|
|
| Information |
|
|
A Short Biography on Some of Europes Most Loved and Hated Monarchs - Pt 5 Charles II
Born in 1630, Charles II was the second eldest son of Charles I, who spent most of his teenage years fighting parliaments Roundheads until the execution of his father in 1649, and after he agreed to make Presbyterianism the religion of England and Scotland. In 1650, Charles returned to his native Scotland and a year later led an unsuccessful campaign against Cromwell's forces at Worcester. During this defeat, Charles managed to avoided capture, finding safe passage to France where he spent the next eight years roaming the wilderness of Europe. Upon the collapse of Cromwell's commonwealth, Charles was invited back to England and shortly after married Catherine of Braganza. His marriage to Catherine was a fruitless one as it bore him no legitimate heir to the throne. In 1660, at the age of 30, Charles ascended the English throne and immediately set about seeking retribution for his father's execution. Nine of his father's conspirators were brought to trial and executed. As well as being very tolerant towards those who had condemned his father to death, he was also a very tolerant person in regards to all religious matters. The country was in a jubilant mood at having a true monarch again, but his powers had been severely curtailed by Parliament. This curtailment meant that the Royal coppers were not what they should be and Charles had to fund his administrators from customs taxes and a pension that was paid to him by King Louis XIV of France. Out of the ashes of the civil war, England's first political parties were formed. The Cavaliers went on to form the first Tory party, whose ideology was in preserving the kings power over Parliament, while Cromwell's Roundheads went on to form the Whig Party. Oddly enough, the Whig Party was all for expansion of trade abroad and maintaining parliament's supremacy in the political field. In essence they were forbearers of today's modern political parties. Charles first ten years in power was not very memorable or fruitful. He was defeated by the Dutch in a war over foreign trade. In the latter half of the 1660's Charles had to cope with the Great Plague of 1665 as well as the Fire of London in 1667, which left much of the capital a whole burnt out shell which only added to his trouble. On top of all this, during the same year as the Great Fire of London, the Dutch brazenly sailed up the Medway River and sank five of his battleships. And to rub salt into already opened wounds, they towed the Royal Charles back to Holland. The start of a new decade saw a new alliance with France. The French promised to help Charles in his fight against the Dutch with the assurance that Charles would bring back Catholicism to the country. This was in turn used against him by the Whig party. The consequence of this was another bout of religious hatred towards the Catholic Church. This anti-Catholicism paranoia led to the Queen and her favourites being accused of attempting to murder Charles II. In Parliament the Whig party, who held the majority of seats at the time, tried to push through an Exclusion Bill barring Catholics from holding public office and thus keep James Stuart from the throne. Charles II was felled by fever and this illness caused the balance of opinion to tip in his favour. The king had a self-indulgent character - he had numerous mistresses and illegitimate children, and loved racing and gambling - and this led to him having a considerable influence on Restoration art and literature. Charles II's remaining years were occupied with securing his brother's right to the throne and gathering political support from the Tory party. Charles died in February 1685 from complications following a stroke. Charles II's life can be best summed up from a quote of the time: "Charles II was always very merry and was therefore not so much a king as a Monarch. During the civil war, he had rendered valuable assistance to his father's side by hiding in all the oak-trees he could find. He was thus very romantic and popular and was able after the death of Cromwell to descend to the throne." I hope you have enjoyed reading about Charles II. In my next article we will learn about the life of Philip II of France. Until then, Best wishes and have a great day Stuart Bazga www.guide-to-castles-of-europe.com A Guide to Castles of Europe was born from childhood dreams and aspirations. It is my hope to educate and stimulate you into exploring these castles for yourselves.
Latest News:Site: Yahoo! News Search Results for news News Corp exec becomes chief of Germany's Premiere (Reuters via Yahoo! News) News Corp's chief financial officer for Europe and Asia has been named chief executive of German pay television group Premiere, following the resignation of Michael Boernicke, Premiere said on Wednesday. News Corporation to redevelop London Wapping site (Reuters via Yahoo! News) Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation is to redevelop its Wapping site in London, moving all its UK businesses, including News International, Harper Collins, MySpace and Dow Jones, under one roof. UPI NewsTrack Entertainment News (UPI) Chesney nominated for 7 CMAs ... Hoffman: I'm not playing Penguin ... 'RocknRolla' No. 1 at U.K. box office ... Jessica Simpson stops song on 'GMA' ... News from United Press International. DailyMe: News tailored to your individual tastes (The Christian Science Monitor) Column: Custom news websites come and go, but this one gets it right. Get the latest news in racing (Daily Racing Form) In order to read Daily Racing Form's free daily news stories it is required that you have a DRF.com free membership. If you do not have a DRF.com free membership, please register here . You will NOT need to be logged in to read each day's free news stories. Sarah Palin docu wins record ratings for Fox News (Reuters via Yahoo! News) In a week of records surrounding the Republican National Convention, Fox News Channel earned another one with its weekend documentary on vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin. MySpace ad business ahead of target: News Corp (Reuters via Yahoo! News) News Corp's (NWSa.N) MySpace advertising business is operating ahead of expectations and its digital ad business is performing better than the marketplace, the company's chief operating officer said on Tuesday. UPI NewsTrack Quirks in the News (UPI) Peabody Hotel in Memphis declares amnesty ? Night at Hearst Castle up for grabs ? Mother: 6-year-old got stuck in washer ? Couple may keep home thanks to rare coin ? UPI Quirks in the News. UPI NewsTrack Health and Science News (UPI) Mars Lander set to run last of experiments ? Protein found to suppress skin cancer ? NASA: Gamma-ray burst was aimed at Earth ? Study: Continuous blood sugar monitor best ... Health/Science news from UPI. OREGON NEWS (The Oregonian) TWITTER Headlines delivered to your PC or PDA as soon as they're updated. SPEAK UP! Talk about the latest news. Site: news - Google News CNET News Daily Podcast: Say hello to the Palm Pre - CNET News
MORE RESOURCES: Site: Yahoo! News Search Results for humanities Arts and Humanities Prizewinners Announced by Heinz Foundation (New York Times) The visual artist Ann Hamilton is the recipient of the 14th annual Heinz Award for the Arts and Humanities. Maryland Humanities Council meeting in mountains (Cumberland Times-News) For the past two years, Catherine Gira, who retired in June 2006 as president of Frostburg State University, has served as chairwoman of the Maryland Humanities Council. 5:15 p.m. - First Y Tinaotao 5K run to benefit Guam Humanities Council (Pacific Daily News) 5:15 p.m., Sept. 10 ? The Guam Humanities Council presents the First Annual Y Tinaotao 5 K Run, Saturday, Sept. 27. The historically themed run will kick off at the Dulce Nombre de Maria Agana Cathedral-Basilica, circle past Ninth Street in Anigua, and end at the Skinner Plaza in Hagatna. Council obtains a grant to study Chamorro language (Saipan Tribune) The NMI Council for the Humanities has been awarded a grant from the National Science Foundation for a three-year collaborative project to study and help preserve the Chamorro language. Educators in row over English post (The Australian) THE Australian Academy of Humanities yesterday accused the National Curriculum Board of selecting the wrong man in its appointment of a literacy researcher to oversee a uniform school curriculum in English. 14th Heinz Award recipients are announced (Moldova.org) The Heinz Family Foundation says five Americans have been selected to receive a $250,000 award in the memory of the late U.S. Sen. John Heinz, R-Pa.The 14th annual Heinz Award recipients and their categories are:--Technology, Economy and Employment: Associate Professor Joseph DeRisi of the University of California-San Francisco, a noted researcher in molecular genomics.-- Arts and Humanities: ... Scholar to speak on ?Mockingbird' (The Brewton Standard) Alabama Humanities Foundation Road Scholar Nancy Anderson will present ?To Kill a Mockingbird: Successes and Myths? on Sept. 23, at 10 a.m. in the Atmore Public Library meeting room. The East Bay Today: September 10, 2008 (East Bay Express) Brainiac: Learn something new every day. Today's lecture: The Wire: The Audacity of Despair . The Townsend Center for the Humanities presents a lecture by David Simon, a Baltimore-based author, journalist, and writer-producer of television who is the creator, executive producer, and head writer of the critically acclaimed original HBO series The Wire . At the Maude Fife Room in Wheeler Hall. ETC.: Crayton named to BSU dean?s list (Marion Chronicle-Tribune) Christopher G. Crayton, Marion, has been named to the dean?s list of the College of Sciences and Humanities at Ball State University for the summer 2008 session. Awards presented to CDTV staff member and UM-Dearborn intern 09/10/08 (Dearborn Press & Guide) DEARBORN - Nick Wisniske, a member of the staff of city of Dearborn Television (CDTV), was recently named 2008 Spring/ Summer Mentor of the Year by the University of Michigan-Dearborn's Department of Humanities in the College of Arts, Sciences & Letters for his supervision of the educational experience of a student interning at CDTV. Site: humanities - Google News Habitat for Humanity's ReStore site of food drive - West Fargo Pioneer
|
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Crazy Horse My ancestry includes Colonel Miles (or Myles) Keough (or Keogh) through a relationship that apparently was not formalized with a lady who attended his grave, in a story made famous by many books on the matter. But it can only be true if this lady and her mother named Martin of the New York Governor's family, whose name is on the wedding certificate of my grandfather as a witness, kept the child a secret all her life. Top 10 Questions about Body Piercing Body piercing has grown so much in popularity in recent years that it has become almost mainstream, with more and more people sporting navel rings and multiple ear rings. Facial piercings, surface piercings and lots of others to choose from can make things confusing. Creating a Virtual Art Gallery To the online artist, it might seem a paradox, at first glance, to hear a recommendation to hold back work. The artist on the Internet often overproduces and displays their entire body of work. Rasputin GRIGORY EFIMOVICH NOVYKH (RASPUTIN):'Hail, Hail, Ras-putin'. This man's story has intrigued me for all of my life. What is Your Birthstone? Just about everyone knows what his or her birthstone is.Why is that? Because people still enjoy the folklore associated with the tradition of the birthstone. On Being Human Are we human because of unique traits and attributes not shared with either animal or machine? The definition of "human" is circular: we are human by virtue of the properties that make us human (i.e. Precious Stones - The Big Five - Part 3 The Sapphire The sapphire, protector of the innocent, celestial guardian of truth, bringer of health and youth, symbol of the heavens and birthstone for the month of September, is in fact the same stone as the ruby, the mineral corundum.The blue corundum, ranging in color from the lightest blue to deep blue and black, is the same stone as the ruby, the only difference being in the color. Personal Protection Specialists and Celebrity Stalking Celebrity stalking has become the way for the socially inept to; A. "normality" or B. Sterling Silver Jewelry - The Rest Of The Story Silver is widely diffused but is rarely found in the native state.Silver is originally as widespread as gold, occurring in nearly all of the volcanic rocks. Michael Jacksons Latest Album Has Flopped One month after being cleared of sex assault charges, Michael Jackson's latest album, The Essential Michael Jackson, has flopped. In the first week of its release only 8000 copies were sold. The Wandle Trail - Announced Regeneration Project The River Wandle is sourced from the North Downs above Croydon, surfacing now in Waddon, running west until it meets the secondary source in Carshalton, then via Hackbridge Mitcham, Ravensbury St Helier Morden Wimbledon Colliers Wood, Summerstown and Wandsworth to the Thames passing through the London Boroughs of Croydon Sutton, Merton, and Wandsworth.The wandle Trail is a 13-mile long route follows the River Wandle from its two sourrces in Sutton and Crodoydon, through Merton to where it enters the Thames in Wandsworth. Mythology and Parables in Modern Communication - Part 4 At the end of Part 3 in this series I was using my own Inspirational experiences as examples of how Self and Soul can erupt into your life. After the book manuscripts stopped flowing, music stepped in to take its place. When We Was Kids In Chicago (Part 2) From an early age my Mother sent me to the schools, she thought, would do the best for my education. Whether or not, my Father agreed, mattered little. Mexican Living: Somethings Got to be Done! Mexico needs to do something about the behavior of Gringos who come to their country who are hell-bent on acting out the Ugly American Syndrome stereotype no matter what.I concluded this after an early morning shopping trip with the wife to the local Supermarket. History and the Cathars (Courtly Love): This is an entry from my three volume encyclopedia.CRUSADES, CATHARS AND 'COURTLY LOVE': - One of the greatest legacies of the revitalization of the teachings of 'brotherhood' in the 13th century of the Troubadors was sexual and gender respect. Mars, the Mighty and Marvelous Martius, the month of March, is named after him. So is the fourth planet from the sun and a bar of chocolate, but we know him mainly as the god of war. Masking European Animism The ancient peoples of Europe were more fond of masks and religious ritual than youwould suspect if you saw Europeans today. Mask wearing and shamanism was partand parcel of everyday life in ancient Western European tradition, say researchers. Brazil--Comments by a Gilliam Fan a Little Too Late Either I am one of the darkest people ever or this was not one of the darkest movies ever made as its own packaging claims. I have vowed to myself not to use the following words: Orwellian or futuristic, though I had to use that sentence to get them out and make room for free, original thought. The Power of Words I freely confess that I have had a life-long love affair with words. I fell in love with words by the flickering light of a pine-knot fire. Astrologers Just Plain Stupid? We live at an interesting time of scientific knowledge. Scientists say that you cannot gain an advantage over the Casino, since the odds are stacked against you.
|
| Home | Site Map | Resource Links |
