The Wonderful Parliament was a session of the English parliament held from October to November 1386 in Westminster Abbey. Called by King Richard II (pictured) to address his need for money, it attempted to reform his administration. Richard had become increasingly unpopular due to perceived extravagance towards his political favourites and the unsuccessful prosecution of war against France. Discontent climaxed when Richard requested a then-unprecedented sum to raise an army. The House of Lords and the House of Commons united against him and his unpopular chancellor, Michael de la Pole, demanding the latter's impeachment. Richard requested the Commons send a delegation to negotiate; Parliament, fearing an ambush, sent two lords instead. The lords threatened Richard with deposition until he agreed to do Parliament's bidding. He was forced to sack de la Pole and was restricted to advisers appointed by parliament. The King was incensed and left Westminster almost immediately.
Read more: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wonderful_Parliament
_______________________________ Today's selected anniversaries:
1814:
War of the Sixth Coalition: French troops led by Napoleon forced the Army of Bohemia to retreat after it advanced dangerously close to Paris (depicted). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Montereau
1942:
World War II: The Imperial Japanese Army began the systematic extermination of perceived hostile elements among Chinese Singaporeans. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sook_Ching
2007:
Terrorist bombs exploded on a Samjhauta Express train in Panipat, India, killing 68 people. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2007_Samjhauta_Express_bombings
_____________________________ Wiktionary's word of the day:
husbandry: 1. The occupation or work of a husbandman or farmer; the cultivation of crops and the raising of livestock; agriculture. 2. The prudent management or conservation of resources. 3. (now chiefly nautical) Administration or management of day-to-day matters. 4. (obsolete) Agricultural or cultivated land. https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/husbandry
___________________________ Wikiquote quote of the day:
The ability of writers to imagine what is not the self, to familiarize the strange and mystify the familiar, is the test of their power. --Toni Morrison https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Toni_Morrison