Англия саяхатшысы Артур Хаселригтің өмірі мен қызметі

English politician

Sir Arthur Haselrig, 2nd Baronet (1601 – 7 January 1661) was a leader of the Parliamentary opposition to Charles I and one of the Five Members whose attempted arrest sparked the 1642–1646 First English Civil War. He held various military and political posts during the 1639–1651 Wars of the Three Kingdoms but became an opponent of Oliver Cromwell during the Protectorate. In 1660, his actions inadvertently helped restore Charles II to the throne; unlike many senior Parliamentary leaders, his life was spared but he was confined to the Tower of London, where he died on 7 January 1661.

Haselrig was the eldest son of Sir Thomas Hesilrige, 1st Baronet (alternative spellings "Heselrig" and "Haselrigge"), of Noseley Hall, Noseley, Leicestershire, and of Frances Gorges, daughter of Sir William Gorges, of Alderton, Northamptonshire. From an early age he imbibed strong puritanical principles and showed a special antagonism towards Archbishop Laud.

In April 1640, Haselrig was elected Member of Parliament for Leicestershire in the Short Parliament He was re elected MP for Leicestershire for the Long Parliament in November 1640. He was heavily involved in the Act of Attainder against Thomas Wentworth, Earl of Strafford, the Root and Branch Bill and the Militia Bill of 7 December 1641. Charles I tried to arrest him for treason on 3 January 1642, along with John Hampden, Denzil Holles, John Pym and William Strode. However the so called "Five Members", together with the peer Edward Montagu, 2nd Earl of Manchester who was also due to be arrested, were tipped off by Robert Devereux, 3rd Earl of Essex. The king marched with his guards into the House of Commons chamber only to find that the Five Members had fled.

Haselrig was very active in the First English Civil War on the Parliamentarian side. He raised a troop of horse for the Earl of Essex and fought at the Battle of Edgehill. He was a commander in the West under William Waller, being nicknamed his fidus Achates, and led his cuirassiers, who were known as the London lobsters. He and his troops distinguished themselves at the Battle of Lansdowne on 5 July 1643, where his men defeated Sir Beville Grenville's Pikemen, although the battle is traditionally seen as indecisive. At the Battle of Roundway Down, on 13 July, Haselrig's force met a Royalist cavalry charge at the halt and after a brief clash, retreated in disorder, the Parliamentarian army losing the battle to Lord Wilmot. Haselrig was shot three times at Roundway Down, with the bullets apparently bouncing off his armour. After firing a pistol at Haselrig's helmeted head at close range without any effect Richard Atkyns described how he attacked him with his sword, but it too caused no visible damage; Haselrig was under attack from several people and succumbed only when Atkyns attacked his unarmoured horse. After the death of his horse Haselrig tried to surrender, but as he fumbled with his sword, which was tied to his wrist, he was rescued. He suffered only minor wounds from his ordeal. This incident was related to Charles I and elicited one of his rare attempts at humour. The king said that if Haselrig had been as well supplied as he was fortified he could have withstood a siege. At the Battle of Cheriton, his men defeated Sir Henry Bard's cavalry charge, seriously weakening Ralph Hopton's army in the west. This battle was a turning point in the war and the king's secretary Sir Edward Walker said that after Cheriton, instead of an offensive war they were forced to make a defensive war.

Haselrig supported Oliver Cromwell in his dispute with the Earl of Manchester and the Earl of Essex. When the Self denying Ordinance was approved by Parliament he gave up his commission and became one of the leaders of the Independent party in Parliament. On 30 December 1647 he was appointed governor of Newcastle upon Tyne, which he successfully defended, besides defeating the Royalists on 2 July 1648 and regaining Tynemouth. In October he accompanied Cromwell to Scotland, and gave him valuable support in the Scottish expedition in 1650. Despite Monck's guarantee of a pardon, Haselrig was targeted by the Royalist Silius Titus, who was also responsible for disinterring the bodies of Cromwell, Bradshaw and Ireton and having them ritually executed at Tyburn. His life was spared but he was imprisoned in the Tower of London where he died on 7 January 1661.

Clarendon described Haselrig as "an absurd, bold man." He was rash, "hare brained," and devoid of tact and had little claim to the title of a statesman, but his energy in the field and in parliament was often of great value to the parliamentary cause. He exposed himself to considerable obloquy by his exactions and appropriations of confiscated landed property, though the accusation brought against him by John Lilburne was examined by a parliamentary committee and adjudged to be false.

Haselrig married firstly Frances Elmes, daughter of Thomas Elmes of Lilford Hall, Northamptonshire, by whom he had two sons and two daughters. He married secondly Dorothy Greville, sister of Robert Greville, 2nd Baron Brooke, by whom he had three sons and five daughters.