【Famous historian and sinologist Wei Sihan's masterpiece】
Wei Sihan was an influential historian and sinologist who studied under Fairbank and wrote several works on China. He is well accomplished in the study of Chinese culture and at the same time has made great achievements in the study of early modern history. "Global History of 1688" is his masterpiece, which not only reflects the author's profound learning, but also places it in a broad global vision, which can be called a model of the work of the great historical view.
[After publication, it caused strong repercussions, and the publication lasted for many years]
Once published, it topped the Los Angeles Times bestseller list, was named the bestseller of the year, and was reprinted in another edition, gaining wide acclaim in both academic circles and the popular market.
【Strongly recommended by Shi Jingqian, a famous historian and sinologist】
Shi Jingqian, a historian, sinologist and well-known to a wide range of Chinese readers, spoke highly of the book and wrote his own recommendation, saying that "this work is full of whimsy, depth and breadth, and amazingly allows the various elements to be integrated, but also shines with true insight."
[See Micro Knowledge, A Glimpse of the Face of the Early Modern World from the Historical Cross-Section of 1688]
The title of the book is "1688", but the narrative content is not limited to this short year, but takes the reader to fly over the continents and oceans while unfolding the picture of why the world formed this year, and what a person and a certain country will become in the future, how it will affect the direction of history, and gradually present the face of the world in the early modern period around 1688. Wei Sihan was familiar with the events that took place in many countries at that time, and when writing, he was familiar with it, swinging freely and his thoughts were flying; the text was like a flowing stream, making the reader feel as if he was immersed in the scene.
Trial Reading:
A family struggle, a glorious revolution
In the last two months of 1688, England staged a complex Baroque play improvised by two kings, with the nobles composing polyphonic music, the invading soldiers and the rioting Londoners singing together, and the press and publishing industry as an accompaniment. On 10 October of that year, William III, Prince of Orange, issued a statement stating his reasons for planning an invasion of England. The statement listed the "crimes and abuses" of James II's reign, arguing that this posed a serious threat to england's state religion, the Anglican Church, which was started by the king's "evil advisory board" and necessitated the convening of a free parliament. The statement also portrayed the infant Prince of Wales as a manipulated impostor, while William strenuously denied that he had any intention of seizing his father-in-law's throne. The statement was printed in 60,000 copies and was quickly disseminated in England through various channels. At the end of October, William, Prince of Orange, was ready to launch an invasion, and he assembled a powerful fleet and an army of at least 21,000 men in Brill, near Rotterdam. This army included elite soldiers who had fought against Louis XIV for many years and had been on the battlefield for a long time. In addition, William had a large number of cannons, sufficient logistical support, and countless horses. Such a position was extremely rare in the expeditionary forces of the 17th century.
On 30 October, the weather was fine and the fleet was in excellent condition on the long voyage, but soon encountered a fierce storm. The barrel fell off and rolled around on the deck. Of the 4,000 horses, 500 to 1,000 died. Some died of suffocation in the slat-enclosed cabin, while others died of turbulence in the storm and the skull shattered by the impact of the hull. The fleet was forced back to dutch ports and set off again on 12 November, with astonishing speed in its repairs. As for where the fleet will sail, no one can say for sure. Some of William's major allies are now in the north-east of England, which looks like a good landing site. But landing raids elsewhere would be more effective, and the people of the Northeast might be able to defend their lands themselves. On November 13, the fleet sailed over the Strait of Dover, the battle flags fluttering on board, and people crowded to the edge of the cliffs on both sides to watch. The "Protestant Winds" accelerated william's fleet while holding the English fleet back in port. Even if the English side could sail, it was only out of political dignity that it was slow to chase the invaders.
Too strong an easterly wind may have prevented the fleet from calling at a good harbour on the east coast of Devon, and was blown all the way to the enemy's heavily guarded Plymouth, but the wind reversed and the invaders soon anchored at Tor Bay. A local fisherman named Peter Varwell carried the skinny William ashore and left him to spend the night in his cramped, cramped house. This day is November 15, 1688 in the Continental European calendar, while according to the old calendar still in use in England is November 5, Guy Fawkes Day.
The first day ashore passed happily, with war drums beating and flags flying, and a local tavern owner smiling at the sight of the visitors. A few days later the troops reached the first town, Newton Abbot. Here, the invading forces rang the bell to gather the local population and read Prince William's statement in public. It was late autumn, the weather was cold, and it was raining again, and William's army was trekking through the muddy alleys of Devon every day. On 9 November, they beat the drums, waved their flags, and formed their normal formations into Exeter, County Devon. Exeter Cathedral is located here. William ordered that no one should pray for the Prince of Wales when worshipping in the cathedral. The army's large purchase of clothing and food in the city made him popular, and he seemed determined to strictly manage the officers and men. There are several incidents of soldiers stealing chickens, and the perpetrators have been sentenced to hanging. In exeter speeches on 15 November, William used the word "朕" for the first time. On the 20th, he continued to lead his troops forward, but the weather was bad and many people in the team fell ill. But there was good news: the major nobles of the western countryside had taken his side; allies in the northeast had successively occupied York, Nottingham and Newcastle. On 24 November, John Churchill and the Duke of Grafton, who had been trusted by James II, appeared before William in Axminster. At that time, William quoted a passage from King David in the Old Testament: "If you come to me in peace and peace, my heart will be in tune with you." And Churchill replied in the words of the Old Testament: "David, we are yours!" O Son of Jesse, we are here to help you! May you be at peace, and may all those who help you be at peace! Because your God helps you. ”
On 26 November, William left the army for a day to hunt deer. Previously, he had printed several statements and his speeches in Exeter. William passed a village on his way through hunting, where his vanguard was once in a battle. There were only two battles in the total invasion operation, and the total death toll on both sides may be 15. On the morning of December 4, he stopped at Wilton House, just outside Salisbury, the estate of the previous Counts of Pembroke. William came here to see the famous paintings of Anthony van Dyck. Villa Wilton is majestic and was designed and built by a nephew of architect Inigo Jones. For a family that has spent nearly 200 years shrewdly taking advantage of the proximity of the palace, it is most appropriate to live here. They pursue a high style of art and collect a large number of works of art. Local legend has it that the first performances of Shakespeare's plays The Twelfth Night and Everybody Rejoice took place here. Van Dyck's work is best known for his portrait of the fourth Earl of Pembroke and his family, who was the royal chief of James I. The following generations of Earl Pembroke were somewhat of the wandering skeletons of the landed nobility during the Restoration (restored by King Charles II of England in 1660). The Seventh Earl was convicted of manslaughter and imprisoned in the Tower of London. Because he was too much to pay off the debt he owed, in 1683, after his death, much of the collection at Wilton's House had to be sold. His younger brother, the eighth Earl of Pembroke, was an erudition who financed John Locke, participated in the Great Debate of 1688-1689, and rose to high positions in the court of William and Mary, reviving the family's fortunes. He also founded the famous Royal Wilton Carpet Factory and bought many fine books and works of art.
The rooms of The Wilton Villa are arranged in a symmetrical structure like a stage set, in which William is in the middle of it, admiring the famous paintings on both sides. One of the paintings (if it were here, not in the Earl's mansion in London, and was also hung up for viewing) should have particularly piqued his interest. This is a small, square van Dyck painting of 3 young children of Charles I. On the left is the future Charles II, who is large enough to wear slightly smaller adult clothes. On the right is Princess Mary, who later became the wife of William II, Prince of Orange, the mother of William III himself. Princess Mary is pictured wearing a small lady's dress. The one in the middle, still wearing a baby suit, was the future James II, william's future father-in-law, who was also the object of his painstaking advance into England to overthrow.
Later that day, William was officially fully stationed in Salisbury as a victor, while James II was still here 10 days ago and had just left. William's troops did not encounter the slightest resistance, and made only a brief stop halfway to watch Stonehenge, let out a few exclamations, and discussed the strange reasons that might have led to the formation of these stones. On 6 December, William arrived in Hungerford. Here, on the 8th, he received emissaries sent by King James II to negotiate peace. William had an advantage in time, and James II was desperate. All the dignitaries and squires of the country sided with William. If the two sides could reach an agreement, James II might have been able to use the people's respect for the king's power to save the situation a little, but William's strategy was to avoid meeting his father-in-law at all costs and avoid reaching an agreement with his father-in-law.
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The Glorious Revolution in England in 1688 has been interpreted in a variety of ways. It is called "glorious" because there was little bloodshed in this revolution, and it opened the way for all forms of constitutionalism that we cherish today. In 1689, the Declaration of Rights was officially promulgated, establishing the elected Parliament as the highest tax and legislative body, and imposing clear restrictions on the crown's power. In the centuries that followed, Britain's parliamentary government was perfected not only in London, Ottawa, and New Delhi, but also in culturally and linguistically diverse countries such as France, the Czech Republic, and Japan. Even the non-parliamentary government of the United States, tracing its roots, has been deeply affected by it.
Prince Orange removed his father-in-law from the throne, so the Glorious Revolution was rightly seen as the climax of family disputes. It can be seen as a major turning point in the diplomatic relations of European countries, while making the century-long conflict between Britain and France more transparent. It was also the culmination of a century of dramatic political change in England. The English of 1688 often expressed their political loyalty and religious piety by commemorating major events or important figures of the 17th century. For example, the aforementioned Guy Fox Day commemorates the discovery of a bizarre conspiracy by Catholic Guy Fox to blow up Parliament in 1605. King Charles I was executed in 1649, and since then he has been solemnly remembered every year on Anniversary Day by royalists, Catholics and Protestants. There are also many depressed and radical people who eagerly reminisce about the pursuit of freedom dreams in the 1640s, and even the time of Oliver Cromwell.
Although the politics of England in the 17th century were greatly affected by social and cultural upheavals, the most important factor in the final analysis was religious and political change, from which the English themselves decided what obligations they had to deal with the king and the church. Protestants no longer obey the orders of the Holy See. The Church of England, although Protestant, is hierarchical and under state control. Those who find the state religion too badly tainted by Catholic tradition may, like the Puritans, try to purify the state religion from within, or reject the practice of the state deciding which denomination the individual should choose, and these people are separatists. In either case, in principle all Protestants are to decide on such issues on their own, because it is relevant to how they will be redeemed. Religious strife inevitably spilled over into the political sphere: What right did the King and Parliament have to make policy on behalf of the Anglican Church? In addition, although almost all people accept that the state needs a monarch with real power, the power of parliament has a long history, especially the right to vote on taxes, and parliament has a tendency to uphold and expand these rights. The British people's sense of "born free" rights seems to make these questions a common concern for anyone who can read, or have a little political awareness. Monarchists further insisted on the divine right of kings, especially after being inspired by the French monarchy. The debate intensified, and for a time the voices of parliament, celebrity country houses, cafes and newspaper printing houses on the streets of London rose higher and higher. In this nationwide debate, educated English were faced with difficult political and religious choices: which congregation, community, or mob to join; which pamphlet, newspaper, or sermon to read when alone.
The year 1629 was the first major turning point of the play. At that time, King Charles I of the Stuart Dynasty was promoting an anti-Puritan unification movement in the anglican state religion of England. But the parliament was in the hands of the Puritans and interfered in this. Charles I thus dissolved Parliament and began to impose a dictatorship until 1640. When both the king and the parliament asserted themselves for supreme power in a more absolute way, civil war inevitably broke out. At the end of 1646, Charles I became a prisoner of the Parliamentary Army, but the broad alliance against the king's autocratic rule was also torn apart at this time. Strong religious propulsions, combined with prophecies about the Millennium, led some to promote puritanical codes of conduct throughout society, while others dreamed of absolute equality and refused to accept any authority. Many, once opposed to the crown, are now alienated from the Puritans because of their oppression and attacks on traditional practices and social relations. This was the first major event in Europe after the advent of modern times, when revolutions with a broad mass base were seized by the authoritarian elite and, as in the past, the central element was a strong army. In 1649, King Charles I was executed by the Parliamentary Army. His head was held high in front of the silent, terrified crowd. The army repeatedly pressured Parliament and arranged for the appointment of Oliver Cromwell as protector of the new "Republic". Cromwell was a wise and talented politician who wanted to pursue a broad policy of tolerance under a military dictatorship with a weak political foundation and limited legal rights. After Cromwell's death in 1658, it was only a matter of time before the army and parliament were reconstituted in a game. Charles II eventually returned to England in a round of welcome, wearing his father's crown. During the Restoration of Charles II, the puritans' moral repression was completely subverted, and the king took the lead in recruiting mistresses and living a life of luxury and absurdity. It was clear that his court was becoming more and more like that of King Louis XIV of France, and had become pro-Roman Catholic. Dissidents in anglican orthodoxy, on the other hand, are legally restricted.
Battles large and small during the Civil War of the 1640s, sieges of towns and castles displaced countless families or lost their fathers. People silently endured a time full of repression and sadness: first Cromwell's coup d'état, then the reversal of the restoration of the dynasty, the confiscation of property or the return of the property is still undecided, and political retribution and liquidation may follow. Paradoxically, however, England by 1688 had an unprecedented economic boom, played a far greater political role in international political affairs in Europe than it had in the early 17th century, and that the social elite had expanded and was accustomed to participating in the formulation of national policies, all thanks to the solid foundation laid during the restoration of the republic and the monarchy. Differences in religious beliefs and questions about the rights of kings and parliaments remain hotly talked about political topics. The landlords worked hard to increase the yield of their fields. From the time of Cromwell's reign to the time of Charles II, Britain pursued mercantilism that promoted foreign trade at the expense of its competitors, especially the Netherlands. Even during the restoration, the notorious decadent social life played a role in promoting the economy. The princes and nobles and their descendants not only squandered their income, but also borrowed heavily to buy country houses and mansions, and to find pleasure in London. London became the melting pot of early modern Europe: coffee houses where people could express their political views and make business deals; there was drama and literature, not necessarily elegant but vibrant, that enriched people's lives; and newspapers, pamphlets, and leaflets documented a succession of political rumors and social upheavals.
Charles II was an important figure in the transition period between the old and the new order, and he was one of the rulers of the time who was able to whitewash decay. He was extravagant, had many mistresses, and was an object of fervent emulation by many nobles and their sons. Charles's younger brother James, Duke of York, was an open Roman Catholic. Although Charles was personally inclined to Roman Catholicism, funded by the King of France, and somewhat pro-Catholic in policy formulation, he was well aware that his people were fiercely opposed to Catholicism, so he did not formally convert to Catholicism until his deathbed. The concessions his father made to keep the throne remained in effect during his reign; the monarchy had come a long way in its constitutional and parliamentary limits. But Charlie's shrewd and cunning tactics did not completely obscure England's deep-seated contradictions.
In 1678, as the "Popish Plot" was bizarrely revealed, the conflict intensified to the point of irreconcilability. The exposers say catholics are preparing to assassinate Charles II, massacre Protestants, and arrange for James to succeed to the throne with the assistance of an advisory panel of Jesuits. Earlier in 1679, anti-royal forces won parliamentary elections, but when a bill to exclude James, Duke of York, from the succession to the throne was subsequently introduced, Charles II no longer compromised with the extremists in Parliament and dissolved Parliament. In fact, the Exclusion Act was indeed progressive, after all, an attempt by Parliament to intervene in the hereditary monarchy. The exclusionists organized efficiently in the House of Commons and won a majority in the election. But because of resistance to the frenzied actions of the mob, the execution of Catholic priests on trumped-up charges, and the people's deep-seated reverence for royal power, the power of the anti-exclusionists grew. The anti-monarchy forces consisted mainly of the exclusionists who controlled the House of Commons, who later became known as the Whigs, and those who supported the monarchy as the Tories. By this time, the two camps that led to the Glorious Revolution of 1688 had been clearly formed. Charles II dissolved parliament, and until his death in February 1685, he did not convene parliament again, but imposed dictatorship. During the reign of Charles II, the British economy was generally prosperous, so the taxes at his disposal were sufficient to support his regime. In contrast, his military power is not large. In addition, Louis XIV of France paid him a large sum of money. In 1682, Charles began to use his extensive powers to reshape the main local authorities, purging political opponents and ensuring that the royalists would be elected in future parliamentary elections. In this situation, the Whigs were plunged into extreme chaos. The most basic problem facing the Whigs was that there were only a few radicals within them who opposed the crown, and if the whole party refused to allow James, Duke of York, to succeed to the throne, who should they support as king? The king's illegitimate son, Duke Monmouth James, though popular, was inexperienced and sophisticated enough to take on the responsibilities of leadership. In 1683, some extreme-minded Whigs were suspected of plotting to assassinate the king and the Duke of York in a rye barn, and after the plot was revealed, some were executed. The crown became stronger than ever.
When James succeeded his brother as king in February 1685, his position seemed very secure: the new parliament gave him as much of his life's pension as his brother; the Scottish revolt and the rebellion led by the Duke of Monmouth were quickly suppressed. But James II did not have his brother's scheming and devious tactics. He made no secret of his Catholic faith, and even publicly stated that he hoped that one day all his subjects would be reconciled with the "only true Church." His first step toward that goal was to find ways to repeal the Test Act's prohibition on Catholics holding positions in the government or the military. When he proposed the idea of appointing some Catholics to officers in the army, Parliament gently objected, which still left James resentful. He was grateful for the loyalty shown by the Tories to the royal family, but in his view the Church of England, which most Tories professed, was a ceremonial and authoritarian structure that was not much different from the Church of Rome. He could not understand how their state beliefs and strong anti-Catholic sentiments were intertwined. After his efforts to secure religious tolerance and tenure for Roman Catholics were thwarted by Parliament and the episcopalists, he tried to establish good relations with other Protestants outside the Anglican Church with initial success. These Protestants are legally disenfranchised, as are Catholics. When he learned of the excesses of the anti-Protestant movement in France, James II was shocked.
The Tories in Parliament panicked about James II's general religious tolerance. These religions, in particular, include some very extreme sects, such as the Quakers. Moreover, while everyone recognizes the king's right to make a law "exempt" from enforcement in certain circumstances, many have doubts about whether a law that has not yet been formally repealed by Parliament has the right to terminate its effect. Although he condemned the Persecution of Protestants in France, in the eyes of many of his subjects, he was pursuing absolute power like Louis XIV, and he believed in an authoritarian, absolute religion. Not only that, but James II also used the stable pension given to him by parliament to gradually build a standing army, most of which was stationed in Hounslow Heath near London. James II, a simple-minded and unresponsive soldier, naturally thought that building a standing army was more reliable than a local militia. The latter could not even deal with a ragtag group assembled by the Duke of Monmouth. Many of the soldiers in Hounsloheth's army were Irish Catholics, which made many citizens think of the dragoons that suppressed the French Protestants, which were so similar that they were almost identical. In fact, not many people at the time realized that it was impossible to prop up a religion of only 1 per cent of the population by force.
If James II could elect a council that would obey him and repeal the Oath Act, he would be able to do whatever he wanted. In the late 1670s, the Whigs, opposed to James II, preemptively manipulated local politics, using the rambling electoral system of local governments and counties to elect a parliament with a majority of people of the same political beliefs as them. Charles II and James II used their royal power to reorganize local authorities and give their support in parliament the upper hand. By the end of 1687, James II demanded that Tory candidates who might enter the national assembly through the county level explicitly commit themselves to supporting the repeal of the Oath Act. Many Tories, who had been natural allies of the king, now hated the pressure and turned against him. James did not give up and continued his efforts to repeal the Oath Act in the spring and summer of 1688.
In the 17th century, death was never far from people's lives. If James II had died without a son as Crown Prince, his daughter, Mary, wife of William the Prince of Orange, would have succeeded to the throne. William's resistance to France's expansion of power in Europe was strongly supported by anti-Catholic Protestants. The Netherlands also became a refuge for radical Whigs and Huguenots at the time. James II had previously suspected that his son-in-law was secretly supporting the Rebellion of the Duke of Monmouth, and it was not until Prince William sent three English and three Scottish regiments stationed in the Netherlands to England to aid his father-in-law. But in 1687, when James II was on the run for religious tolerance for Roman Catholics in England and Scotland, William flatly refused to support him. James remarried and married Mary of Modena, and although the two had children, they still have no sons. Thus, at the end of 1687, the news that the queen might be pregnant again became the most important political intelligence. If Mary had given birth to a boy, the prince would have been Catholic at birth and would have been raised and educated by priests of the Catholic Church, thus ensuring that Catholics would hold the crown for decades and maintain the mystique of the royal power. James II, Mary, and their Catholic courtiers waited with bated breath, secretly praying that a boy would be born. Protestants, on the other hand, were increasingly anxious and began to seek extreme solutions.
On 27 April 1688, James II reaffirmed the Declaration of Indulgence, issued in 1687 to repeal the Oath Act, and ordered all churches in the Kingdom to read it in their sermons. On 18 May, the bishops formed a delegation to see the king and told him that they would not obey the king's orders, and that the document was read out in his sermons, and that the king had no power to repeal the state decree in this way. The king was furious, but he refrained for 3 weeks. Finally, on 7 June, seven bishops were taken to the Tower of London and imprisoned.
Although in 1688 there were not only large cities in Europe, only Istanbul, the great capital of Christian Europe and the Ottoman Empire, could be regarded as a key stage for the staging of events of great political or religious significance, and every move on this stage affected the course of world history. Debates of the Greeks in the Bazaar, triumphs of the ancient Roman warriors, and medieval-style processions leading to the cathedral all form the focal point of urban life. Rulers feared the mob, but sometimes instigated and supported riots out of their own needs. In the 1680s, when there were sometimes high-spirited Protestants meeting in London, they also had the ability to violently attack the "Papals" (some Protestants' derogatory term for Catholics) and their churches. Curiously, for most of 1688, such violence had hardly occurred. In the crisis of the arrest of seven bishops, the people simply expressed their voices in a different and very touching way. On 8 June, the great diaryist John Evelyn recorded the following: "After an explicit refusal to recite the Declaration of Religious Freedom and a refusal to bail, the bishops were escorted from the Privy Council to the Tower of London. They refused bail because asking for bail was detrimental to their aristocratic reputation. The concern of the people for the bishops is admirable. As they stepped out of the barge and walked along the docks of the Tower of London, countless people knelt down and prayed for their blessings, praying for them. On 10 June, Evelyn heard the sound of a salute from the Tower of London and the church bells ringing to celebrate the birth of the Prince of Wales. On 15 June, the bishops were taken to Westminster, where they would face the first stage of legal proceedings. "From the Court of thrones to the banks of the River Thames, countless people are waiting here. As the bishops passed, the people crawled to the ground, praying for the bishop's blessing. On this night, bonfires were lit in many places and bells sounded in unison. People who want to come to the royal family will feel uncomfortable with all this. ”
Just as the masses were expressing their dissatisfaction with the royal family's policies in demonstrations, the queen gave birth to a healthy baby boy. Almost at the same time as the Prince of Wales was born, rumors spread and folklore spread that the queen gave birth to the prince was false, that someone else's baby boy was taken away and hidden in the bed heater and sent to the delivery room to lose his bag. For most people, maintaining loyalty to the hereditary monarchy is important, but it is equally important to eliminate the hidden dangers of Catholic rule over the country for a long time. Therefore, it is time for such rumors to appear in such a situation. The military-born king, on the other hand, was unresponsive, turned a blind eye to the strong anti-Catholic sentiment of his subjects, and expected the people to believe in the king's honesty in the private matter of having children. When the rumors drifted into the king's ears, he felt both confused and angry. In addition, the king's greatest mistake was that he had the most important Protestant witnesses, including his youngest daughter, Princess Anne, leave London, so that it would not be possible to gather them to witness the birth of the prince.
The princes and nobles, who had long been disgruntled, were still able to maintain smooth contact with William, Prince of Orange. In April, William informed the three important visiting guests that he would send troops to England if he received a formal request from a key person. At the end of July, he received such an invitation with the signatures of 7 prominent figures, including 1 bishop and 2 counts. William was also told that there were many people who supported his conquest of England, but for various reasons could not sign the document, even by code name. Now William only had to wait for official permission from the Dutch side and prepare an army.
From the beginning of September, King James II of England was well aware that his son-in-law William, Prince of Orange, was preparing to invade England. Shocked, frustrated, betrayed, and all sorts of emotions poured in, James II could not sustain himself. In addressing the bishops, he softened his attitude, but did not indicate that there would be a change in the question of principle. In August he was convinced that the pressure exerted on the counties and local authorities would be enough for him to issue an edict calling a new parliament. The new parliamentary session is scheduled for 27 November. But now he first declared that Catholics were not eligible for election, and then withdrew the edict. Seeking military support, he mobilized 4,000 and 5,000 troops from Scotland and Ireland, respectively. The overwhelming majority of the troops mobilized from Ireland were Catholics, adding to the near-erupting anti-Catholic sentiment in London. As soon as he received accurate information of William's landings on 5 November, he immediately ordered several elite regiments to advance westward and occupy favorable positions in Salisbury Plain. On November 11, a St. John's Catholic Church in Clerkenwell was attacked. On the 12th, rioters in London smashed stones at the office of the King's Printing House. Such behaviour demonstrates a better public understanding of the role of the media in politics. James II took steps to restore order until he was convinced that the city would no longer support him and moved to Salisbury on 17–19 November. William's army was still marching. If James's troops could resist head-on, the odds of victory were high. But the king's commander ordered a retreat. The king did not receive any news from the western battlefield, and neither the nobles nor the commoners informed the king of the movements of William's army. Because of the pressure, the king had nosebleeds for several days in a row, and the situation was severe. He had to order the withdrawal of troops. To make matters worse, Lord John Churchill, one of his most trusted ministers and commanders, also headed west to join William. Prince George of Denmark, the husband of Princess Anne, also sided with William. The cruelest blow to the king was that Anne and her good friend Sarah, the wife of John Churchill, also quietly fled London to find their husbands and William.
On 27 November, James convened a council of nobles to announce his intention to convene Parliament, to dismiss Catholics from government and army, and to appoint envoys to negotiate with William. The preconditions for the negotiations proposed by William were very demanding. But if James had not learned of these conditions at the height of the anti-Catholic movement, he might not have accepted them. The situation has developed in part because of the anti-Catholic Third Declaration issued in william's name, which, although forged, did serve as an incitement to the mob. At this time, James was left with only a few Catholic attendants. He sent Queen Mary and the newborn prince to France. On 11 December, he burned the writ calling a new parliament and slipped out of the palace to prepare to flee England. On his way out, James threw the seal of the kingdom into the River Thames.
The news of the king's escape pushed anti-Catholic sentiment to new heights. The newly built Catholic Church on Lincoln's Inn Fields was looted and all its furnishings burned down. Books in the King's Printing House bookstore were looted and burned. The residence of the Spanish ambassador was also looted. The Embassy of Florence and the residence of the Ambassador of the Holy See were severely damaged. A mob also broke into the royal chapel of the palace and smashed the organ and interior decorations until the guards arrived and drove them out. The fiery red sky on a winter night is reminiscent of the Great Fire of London in 1666. The next day, the whole city of London was shrouded in rumors, and rumors soon spread throughout much of England. It is said that every Protestant who was caught by Irish soldiers was cut in the throat. No Catholic can escape the mob, yet "fear of the Irish" seems to be the beginning of the end of this violence.
At the same time, the nobles and ministers of England and the City Council of London began to organize to maintain the administration of the country in the absence of a king. Their most important task was to re-establish law and order in London: "Since the mob is unscrupulous and willful to the point of being uncontrollable, we, the nobles of the Kingdom, convened by the Privy Council, hereby lead and demand that you do everything in your power to appease and disperse the mob. If necessary, recourse to force may be resorted to, and the mob may be shot at. The nobles also decided to send a delegation to William, not to invite him to London, but to find King James II and bring him back to London. The nobles did this in the hope that James II would reach an agreement with William and agree to convene a parliament through free elections. But the London City Council moved more quickly, sending a separate delegation to invite William to London. King James II, on the other hand, was recognized before he could cross the border and flee to France. When he was brought back to London on 16 December, he was warmly welcomed by many and soon re-established his regime. The popular fear of state disorder and the entrenched concept of loyalty were in James II's favor. But William had all the other advantages, and he knew it himself.
On 17 December, William ordered his Dutch Blue Guards to march to London and occupy st. James's Palace. James's Palace) main roads. That night, the City of London was pouring rain. The Blue Guard soldiers waited outside the palace with burning matches in their hands, ready to light the cannons at any time. At this time their commander made a deal with James II's guards, who peacefully withdrew from the palace. Three envoys sent by William arrived at St. James's Palace after midnight, where they woke James II and relayed William's idea of suggesting that he leave London immediately. James II complied and left under the "escort" of the Dutch guards. On the 18th, William arrived at the palace, and many people expressed their joy. James II was imprisoned in a house facing the mouth of the Medway. The guards deliberately let their guard down, and in the early morning of December 23, James II slipped out and fled to France.
William won, James II fled, and nothing prevented William and his wife from ascending to the throne. But some questions remain to be clarified: will James II temporarily leave the throne or abdicate voluntarily? Parliament must be convened by the king, how can it be convened without a king's edict or an edict stamped with the king's seal? On 26 December, William convened the nobles and the parliamentarians who supported him to form an informal committee. He had set a clear schedule for the special session, but had sought the Committee's advice. The restoration of the monarchy in 1660 provided him with a precedent to follow. William issued an edict to elect a number of members in the same way as the electoral parliament, and to convene a consultative parliament according to the parliamentary model.
The Consultative Assembly met on 22 January 1689. The radical Whigs, the successors of the anti-Jamesites 10 years ago, were eager to declare William the new king. But there are still many who do not agree that the monarch is entirely elected, and therefore want Mary, who has the right of succession, to be queen. The end result was that the two shared the throne. One nobleman said to another, "I see today as the day when the Monarchy of England collapses, because the King was chosen by us." But the most important thing right now is to have a government, and I don't see anything more urgent. We must not allow ourselves to fall into the hands of the mob. ”
The Consultative Council also adopted a Declaration of Rights, which was presented to William and Mary at the time of their coronation. The Declaration of Rights fully reaffirms "ancient rights and freedoms", including the need for free election of members of Parliament and the regular convening of parliamentary sessions, and imposes restrictions on royal prerogatives. At the end of 1689, the Bill of Rights entered into force. Although William claimed that he would not accept preconditions for becoming king, the Bill of Rights was read at the beginning of William and Mary's coronation ceremony on February 13. It is abundantly clear that William and Mary took the throne with the consent of the elected representatives of their subjects and accepting the conditions of the representatives.
William was not very popular with the public. Perhaps it was dissatisfaction with his harsh rule that led England to adopt a practice that limited the power of the monarch and resolutely defended "ancient rights". Under William's rule, England became a country in Europe that had only lower taxes than the Netherlands, and imposed heavy excise taxes and duties on the model of the Netherlands. Between 1689 and 1690, Dutch troops remained in England, causing popular discontent on several occasions. Nor did the army and navy wage a large-scale war with France. But John Churchill, who later became Duke of Malboro, commanded the British army to fight several beautiful battles on the European continent and achieved brilliant victories. The cost of the war came in part from new types of public bonds issued by the government, as well as bonds issued by similar government institutions such as the Bank of England and the East India Company. Since then, the relationship between interests and power has become more and more close.
When James II fled England, he was not only thinking about his own safety, but also counting on the situation to be turbulent. He burned the writ calling parliament and threw the seal into the river, seemingly with the aim of obstructing the normal legal process that followed. The chaos he had expected did not emerge, but he did try to return to England. In March 1689, he took a ship to Ireland with the help of the French. The French were mainly interested in this because they wanted to open a second front to prevent William's army from entering the European continent. James II's move was intended to use Ireland as a stepping stone to Scotland and England. The Protestants in Londonderry refused to recognize James II as king, and the siege began. William sent troops to lift the siege in July. To this day, Protestants in Ulster celebrate the battle of Londonderry every year. On 1 July 1690, William and James II finally confronted each other on the battlefield on both sides of the Boyne River. William's final victory dashed James II's hopes of returning to England and had a decisive impact on Ireland's future. Like the invaluable legacy of the Declaration of Rights, it still affects us today.
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<h1 toutiao-origin="h2" >Introduction:</h1>
Wei Sihan brings us into the world of 1688 with a wonderful historical narrative: from the baroque poetry of Sister Juana to the moving haiku of the poet Matsuo Basho, to the Chinese painter Shi Tao's "Mountain Residence Map", literature and art have both a long-term artistic conception and sometimes exude enthusiasm; "Emperor of the Ages" Kangxi is planning in the Forbidden City, Peter the Great of Russia is fighting civil unrest at the end of the cold years, "Sun King" Louis XIV celebrates victory with a luxurious performance in the newly completed palace; the Glorious Revolution took place in Britain. The constitutional monarchy has been established since then; slaves in plantations in the American colonies are desperately working to escape suffering; walking through the pungent streets of Amsterdam, tourists will see homeless people, beggars and thieves producing sumu flour for dyeing factories; devout believers of different religions still go on pilgrimage to their respective holy places despite the mountains and rivers...
Through these and many others, Weshan meticulously depicts how the inextricable connections between power, money, and faith around the globe quietly came into play and began to shape the shape of the modern world. From this vivid picture, we can see that people's lives were still full of terrible violence and terrible diseases, but it was gratifying that they were also filled with a sense of intimacy and benevolent humanity, and the intellectual achievements of Leibniz, Locke and Newton powerfully pushed human reason to a new height.
This is the world of 1688, an ordinary year and an extraordinary year.
<h1 toutiao-origin="h2" > Author Profile:</h1>
John E. Wills Jr., Professor Emeritus of the University of Southern California, a well-known historian and sinologist, studied under Mr. Fairbank, who is known for his research on the history of the Ming and Qing dynasties in China and the colonial history of the Netherlands and Portugal, and has always been committed to cross-cultural exchange research. His notable works include "Mountain of Fame: Portraits in Chinese History", "Pepper, Guns and Parleys: The Dutch East India Company and China 1622 - 1681", The World from 1450 to 1700, one of the "New Oxford World History Series". Fairbank's book China's World Order: Traditional Chinese Foreign Relations features Wei Sihan's essay "Relations between the Qing Dynasty and the Netherlands, 1662-1690."
It's an intoxicating book. Wei Sihan's work is full of whimsy and depth, amazingly blending elements with insight.
—— Shi Jingqian
Under the surface of a calm history, Wei Sihan saw the truth of the extensive and in-depth integration and exchange of populations between countries. This allows us to know that the process of globalization began three hundred years ago.
—The Washington Post
Wei Sihan's description of the world in this book takes an enlightening writing perspective. He was familiar with many countries from Asia to Europe to the Americas, so he was able to look at the whole world and describe the bustling towns, the luxurious courtyards, the different forms of government, the prosperity of commerce and the splendor of art in vivid and intimate words.
- The Times
<h1 toutiao-origin="h2" > directory:</h1>
The first article The Age of Wooden Boats / 1
Chapter 1 The Silver Empire / 6
Chapter II: A Fractured Africa / 32
Chapter III: Slaves, Great Ships, Pioneers / 48
Chapter IV Dampier and the Aboriginal Peoples of Australia / 67
Title II: The World of Big Companies / 77
Chapter V: The Cape of Good Hope / 80
Chapter 6 Island World / 87
Chapter VII Hualcon / 104
Three Independent Worlds: Russia, China, and Japan / 113
Chapter VIII: Russia under Peter the Great / 115
Chapter IX: The Master of the Remnants / 129
Chapter 10 The Kangxi Dynasty / 138
Chapter XI Missionaries in China / 156
Chapter XII Kanazawa, Edo, and Nagasaki / 180
Chapter 13 Ihara Nishihiwa Matsuo Basho / 196
Part IV Versailles, London and Amsterdam / 205
Chapter 14: The Sun King and His Woman / 208
Chapter 15: A Family Struggle, a Glorious Revolution / 223
Chapter 16: Echoes Across the Ocean / 242
Chapter XVII: A Hundred Years of Freedom / 259
Part V: The Civilized World: European Styles and Ideas / 275
Chapter XVIII The Republic of The Literati / 279
Chapter Nineteen: Aphra Bain / 298
Chapter XX Newton, Locke, and Leibniz / 306
Title VI The Islamic World / 323
Chapter XXI The State under the Sultan / 326
Chapter XXII Hindus and Muslims / 345
Chapter XXIII: The British, the Indians, and the People of the Other World / 358
Title VII Exile, Hope and Family / 367
Chapter XXIV Next year, we will be in Jerusalem / 369
Chapter 25: Blessings to You / 377
Reference / 381
Acknowledgements / 398