Abstract: The publication is devoted to the events related to the second circumnavigation organised by the English privateer, naval commander and discoverer Francis Drake. The author pays special attention to sources of Spanish origin, represented by the materials of interrogations of Spanish prisoners who had been on board the English ship and personally communicated with English corsairs. The Spanish testimonies contain detailed descriptions of the actions of Drake and his companions on the Pacific coast of the New World, reports on the armament and composition of the English crew, and considerations about the goals of the expedition. A special place in the testimonies is occupied by reports on the damage caused and the booty captured by the English. The comparative-historical method allows, as a result of comparing Spanish and other sources, to identify new details about the course of the expedition, omitted for various reasons by the authors of English testimonies about Drake's voyage. Spanish sources are actively introduced into the scientific turnover during the XX century, changing the idea of the course of the first English circumnavigation expeditions. Despite the repeated information in the testimonies about the actions of English corsairs off the Pacific coast of the New World we can trace the dynamics of Drake's actions, understand how his plans changed as he moved along the coast. Witness testimony allows us to imagine the scale of the booty captured by the British during their plundering raid, to trace the peculiarities of corsairs in Spanish waters on the eve of the open Anglo-Spanish conflict. Numerous testimonies of the captives of the English corsair help to recreate the image of Drake and his companions, to determine the peculiarities of their perception by the subjects of the King of Spain.

Abstract: After the establishment of permanent Russian-English diplomatic and trade relations in the middle of the XVI century, the problem of the formation and evolution of the image of the Moscow tsar became one of the central ones in the descriptions compiled by English merchants, travelers and diplomats who visited the possessions of Ivan IV. Along with the real features of the Moscow ruler, we find in his descriptions a huge number of myths and exaggerations, emphasized both from other tendentious foreign writings of the era and from earlier treatises describing states with a despotic regime allegedly characteristic of all Eastern states. Images rooted in the specified historical epoch will continue to accompany the descriptions of most Russian rulers for centuries. Russian state and the first Russian tsar's image formation in the English writings of the second half of the XVI century opens up the prospect of revealing the characteristic features and stereotypes that have become established in English and in Western society in general in relation to the Russian state in the following centuries. In the course of the study, the peculiarities of the presentation of the image of Ivan the Terrible in English sources were revealed. The reasons for his despotic rule, which began with glorious deeds, English authors see the need to preserve the unity of the state by concentrating all wealth and power in the hands of the ruler, which invariably leads to his corruption and arbitrariness. The Russian tsar is not called a madman, but is considered a tyrant, similar to the eastern despots described by ancient authors.

Abstract: The subject of the study is the daily routine of the Pskov border region in the description of foreign travelers who visited the Russian state at the beginning of the reign of Peter the Great. The testimonies of travelers, diplomats and the military allow to trace the first changes related to the road infrastructure, the attitude towards foreigners and the way of life of the local population observed in the last quarter of the XVII century. The impression that the Pskov road made on travelers often left its indelible imprint on the entire perception of the Russian state by foreigners, and through numerous letters, diaries and reports, the image of Russia in Europe was laid on the eve of large-scale Peter's reforms. Up until the beginning of the Great Northern War, the foundation of St. Petersburg and the expansion of the borders of the Russian state, the roads of the Pskov border played an extremely important role in maintaining contacts with European countries, which led to increased attention to them both from the tsarist administration and foreign travelers. The quality of roads and related infrastructure in the border region continued to improve during the period under review. Travelers compared the sections of their route to the roads after crossing the border. Many foreign travelers noted the best quality of the road in the possessions of the Russian tsar in comparison with Polish and even Swedish possessions.

Abstract: The XV – XVII centuries mark the intensification of trade, political and cultural contacts between the European countries and the Russian State. The large territory of the country, geographical peculiarities, road network, trade and political interests required long winter travels from the Europeans. The final data array, which describes the experience of European travelers is comprised of 27 essays and  reflects 32 visits or stay in the territory of the Russian State. From the representative range of sources, the author determines the characteristics of winters, assessments of the quality of winter roads, descriptions of clothes and road equipment, main methods of transportation, stories about the peculiarities of winter indoor and outdoor night lodging, common and uncommon methods against cold weather, and methods of treating freeze burns. The subjectivity or objectivity of “winter” testimonies of the foreigners was established in accordance with the climatic characteristics of simultaneous regional winter seasons in the texts of the Russian chronicles. The results of analysis of the natural and climatic conditions in Europe and the Russian State against the background of changes in heliophysical parameters allow asserting that European travelers of the so-called period of “Little Ice Age” came from the region with longer or colder winters. In the European part of the Russian State, abnormal freezing temperatures were marked later and not so longstanding. Over the three centuries of winter travels to Muscovy and trips to the domains of the tsar, the Europeans have adopted the experience and technologies of the local population, as well as developed the original recommendations for foreigners, who desired to live and work in the conditions of the “Russian winter”. A new stage in adaptation of economic activity and everyday life of the population to the impact of cold climate would become possible after the emergence of new types of transport and improvement of communication system in Modern Age.

Abstract: The article studies the history of the development and functioning of the main road from Pskov through Gdov to Ivangorod and Narva, which was actively used in the pre-Petrine era. This route can be considered as one of the typical examples of the Pskov borderland road. Written and pictorial sources of the XVII century allow us to reconstruct individual sections of the road, assess the quality of the road surface and infrastructure, and characterize the peculiarities of travelers' everyday life. The main sources were the texts of the 1616 report of the Dutch envoy Albert Joachimi, the painting of road routes from Pskov in 1656, the "Notes on Russia" of 1674 by Eric Palmquist, the entries of the "Diary" of General von Allart for 1700. Trips from Pskov to Narva were made along the traditional (long) route and two short roads. Travelers encountered many troubles characteristic of the border roads – poor condition of the road surface, lack of inns, lack of road signs, bad weather, threat to health and property. The maximum average speed of a trip along the studied road is 61 versts per day. The typical average speed of a summer trip is 30 versts per day. Most of the goods between the cities were transported by sleigh from December to March, the road network of the Pskov border region was more adapted for winter trips.

Abstract: The American continent found by the Europeans at the dawn of the Age of Discovery, immediately drawn the eye of adventurers who dreamt of fame and wealth. Special attention is turned to the representatives of England, who quite missed division of the world between the two great Catholic powers of that time – Portugal and Spain. English explorers were interested not only in natural resources of the New World, but particularly in its inhabitants. Testimonies on the First Nations were reported to Europe mainly by the Spaniards, often in an overly tendentious manner. The discoverers, pirates and privateers of Elizabethan era were interested in all details that can be useful to Europeans, such as appearance, language, culture and lifestyle of indigenous population of the New World, peculiarities of their social structure, religious attitude. The evolution of ideas and formation of image of the holds special place in the modern historical science. Review of the testimonies of English discovers, pirates and privateers who first arrived to the American continent during Elizabethan era, allows reconstructing impression on region at the early stages of its colonization, as well as tracing the peculiarities of perception of the New World in Protestant England right before the country turned into one of the world's leading colonial powers. Examination of the First Nations that inhabited the American continent not only satiated the thirst for knowledge of the English explorers, but also served as the practical purpose for seeking allies in the fight against Spaniards and Portuguese in the region. The common features of forming image of strong and kind indigenous people suffering from Spanish tyranny were aimed at consolidation of Spanish “Black Legend”, which lays the foundation for English trade and colonial expansion in the region in future years.

Abstract: The article presents an analysis of the geographical ideas concerning Pskov and the Pskov land as part of the Tsardom of Muscovy, which developed in England and France in the 16th - 17th centuries. The authors pay special attention to the written testimonies of English and French intellectuals, diplomats, traders and travelers, who wrote their opinions on the natural and geographical features of the Pskov borderland. A separate group of sources is formed by maps of English and French origin, reflecting the level of knowledge of the inhabitants of Western Europe in the early Modern Era about the borders and geographical features of the western borders of the Russian state. The methodological basis of this study is the historical-genetic and historical-comparative methods that allow to trace the development of the English and French authors' ideas concerning the natural and geographical features of the Pskov land in the 16th - 17th centuries and to identify the sources of recurring opinions on the region that were fixed in the mind of Western Europeans. The initial testimonies on the Pskov land, both in written sources and on maps, contain significant inaccuracies in their descriptions, which are explained by the authors' poor acquaintance with the territory of the Russian state. They received information from other foreign sources, either third-hand from residents of Muscovy or from merchants and diplomats who visited the country. By the 17th century the volume of accumulated information made for more and more accurate maps of the region. The descriptions of the region's geographical features, compiled by people who directly visited Pskov, were often short. The travelers were above all interested in the natural conditions and convenience of the border location of the city itself.

Abstract: This publication is dedicated to the events related to the course of circumnavigation of Francis Drake. Special attention is given to the reports on nature and geography made by the participants of expedition. The remarkable natural phenomena, new specimen of animals and plants, aboriginal lifestyle in the remote countries aroused genuine interest among the explorers. They describe the flying fish, astonishing bids that cannot fly, and meticulously analyze the expedition route, weather conditions and geographical peculiarities of the visited places. The research leans on the historical-genetic method that allows tracing the formation of perception of the circumnavigation participants on nature and geography; the comparative method helps to determine the common features and specifics of the New World and other foreign territories formed in the mind of Drake’s companions. The Age of Discovery opened an unfamiliar world for the representatives of the Old Continent, which they were eager to cognize and explore in the XV-XVII centuries. The discoveries made in Francis Drake’s circumnavigation helped to describe the previously unexplored by the Europeans parts of the globe, unusual natural phenomena, and little-known specimen of plants and animals. Testimonies of the participants can be rightfully considered an important source on the history of geographical discoveries of the XVI century.

Abstract: This article presents an overview of the data on the history of Pskov and Pskovian land, collected on the basis of English and French diplomatic testimonies of the XVI – early XVII centuries. The author analyzes the routes of ambassadorial missions, diplomatic ceremony, geographical records and descriptions of the city of Pskov, data on military events and trade provided by the foreign diplomats who visited the Tsardom of Russia. For the first tie is examined the attendance of Pskov by Charles Howard, 1st Earl of Carlisle in July 1664. The source foundation contains the official documents, reports, and diaries of the participants of French and English diplomatic missions to the Russian State. The applied historical-genetic method allows tracing the evolution of representations of the English and French diplomats about the Pskovian land as a part of the Tsardom of Russia throughout the XVI – XVII centuries. Located on the border of Muscovy, Pskov and Pskovian land often attracted attention of the foreign diplomats due to its economic and military potential.

Abstract:  
This article examines the questions of Anglo-Spanish maritime rivalry in the second half of the XVI century. The subject of the research is the English attempts to invade the East Indies and Pacific Ocean domains of the Spaniards during the ruling period of Elizabeth Tudor through the Strait of Magellan, which was scarcely used after the first circumnavigation expedition (1519-1522). The chronological framework of the research capture the period just before the Anglo-Spanish War of 1574-1585. The source base contains the journals of the participants of expedition, English and Spanish reports. Methodological base lies in the historical-genetic method that allows tracing the evolution of English projects of using the rout through the Strait of Magellan during the indicated period. Successful outcome of the expedition of Drake and incomprehensible response of the Spanish authorities, convinced the English government in possibility of using the “South route” independent from the Spaniards, for trading with the Eastern countries. Only the actual Spanish presence in the Strait could impede the trade and predatory English expeditions. Regular attempts of the Englishmen to repeat the expedition of Drake served as an additional destabilizing factor prior to the Anglo-Spanish War.