The struggle intensified in the 70s, and in the elections of 1874 two workers' deputies were elected. However, the labor parliamentarians did not become policymakers in the interests of their “own workers’ party,” but actually took the position of the left wing of the liberal faction.

In the elections of 1892, three workers entered parliament. They declared themselves independent deputies for the first time, but only one of them, J. Keir Hardy, remained faithful to the interests of his class, without turning into a “labor liberal.”

The struggle of the English in the workers V the beginning of the twentieth century. V. strengthened and acquired a more pronounced political character. At the same time, the new rise of the labor movement was based on economic reasons: the frequent crisis state of the country’s economy and the invariable accompanying it; unemployment, high degree of exploitation V conditions for the establishment of monopoly capitalism.

Wave of workers' protest V the form of strikes has already been indicated V the first years of the century. In 1906-1914. The strike struggle, the “great unrest”, as defined by contemporaries, was more powerful in England than in any Western country. 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 residence qualification deprived the right to vote V 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 action than before. On the eve of world war V their ranks numbered more than 4 million members. The reaction of entrepreneurs to the energetic activities of trade unions was immediate. The offensive against trade unions was most eloquently demonstrated by the organization of trials against them.

"The Taff Valley Case" (1900-1906) arose in connection with a strike of railway workers in South Wales (workers demanded that dismissed comrades be reinstated, shift lengths shortened and wages increased). The owners of the railroad company filed a lawsuit against the workers, demanding compensation for losses caused to them during the strike, but in fact with the goal of limiting the rights of workers to strike and organize trade unions. The highest court - the House of Lords - supported the claim of the entrepreneurs. The Lords' decision created a precedent that applied to all trade unions. The bourgeois press launched a campaign against the “aggressiveness” of the trade unions as a “national mafia.” The event stirred up all working-class England against legal oppression of trade unions. It took more than six years of struggle to return the trade unions to their rights to full-fledged activity within the framework of the law and to conduct strikes.

This was followed by the Osborne Trial. William Osborne, a member of the Amalgamated Railway Employees' Society, sued his trade union to prevent the union from collecting contributions to a political party (meaning the Labor Party). The House of Lords in 1909 decided against the trade union in favor of Osborne. This decision seriously limited the rights of trade unions. It prohibited trade unions from contributing funds to the party and engaging in political activities. The legal battle and the workers' struggle in response lasted for five years. The Trade Union Law of 1913 confirmed, although with great reservations, the right of trade union organizations to engage in political activities.

An event of great significance in the history of the British labor movement was formation of the Labor Party. In 1900, at a conference in London, workers' and socialist organizations founded the Labor Representation Committee (WRC) to seek "means of getting a larger number of workers' deputies into the next Parliament." Its founders and members were the majority of trade unions, the Fabian Society, the Independent Labor Party, and the Social Democratic Federation.

In 1906 the Committee 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 special feature of the party's organizational structure was that it was formed on the basis of collective membership. The participation of trade unions in its composition ensured the mass base of the party. By 1910 it had almost 1.5 million members. The highest body of the party was the annual national conference, which elected the executive committee. His main activity was the leadership of election campaigns and local party organizations. The party gained prominence after being largely responsible for the overturning of the Taff Valley decision.

Socialist movement. Attention to socialism in England intensified at the turn of the 70s and 80s, 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 shares the ideas of Marx. It united intellectuals and workers close to Marxism, anarchists. It was headed by lawyer and journalist Henry Gaidman. The SDF was expecting a revolution and believed that society was already ready for it. They underestimated organizing, trade unions, and rejected reform. The attempt to enter the English Parliament failed because... Gaidman asked conservatives for money for his election campaign. This put 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 separated from the SDF, forming the Socialist League. She adhered to internationalism and condemned the colonial expansion of England. The League rejected parliamentary activities and began promoting “pure and honest socialism.”

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

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

The results of Britain's participation 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 remind that the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact of 1939 actually gave the Germans a free hand. military vehicle. At the same time, the Munich Agreement, signed by England together with France, Italy and Germany a year earlier, is being ignored in Foggy Albion. The result of this conspiracy was the division of Czechoslovakia, which, according to many researchers, was the prelude to World War II.

Historians believe that Britain had high hopes for diplomacy, with the help of which it hoped to rebuild the Versailles system in crisis, although already in 1938 many politicians warned the peacemakers: “concessions to Germany will only embolden the aggressor!”

Returning to London on the plane, Chamberlain said: “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 chose dishonor and will get war.”

"Strange War"

On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland. On the same day, Chamberlain's 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 will join it.

By mid-October, the British transported four divisions to the continent and took 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 scattering propaganda leaflets appealing to the morality of the Germans.

In the following months, six more British divisions arrived in France, but neither the British nor the French were in a hurry to take active action. This is how the “strange war” was waged. Chief of the British General Staff Edmund Ironside described the situation as follows: “passive waiting with all the worries and anxieties that follow from this.”

French writer Roland Dorgeles 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.”

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Historians have no doubt that the “Phantom War” is explained by 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 immediately launched an invasion of the USSR after the Polish campaign, the Allies could support Hitler.

Miracle at Dunkirk

On May 10, 1940, according to Plan Gelb, 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 enemy’s forces. As soon as German troops took control of Boulogne and Calais, he decided to evacuate parts of the British Expeditionary Force that were trapped in the cauldron at Dunkirk, and with them the remnants of the French and Belgian divisions. 693 British and about 250 French ships under the command of English Rear Admiral Bertram Ramsay planned to transport about 350,000 coalition troops across the English Channel.

Military experts had little faith in the success of the operation under the sonorous name “Dynamo”. Vanguard Guderian's 19th Panzer Corps 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 bank almost without interference.

Hitler unexpectedly stopped the advance of the German troops. Guderian called this decision purely political. Historians differ in their assessment of the controversial episode of the war. Some believe that the Fuhrer wanted to save his strength, but others are confident in a secret agreement between the British and German governments.

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

Battle of Britain

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

On August 24, German aircraft carried out their first bombing attack on central London. According to some, it is wrong. The retaliatory attack was not long in coming. A day later, 81 RAF bombers flew to Berlin. No more than a dozen reached the target, but this was enough to infuriate Hitler. At a meeting of the German command in Holland, it was decided to unleash the full power of the Luftwaffe on the British Isles.

Within weeks, the skies over British cities turned into a boiling cauldron. Birmingham, Liverpool, Bristol, Cardiff, Coventry, Belfast got it. During the whole of August, at least 1,000 British citizens died. However, from mid-September the intensity of the bombing began to decrease, due to the effective counteraction of British fighter aircraft.

The Battle of Britain is better characterized by numbers. In total, 2,913 British Air Force aircraft and 4,549 Luftwaffe aircraft were involved in air battles. Historians estimate the losses of both sides at 1,547 Royal Air Force fighters and 1,887 German aircraft shot down.

Lady 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 Reich military command was skeptical about the landing operation. According to German generals, the strength of the German army lay precisely on land, and not at sea.

Military experts were confident that the British ground army was no stronger than the broken armed forces of France, and Germany had every chance of overpowering the United Kingdom's forces in a ground operation. The English military historian Liddell Hart noted that England managed to hold out 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 operational 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 seas, 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, having sunk 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, Admiral Erich Raeder, finally convinced him to abandon this idea.

Colonial interests

At the beginning of 1939, the British Chiefs of Staff Committee recognized the defense of Egypt with its Suez Canal as one of its strategically most important tasks. Hence the special attention of the Kingdom's armed forces 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, as a “shameful defeat” at Tobruk from Erwin Rommel’s Afrika Korps. And this despite the British having twice the superiority in strength and technology!

The British were able 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 the already familiar Rommel.

Churchill remarked about this battle: “Before El Alamein we did not win a single victory. We haven't suffered a single defeat since El Alamein." By May 1943, British and American troops forced the 250,000-strong Italian-German group in Tunisia to capitulate, 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 rehabilitate themselves for their shameful flight from the continent four years earlier. General leadership of the allies ground forces was entrusted to the experienced Montgomery. By the end of August, the total superiority of the Allies had crushed German resistance in France.