Portrait of Edward III
King Edward III of England was the initiator of the Hundred Years' War between England and France and the founder of the national spirit of England. His youth was spent in the shadow of his father's murder by his mother and the suppression of pro-French forces at home, but he was able to step out of the shadows, which made us have to admire the king's indomitable personality and tough mentality.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="4" > Edward Jr</h1>
On 24 January 1327, the citizens of London heard the news of Edward II's "voluntary abdication" in the early morning. This new piece of information is both shocking and even more gratifying. Because most Londoners have long heard that this ridiculous king has a "habit of breaking his sleeves", and people are disgusted with the tyrant who does not win battles and only clamors to draw taxes.
In fact, the truth of the king's "abdication" was planned by Queen Isabella and her French lover. This Isabella, known as the "French she-wolf", was born well- and good-looking, and she endured and tolerated Edward for decades, but she always did not get the respect she deserved, so she changed from a "gentle bird" to a "she-wolf".
Isabella, the "she-wolf" who listens to the government
His successor, Edward III, is our protagonist today. Embarrassingly, the 14-year-old King apparently already had the wisdom to understand politics, but he did not have the connections and ability to handle complex situations. Therefore, after the little Edward took office, he was naturally remotely controlled by his mother Isabella and his courtiers, and most of his policies were from the hands of his relatives, and the power of the society basically depended on the mood and anger of the empress.
To the displeasure of the English, Isabella not only confiscated a large amount of the assets of her henchmen after the execution of the old king, but also took over the French territory that had previously been dedicated to England as a dowry. Such behavior has to make people wonder whether her behavior is governing the country or just satisfying her own greed. Isabella's complex identity with connections to both Britain and France cast a suspicious color on her actions, indirectly bringing enmity and strife between the two royal families.
Isabella and her son
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="11" >2</h1>
The first scandal that Provoked public outrage from Isabella was the humiliating Treaty of Paris with the French king while dealing with the affairs of Aquitaine. It turned out that shortly after Edward III ascended the throne, the Scots in the north secretly united with the French king to overthrow the new English government. After these people's plans failed, the King wanted to take back the King's territory on the mainland by blackmail to enrich himself.
The British government, led by Isabella, mishandled and lost more than half of its territory in France. The conditions for preserving the remaining territories were also very harsh, and the treaty stipulated that King Edward III of England would contribute a huge amount of 50,000 marks to the King of France every year, and the nature of the territory was changed from "free land under the jurisdiction of the King" to "land occupied by the King". Isabella was ashamed, and she concealed the humiliating details of the contract in England for fear of provoking a rebellion by the great nobility.
British troops withdrawing from the Aquitaine region
In 1328, Charles IV died suddenly, and the French throne was vacant. At this critical juncture again, Isabella did not take advantage of the opportunity to manipulate the opposition parties in France to launch a rebellion. Moreover, she was weak even in her enthronement using Edward III's blood. Edward was one of the grandsons of the french emperors, and such a bloodline was certainly available. However, Isabella made only a symbolic protest, and then took the disgruntled Edward III to France and swore allegiance to him in the Aquitaine region as a Vassal of the French King.
The last thing that angered Edward was still at Isabella's hand. After declaring his pro-government in 1327, Edward wanted to break Scotland's collusion with the French king. To this end he negotiated with Robert, King of Scotland, hoping that he would restore friendly relations with England. However, Isabella's lover Mo Qimer once again betrayed the lord for glory, and for a "benefit fee" of 30,000 marks, he promised to marry Edward III's sister to Robert's son, and agreed to completely renounce sovereignty over Su zong and recognize Scottish independence.
Restricting the king at every turn in domestic and foreign affairs must pay a price. In this way, Edward's anger against Isabella's henchmen naturally reached its extreme. His anger at Scotland and Isabella was naturally passed on to the King. The Anglo-French relations of this era seem to be reflected in the resentment that Edward III was suppressed by the pro-French "shadow government" in the country. Therefore, it is not surprising that Edward will resolutely launch a war against France (the Hundred Years' War) after he succeeds to the throne.
The "she-wolf" and her lover Mo Qimo
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="19" > third, father of the English nation</h1>
Surveys show that Edward III was the most beloved medieval king of the British. His exploits were mainly manifested in leading the LinkedIn countrymen to break the "French blockade". Moreover, Edward's acts of war were often considered "national wars" rather than "wars of conquest." This meant that Edward's martial arts were attributed to the common aspirations of the English nation, rather than to rivalry between governments or royal families. From his beginnings, the "Nation of England" was finally able to become a qualified political concept and appeared on the stage of history.
In 1336, in revenge for the King's encroachment on England's trade in Flanders, Edward III ordered that wool be rejected from France. In order to revitalize the national industry, the wise Edward also joined forces with Parliament and the great nobles to introduce a protection bill supporting "the native wears the wool of the country", and gave low tax subsidies to British wool products produced in the country. Edward's strong support of the woollen industry led the LinkedIn the Gran people flourished from the middle and late Middle Ages to the Industrial Revolution, becoming the "first pole" of Economic Growth in Britain.
England's wool textile industry was extremely prosperous
In 1338, King Philip VI of France announced the confiscation of Edward III's "all possessions in France" and imposed the punishment of detention and imprisonment on royal personnel who did not leave for three months. This naked provocation provoked Edward's anger. He united Louis IV of the Holy Roman Empire with the feudal lords of southern France and launched a series of wars from the north in 1339 and 1440, but with poor results.
From the 1940s onwards, Edward took advantage of naval superiority to cut off French sea supplies and forced the French army to fight a decisive battle. At the Battle of Sluis in June 1340, the encirclement strategy was immediately effective, and the French king had to retreat his defenses a few miles from the coastline, thus losing the ability to cross the North Atlantic to trade by sea with Spanish and Italian merchants.
The late 1940s and early 1960s were a period of progressive British progress and defeat for the French. During this phase, King Edward III was able to finance the war from popular support and hire longbowmen to break the overwhelming advantage of the French heavy infantry formation. On the French side, opposition forces in the country began to dismantle their rule from within, and rebellions by the southern lords also rose and fell. At its worst, the reign of the French king was limited to the "Île-de-France" and some surrounding areas.
Cavalry crossing the river in the War against France
In addition to his brilliant achievements in the Anglo-French War, Edward III also showed a great sense of responsibility in dealing with the epidemic. During his tenure, the Largest plague ever erupted in the European Sea: the Black Death. During the black death, he was able to issue timely decrees prohibiting the people from titheing to the Pope and reducing the financial burden of the hungry and the disaster-stricken. In addition, he also issued a number of decrees to force people to work, which gradually restored economic life to normal. With his efforts, the threat of the Black Death to England gradually faded.
In addition, in view of his own experience of being remotely controlled by forces such as the empress dowager, he specially implemented a series of judicial reforms aimed at strengthening the power of the crown. First of all, he cracked down on the feudal elites and stipulated the specific crimes and sentencing standards for the crime of rebellion. It lists crimes such as the murder of the king (based on the murder of his father, King Edward II) and the "foreign country of Litong". Second, he also determined the social hierarchy by prescribing royal coats of arms and royal clothing standards, making the status of the British king more sacred and standardized. The ornate appearance and honorable titles have since become political "symbols" for subjects to look up to the king.
Edward III also enjoyed a "kneeling salute" in the barracks
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="30" > Wen Shijun said</h1>
In February 1377, at the last royal council presided over by Edward III, Justice Horton gave a long-winded speech in which he compared the English to the God-elected Israelites of the Old Testament and the king to the embodiment of God. This means that the united British national power has gained widespread recognition, both in the war against France and in the process of jointly resisting the Black Death. The wisdom of King Edward's Matilda is another major force that promotes the "embryonic form" of the English nation, so he is called "the father of the English nation".
< h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" data-track="32" > references</h1>
Gu Yanfang: Outline of the History of the British Royal Family, Heilongjiang People's Publishing House, 2004.
Dan Jones, The Plantagenet Dynasty: The Samurai Kings and Queens Who Made England, Social Sciences Literature Press, 2015.
(Author: Haoran Wenshi Porcelain Country Garbage Dump)
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