Features of the socio-political development of England

Remark 1

Features of the socio-political development of England $XIV - XV$ were due to the clash of interests of various social groups. On the one hand, these were the forces associated with the development of new forms of production - the "new nobility", the prosperous peasantry, the townspeople, who were interested in strengthening the central government, which was necessary for conducting normal economic activities, maintaining peace and protecting national trade interests abroad.

On the other hand, there was the "old nobility", which was losing its economic importance, but still tried to defend political independence, preventing the further centralization of the state. Unable to adapt to the new production relations, large feudal lords sought profit in wars, robbery, robbery, through the abuse of tax collections.

• "Tradition of Order" substantiating the theory of the formation of an absolute monarchy. In it, a special role was assigned to the ruler, considered as the representative of God on Earth, the guarantor of the observance of the "natural law", as a set of initial values, principles and mores, arising from human nature and not dependent on social conditions. Proceeding from this thesis, theologians demanded unconditional obedience from the subjects to the king, arguing that God gave people laws and for their implementation he appointed monarchs in all countries, who are mediators between God and people. He made them chief judges. In turn, the king is subject only to God, so those who criticize the king condemn the Creator himself. The "theory of order" became an important ideological base for the emerging absolutism, under which, in all countries of Western Europe, there was a decline in class-representative institutions, with the exception of England.
• "Tradition of the Mind" proceeded from the belief that the power of the monarch was limited by the Constitution. Opportunities for citizens to participate in the socio-political life of the country through representation in parliament. The "tradition of reason" assumed the cooperation of the estates, the sovereignty of the king, lords, communities.

Finally, the idea of ​​a constitutional monarchy will take shape only by the $XVIII$ century.

Czech Republic in the late XIV - early XVII century.

1. Economic and political situation at the end of the 14th and beginning of the 15th centuries

Already in the last two decades of the reign of Cala IV in the economic sphere of the Czech Republic, stagnation has been observed. Gradually, the influence of the crisis spread to it, which captured the whole of Europe from the middle of the XIV century. Because of this, it was impossible to implement many of the economic measures of Charles IV. The Czech lands remained on the periphery of European economic life. Charles's attempt to include the Czech Republic in the system of the main European trade routes was unsuccessful. True, in terms of consumption growth, the Czech Republic adapted to the economically mature countries of Europe, but in terms of production, it lagged behind them. The export of silver increased the import of goods, but slowed down the industrial activity of cities. The superiority of trade over production became permanent. The craft could not compete with the products of the advanced regions of Europe. Due to the export of silver, this lag did not directly affect the development of consumption, but deformed the economy of the Czech lands. The one-sidedness of trade relations with the German lands led to the predominance of German and other foreign merchants in the Czech Republic. There was a gradual devaluation of the Czech grosz. The economic situation in the Czech lands was associated with the general stagnation of Western Europe from the middle of the 14th century. Epidemics led to an imbalance between town and countryside, to a general devaluation of money. The death of Charles IV and the subsequent decline in the authority of royalty hastened the development of the crisis. Its economic reason was the disproportion in the division of labor between town and country. Prices for agricultural products did not change or decreased, while prices for handicrafts grew. The peasant could not pay dues to the feudal lord, and he turned to more severe forms of exploitation. The growth of agricultural production under these conditions has already reached its ceiling, the entire form of feudal economy has lost the prospects for further development. The level of development of agricultural technology, in principle, could not be raised under feudalism. The number of people needed for the feudal mode of production reached its maximum, the total mass of feudal rent was limited by the capacity of the market, cities could only produce a limited amount of goods. The foreign trade of the Czech Republic weakened, which was especially felt in Prague. Contradictions between classes and within classes became more acute.

After the death of Charles IV, power over Bohemia, Silesia, Upper and Lower Lusatia and over the Czech fiefs in Saxony and the Upper Palatinate passed to his eldest son Wenceslas IV. The second son - Sigismund (Sigmund) - received Brandenburg with the title of margrave, and the third - Johann (Jan) became the Duke of Gerlitz. Moravia went to the nephews of Charles IV. In the difficult economic and political situation that had arisen, Wenceslas IV was unable to keep his vast possessions. In the political situation of Europe, the decisive moment was the papal schism. In an effort to continue his father's policy, Wenceslas IV openly sided with Pope Urban VI (1378-1389) and against the Avignon Pope Clement VII (1378-1389). In July 1383, an embassy of the French king arrived in Prague, trying to win over the court of Wenceslas IV to the side of Clement. It took effect. Wenceslas IV refused to be crowned in Rome and entrusted his cousin, who stood on the side of France, with control of Italy. All this undermined the position of Wenceslas IV in Europe. In addition, the Prague Bishop Jan of Jenstein strongly supported Pope Urban VI, and Wenceslas came into conflict with him. The new Pope Boniface IX did not support the Archbishop of Prague, and he abdicated his post.

However, the indecision of Wenceslas IV, as well as his orientation towards the lower gentry, caused outrage among the pans. A gentry opposition arose, supported by the Moravian margrave Josht and the Hungarian king, Wenceslas' brother, Sigismund (Sigmund). In 1394, the lords' union captured the king and interned in Prague Castle. Then the younger brother of Wenceslas, Duke Johann (Jan) of Gerlitz, invaded the Czech Republic and laid siege to Prague, and when the pans took the captive Wenceslas to South Bohemia, and then to Austria, Jan began to devastate the possessions of the largest pans from the Rozhmberk family, who were at enmity with the king. The pans entered into negotiations, but in 1396 Jan died suddenly, and Wenceslas was forced to make major concessions to the gentry, which greatly limited royal power. The decisive place in the royal council was given to the Archbishop of Prague, the Bishops of Olomouc and Litomysl. The decline of royal power continued. In 1401 Wenceslas IV transferred power in Bohemia to a council of four. The authority of Wenceslas also fell in the empire. On August 20, 1400, the spiritual electors, in alliance with the count palatine Ruprecht, proclaimed Wenceslas IV deprived of the imperial throne, and the next day they elected Ruprecht as emperor, who captured most of the Bohemian fiefs in the Upper Palatinate, while the Czech panorama began to fight against Wenceslas in the country. In 1410, after the death of Ruprecht, Sigismund (Sigmund), King of Hungary, was elected king of Rome.

Elements of stagnation, which began in the 1460s in the Czech Republic, were a reflection of the crisis phenomena that engulfed the whole of Europe. The economic decline in the countries of Western and Southern Europe dragged on due to epidemics and a long conflict between England and France. In these countries, as in Italy and Germany, sharp social contradictions are observed. In the Czech Republic, the crisis became especially acute at the end of the 14th century, and in the 15th century. developed into the Hussite movement.

The economic crisis also had serious social consequences. The first of these was the differentiation of the whole society. The stratification swept the peasants, feudal lords, the clergy, the urban class.

The peasants were divided into the prosperous (sedlaks) and the poor (shacklers, guardsmen, servants). Most of the village was made up of owners of small and dwarf plots of land. In addition to quitrents, requisitions in kind, and working off, the peasants bore a large burden of taxes. They were not owners, but only holders of the land. In legal terms, they were subordinate to the feudal lord and his court, which was distinguished by extreme cruelty; peasants were subjected to barbarous corporal punishment, tortured to death or sentenced to death. In fact, the power of the feudal lord over the peasant was unlimited, which caused hatred for the representatives of the ruling class.

There were three social groups in the cities: the patriciate, the burghers and the poor. The patriciate held in his hands the city government and the court. The burghers, united in workshops, had property, but were deprived of political power, for the possession of which they fought with the patriciate, moreover, the patriciate consisted mainly of Germans, and the burghers of Czechs. 40-50% of the city's population was poor, living in constant hunger, living in slums. The patriciate and the burghers brought down on her the most cruel punishments.

The feudal lords and the patriciate belonged to the ruling class of the country. The spiritual feudal lords were especially distinguished by their wealth and power. The church owned a third of all the cultivated land, or half of all the landed property of the country, and was the most sophisticated exploiter. In addition to the usual peasant duties, she collected tithes from all segments of the population, received payments for performing rituals. The secular nobility was represented by pans and knights. Pans sought to seize the state apparatus in their hands, actively acted in the Sejm, and limited the power of the king. It was almost impossible to go to the panorama from the lower nobility. Pans seized the most important positions in local government.

The number of clans of the lower gentry reached several thousand, they managed in small estates and had modest incomes. There were completely poor knights who lost their possessions and earned their livelihood by military service or even robbery on the highways.

Formally, for the feudal lords and the lower gentry, there was one right, the right of the free community. In fact, the lower nobility occupied a secondary position and was dissatisfied with their social status.

In a situation of social crisis, relations between all sections of society became extremely aggravated. The peasants dreamed of liberation from the hated masters. The burghers wanted to overthrow the power of the patriciate in the cities, preserving property and dominance over the poor. The urban poor were ready to fight for a fundamental change in the existing order. Representatives of the nobility fought among themselves for land and power. All sections of society expressed dissatisfaction with the church, seeking to free themselves from its exploitation, extortion or seize its property. Thus, at the turn of the XIV and XV centuries, the crisis manifested itself in the economic, social and political spheres. They also took over church life. Popular and scholarly heresy developed, which testified to the crisis of church ideology. All this constituted the most important causes of the Hussite movement.

The Hussite movement, which filled about 70 years of Czech history, is a multifaceted social phenomenon. This is the struggle of classes, the reformation of the church, attempts to change the socio-political system, as well as a movement of a national character, against the dominance of the Germans in the country. The movement got its name from one of its leaders, Jan Hus, who spoke at the first, preparatory stage, which can be dated to 1400–1419. It was, first of all, the period of the church reformation, by the end of which Hus died, the time of the alignment of class forces, the formation of the main directions of movement. The second period - 1419-1471 - the Hussite revolution, in which three phases are distinguished: 1. 1419-1421: the phase of the highest scope of the revolution and the initiative of the radical layers. 2. 1422-1437: the phase of the struggle within the country and the transition of the Hussites to the offensive against Europe, an attempt to give the movement an international dimension. 3. From the mid-30s. until 1471: the path of the changed Czech society to the internal organization of relations, to a compromise with the outside world, the struggle to maintain the achieved frontiers.

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The successes of centralization in France did not exclude the exacerbation of separatist tendencies. In conditions of external danger, this could cause serious damage to the country. This happened when, during the reign of the mentally ill Charles VI (1380-1422), a fierce struggle began between two feudal parties, headed by the king's uncles and guardians - the Dukes of Burgundy and Orleans. Burgundy was inherited by the youngest son of King John the Good, Philip the Bold (1364-1404), founding the ducal Valois dynasty. He had the special position of "priest of the peers of France" and strengthened his marriage to the heiress of the rich areas - Flanders and Artois. The Burgundian dukes aspired to become independent sovereigns, which was facilitated by the formal inclusion of a number of their lands not in France, but in the Empire. At this stage of the Hundred Years' War, it was the Burgundian party that posed the greatest threat to the unity of France. The ally of the Duke of Orleans was his relatives, the great feudal lords of the south, the counts of Armagnac, which is why the strife was called the "war of the Burgundians and Armagnacs." Taking advantage of the temporary weakening of royal power, both groups strove for political independence in their possessions, including in apanages, i.e. territories that were allocated to members of the royal family from the royal domain and were inalienable.

The civil strife, accompanied by the robbery of the treasury, tax and administrative abuses, caused a widespread movement of public protest. The demand for internal reforms was made by the University of Paris and the deputies of the States General, convened in 1413. However, they were powerless to remedy the situation, and then in April 1413 an uprising broke out in Paris. Intra-urban contradictions were especially pronounced in it, which determined the complex social composition of the uprising, a split among the participants and a change in the direction of the movement.

The uprising was started by a butcher shop, whose wealthy craftsmen wanted to increase their political influence in the city. They organized small artisans and apprentices of their own guild, as well as guilds of flayers, furriers and tanners dependent on themselves, who, together with the small artisans who joined them and the urban poor of other guilds of the city, constituted the main force of the uprising. Its leader was the flayer Simon Kabosh, by whose name the participants in the uprising began to be called cabochiens. Demands were put forward to end the civil strife, reduce taxes and streamline their collection. The government was forced to accept the Cabochien Ordinance, which proposed a program of moderate reforms in the financial and judicial fields. As a condition for the normal functioning of the state apparatus and a guarantee against abuse, the demand was put forward for the election of officials and a ban on the sale of public posts. Despite the generally progressive nature of the ordinance, it could not satisfy the poorest sections of the city.

The situation was complicated by the intervention of the Duke of Burgundy, whose involvement in the uprising was explained by his political calculations in the struggle for power. The second stage of the uprising began. The lower classes opposed the urban elite, which moved away from the uprising. Her ally the Duke of Burgundy conspired with the British. The city elite, ridding the city of the British and wanting to crush the uprising, entered into negotiations with the Armagnacs, who entered the city in September 1413. A brutal reprisal against the rebels followed. The cabochien ordinance was cancelled.

At the end of the XIV - the first half of the XV centuries. the gathering of Russian lands around Moscow continued. The main rival of the Moscow principality was the Grand Duchy of Lithuania. In the second quarter of the fifteenth century the unification process slowed down due to the feudal war. It resumed in the second half of the 15th century.

1. The growth of the power of the Moscow principality

In 1389 - 1425. on the Moscow throne was the son of Dmitry Donskoy - Vasily I. During his reign, Nizhny Novgorod, Gorodets, and Murom were annexed to Moscow. Most of the princes of the North-East submitted to Moscow, or even went to the grand duke's service, retaining the remnants of sovereign rights in their ancestral possessions.

2. Muscovy and Lithuania

Lithuania remained Moscow's main rival. At the end of the XIV - beginning of the XV centuries. she became close to Poland, especially after the Lithuanian prince Jagiello married the Polish queen Jadwiga and became the Polish king with the name Vladislav. In 1385, the Polish-Lithuanian Union of Kreva was concluded, which was accompanied by the Catholic baptism of pagan Lithuanians. The cousin of Jagiello Vitovt became the prince of Lithuania. 1413 - a new Polish-Lithuanian union, which provided the Catholic Church with a number of advantages, which alienated the Orthodox clergy from Lithuania. Prerequisites arose for the transfer of lands inhabited by Orthodox Christians from the rule of Lithuania to the rule of Moscow.

True, in the early 1990s. 14th century relations between Moscow and Lithuania improved thanks to a dynastic marriage: Vasily married Vitovt's daughter Sophia. Both principalities jointly opposed the Horde. But in 1399, the Lithuanian-Russian army under the command of Vitovt suffered a heavy defeat from the Tatars in the battle on the river. Vorskla.

In 1410, the Battle of Grunwald took place. Polish and Lithuanian troops (including Smolensk regiments) inflicted a decisive defeat on the Teutonic Order. The Order lost its role as a serious military and political force in the Baltics.

3. Feudal war of the 2nd quarter of the 15th century

In 1425, Vasily I died, leaving the throne to his son Vasily II. But according to the will of Dmitry Donskoy, the brother of Vasily I, Yuri of Galitsky, was the heir. (By the time the will was written, Vasily II had not yet been born). In 1430, when Vasily II's maternal grandfather Vitovt, Yuri, died, he claimed his rights. Both princes turned to the Horde to resolve the dispute. Khan approved Vasily II on the throne, for which he resumed the payment of the Horde "exit". The reason for the open clash was the scandal that occurred at the wedding of Vasily II in 1433 (Yuri's son Vasily Kosoy came to the wedding in a golden belt, which, as it turned out, belonged to the older branch of the dynasty, and Sofya Vitovtovna tore off the belt).

Vasily II turned out to be an unsuccessful commander. Yuri won and became the prince of Moscow, and the city of Kolomna was allocated to Vasily. However, the Moscow boyars followed Vasily, because. feared to lose power and wealth under the Galician prince. Yuri had to return Moscow to Vasily without a fight. Later he took control of Moscow for the second time, but reigned for a short time and soon died.

The war was continued by his sons - Vasily Kosoy and Dmitry Shemyaka. It was carried out with varying success, power repeatedly passed from hand to hand, opponents were dealt with mercilessly. Capturing Vasily Kosoy in 1436, Vasily II blinded him. When in 1446 he, in turn, fell into the hands of Dmitry Shemyaka, his eyes were also gouged out. Since that time, Vasily II began to be called the Dark One.

In 1445, while still a Grand Duke, Vasily II was defeated by the Horde, captured and released, promising a huge ransom. Now Shemyaka had to collect this ransom, which turned against him the service people, the merchants, and the township.

Vasily the Dark received Vologda as an inheritance. All those dissatisfied with Shemyaka began to flock there. The abbot of the Kirillo-Belozersky monastery Tryphon freed Vasily the Dark from the oath given to Shemyaka not to oppose him in the future. Deprived of support, Shemyaka fled. Just a year after his arrest and blinding, Vasily II finally returned to the grand prince's throne.

The war finally ended only in 1453, when Dmitry Shemyaka, who had taken refuge in Novgorod, was poisoned.

Feudal war in the second quarter of the 15th century. was due to random causes. In this war, there was no question of whether there should be a unification of Russia, or fragmentation should be preserved. The question of which city should be the center of the unification was not resolved. The participants in the war did not fight for the separation of their possessions, but only to take the Moscow throne themselves. The war showed that there is no alternative to uniting around Moscow.

At the same time, the point of view of A.A. Zimin, who believes that in the event of the victory of the Galician princes, the further development of Russia could have gone differently in many respects. The fact is that the northern regions of the country, on which Yuri and his sons relied, were the most developed in terms of trade and crafts. Pre-bourgeois relations were already beginning to take shape there, there were strong cities. The center of the country, which supported Vasily II, was poorer, agricultural. The victory of Basil II did not allow to increase the role of cities in the public life of Russia and contributed to the strengthening of the despotic nature of power.

What to look for when answering:

Speaking about the relationship between Moscow and Lithuania, it is important to consider that in the XIV - early XV centuries. in the Lithuanian-Russian state lived most of the population of the former Kievan Rus. The gathering of Russian lands around Lithuania became impossible, mainly due to the adoption of Catholicism by Lithuania.

No attempt should be made to detail the course of the feudal war. It is more important to clearly show the goals of its participants, to explain why Vasily II, despite repeated defeats, prevailed.

If the wording of the examination card reads "Formation of the Russian centralized (or unified) state", then this topic is the second of the four parts of the answer. In this case, it needs to be reduced.

Basil I (1389-1425). Dmitry Donskoy died at the age of 39, nine years after the battle that made him famous. In his will, he transferred not only the principality of Moscow, but also the throne of Vladimir to his eldest son Vasily, without asking the permission of the Horde Khan. Tokhtamysh only confirmed the rights of Vasily Dmitrievich.

What does the name Vasily mean? Where did it come from in Russia?

Basil I successfully continued his father's policy. In 1392, he annexed the Nizhny Novgorod principality to Moscow. The local princely dynasty survived only in Suzdal. Vasily I also succeeded in annexing the principalities of Murom and Tarusa to his possessions. Taking advantage of the new strife in the Golden Horde, Vasily stopped paying tribute and trips for labels. However, the Horde commander Edigei managed to temporarily overcome the strife and in the late autumn of 1408 organize a campaign against Russia in order to force the Russian princes into submission. The new invasion was unexpected. Horde troops burned many cities and fortresses of the Moscow principality. It was not possible to take only stubbornly defending Moscow. Russia was forced to continue paying tribute.

The devastating raid of Edigei showed once again that, despite internal strife, the Horde was not going to lose its power over Russia.

Moscow strife.

The process of further unification of lands and the creation of a single state slowed down in the second quarter of the 15th century as a result of the internecine war that raged in Russia, which lasted about 30 years. But this war was fundamentally different from the strife of the previous time. If in the XIV century the rulers of different principalities disputed the Vladimir throne from each other, now the princes of the Moscow princely house fought for the possession of Moscow.

Vasily I bequeathed the throne of Moscow to his 9-year-old son Vasily II Vasilyevich. But the younger brother of Vasily I, Yuri Dmitrievich, began to claim the throne, referring to the traditions of seniority. Yuri was known as an experienced and brave warrior, builder of fortresses and temples, patron of the arts. He was surrounded by the halo of the son of Dmitry Donskoy. But the guardian of the young Vasily was his powerful grandfather - the Grand Duke of Lithuania Vitovt. It was difficult for Yury to engage in single combat with Vitovt's grandson. But in 1430 Vitovt died, and Yuri received freedom of action.

In 1433 he expelled Vasily II from Moscow. But the Moscow boyars did not accept the new sovereign, and Yuri was forced to leave Moscow. The following year, Yuri captured Moscow again, but soon died.

Now Vasily II had all the rights to the throne. Nevertheless, the sons of Yuri Vasily Kosoy and Dmitry Shemyaka entered the fight against him.

Military operations were conducted throughout the country. Rivals burned cities, destroyed arable land and crops, and took the population into captivity. The Horde took advantage of the weakening of Russia. In 1445, the Horde made a big campaign against Russia. Vasily Vasilyevich was captured and was released only for a huge ransom.

In their struggle with each other, the grandchildren of Dmitry Donskoy used the most terrible reprisals. First, Vasily Vasilyevich blinded the captured Vasily Yuryevich. Then Dmitry Shemyaka, who captured Moscow in 1446, ordered Vasily II's eyes to be gouged out (in this regard, he received the nickname Dark). From the very beginning of the conflict, the Russian Church took the side of Vasily II. Largely due to this support, in 1447 he was placed on the throne of Moscow. But Shemyaka did not lay down his arms. Only after his mysterious death in 1453 did the war stop.

The war between the Moscow princes slowed down the unification of the Russian lands, increased their dependence on the Horde, and brought great suffering to the people. At the same time, she again demonstrated the danger of princely strife. The Russian people became even more keenly aware of the need to quickly unite their lands and create a single state.

Decline of the Golden Horde.

In the 70s of the XIV century, one of the local rulers, Timur (Tamerlane), came to the fore in Central Asia, endowed with outstanding military and state talent and known for his cruelty and iron will. Having conquered Central Asia, he made trips to India, Iran, Khorezm, Transcaucasia, Asia Minor, China. In 1395, Timur defeated Khan Tokhtamysh and subjugated the Golden Horde. Then his troops moved to Russia. On the outskirts of the Ryazan land, Timur's soldiers laid siege to Yelets. The city put up a desperate resistance, but eventually fell. Timur was determined to go further, to capture Ryazan and Moscow. But in the rear of his troops, the conquered peoples revolted. The conqueror was forced to change his plans and turn south.
After the death of Timur (1405), his power began to disintegrate. Strife began in the Horde as well. During the XV century, separate khanates emerged from the Golden Horde: Kazan, Astrakhan, Siberian, Crimean.