This royal visitor did not speak much English, but he could communicate in Dutch, a language he practiced while in Holland shortly before. In both countries he was especially eager to learn as much as possible about shipbuilding, one of the trades in which he acquired hands-on experience, as commemorated in the statue at left from St. Petersburg. During his stay in England, Peter witnessed a mock battle of ships of the British navy, an event that no doubt fed his dream of creating a fleet for Russia. He also had a keen interest in English methods of preparing gunpowder and manufacturing artillery, and he delighted in English fireworks. While Peter focused largely on the material culture of England, his intellectual curiosity also ranged more widely. He asked many questions about the Anglican faith and was, paradoxically, an admirer of the Quakers. Moreover, he visited Parliament. Although he disliked the idea that anyone would be able to oppose a monarch, he professed to admire the candor displayed in Parliament; he is quoted as saying, however sincerely, "..it is good to hear subjects speaking truthfully and openly with their king. This is what we must learn from the English!" (Massie, p. 214) When Peter returned to Russia, he was accompanied by dozens of Englishmen: most notably, engineers and mathematicians, as well as barbers who would soon be busy shaving the beards off of Russian nobles at the orders of the Czar! Along with these immigrants came merchants from England and other parts of the West who were to have a lasting impact on the Russian language. Two other changes affected the lives of many more people. Peter reformed Russian coinage according to the English model, and he authorized an English tobacco concession in Russia, thereby increasing the market for tobacco--as well as the demand for slaves to work in the tobacco colonies of Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina. Source: Robert K. Massie (1980): Peter the Great. New York: Ballantine.