Unrest in Europe: in England, Queen Elizabeth I was under threat from her Scottish cousin; in Scotland, Mary Stuart was about to lose her throne for love … Despite the death of their leaders, both Catholics and Protestants refuse to quit; in Flanders, the revolt against the King of Spain escalates; this was the bloodiest period of the Renaissance. The Real Game of Thrones s2e4: Blood Wedding 1567-1574
The wars of religion fashioned the Europe we live in today. In the 16th century religion and power were inextricably linked. The Real Game of Thrones s2e5: Enemy Brothers 1575-1584
France had a new king but his country was at war. And his brother continued to betray him … Henry had inherited a country in ruin devastated by civil war. ibid.
After the premature death of his younger brother, King Henry III of France had no Catholic heir. He was now the last of the Valois. On his death, the throne would pass to a protestant! The Real War of Thrones s2e6: The True History of Europe: The Last of the Valois 1584-1594
In June 1585 Elizabeth ordered a flotilla of ships to attack a Fleet of Spanish fishermen off Newfoundland. ibid.
King Henry declared Protestantism illegal throughout the kingdom. ibid.
All the mythologies that were created about Europe have disappeared very quickly and are disappearing even as we speak. Tariq Ali, lecture Zagreb 15th May 2012, ‘The Rotten Heart of Europe’
Greece: The old decaying president of that republic has failed to get a pro-Euro government going. ibid.
Essentially a co-Europe, a federal Europe, a political Europe that could be an independent entity in the world … The idea which finally gained currency was Margaret Thatcher’s Europe – an idea of Europe of the bankers, Europe of the markets. ibid.
Many of these ideologues went crazy when the French, the Irish and the Dutch rejected the European constitution. ibid.
At this point the European elite panicked and cancelled all other referendums. ibid.
Yugoslavia: The break up in my opinion has been a disaster story. It’s not been a good thing. And as the crisis deepens it could be felt more. ibid.
This blackmailing of Greece not to quit the Euro zone … An atmosphere of fear. ibid.
This extreme centre exists in European countries … It preaches austerity, it punishes its own people … and it is in favour in most cases of occupying countries. ibid.
The alternative has to be some form of socialism. ibid.
The symbiosis between the politics of the extreme centre and big money, and big corporations, and big banks is so huge that democracy itself is under threat. ibid.
Uncritical satellites of the United States of America. ibid.
A parliament – it looks very nice, it has quite a lot of money, its members of parliament are paid quite a lot, but they have no power at all. All the decisions are made in that little office called The Council of Ministers. ibid.