Reviews for The History of the Rebellion and Civil Wars in England: Together with an Historical View of ...

The average rating for The History of the Rebellion and Civil Wars in England: Together with an Historical View of ... based on 2 reviews is 3 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2018-02-19 00:00:00 Jeff Lavin During the sixteenth century the doctrine of religious toleration was recognized by no one. The Preface is the best (and easy to read free online). The first section of this grim book held my attention. The end bogged down like a caisson in muck. It was unpleasant reading, e.g. the St. Bartholomew Massacre where an estimated 70,000 - 100,000 people were slaughtered because they were Protestants. The Governor of Auvergne died for his civil disobedience. "Sire, I have received an order, under your majesty's seal, to put all Protestants of this province to death, and if, which God forbid, the order be genuine, I respect your majesty still too much to obey you." Here's a discussion starter: The Reformation, in contending for the right of private judgment in contradiction to the claims of councils, maintained a principle which necessarily involved the freedom of conscience. This was not then perceived; but time developed the truth. The Reformation became, in reality, the mother of all religious liberty. Three Henrys fought for France: Henry III, King of France; Henry, King of Navarre (eventually Henry IV of France, the subject of this book); and Henry, Prince of Guise. The story is messy and gruesome. There is a tedious monotony in the recital of the horrors of battle. Cities bombarded, and sacked, and burned; shells exploding in the cradle of infancy and in the chambers of mothers and maidens; mutilated bodies trampled beneath the hoofs [sic] of horses; the cry of the maddened onset, the shrieks of the wounded, and the groans of the dying; the despair of the widow and orphan; smouldering ruins of once happy homes; the fruits of the husbandman's toils trodden into the mire; starvation, misery, and death — these are ever the fruits of war.

Review # 2 was written on 2013-11-03 00:00:00 Josephine Stiess I decided to read this because my knowledge of French history is patchy at best and I wanted to learn something new about something old. I learned more than expected, as one chapter summarizes the history of the French monarchy from the days when the country was known as Gaul up until events in the life of Henry IV. The main focus of this tome is the continual conflict between the Catholic and Protestant faith and I think the title of this volume is perhaps misleading. I recommend it to anyone interested in learning about France or European history in and around the sixteenth century, but wouldn't recommend it to someone specifically looking for a detailed account of Henry IV alone. The text covers the period of 1475-1610. The opening chapters feature Henry's great-grandmother and grandfather. There is as much info on Charles IX and Henry III in this as there is on Henry IV, who rarely appears in the first third of the book. As stated, this is fine for someone such as I, who is interested in learning about this period in general, but could prove annoying for someone wanting specific info on Henry IV. I was shocked at some of the events that transpired in France during the 1500s. The massacre of St. Bartholomew was particularly disturbing: Catholics murdered 70,000-100,000 Protestants for practicing a different religion to them. This kind of thing continued for years. One horrible account was an eight-year-old boy offering a 'man' eight coins to spare his life - this innocent child was one of thousands murdered without mercy. Henry IV saw both faiths as political parties and he himself converted back and forth between them since his childhood. He was a very humane king. His ascension to the throne helped bring peace to the war-torn France he so dearly loved. He set a great example. He didn't abuse his power like so many rulers have in all countries throughout history. The author has done a good job of presenting this history in an interesting way and not offering the reader a dull 'text book'.