Joan of Arc (January 6, 1412-May 3, 1431), known as the "Maiden of Orleans", was a French national hero, strategist and saint of the Catholic Church. During the Hundred Years' War between Britain and France (1337-1453), she led the French army against the British invasion, supported the coronation of Charles VII, and contributed to the victory of France. Eventually captured, she was sentenced to the stake by the Inquisition for heresy and witches.

Isabella I

Today, most people only know that Isabella I is the queen who helped Christopher Columbus cross the Atlantic. In fact, she is an energetic and talented monarch. She has made a complete set of key decisions, which have had a profound impact on Spain and Latin America for centuries, and still have an indirect impact on more people.

Her husband is Pei Dinan of Aragon. His wit and talent are equal to hers. Most of her decisions were made after consulting with him, and they were carried out through close cooperation with him. So it seems reasonable to put them in the same chapter in this book. But the title of this chapter is Isabella's name, not both, because most of their important decisions are usually made on her advice.

Isabella was born in 1451 in the pastoral town of Castile Kingdom (now part of Spain). She received strict religious training as a child and was a very devout Catholic. Her half-brother Henry IV served as King of Castile from 1454 to his death in 1474. At that time, there was no kingdom of Spain, and now Spain's territory is mainly divided into several kingdoms: Castile, Aragon, Leon, Granada, Navarre and so on. Castile has the largest area, Yala is located in the northeast of Spain today, Granada is in the south, and Navarre is in the north.

In the late 196s, Isabella was a candidate to succeed Castile and the richest woman in Europe, so many princes courted her. Her half-brother Henry IV wanted her to marry the king of Portugal. However, Isabella, who was eighteen years old in 1469, escaped from her home and married Peidinan, the heir to Aragorn's throne, despite the opposition of King Henry. Isabella's disobedience angered Henry, so he appointed his daughter Juana as his successor. But when Henry died in 1474, Isabella announced that she would take the throne of Castile, which was opposed by Juana's supporters, and a civil war broke out. In February 1479, Isabella's armed forces won. In the same year, King John II of Aragorn died, and Pei Dinan became King of Aragorn and was called Ferdinand II. From then on, Pei Di South and Isabella * * * ruled the vast areas of Castilla and Aragon.

On the surface, Aragorn and Castile are still independent, and most administrative agencies of the two countries are still independent. But in fact, all the decisions made by Pei Dinan II and Isabella I were made by both of them, and both husband and wife tried their best to cooperate tacitly and * * * became (Spanish) monarchs. In the twenty-five years when they ruled together, their basic policy was to create a unified kingdom of Spain, which was ruled by a powerful monarchy. One of their primary goals is to conquer Granada, the only region in Iberia that is still ruled by Islam. The conquest began in 1481 and ended in February 1492. Pei Di South and Isabella won a complete victory. Having conquered Granada and other countries, Spain occupied almost as much territory as it does today. After Isabella's death, the small kingdom of Nabal was annexed by Pei Dinan in 1521.

Pei Di Nan and Isabella founded the Spanish inquisition in the early days of their rule. The court integrates the powers of judges, juries, prosecuting lawyers and police investigators, and is notorious for its cruel punishment methods and rough trial procedures. The suspect has little or no chance to refute the charges against him. They can't know all the evidence against themselves, even the name of the plaintiff. Suspects who deny the charges against themselves are often tortured until they admit it. According to a conservative estimate, at least two thousand people were burned to death at the stake, and the number of people who received lighter punishment was many times more than this number.

The leader of the Spanish inquisition is an extremely fanatical monk, Thomas Tongomada, who is Isabella's personal repentant priest. Although the inquisition was approved by the Pope, it was actually under the control of the Spanish king. The inquisition was used to establish religious unity and suppress the king's political enemies. In Britain, feudal lords always maintained enough power to limit the power of the king. The feudal lords in Spain were once powerful; But the Spanish king can now use the inquisition as a weapon to suppress the feudal lords who openly resisted, thus establishing a centralized autocratic monarchy, and can also use it to further control the Spanish priests.

However, the main target of the inquisition is suspected religious deviants, especially some Jews and Muslims, who have converted to Catholicism in name, but continue to practice their previous religion in secret.

At first, the inquisition didn't point the finger at the Jews who made their beliefs public, but in 1492, at the urging of the fanatical Tanggoma, Pei Di Nan and Isabella signed a notice ordering all Jews in Spain to leave Spain within four months if they didn't convert to Christianity, and they were not allowed to take property abroad. This expulsion order was a catastrophe for about 2, Jews, and many people were killed before they could find a safe refuge. A large part of the most industrious and astute businessmen and craftsmen in Spain were displaced, so Spain suffered a serious economic blow.

When Lagnada surrendered, the peace agreement signed by the two sides stipulated that Muslims living in Spain could continue to practice their religion. But in fact, the Spanish government soon trampled on this agreement. Therefore, the Moors rose up and resisted, but they were defeated. In 152, all Muslims living in Spain were forced to make a choice, either to convert to Christianity or to go into exile. The same choice was put before Jews ten years ago.

Although Isabella is a devout Catholic, she never allowed her orthodoxy to interfere with her Spanish nationalism. In order to ensure that the Spanish Catholicism was under the control of the Spanish monarchy rather than the Pope, she and Pei Dinan struggled hard and succeeded. This is one of the reasons why the Reformation in the 16th century didn't make any progress in Spain.

Of course, the most famous event during Isabella's reign was Christopher Columbus's discovery of the New World, which also happened in the extraordinary year of 1492. Columbus expedition was funded by Castile Kingdom, but it is not true that Isabella had to pawn her jewels to finance this expedition.

Isabella died in 154. She has four daughters and a son in her life. His son Juan died young in 1479. The most famous of her four daughters is Juana (Crazy Juana). Pei Di Nan and Isabella betrothed Juana to Philip I (Handsome Man), the son of the Austrian Habsburg Emperor and the heir to the Burgundy Kingdom. The marriage of these two unusual dynasties made Isabella's grandson, Emperor Charles V, inherit the throne of one of the largest empires in European history. He was also elected as the Holy Roman Emperor, and was the richest and most powerful European emperor at that time. The territories he ruled in name or in fact include today (Spain, Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Switzerland, most of Italy, some of France, Czechoslovakia, Poland, Hungary and Yugoslavia), and there is also a large area in the Western Hemisphere. Charles V and Philip II are fanatical Catholics. During their years of rule, they plundered the wealth of the mainland to finance the war against the Protestant countries in Northern Europe. Therefore, the dynastic marriage arranged by Pei Di South and Isabella in one year had an impact on the history of Europe almost 1 years after their death.

Now let's summarize the achievements and influences of Pei Di South and Isabella. Through their concerted efforts, they successfully created a unified Spanish kingdom, whose borders at that time were basically the same as those maintained by Spain in the past five centuries; They created a centralized monarchy in Spain; The expulsion of Moors and Jews had an important impact on the deportees and Spain itself. Their religious prejudice and the inquisition they founded had a far-reaching impact on the whole future history of Spain.

the last point above should be discussed. People may simply think that the Inquisition put a cultural tight jacket on Spain. In the centuries after 1492, most western European countries experienced a high degree of prosperity in culture, science and technology, but Spain did not. It is not surprising that there is a lack of pioneering and creative spirit in a society where the publication of deviant ideas will be arrested by the inquisition; Some different opinions are allowed in other European countries. In Spain, religion allows only one completely orthodox Catholic. In 17, compared with other western European countries, Spain was a stagnant pool in terms of ideology and culture. Although it has been almost five centuries since Pei Di South and Isabella first established the Spanish inquisition, and it has been more than 14 years since it was completely eliminated, Spain has not really recovered from its influence.

In other words, Isabella funded Columbus' exploration, which made most of South America and Central America become Spanish colonies. This means that Spanish culture and its institutions, including the inquisition, have been established in a vast area of the western hemisphere. Therefore, just as Spain is backward in ideology and culture compared with most western European countries, it is not surprising that Spanish colonies in South America are backward in ideology and culture compared with British colonies in North America.

To rank Isabella in this book, one factor should be considered, that is, whether the same event would have happened in general without her. From the actual situation, Spain has a strong crusade spirit because of the 7-year-long struggle to recover Iberia Peninsula from Islam. But when the struggle ended in 1492, Spain had a choice in which direction to develop. It was Pei Di South and Isabella, especially Isabella, who led Spain to the uncompromising religious orthodoxy. Without her influence, Spain seems to have always been a society with many religious beliefs.

Perhaps people will naturally compare Isabella I with the more famous English queen Elizabeth I. At least Elizabeth's talent can be comparable to Isabella's; Moreover, because of her benevolent and tolerant policies, she seems to be a more enviable monarch. But she lacks pioneering spirit than Isabella, and none of her deeds has such a profound influence as Isabella's establishment of the inquisition. Although some of Isabella's policies are abhorrent, few emperors in history have had such a far-reaching influence

Elizabeth I

Elizabeth I (Elizabeth I, born in Greenwich, today's London, on September 7, 1533, died in Surrey on March 24, 163) was from November 17, 1558 to March 24, 163. She never married, so she was called "the virgin queen". When she acceded to the throne, England was in a chaotic state of internal religious division, but she not only succeeded in maintaining the unity of England, but also made England one of the most powerful and rich countries in Europe after nearly half a century of rule. English culture also reached a peak during this period, and famous figures such as Shakespeare and Francis Bacon emerged. British colonies in North America also began to be established during this period. Her reign was called "Elizabethan period" and "golden age" in English history.

yekaterina

Ekaterina I Alekseyyevna (reigned from 1684 to 1727, and from 1725 to 1727) was the queen of the Russian Empire and the daughter of Lithuanian farmer Samuel Skawlonski.

Catherine I's name was Marta before she converted to the Orthodox Church. In the Northern War, he became a prisoner of Russian troops near Marienpol and was soon favored by Peter I. After her husband's death, with the support of the Guards, she was crowned Queen of the Russian Empire in 1725. However, he didn't participate in the national politics, and the real power was held by Menshchikov. The Russian Academy of Sciences was established according to the will of Peter the Great (1726) and the Supreme Privy Council was founded. A few days before he died, he signed the testamentary edict to Peter Alekseyevich Romanov.

екатерина ii Catherine II (1729-1796), Russian empress (reigned from 1762 to 1796)

yekaterina was originally named Sofia and was born in a German country.

When yekaterina and her mother's carriage galloped along the post road in the eastern European plain, she might be full of expectations for the future. When she was familiar with the court struggle since childhood, she was obviously psychologically prepared for the complicated court life she would face in the future. After arriving in Moscow, yekaterina was soon designated as the spouse of the Crown Prince, but the next 18 years were not easy for her. Queen Yelisavita is sometimes cold and sometimes hot to her, which makes her even more miserable. Her husband Peter is a frail, weak-willed and strange man who dotes on his mistress and often humiliates yekaterina. During this period, yekaterina claimed that "there are no books, no pain, but never happiness", accumulated knowledge in books, and secretly organized a small group to take her lover Gregory? The young officers of the Guards, led by orlov's five brothers, became an iron fist to support her. In 1762, Queen Yeli Savita died, and yekaterina, who was pregnant, did not dare to act rashly. She watched her husband and sworn enemy Peter ascend to the throne and become Tsar Peter III. After Peter III came to power, a series of jaw-dropping actions finally drove him to a dead end. He ordered the Russian army, which had a good situation in the "Seven Years' War" and was in sight of victory, to stop fighting, withdraw from the Prussian land occupied, and sign a peace treaty with Frederick II, king of Prussia. Because he was an admirer of Frederick II, he was also prepared to "personally lead some troops and obey the command of Frederick II". At home, he wants Russians to convert to Lutheranism and declare Orthodox Christians as heretics. No?