In the distant past, when an epidemic broke out in one or another European country, strangers, people of a different faith, were considered the spreaders of the infection. Measures to protect against the epidemic often amounted to the persecution of Jews. Since ancient times, there has been a legend that Jews use the blood of baptized babies to perform rituals on their holidays. Richard III went down in history as a cruel tyrant, hated by everyone. However, modern researchers offer a different look at one of the most famous kings of England. During the reign of Henry VIII, England changed beyond recognition. Where it was impossible to achieve success openly, this king resorted to the cunning inherent in his soul from birth. Titus Oates was named "the worst Englishman of the 17th century." Who is he? “Hispanophobia” began to spread in Europe on the eve of the Reformation and finally took shape during the protracted wars between Protestant states and Catholic Spain in the 16th century, but the term itself appeared recently - a little over a hundred years ago. Opponents of the Spaniards accused them of massive crimes against the indigenous population of America, while the same crimes subsequently committed by the British in North America, or the British, French and Belgians in Africa, were simply kept silent. The eve of the French Revolution has long been called by historians the time of the Great Fear. The panic that gripped France at that time changed the course of world history for a long time. It was no longer possible to live as before.