Speaking of the assassination of big shots, we in China will be familiar with it. Maybe tomorrow, an official of * * * will be assassinated in the newspaper, and a * * * organization will claim responsibility for the incident. Speaking of assassins, we will probably think of a guy who covers his face with black cloth, has sharp and secretive eyes, but always sneaks around. In fact, some people in history are full of reverence for assassins. Sima Qian is one of them. He devoted himself to biographies of assassins, so the heroic deeds of The Four Assassins in the Warring States Period became earth-shattering and made the gods cry. Among them, Jing Ke stabbed Qin Huang, and now it has been put on the screen, and it is a movie and TV series. Really hot. The most famous assassination in western history was Caesar's death, and his prediction of "sudden death" added some mystery to his assassination.
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As for the value judgment of assassination, I think it is necessary to analyze the specific behavior, because the motives of assassination vary widely, some for money, some for political or religious ideals, and some just want to do something earth-shattering to satisfy their vanity. Recently, I was deeply shocked by the assassination in modern European history. Whatever the purpose, these events have had a great impact on the historical process. Here are some of the most influential and meaningful ones for discussion.
In the assassination of members of the royal family, the assassinated party is in the light of history and the assassin is in the dark of history. This paper is mainly based on the discussion of the relationship between the assassination and the European monarchy, so it is more bright.
1, the dirtiest assassination: the elegy of the Dutch founding father
Background: 1568 The movement to destroy icons opened the curtain for the Netherlands to fight against Spanish rule and strive for independence. In this movement, Willem Oranje (Prince Orange), the biggest aristocrat in the Netherlands at that time, played an important role. He was once a great boon to Carlos, the former Spanish king, but the cries and blood of the Dutch around him made him trouble sleeping. Once wavering, he finally stood with the Dutch people and embarked on the road of no return against the most powerful empire at that time-the Spanish Empire.
Since then, he has become a thorn in the side of King Philip II of Spain and a thorn in the flesh, and has become the most wanted criminal in the country. Philip II offered a large reward for his head.
After years of bloody fighting, the Dutch Independent Army led by Prince Orange has gained a firm foothold in northern Holland. All the provinces in the Netherlands will make him king in July 1584. But two days before this big day, tragedy happened.
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Record: On July 10, Prince Orange was having lunch with the mayor of Levaden, and the guard came forward to report: "balsa Saar has completed all the formalities such as passport, and I have come to pick up some letters written by the prince to the French minister."
Balthasar is a Frenchman. His job is to deliver news to France for the prince. He has been working for the prince.
When Prince Orange came down the stairs, balthasar, who had been hiding behind a pillar beside the stairs, suddenly swooped down on the prince, raised his pistol and fired three shots. The gun hit the prince's main injury, and a generation of great men fell down and never got up again.
At that time, Maric, the son of the prince, was very calm and called on everyone to give up the behind-the-scenes messenger alive. The assassin left in a hurry, but just stepped on a pile of shit at the door (this pile of shit just reflected the assassin's personality) and slipped to the ground and was captured alive on the spot. He confessed that he was a spy sent by Philip II, and the purpose of killing the prince was only to get Philip II's huge reward and title. Finally, he was beheaded under the torture of a soldering iron and a knife.
The descendants of William, Prince of Orange, inherited his dominant position in the Netherlands and eventually won Dutch independence and became the royal family in the Dutch era.
2. The most unexpected assassination: the whole of France is crying.
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Background:/kloc-The 6th century was a difficult period for France to transform into a mature modern nation-state. Just after the reunification and centralization of the country, it has fallen into a complex dispute between Catholicism and Protestantism. At that time, among the religious conflicts in Europe, the most complicated situation was France, because Catholicism and Protestantism were evenly matched and fought the most inextricably. Since 1572, the "Night of Terror in Saint bartholomew", France has been plunged into a long-term civil war and riots. Since then, two kings have been assassinated in succession. Among them, Henry III was assassinated by a Catholic fanatic because he betrayed his Catholic camp and turned to sympathize with and even help Protestantism, while Henry IV (1589- 1668).
Henry IV was originally the monarch of Navarra, a small poor country on the southern border of France. He was originally a Protestant. Because Henry III died childless, the latter's cousin Henry IV succeeded to the throne. At that time, France was in the religious war "Huguenot War", and Henry IV personally went into battle to kill the enemy, showing his outstanding military talent. But what really showed the charm and sunshine of Henry IV was that 1593, in view of the fact that French Catholics were in the majority, Henry IV resolutely announced his conversion to Catholicism, and then in 1598, he announced the "edict of Nantes", declaring Catholicism as the national religion of France, and at the same time recognizing the freedom of belief and due status of Protestantism. The "edict of Nantes" was the first tribute to the tolerant spirit of western religions, which eventually attracted the dove of peace to France. After winning the hearts of the people and stabilizing the situation, Henry IV devoted himself to developing production and restoring the economy. His famous saying is "I want every French farmer to have a chicken in his pot".
Record: 16 10 One day, Henry IV passed a narrow street on his way to visit Suri. The first two cars collided and blocked the traffic, and the right wheel of the king's car got stuck in a ditch. At this time, the king's car just stopped in front of a shop. An arrow was painted on the signboard of the shop and pierced a heart with a crown. A madman named Lavila Ke, who followed, perhaps felt some psychological hint from the design on the signboard, and suddenly stabbed the king on the wheel. The king shouted "I was stabbed"! Ravela stabbed for the second time and was caught red-handed. He didn't want to run away.
It is said that Lavila is a madman, and he has a strong desire to assassinate the king. People also named this disease "regicide disease". This mental illness comes from people's impulse to become famous.
Later, when Queen Anna (daughter-in-law of Henry IV) assisted underage Louis XIV, she told him to learn from your grandfather (Henry IV), not your father (Louis XIII). When Louis XIV asked why, Anna said that when Henry IV died, everyone cried, while when Louis XIII died, everyone laughed. Yes, there are many famous kings in French history, but Henry IV is blameless in his career and personality. Perhaps he is the only one.
3. The most romantic assassination: the black hand at the masquerade ball
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Background: Today, Sweden is regarded as a paradise by outsiders and is famous for its high income, high welfare and Gao Wenming. But, do you know, there was an era of corruption and chaos in Swedish history, which was in the middle of18th century. After the defeat of the war in northern Sweden, the nobles seized the opportunity to seize power and entered the so-called "free era", which is actually an era of endless struggle in freedom.
1772, Gustav III (1771-kloc-0/792), who had been controlled by the nobility for many years, took advantage of the contradictions within the aristocratic class and the dissatisfaction of monks, citizens and civilians with the nobility to launch a bloodless coup, dissolve the State Council and restore the monarchy. From this perspective, he is also a generation of heroes.
However, after he seized power, he not only failed to solve the domestic financial crisis, but ventured to provoke a war with Russia, resulting in heavy losses and a large number of domestic officers mutinied. His life is also very luxurious. He was obsessed with drama and was called a "genius actor" by later generations.
This is a supplement to the masquerade ball. Masquerade ball is a very popular entertainment activity in European courts, that is, wearing a mask at the ball and dressing up as a fairy, ghost and so on. , is conducive to free participation in the ball.
Record:1March, 792 16 in the evening, Gustav III is going to attend a masquerade party. He was tipped off that despite reliable information, someone would kill him at night. Gustav laughed it off, because he had heard similar rumors dozens of times, and they were all groundless. That night, the king had a good time physically, dancing among fairies and monsters, and almost forgot "who am I". When the dance reached its climax, a sudden evil wind swept in, and a black shadow shot at the king from behind. The king fell in a pool of blood and the ballroom suddenly screamed and became a mess. The murderer took advantage of the chaos to escape, but was caught not far away.
The murderer was a bodyguard captain named Anstrom, and the background was General Pisalin of big noble at that time. Gustav's policy of restraining the aristocratic class made many aristocrats hate him. Coupled with his dissatisfaction with his economic and foreign policies, a group was formed around him to get rid of him.
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13 days later, Gustav died after medical treatment. Before he died, he left two words: "French jacobins killed me. Forgive my killer. " However, his last wish was not met. After being shackled, the murderer was whipped for three days, finally beheaded and dismembered and thrown into the sea.
4. The most determined assassination: liberating serfs = opening Pandora's Box?
Background: 18 14 years, when Alexander I rode majestically on the land of France, the glory of tsarist Russia, which was the main force to defeat Napoleon, also reached its peak. In the following 40 years, Russia, as the backbone of the "Holy Alliance", played the role of "European Gendarmerie" and attacked everywhere, including sending troops to suppress the Hungarian revolution that had nothing to do with it.
However, the Crimean War of 1853- 1856 made Russia fall from the peak of glory to the bottom of shame. I tried to bite another piece of fat from the turkey, but I was defeated for many years. I didn't expect to be interfered by Britain and France. In this war, Russia's backwardness and corruption were exposed, from guns to ships to roads. Tsar Nicholas I committed suicide by taking poison after a mental breakdown in the case of repeated wars and defeats. The important task of reviving this old empire fell on his son Alexander II (1855- 188 1 in office).
Alexander II understood that backward serfdom had become the bottleneck of Russian progress, and the issues involved were so extensive that many male masters, including Peter I and Catherine II, dared not touch it. However, history has irrevocably placed the responsibility in front of Alexander II. If the reform is postponed for one day, the problem will become more serious.
186 1 year, the tsar finally issued a letter to reform. At the same time, it is stipulated that the land is still owned by the landlord, and farmers can buy a small piece of land according to the regulations, but the ransom is often two or three times higher than the actual price of the land. Alexander wanted serf owners and serfs to be grateful to him, but what the liberated serfs felt most was confusion and confusion. They actually got less land than they used before the reform, and they all thought they were cheated. As a result, the peasants' resistance struggle became more intense, with 65,438+026 peasant riots in 65,438+0860, and the reform year increased to 65,438+065,438+076.
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Alexander II was one of the most assassinated emperors in European history. From 1866 to 1880, Alexander II suffered at least five attempted assassinations. 1879, the newly established radical organization People's Party Executive Committee sentenced Alexander II to death, and set up a special assassination organization to train special assassins. Alexander became the target of public criticism, not only because the above reforms were repelled, but more importantly, the Russian political system was backward. Alexander's corrupt life in his later years seems to have failed to promote the development of history.
Record: After two assassination attempts, the unremitting efforts of the People's Party finally paid off. 1 881March1day, the tsar's carriage came out of the Winter Palace and turned a corner. Rosakov, who had been lurking there, rushed forward and dropped a bomb, seriously injuring the czar's guards. The tsar thought he had escaped another assassination. He got out of the carriage and wanted to check the injured and say a few words of comfort. At this time, another bomb flew by and the tsar fell in a pool of blood. The assassin's name was Grigne Weisky, and he was killed himself.
In the afternoon, Alexander II died of excessive blood loss. His reform became an important reason for his murder, which may be unexpected and thought-provoking.
History is the fairest judge. Although Alexander II's reform was not thorough, it was finally proved to promote historical progress.
5. The most tragic assassination: the bloody wedding of the Spanish king.
Background: 1808 Napoleon invaded Spain, which aroused the passion of the Spanish people. Spain changed from a dead corner in the18th century to a country with the most violent revolutions in Europe in the19th century. Ferdinand VII relied on the people to restore the country, but eventually betrayed and suppressed the despicable behavior of the people, making the Spanish royal family once a target of public criticism. During the period of his daughter Isabel Ii, the rebellion reached its peak. During her administration, the government reorganized 465,438+0 times and promulgated seven constitutions. Various political forces launched the 15 riot, and she herself suffered two assassination attempts. 1868, she was forced into exile in a coup.
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Later, Isabel Ii's son Alfonso XII returned to China for restoration, and the situation in Spain was calm for a period of time until his son Alfonso XIII (reigned 1886- 193 1 year).
When Alfonso XIII was a fetus, his father died of illness. He became a king at birth (there are only two such cases in European history), and when he grew up, he became a headstrong and enthusiastic head of state. /Kloc-When he was 0/9 years old, a trip to England made him fall in love with Victoria Eugenia, the granddaughter of Queen Victoria. Two young people who are passionate about sex staged a royal version of love at first sight and decided to spend their lives together. Their engagement met with strong opposition in Spain, for fear that Eugenia might suffer from hemophilia, a family disease of the British royal family, but in the end, he finally persuaded his mother to be known as "the virtuous lady" Queen Christina.
Record: It is said that Eugenia's godmother gave her a pearl necklace, but told her not to wear it at the wedding, because a gypsy witch predicted a long time ago that if the bride wore this necklace, she would shed as many tears as the pearl in the future, but Eugenia regarded it as a fairy tale and put on the mysterious necklace at the wedding.
The wedding was held on May 3rd1. When the parade arrived at the narrow Mayor Street, a bunch of flowers fell from a building, and a bomb was hidden in the flowers, which exploded in front of the bride and groom's royal carriage. At that time, the ghost wolf screamed and blood flowed. In this tragedy, 22 people died and more than 70 people were injured, but the king and queen were lucky to escape the flesh and blood. The gypsy witch's prophecy has come true, which is only the beginning of the couple's bad luck. They are about to face the most turbulent era in Spain. ...
The moral assassin is an extreme anarchist. The day before the tragedy, I saw him throwing things upstairs again and again, thinking that he was mentally ill and didn't care. It turned out that he wanted to calculate the exact time when the object landed. Later, he committed suicide when he was about to be arrested.
6. The coldest assassination: the fall of the Portuguese monarchy.
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Two years after the murder of the Spanish royal family, that is, 1908, another country on the Iberian Peninsula, Portugal, was assassinated, which had a great impact on history.
/kloc-at the end of 0/9, the Portuguese pacifists stood with the frustrated royalists and the * * * Economic Association, seeking to overthrow the rule of the Portuguese royal family. At that time, King Carlos I of Portugal (1889- 1908 reigned) was a very talented man, but two things made him lose the hearts of the people. First of all, in 1890, he tried to connect two African colonies-Angola and Mozambique, which was opposed by Britain. Under the threat of British force, he was forced to withdraw his troops and give up connecting the two colonies. The other was 1906, when Franco, a hardline royalist, was appointed Prime Minister. Franco was an unpopular dictator.
1908, King Carlos and his eldest son, Crown Prince Louis Philippe, were shot and killed by two militants in the square in front of the palace (the background of the case has never been thoroughly investigated). His youngest son, Manuel II, was only 18 years old and succeeded to the throne. Since then, the domestic situation has been turbulent. Two years later, the Portuguese bourgeois revolution broke out, and Manuel could not find anyone to work for him, so he had to flee to England.
The rule of the Portuguese royal family, which once produced the conquerors Alfonso, Joao the Great and other outstanding emperors, has ended forever, leaving only a series of sighs. ...
7. The saddest assassination: Princess Sisi who has never had a fairy tale.
BACKGROUND: During the period of 1848, the revolutionary trend surged in European countries, and the Austrian Empire, located in the heart of Europe, was the hardest hit. In this storm, the young prince-Franz Joseph was pushed to the throne. He didn't expect that he would sit on this throne for 68 years.
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10 years later, another storm warning. In the Italian reunification movement and the German reunification movement, Austria, as a representative of conservative forces, was repeatedly hit, and was forced to give up the German position and make concessions to the Hungarians at home, thus transforming Austria into an Austro-Hungarian Empire-a dual empire.
Historically, the Austro-Hungarian Empire was destined to be a freak and an unlucky role. It was born under the background of humiliation and finally collapsed in the storm of humiliation. In order to maintain such a huge ethnic group, its ruler, a member of the Habsburg family, became a nationalist of all ethnic groups in China, a liberal of Austria itself and a public enemy of neighboring countries. Almost all members of his royal family have been assassinated, and Franz Joseph himself has been assassinated several times.
But the most famous in this empire is not the longevity emperor, but his wife Elizabeth, Princess Sisi from Bavaria.
Cece's life is full of legends, and her story has been made into a movie, which is popular in Europe and America. /kloc-at the age of 0/5, she replaced her sister and was chosen by the young Austrian emperor. From that day on, her fate was tied to this unfortunate ancient empire. Cece likes writing poems, riding horses and traveling, but her life has been soaked with tears. From the day her only son Rudolph committed suicide, her heart "has actually gone with him, leaving only an aging body".
Record: 1898, Cece went to Geneva. At noon on September 10, she is going to leave by boat. When she took the waiter to the dock, a man named Luccheney suddenly rushed out, pulled out an awl, made a diving jump and poked her in the chest. The awl is sharp and thin. After Cece was assassinated, she got up from the ground and walked to the boat. However, as soon as she got on the boat, she fell down. The maid-in-waiting around quickly untied her skirt and found a small piece of blood on her chest. The captain ordered the ship to turn around and return to the shore. People carried her back to the hotel on a stretcher. In the hotel, the doctor cut off the artery of the Queen's cubital fossa, and the blood kept flowing out. Hong Chen died, and the unfortunate Hong Chen left this world before she was old. In people's memory, she will always be young.
Luccini is an Italian anarchist. The purpose of assassination is to become famous, the second is the hatred of anarchism towards the royal family, and the third is the traditional hostility of Italians towards Austria-Hungary.
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7. The most influential assassination: a shot that set off a world war.
Background: Since19th century, Turkey, an old feudal empire, has been declining day by day. At the same time, under the influence of the whole wave of nationalism in Europe, nationalism in the Balkans is also rising day by day. However, on the one hand, the nation-state in the Balkans has disappeared for hundreds of years, and the division of nationalities and borders is very vague. On the other hand, the big countries around the Balkans are besieged on all sides and regard the Balkans as pork belly that can be slaughtered at will. This makes the situation in this area very complicated. Since the middle of19th century, it has become the focus of all previous conflicts in Europe, and is known as the "European powder magazine".
The major powers reacted differently to the national liberation movement against Turkey in the Balkans. Russia regards itself as "the protector of Slavic brothers all over the world" and has always incited and supported national movements in this region. Austria, on the other hand, advocates maintaining the status quo, because there are many Slavic nationalities under its rule and it is afraid that the revolution will burn to its own jurisdiction. Countries such as Britain and France move according to their own interests and changes in specific circumstances. By the beginning of the 20th century, it was a foregone conclusion that all ethnic groups in the Balkans had left Turkey. The Austro-Hungarian Empire changed its conservative attitude and actively extended a helping hand to this region.
19 12 and 19 13, Serbia won two small-scale wars caused by the territorial division of Balkan countries. The ethnic elements in Serbia were very excited and determined their goal: to build a country with Serbia as the main body, including all ethnic groups in Yugoslavia, and the number one enemy to achieve this goal was Austria-Hungary.
As early as 1908, Austria-Hungary officially announced the annexation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (in fact, it has been occupied for a long time), causing serious protests from Serbia. The Austro-Hungarian Empire also assembled troops on the Serbian border, and the situation was tense. Later Serbia was forced to make concessions under the intervention of the great powers. However, Serbia's hatred of Austria is constantly expanding. Many people think that Austria-Hungary will annex Serbia in the next step, and it is more accurate to describe Austria in the eyes of Serbs by "demonizing Austria-Hungary".
Record: Against this background, Prince Ferdinand and his wife, nephew of Joseph, the old emperor of Austria-Hungary, chose to visit Bosnia on Serbia's national humiliation day, which was regarded by many Serbs as an unbridled insult to Serbia, and the military exercises held in Bosnia also took Serbia as an imaginary enemy. 1965438+On June 28th, 2004, after watching the military exercise, Ferdinand and his wife, accompanied by the governor and mayor, took a convertible to the city hall. When the motorcade reached the downtown area, the Bosnian youth Zabulinovic, who was lying in ambush on the roadside, rushed forward and threw a bomb at Ferdinand's car, but it missed and only injured an accompanying officer. Ferdinand pretended to be calm and ordered the motorcade to move on. After attending the ceremony of the city hall, I returned by bus. When I drove to a street corner, the speed suddenly slowed down. Serbian youth Principo, who was hiding by the roadside, stepped forward and fired two shots at Ferdinand and his wife with a pistol. The bullet did not fail. Two shots killed two people.
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The assassin's name was Princip, and he was a member of "Young Bosnia". It was a well-planned and prepared assassination. After the assassination, Principe knew that he was doomed and committed suicide.
Ferdinand and Principe are sworn enemies, but they also have one thing in common: they are both victims of extreme nationalism.
What happened later is familiar to everyone. Contradictions between European countries have intensified because of this incident. The already tense situation finally got out of control, and one country after another was involved in the war and divided into two factions. This is World War I. In this catastrophe, Europe actually didn't win.