They are changing history—assassins of all stripes in the history of Europe

Speaking of assassins, we probably think of a guy with a black cloth covering his face, his eyes sharp and secretive, but his actions are always a bit of a thief. In fact, there are also people in history who are full of reverence for assassins, Ma Qian of Taishi Company is one, he specializes in the legend of assassins, so the heroic deeds of the four major assassins of the Warring States period have become earth-shattering, weeping ghosts and gods.

The most famous assassination in Western history is the death of Caesar, whose prediction of a sudden death adds a bit of mystery to his assassination.

As for the value judgment of the assassination, I think it should be analyzed on a case-by-case basis, because the motives for the assassination vary greatly, some are motivated by money, some are motivated by righteous indignation, some are motivated by political or religious ideals, and some simply want to do something earth-shattering to satisfy their vanity. Recent reflections on the recent history of Europe have been struck by the assassinations that have had a significant impact on the course of history for whatever purpose.

The dirtiest assassination: the tragedy of the father of the nation of the Netherlands

The destruction of icons in 1568 marked the beginning of the Dutch revolt against Spanish rule and their struggle for independence. In this movement, the greatest aristocracy of the Netherlands, William Orange (Prince of Orange), played an important role, and in terms of class feelings, he was favored by the former king Carlos of Spain, and in terms of national feelings, the cries and blood of the Dutch people around him made it difficult for him to sleep. After wavering, he finally sided with the Dutch people and embarked on a path of no return against the most powerful empire of the time, the Spanish Empire.

Since then, he has become a thorn in the side of King Philip II of Spain, a thorn in the flesh, and the most wanted man in the country. Philip II offered a huge bounty for his head.

After years of bloody fighting, the Dutch independence forces under the leadership of Prince Orange gained a foothold in the northern Netherlands. The Dutch provinces were ready to proclaim him king on July 12, 1584. But two days before the big day, tragedy struck.

On the 10th of July, after the Prince of Orange had lunch with the Mayor of Révalden, while he was chatting, the guards came up and reported that Balthasar had completed all the formalities of his passport and other formalities, and had come to receive several letters from the Prince to the French Minister. Balthasar was a Frenchman, and he was a messenger to deliver information to the prince to France, and he had just arrived at the prince's side.

When Prince Orange descended the stairs, Balthasar, who had been hiding behind a column at the entrance of the staircase, suddenly pounced on the Prince, raised his pistol and fired three shots, which struck the Prince in the vital point, and a great man fell and never got up.

The assassin hurriedly fled, but at the door he stepped on a pile of **** and slipped to the ground, and was captured alive on the spot. He confessed that he was a spy sent by Philip II, and that the purpose of assassinating the prince was only to win Philip II's huge bounty and title. Finally, he was beheaded after being tortured with a soldering iron, a knife, etc.

Prince Orange's descendants succeeded him as Dutch ruler, eventually winning Dutch independence and becoming the royal family of the Dutch era.

The most unexpected assassination: the whole of France is crying

The 16th century was a difficult time for France in its transition to a full-fledged modern nation-state. Having just completed the unification and centralization of the country, it has fallen into a complex dispute between Catholicism and Protestantism. Of the religious conflicts throughout Europe at the time, the situation was most complicated in France, as Catholicism and Protestantism were evenly matched. Since the terrible night of St. Bartholos in 1572, France has been mired in a long period of civil war and riots, and two kings have been assassinated in succession, Henry III was assassinated by a Catholic fanatic for betraying his Catholic camp in favor of sympathizing with and even aiding Protestantism, and the assassination of Henry IV (r. 1589-1610) was even more unexpected.

Henry IV was a Protestant king of a small state called Navarre on the southern border of France. Since Henry III died without an heir, Henry IV, a distant relative of the latter, was able to inherit the throne. At that time, France was in the midst of the Wars of Religion|***Huguenots***, and Henry IV personally fought in battle, showing excellent military talent. But it was in 1593 that Henry IV really showed his great personality, in view of the fact that Catholics were in the majority in France, Henry IV resolutely declared himself to convert to Catholicism, and then in 1598 he proclaimed the Edict of Nantes, declaring Catholicism the state religion of France, while recognizing the freedom of belief and rightful status of Protestantism. The Edict of Nantes*** was the first masterpiece of religious tolerance in the West, which eventually brought peace to France. Since then, Henry IV has devoted himself to the development of production and the recovery of the economy, which has been fruitful

One day in 1610, Henry IV was on his way to visit his minister Sully, passing through a narrow street, when two cars collided in front of him, blocking traffic, and the right wheel of the king's car got stuck in a ditch. At this time, the king's car was parked in front of a shop with an arrow piercing a heart wearing a crown. A madman named Lavelac, who was following behind, perhaps inspired by this, stabbed the king with his bicycle, and the king shouted loudly ***I was stabbed***!, and Lavelak stabbed him a second time, and was then caught red-handed, and he did not want to escape.

Lavelak is said to be a madman, and he is always haunted by a strong desire to assassinate the king, and the people have given this disease the name of the king's killer.

Later, when Queen Anna (Henry IV's daughter-in-law) assisted the minor Louis XIV, she said to him, "Learn from your grandfather (Henry IV), not from your father (Louis XIII),Louis XIV asked why," and Anna said that when Henry IV died, everyone cried, and when Louis XIII died, everyone laughed. Yes, there are many famous kings in French history, such as Charlemagne, Louis XIV, Napoleon, etc., but he is the only one like Henry IV who is blameless in merit and personality.

The most romantic assassination: the black hand at the masquerade

Today's Sweden is nothing less than a paradise in the eyes of outsiders, famous for its high income, high welfare, and high civilization. However, did you know that Sweden also had a time of corruption and chaos in its history, and that was in the mid-18th century, when Sweden suffered a heavy defeat in the Northern War, and the aristocracy seized the opportunity to seize power and entered the so-called *** Age of Freedom***.

In 1772, Gustav III (reigned 1771-1792), who had been subject to the rule of the aristocracy for many years, took advantage of the contradictions within the aristocratic class and the dissatisfaction of the three classes of monks, burghers, and commoners against the aristocracy, launched a bloodless coup d'état, dissolved the Council of State, and restored the autocratic monarchy. From this point of view, he is also a generation of heroes.

However, after seizing power, instead of solving the financial crisis at home, he risked provoking a war with Russia, resulting in heavy losses and a large number of domestic military officers mutinied. His life is also very luxurious, he is obsessed with drama, and he has been made a genius actor by later generations.

I would like to add a word about masquerade balls. Masquerade balls are a very popular entertainment in the European court, that is, wearing a mask in the ball, disguise yourself as a god, ghost, etc., so as to facilitate unrestrained participation in the ball.

On March 16, 1792, Gustav III prepares for an evening masquerade ball. Gustav laughed when he was told that he had refused to be trusted and that someone was going to poison him at night, because he had heard similar rumors no less than dozens of times, and they were not all groundless. That night, when the ball was at its climax, a man suddenly shot the king from behind. The dance party suddenly screamed and became a mess, and the murderer fled in the chaos, but was caught before he ran far.

The murderer was a captain of the Imperial Forest Army named Anström, and his backstage was the great nobleman of the time, General Pisarin. Gustav's policy of suppressing the aristocracy caused many members of the aristocracy to hate him, and dissatisfaction with his economic and foreign policies led to the formation of a clique around him that wanted to get rid of him.

Thirteen days later, Gustav died after ineffective healing, leaving two words on his deathbed: *** It was the French Jacobins who killed him, and forgive those who killed him. However, the murderer was shackled and whipped for three days, and finally beheaded and thrown into the sea.

The most tragic assassination: the bloody murder of the king of Spain

Napoleon's invasion of Spain in 1808 sparked a passion in the hearts of the Spanish people, who went from a dead corner in the 18th century to the most revolutionary and violent country in Europe in the 19th century. Ferdinand VII relied on the people to restore the country, but in the end he betrayed and suppressed the despicable acts of the people, which made the Spanish royal family the target of public criticism for a time. The rebellion reached its peak under his daughter, Isabel II, who reshuffled 41 governments, promulgated seven constitutions, staged 15 insurrections by various political forces, and suffered two assassination attempts. In 1868, she was forced into exile in a coup d'état.

Later, Isabel II's son Alfonso XII returned to the throne and the situation in Spain calmed down for a while until the time of his son Alfonso XIII (r. 1886-1931).

Alfonso XIII died of illness when his father died of illness when he was still a fetus, and he became king at birth (there are only two such examples in European history) and grew up to be a willful and passionate lord of a nation. When he was 19 years old, a visit to England made him fascinated by Victoria Eugenia, the granddaughter of Queen Victoria, the grandmother of Europe. Their marriage was strongly opposed in Spain due to fears that Eugenia might have a family disease of the British royal family --- a causative agent of hemophilia, but in the end, he finally convinced his mother to --- Queen Mother, Christina, known as the *** Virtuous Lady***.

It is said that Eugenia's godmother once gave her a pearl necklace, but at the same time told her not to wear it at the wedding, because a gypsy witch had long ago prophesied that if the bride wore this necklace, she would shed as many tears as pearls in the future, but Eugenia took it as a fairy tale and wore the mysterious necklace at the wedding.