49. Arts and architecture of the 16-18th centuries.

To the Whigs who came to power on the accession of George I in 1714, the Baroque was inextricably linked with the authoritarian rule of the Stuarts. A new style was needed for a new age, and the new ruling class, which aspired to build a civilization that would rival that of ancient Rome, looked for a solution in antiquity. The 18th century has been described as "a great period in British Architecture". Georgian architecture in Britain was the term used for all styles of architecture created during its reign by the House of Hanover. These included Palladian, neo-Gothic. Initially, Georgian architecture was a modifications of the Renaissance architecture of continental Europe. It was a variation on the Palladian style, which was known for balanced façades, muted ornament, and minimal detailing. Simplicity, symmetry, and solidity were the elements strived for in British Georgian architecture. The Palace of Westminster, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, houses the Parliament of the United Kingdom. A collaboration in the Perpendicular Gothic style between Augustus Welby Pugin and Sir Charles Barry, it is described by Linda Colley as "the building that most enshrines Britain's national and imperial pre-tensions".

In the 18th century, English painting's distinct style and tradition continued to concentrate frequently on portraiture, but interest in landscapes increased, and a new focus was placed on history painting, which was regarded as the highest of the hierarchy of genres, and is exemplified in the extraordinary work of Sir James Thornhill (1675/1676-1734). History painter Robert Streater (1621-1679) was highly thought of in his time. Portraits were in England, as in Europe, the easiest and most profitable way for an artist to make a living, and the English tradition continued to show the relaxed elegance of the portrait-style. In the popular imagination English landscape painting from the 18th century onwards typifies English art, inspired largely from the love of the pastoral and mirroring as it does the development of larger country houses set in a pastoral rural landscape.

50. English revolution. Oliver Cromwell. New republic.

The English Revolution of the 17th century is considered the first classic large-scale revolution in the West. Almost a hundred years before it, a revolution occurred in the Netherlands, but there it had too obvious a national liberation tone, while in England the social contradictions inside the country provoked the revolution. The events of the English revolution of those years (they filled themselves with already two decades), you can’t call simple, they can be viewed in several dimensions: it was a struggle both social and political (opposition of the king and parliament), and religious - moderate Anglicans and Catholics with radical puritans, - and national, because their own interests of the peoples living in Britain also played their part in it.

Among the members of the Long Parliament was Oliver Cromwell, a descendant of the "hammer of the monks". Previously, he led the life of a landowner engaged in agriculture, but from his youth he was an ardent puritan. At the beginning of the internecine war, having spent a lot of his money, he organized two cavalry regiments, in which he took only people known for their religiosity and strictness of manners. They were almost exclusively independent sectarians from farmers, artisans and small merchants who looked at the war with Charles I as if they were doing God's will, and showed such steadfastness and courage in battle that the enemies called them "iron-rammed." Among these warriors of Cromwell, there were followers of various sects — the Anabaptists and the “people of the fifth monarchy”, who were waiting for the thousand-year kingdom of Jesus Christ, and various other “saints”, but the leader did not distinguish between them and even gave officer posts to commoners. He succeeded in insisting in Parliament that the whole army was composed in the same way, and when this happened, the gentlemen were soon defeated, and Charles I had only one thing to do — to flee. He fled to the Scots, but they were issued by the British (1645).

It may seem that the revolution has achieved little, because in the end the kings of the old Stuart dynasty, which had been overthrown at the beginning, returned to power. However, this recovery was imaginary. During the years of revolution and civil war, England became a constitutional monarchy, and the power of the king was never absolute, it turned into a rather symbolic figure. It is also important that the social revolution caused an industrial revolution, which after some time made England the leading power of the continent and the largest colonial empire of the world.

Had the English revolution and world significance, later serving as a “model” for similar speeches in other states - let us recall at least France, Russia, China, Mexico, etc.

51. Great fire of London. Sir Christopher Wren.

The Great Fire in London, which was not appealing for four days: from September 2 to September 5, 1666, is considered the most famous fire disaster of that time.

The Great Fire began in one of London’s bakeries, as they say, due to the carelessness of the maid of the royal bakery on Padding Street.

The great fire in London at first did not disturb the city authorities too much.

Contrary to the rules of the time, the buildings with the fire center did not destroy them. As a result, the fire of the great fire spread at great speed through the city thanks to the wind. London lost 80% of the housing stock. 87 churches were killed in the fire, including St. Paul’s Cathedral. The spread of the flame was stopped only at the approaches to Westminster and the Tower.

Although the official number of victims of the fire is amazingly small - six people - but no one took into account indirect losses: over the next few weeks, many people left homeless fell ill and died.

Sir Christopher Wren was given the task of re-building London, and his masterpiece St. Paul’s Cathedral was started in 1675 and completed in 1711. In memory of Sir Christopher there is an inscription in the Cathedral. Wren also rebuilt 52 of the City churches, and his work turned the City of London into the city we recognise today. Some buildings did survive the conflagration, but only a handful can still be seen to this day.

In 1675, Wren was commissioned to design the Royal Observatory at Greenwich. In 1682, he received another royal commission, to design a hospital in Chelsea for retired soldiers, and in 1696 a hospital for sailors in Greenwich. Other buildings include Trinity College Library in Cambridge (1677 - 1692), and the facade of Hampton Court Palace (1689 - 1694).

52. British – Spanish relations. The Spanish Armada

The Spanish Armada was an enormous 130-ship naval fleet dispatched by Spain in 1588 as part of a planned invasion of England. Following years of hostilities between Spain and England, King Philip II of Spain assembled the flotilla in the hope of removing Protestant Queen Elizabeth from the throne and restoring the Roman Catholic faith in England. Spain’s “Invincible Armada” set sail that May, but it was outfoxed by the English, then battered by storms while limping back to Spain with at least a third of its ships sunk or damaged. The defeat of the Spanish Armada led to a surge of national pride in England and was one of the most significant chapters of the Anglo-Spanish War.