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contrary。 The quarrels between Catholic and Protestant
came to an end； but the disputes between the different Protestant
sects continued as bitterly as ever before。 In Holland
a difference of opinion as to the true nature of predestination
（a very obscure point of theology； but exceedingly important
the eyes of your great…grandfather） caused a quarrel which
ended with the decapitation of John of Oldenbarneveldt； the
Dutch statesman； who had been responsible for the success of
the Republic during the first twenty years of its independence；
and who was the great organising genius of her Indian trading
company。 In England； the feud led to civil war。
But before I tell you of this outbreak which led to the first
execution by process…of…law of a European king； I ought to
say something about the previous history of England。 In this
book I am trying to give you only those events of the past
which can throw a light upon the conditions of the present
world。 If I do not mention certain countries； the cause is not
to be found in any secret dislike on my part。 I wish that I
could tell you what happened to Norway and Switzerland and
Serbia and China。 But these lands exercised no great influence
upon the development of Europe in the sixteenth and
seventeenth centuries。 I therefore pass them by with a polite
and very respectful bow。 England however is in a different
position。 What the people of that small island have done during
the last five hundred years has shaped the course of history
in every corner of the world。 Without a proper knowledge of
the background of English history； you cannot understand
what you read in the newspapers。 And it is therefore necessary
that you know how England happened to develop a parliamentary
form of government while the rest of the European continent
was still ruled by absolute monarchs。
THE ENGLISH REVOLUTION
HOW THE STRUGGLE BETWEEN THE ‘‘DIVINE
RIGHT'' OF KINGS AND THE LESS DIVINE
BUT MORE REASONABLE ‘‘RIGHT OF
PARLIAMENT'' ENDED DISASTROUSLY FOR
KING CHARLES II
CAESAR； the earliest explorer of north…western Europe； had
crossed the Channel in the year 55 B。C。 and had conquered
England。 During four centuries the country then remained
a Roman province。 But when the Barbarians began to
threaten Rome； the garrisons were called back from the frontier
that they might defend the home country and Britannia
was left without a government and without protection。
As soon as this became known among the hungry Saxon
tribes of northern Germany； they sailed across the North Sea
and made themselves at home in the prosperous island。 They
founded a number of independent Anglo…Saxon kingdoms
（so called after the original Angles or English and the Saxon
invaders） but these small states were for ever quarrelling with
each other and no King was strong enough to establish himself
as the head of a united country。 For more than five hundred
years； Mercia and Northumbria and Wessex and Sussex
and Kent and East Anglia； or whatever their names； were
exposed to attacks from various Scandinavian pirates。 Finally
in the eleventh century； England； together with Norway and
northern Germany became part of the large Danish Empire
of Canute the Great and the last vestiges of independence
disappeared。
The Danes； in the course of time； were driven away but no
sooner was England free； than it was conquered for the fourth
time。 The new enemies were the descendants of another tribe
of Norsemen who early in the tenth century had invaded
France and had founded the Duchy of Normandy。 William；
Duke of Normandy； who for a long time had looked across the
water with an envious eye； crossed the Channel in October
of the year 1066。 At the battle of Hastings； on October the
fourteenth of that year； he destroyed the weak forces of Harold
of Wessex； the last of the Anglo…Saxon Kings and established
himself as King of England。 But neither William nor his
successors of the House of Anjou and Plantagenet regarded
England as their true home。 To them the island was merely a
part of their great inheritance on the continenta sort of
colony inhabited by rather backward people upon whom they
forced their own language and civilisation。 Gradually however
the ‘‘colony'' of England gained upon the ‘‘Mother
country'' of Normandy。 At the same time the Kings of
France were trying desperately to get rid of the powerful Norman…
English neighbours who were in truth no more than disobedient
servants of the French crown。 After a century of war
fare the French people； under the leadership of a young girl by
the name of Joan of Arc； drove the ‘‘foreigners'' from their
soil。 Joan herself； taken a prisoner at the battle of Compiegne
in the year 1430 and sold by her Burgundian captors to the
English soldiers； was burned as a witch。 But the English
never gained foothold upon the continent and their Kings were
at last able to devote all their time to their British possessions。
As the feudal nobility of the island had been engaged in one of
those strange feuds which were as common in the middle ages
as measles and small…pox； and as the greater part of the old
landed proprietors had been killed during these so…called Wars
of the Roses； it was quite easy for the Kings to increase their
royal power。 And by the end of the fifteenth century； England
was a strongly centralised country； ruled by Henry VII
of the House of Tudor； whose famous Court of Justice； the
‘‘Star Chamber'' of terrible memory； suppressed all attempts
on the part of the surviving nobles to regain their old influence
upon the government of the country with the utmost severity。
In the year 1509 Henry VII was succeeded by his son
Henry VIII； and from that moment on the history of England
gained a new importance for the country ceased to be a
mediaeval island and became a modern state。
Henry had no deep interest in religion。 He gladly used a
private disagreement with the Pope about one of his many
divorces to declare himself independent of Rome and make
the church of England the first of those ‘‘nationalistic churches''
in which the worldly ruler also acts as the spiritual head of his
subjects。 This peaceful reformation of 1034 not only gave
the house of Tudor the support of the English clergy； who
for a long time had been exposed to the violent attacks of many
Lutheran propagandists； but it also increased the Royal power
through the confiscation of the former possessions of the
monasteries。 At the same time it made Henry popular with the
merchants and tradespeople； who as the proud and prosperous
inhabitants of an island which was separated from the rest of
Europe by a wide and deep channel； had a great dislike for
everything ‘‘foreign'' and did not want an Italian bishop to rule
their honest British souls。
In 1517 Henry died。 He left the throne to his small son；
aged ten。 The guardians of the child； favoring the modern
Luthera