The Scottish lords captured at Solway Moss, and allowed to return to Scotland under the obligation to further the interests of Henry VIII, in 1542. Among them were the Earl of Angus, Lords Cassilis, Glencairn, and Maxwell.
The ancient Scottish law of the assessment of the value of a life, to be paid by the murderer.
A serious riot in New York in 1849, arising out of a dispute between Macready, the English actor, and Edwin Forest, the American actor. A mob of 20,000 men attacked the Astor Place Opera House, where Macready was playing in “Macbeth,” and it was found necessary to call out the troops in order to quell the disturbance.
The chief of a community of Cossacks. The office was elective.
Government workshops established in Paris in 1848 to provide work for the unemployed. Within the year the workers rose against the Government, and erected barricades in the streets of Paris. They were, however, promptly suppressed by General Cavaignac, and their leaders arrested and condemned to transportation.
An Act passed by the Irish Parliament, summoned by James after the landing of William III in England in 1689. The Act contained a list of between two and three thousand names, and was made the vehicle of many private vengeances.
The title bestowed on Yakoub Beg, the leader of the revolt against China in Kashgar in 1870. The revolt was suppressed in 1877, after the death of Yakoub Beg.
A Jacobite plot to depose George I in 1722, and to place the old Pretender, James Edward, on the throne. The ringleaders were Lord Orrery, Lord North, Lord Gower, and Atterbury, Bishop of Rochester. The plot included a plan for an expedition under James and Lord Ormonde, to sail from Spain. The scheme, however, was disclosed to the British Minister in Paris, and the leaders, including Atterbury, were arrested.
The final courts of appeal in South America, under Spanish rule. They were eleven in number, and in addition to their judicial functions, acted as advisory boards to the Viceroys and Captains-General.
A Court appointed by Henry VIII, after the dissolution of the monasteries, to deal with all questions arising out of the confiscation of the Church Lands.
A statement of the Protestant doctrine drawn up by Melancthon at the Diet of Augsburg, in 1529.
A league between the Emperor, Spain, the Netherlands, Sweden, Bavaria, and the circles of Suabia and Franconia, formed in 1682, to preserve the peace of Europe against the encroachments of Louis XIV. The war, which began in 1688 and was ended by the Peace of Ryswick in 1697, is known as the War of the League of Augsburg.
SeeReligious Peace.
A tribunal established by the Emperor Maximilian I in 1501. It was reorganized by Rudolf II, to deal with questions arising out of the interpretation of the Peace of Augsburg, during the counter-reformation in Germany. The Council accompanied the Emperor, having no fixed place of meeting, and was almost entirely under the domination of the Court, and thoroughly Catholic in its tendencies.
SeeQueen’s Gold.
A bull, also known as the Greater Bull, issued by Pope Boniface VIII against Philip IV of France in 1302. It calls on Philip to cease his opposition to the claims of the Church, and reminds him that he holds his throne only by the goodwill of the Pope. The bull was publicly burnt in Philip’s presence.
The agreement settling the economic relations between Austria and Hungary. The first Ausgleich was signed in 1867, for a period of ten years, and was renewed with slightvariations in 1877 and 1887. The Austrian Reichsrath refused to sanction the Ausgleich of 1897, and it was promulgated by what is known as the Dictatorship paragraph of the Austrian Constitution, in other words by Imperial decree. In 1899 it was amended by the Szell formula, by which M. Szell, the Hungarian premier, stipulated that if the Ausgleich were not formally renewed before the end of 1902, the economic union between the two countries should come to an end in 1907. On New Year’s Eve, 1902, a new Ausgleich, to run for ten years, was agreed to by the Austrian and Hungarian Premiers.
An outbreak of the Coloured League against the White League, at Austin, Mississippi, in 1874. Several sanguinary engagements took place, in which the blacks were worsted, and many killed.
A court consisting of several members of the Germanic Confederation, convened to decide whether questions pending between one of the Confederated States and a foreign power could be taken up by the Confederation as a whole.
A society established in Melbourne in 1851, under the auspices of the Rev. John West, to secure “by moral means only” the abolition of the transportation of convicts to any part of the Australasian continent.
An Act passed in 1849, separating Victoria from New South Wales, and providing a constitution for the new colony, as well as for Tasmania, South Australia, and (subject to the fulfilment of certain conditions) Western Australia.
An Act to give force to the Constitution drafted by Australian statesmen for the union into a Commonwealth of the Colonies of New South Wales, Victoria, South Australia, Queensland, Western Australia, and Tasmania, power being reserved to New Zealand to enter the union if she so desire. The Act provides for the establishment of a central Government, with the control of the customs, postage, and certain other matters, each colony retaining its own Parliament, with power to manage its internal affairs as before. Considerable difference of opinion arose as to the right of appeal from the Supreme Court of the Commonwealth to the Privy Council, and it was finally enacted that in the case of constitutional questions affecting the rights of the Commonwealth or individual States no appeal should lie, unless the Supreme Court certified that the matter was one which should be determined by the Privy Council.
The war which broke out in 1741, in connexion with the Pragmatic Sanction of Charles VI. It was ended by the Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle in 1748.
The Act of Faith, the name given to the ceremony which accompanied the execution of persons condemned for heresy by the Inquisition in Spain and Portugal. The last Auto de Fe took place at Valencia, in 1826.
The period of seventy years during which the Popes resided at Avignon, practically in a condition of vassalage to the French Crown. It lasted from 1305 to 1377, or from the Papacy of Clement V to that of Gregory XI. It is also known as the Babylonish Captivity.
From the time of the return of the Popes to Rome in 1377, until 1791, Avignon was, with certain short intervals, governed by Papal Legates. In the latter year, by a decree of the National Assembly, it was reunited to France, and this reunion was acknowledged by the Pope, by the Treaty of Tolentino in 1797.
The name given by the Mexicans to the sympathizers with America during the Mexican War of 1846.
A plot set on foot by Babington and a Jesuit, named Ballard, in 1585, to assassinate Queen Elizabeth. Letters secured by Walsingham were said to have proved the complicity of Mary Queen of Scots, and led to her imprisonment at Fotheringay, and subsequent trial and execution.
SeeAvignon.
An assembly of Delegates from the whole of Ireland, which met in Dublin in 1792. They prepared an address expressing their loyalty to the throne, and asking for the franchise.
The Liberal Party in Virginia in 1676, who rose in rebellion under Nathaniel Bacon. The name was afterwards adopted by the Maryland Liberals in 1678.
The popular name of the State of Wisconsin, U.S.A., from the badger in its coat of arms.
A nickname of Napoleon III. It was the name of the workman in whose clothes he escaped from the Château of Ham, in 1846.
The policy advocated in speech and pamphlet by Mr. Gladstone in 1876 (while in opposition), at the time of the Bulgarian Atrocities. It was to the effect that if Turkey would not reform the administration of her Christian provinces, she must be turned out of Europe “bag and baggage.”
A valuation of the ecclesiastical benefices of Scotland, compiled by Bagimont of Vicci in 1274. On this valuation thetithes payable to the Roman See were computed, up to the time of the Reformation.
In French feudal times the bailli was the representative of the king in the territories of the great feudal lords. He held a court which took cognizance of matters concerning the rights of the Crown, and outside the jurisdiction of the feudal courts.
A reconciliation between the extreme parties in the French Legislative Assembly in 1792, effected by the persuasive eloquence of Lamourette, Bishop of Lyons. It was purely emotional and irrational, and only lasted a few days. It is also called the Norman Reconciliation.
The sobriquet of Henry de Guise (1550-1589).
An agreement between Austria and Russia, officially communicated to the Balkan States in 1897, by which the parties announced their intention of maintaining thestatus quoin the Balkan Peninsula.
An association of miners, formed at Ballarat (Victoria) in 1854, to agitate for reforms in the administration of the goldfields, as well as for certain political reforms, including manhood suffrage, payment of members, and short Parliaments. The more militant members eventually took up arms against the Government.
The Act to substitute secret for open voting at Parliamentary elections was passed in 1871.
A term applied to the Puritans during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
The old name of the Republic of Uruguay.
A body of 3,000 cavalry which formed the only standing army of the Netherlands, circ. 1550.
An Act renewing the charter of the Bank of England, originally granted in 1694. It made the notes of the bank legal tender, and provided that the notes issued should bear to the specie in hand a ratio not exceeding three to one.
By this Act it was provided that the Bank of England should not issue notes in excess of £14,000,000, unless a corresponding reserve of specie were held. It also restricted the note issue of other banks, and provided that no banks established after the passing of the Act should have the right to issue notes.
A league of Polish nobles, formed in 1876, with the object of dethroning Stanislas Augustus (Poniatowski), and freeing the country from foreign influence.
Frederick II, Emperor ofGermany (1152-1190), so called from his red beard.
The name given to Sillery, Jeannin, and Villeroy, the veteran councillors of Louis XIII, circ. 1612.
A treaty between Charles VIII of France and Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain, by which Roussillon and Cerdagne were restored to the Crown of Arragon.
A treaty between Charles V and Pope Clement VII, by which the Emperor undertook to proceed to Rome to receive the crown at the Pope’s hands, and to take all the steps in his power to check the spread of the reformed religion.
A treaty between France and Tunis, signed in 1861. The Bey recognized the French right to occupy military positions securing the frontier and the sea coast. France in return guaranteed to the Bey his personal security, and that of his dynasty and dominions. She also undertook the due execution of all treaty obligations to foreign powers, but for the future reserved the right to control all the international relations of the Bey.
A Parliament summoned by Cromwell on July 4, 1653, which lasted only till December 12 of the same year. It took its name from one of its members, a leather merchant named Praise-God Barebone, and it was also known as the Little Parliament.
At this council, summoned by Pope Urban II in 1098, the orthodox doctrine of the Holy Ghost was established.
A celebrated Persian family, who rose to the highest offices of state under the Abbaside Khalifs. One of their number, Jaafar, was the favourite Vizier of Haroun-al-Raschid. For some reason not sufficiently explained by the Arab historians, Haroun, without warning, caused the whole family, numbering over a thousand, to be massacred in 802.
Bands of agricultural labourers who, from 1830 to 1833, endeavoured, by burning ricks and farm buildings, to terrorize the landlords into the concession of improved conditions. The threatening letters written to their employers were generally signed “Captain Swing.”
A name given to the Radical wing of the Democratic party in New York in 1844. The Barnburners joined the Freesoilers in 1848.
A commission appointed in 1875, composed of three Europeans and three natives, to investigate the charge against the Gaekwar of Baroda of attempting to poison Colonel Phayre, the English Resident. The commission disagreed, the Englishmen considering the charge proved, while the natives wereof the contrary opinion. Lord Northbrook, however, decided on deposing him.
A league of the Barons of Northern France, under Peter, Count of Brittany, during the regency of Blanche of Castile, in support of the rights of their order against the usurpations of the Crown.
The war which broke out under Simon de Montfort in 1263, in consequence of the failure of Henry III to fulfil his various engagements to his Barons. The war lasted till 1267, though only desultory fighting took place after the death of de Montfort at the battle of Evesham in 1265.
A mutiny of the 42nd Native Infantry Regiment in 1826, the reason assigned being the harsh treatment to which they were subjected by their officers. The mutiny was promptly suppressed.
May 12, 1588, on which date Henri III sent his Swiss Guards to oppose the return to Paris of Henri de Guise. The Parisian mob formed barricades of paving stones, from behind which they shot down the Swiss. The same name has been given to other days on which the Parisians have erected barricades against the constituted authorities.
A treaty between England and Holland, signed in 1709, by which Holland agreed to recognize the Protestant succession in England, and to make the expulsion of the Pretender asine qua nonof peace with France. In return England guaranteed to Holland a barrier line of strong places, including Nieuport, Lille, Ryssel, Tournay, Maubeuge, Charleroi and Namur.
A treaty between England and the Netherlands signed in 1713, by which the line of fortresses, as set out in the Barrier Treaty of 1709, was altered, somewhat to the disadvantage of the Dutch. The Treaty of Utrecht in the same year confirmed the principle of the Barrier.
A treaty signed in 1631 between Louis XIII. and Gustavus Adolphus, providing for the security of the Ocean and the Baltic, with liberty of commerce to the ships of both nations. It was also provided that the forts on both seas and in the Canton of the Grisons should be demolished.
Turkish irregular troops, generally recruited amongst the Kurds and other Asiatic tribes in the Ottoman Empire. They became notorious during the Bulgarian atrocities of 1875.
A book written in 1599 by James VI of Scotland (afterwards James I of England), containing advice on the art of government, and intended for the instruction of his eldest son, Henry.
A council summoned by Martin V, but held under Eugenius IV, in 1433. The councilabolished many of the privileges claimed by the Popes, including annates and the reservation of benefices. Finding the Pope obdurate in his refusal to accept their decrees, they suspended and finally deposed him.
Two treaties made by Napoleon with Prussia and Spain respectively in 1795, by which he detached these two powers from the European coalition. His bribe to Prussia was the withdrawal of the French troops from the right bank of the Rhine, while the inducement offered to Spain was the return to her of the Spanish half of the island of San Domingo.
A treaty between Austria and the Swiss Cantons in 1499, whereby the virtual independence of the thirteen cantons was recognized.
A treaty between the British and Baji Rao II, Peshwa of Poonah, signed in 1802. The Peshwa agreed to receive a subsidiary force, and to pay for its maintenance; to admit into the Mahratta States no European hostile to England; to surrender all claims to Surat, and to remain the faithful ally of the English. This treaty practically put an end to the Mahratta independence.
Jean Dunois (natural son of Louis of Orleans), the famous French general (1402-1468), was so called.
The famous state prison of Paris, built in 1370 by Charles V, and destroyed by the mob in 1789, at the beginning of the French Revolution.
A case decided in 1606, in the reign of James I, in which the judges held that it was lawful for the King to raise the customs duties without the consent of Parliament.
An order of knighthood, founded by Henry IV in 1399. From the time of Charles I it lapsed, until revived by George I in 1725 as a military order, which it remained until 1845, when it was established on its present basis with a military and a civil division.
SeeClub Parliament.
SeeBrothers, Chapter of Mitton, Clan Chattan, Clouds, Death Ride, Dingaan, Dysiefald, Eperons, Field of Mourning, Giants, Glorious, Herrings, Last, Loose Coat, Nations, Seven Days, Soldiers, Spurs, Standard, Thirty, Three Emperors.
A war between Austria and Prussia, arising out of the failure of the male line of the Bavarian princely house. No fighting took place, and the pending questions were settled by the Peace of Teschen in 1779.
A name given to the State of Massachusetts, U.S.A., from the old name of the Colony, namely “Massachusetts Bay.”
A decree issued by Napoleonin 1808, ordering that all foreign vessels then in French ports should be seized.
The State of Mississippi, U.S.A., is so called from the number of creeks or bayous along its shores.
Arkansas, U.S.A., is so called from the bears that in former days infested its forests.
Henri IV of France was so called from Béarn, his native province.
The sobriquet of Joachim Murat, Napoleon’s best cavalry leader, created by him King of Naples.
The sobriquet of Henry I of England, in allusion to his scholarship, which was superior to that of most mediæval monarchs.
An arrangement between Henry I and Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury, in 1106, by which the long standing dispute as to the King’s right of investiture was settled. By this arrangement the King retained the right of exacting from the Bishops the oath of fealty and homage, surrendering the purely formal right of bestowing the ring and crozier.
The difficulty that arose between Queen Victoria and Sir Robert Peel, on the resignation of the Melbourne Ministry in 1839. Through some misunderstanding the Queen thought that Peel wished her to change all the ladies holding Court appointments, a step she refused to take. It ended in Peel refusing to take office, and Lord Melbourne coming back.
A protest signed by a hastily summoned meeting of the minority of the House of Lords in March, 1766, on the night that the repeal of the Stamp Act, imposing stamp duties on the American Colonies, passed that House. The signatories to the protest were headed by the Duke of Bedford.
SeeGueux.
A company of Dutch privateersmen, commissioned by the Prince of Orange, circ. 1570, to prey upon Spanish commerce. Their chief was William de la Marck.
A brotherhood of freebooters, who, under the guise of a revolutionary faction, infested the Netherlands about 1568.
The question as to the right of Canadian sealers to capture seals in Behring Sea (known as Pelagic Sealing), after being long in dispute, was submitted to arbitration in 1892. The United States claimed to have acquired from Russia, by the purchase of Alaska, the exclusive right to the seal fisheries of the Behring Sea, alleging that this right had always been claimed by Russia, without protest from Great Britain, and thattheir interest in the seal herd justified them in putting a stop to pelagic sealing. In 1893 the arbitrators decided that the United States had not acquired any such exclusive right. Further, as authorized by the terms of the reference, they made the following regulations: all sealing within sixty maritime miles of the Probyloff Islands to be forbidden; a close time for seals to be established, and all sealing vessels to be licensed.
A treaty between Great Britain and Sweden, by which Great Britain undertook to pay 12,000 men to be employed in Pomerania in aid of the coalition against Napoleon in 1805.
A name given by the French to John Churchill, the great Duke of Marlborough.
The neutrality of Belgium being threatened by the Franco-German War in 1870, treaties were signed by Great Britain with France and Germany respectively, by which the belligerents agreed to respect the neutrality of Belgium during the war and for one year after its close, from which date the Treaty of London of 1839 was again to become operative.
A treaty between Austria and Russia on the one hand, and Turkey on the other, by which Austria surrendered Wallachia and Servia, while Russia withdrew from her conquests in Moldavia and Bessarabia, and renounced her rights of navigation in the Black Sea. This treaty was signed in 1739, after the capture of Belgrade by the Turks.
The sobriquet of Archibald Douglas, the “great” Earl of Angus, which he earned by undertaking to take the lead in removing James III of Scotland from the pernicious influence of Cochrane, Earl of Mar, in 1481.
One of the two factions of nobles who between them ruled Russia during the minority of Ivan IV (The Terrible), circ. 1533. The other faction was that of the Chouiski.
Lord William Howard (1563-1640), Warden of the Marches, was so called.
A treaty signed in 1773 between Warren Hastings and the Vizier of Oude, by which it was stipulated that an English force should be lent to Oude for service against the Rohillas, the Vizier paying forty lacs down and two lacs per month for their services. Further, Hastings agreed to cede Oorah and Allahabad to Oude, in return for an annual tribute of fifty lacs of rupees.
The first regular monastic order, founded by St. Benedict in 527.
The right claimed by the Church to withdraw its members from the jurisdiction of the secular courts, to be dealt with by the ecclesiastical courts. In thedark ages “clerk” was held to cover all who could read, but with the spread of education after the Renaissance, the abuse of this definition became intolerable, and in 1532, an act was passed limiting the right of pleading benefit of clergy, in cases of felony, to those of the rank of sub-deacon and above.
An arbitrary method of taxation without the consent of Parliament, introduced by Edward IV of England. Benevolences were declared illegal by the Parliament of Richard III.
An Indian Act passed in 1859, by which the proprietary rights of the cultivators under the Zemindari system in Bengal were recognized with certain restrictions.
An agitation in the East India Company’s regiments in 1795-6 for the assimilation of the conditions of pay and pensions to those established by Lord Cornwallis in the Civil Service. The Company handled the matter with very little discretion, promoting one of the leading malcontents to an important post, but Lord Wellesley on his arrival took stern measures, and the embryo mutiny quickly subsided.
The surrender of the Carlists under General Maroto in 1839, which ended the great Carlist war.
A congress held at Berlin in 1878, after the conclusion of the Russo-Turkish war. The outcome of the Congress was a Treaty, which modified the terms of the Treaty of San Stefano. By its provisions Roumania, Servia and Montenegro were made independent States, the latter also obtaining a port on the Adriatic. The northern portion of Bulgaria was made a self-governing State, under the suzerainty of the Porte, and the southern portion, known as Eastern Roumelia, remained Turkish territory, but under a Christian governor. Austria was to administer Bosnia and Herzegovina, Roumania returned a portion of Bessarabia to Russia, while in Asia Turkey ceded Ardalian, Kars, and Batoum to Russia. It is of this treaty that Lord Beaconsfield used the famous phrase “We have brought back Peace with Honour.”
A decree issued by Napoleon in 1806, proclaiming the Continental Blockade.
The bravest champions of the Vikings were so called, perhaps because they fought in their shirts, without coats of mail. They seem in battle to have worked themselves into a kind of frenzy, known as the Berserk rage, somewhat resembling that of the Mohammedan “Ghazi.”
A treaty between Charles I and the Scotch in 1639, following Charles’ abortive attempt to invade Scotland, by which it was agreed that a free Scottish Parliament should be held, in return for which concessionthe royal castles were to be returned, and the army of the Covenanters disbanded.
A commission, under the chairmanship of the Earl of Bessborough, appointed to report on the Irish Land Laws. Following on its report, Mr. Gladstone introduced the Irish Land Bill of 1891.
The increase in the value of property in a certain limited area, owing to municipal improvements, such as roads and bridges. Certain municipal reformers advocate the levying of a special rate from persons thus benefiting, instead of throwing the whole cost of the improvements upon the ratepayers as a body.
SeeCockburn’s Act.
A tax levied in Holland about the middle of the eighteenth century on seed put into the ground.
A sect of fanatics who appeared in Italy in 1399. They dressed always in long white garments, and lived entirely on bread and water. They are said to have brought about a remarkable improvement in the morals of the time, but they were nevertheless opposed by the Pope.
The two factions of the Guelf party in Florence, circ. 1300. Modern Italian society is divided into sections, also bearing these two names, of which the former are supporters of the House of Savoy, while the latter uphold the temporal claims of the Vatican.
A tenant in Ireland, in the Celtic times, who held his land on the tenure of providing hospitality for travellers.
The sobriquet of Louis XV of France (1715-1774).
An insurrection against Louis XI of certain malcontent nobles, aided by the Dukes of Burgundy, Brittany, and Bourbon. It was ended by the Treaty of Conflans, in 1465.
Daniel O’Connell was so called by the Irish landlords.
The Act passed by the Convention Parliament in 1689, embodying as a statute the Declaration of Rights accepted by William III.
An Act passed in 1882, codifying the various acts and decisions relating to Bills of Exchange. It is practically the only codification in the law of Great Britain.
The advocates of a monetary system which would place gold and silver on the same basis for coinage purposes, by making silver legal tender to any amount, and establishing a fixed ratio of value between the two metals.
The Birkenhead, a troopship, was wrecked near the Cape ofGood Hope in 1852. There were not sufficient boats to save all on board, and while the women and children were all saved, the troops stood to attention on the main deck, and went down with the ship.
An outbreak in Birmingham in 1791, directed against Dr. Priestley, who had organized a dinner of sympathizers with the French Revolution, to celebrate the anniversary of the fall of the Bastille. Dr. Priestley’s house and library were wrecked.
An attempt by the Baron de Biron, one of the King’s most trusted generals, to unite the Catholic and Huguenot malcontents against Henri IV, in conjunction with a league of Spain and Savoy against the French king. The plot was betrayed by a subordinate, named La Fin, and Biron was condemned and executed in 1602.
A compromise between the Episcopalians and Presbyterians, proposed by Bishop Usher after the Restoration. He suggested that while the bishops were restored, a number of suffragan bishops should be appointed, each of whom was to be president of a council of Presbyters. Charles II declared himself in favour of this form of union, but when a bill was prepared to carry it into effect, the whole power of the Court was utilized to secure its rejection.
In the Roman Catholic Church, Bishops holding imaginary sees, in countries where there is no Catholic community, were formerly so called. Since 1882 they have been styled Titular Bishops.
Li Hung Chang, the Chinese statesman, was so called.
An Act passed in 1722 to put a stop to the depredations of certain persons who frequented Epping Forest in disguise and killed the deer. The Act was repealed in 1827.
Agnes, wife of the Earl of March, who was distinguished for her gallant defence of Dunbar against the English in 1339.
The assize held at Oxford in July, 1577, when an outbreak of typhus fever carried off three hundred persons, including many of the officials and jurors attending the court.
A body of German soldiers enlisted by Louis XII of France, and employed in the Italian wars of the sixteenth century.
St. Bartholomew’s Day, 1662, is so called. On this day all beneficed clergy had to declare their assent to the Book of Common Prayer, in accordance with the provisions of the Act of Uniformity, and those who refused were deprived of their livings. Over two thousand Presbyterians were ejected from their parishes on this day.
The name given to the reportof the committee appointed by Henry VIII in 1535 to investigate the condition of the monasteries.
A box said to have contained the marriage certificate of Charles II and Lucy Waters, the mother of the Duke of Monmouth, and to have been stolen from her. Had the documents it purported to contain been forthcoming, they would, of course, have established the Duke’s right to the throne in the place of James II.
A regiment of horse raised by the Duke of Brunswick in 1809, to avenge the death of his father who was killed at Auerstadt. They wore black uniforms, and their badge was the skull and crossbones.
A circuit held in Cape Colony in 1812 to investigate the charges brought by the London Missionary Society against the Dutch settlers of ill-treating their native slaves. The results showed that the charges were grossly exaggerated, but a great deal of illfeeling was engendered amongst the Dutch by the thoroughness with which the English Government went into the matter.
The members of the regular monastic orders in Russia. They alone take any part in the ecclesiastical administration.
A pestilence which passed over Europe, and finally reached England in 1349. Its ravages were terrible, amounting, according to some chroniclers, to a third of the population. It probably had its origin in the East, and is thought by some to have been the disease now known as the Bubonic Plague.
The most coveted of the Prussian orders of knighthood. It was founded by Frederick I in 1701, to commemorate his assumption of the royal title. It is limited to thirty members, who must be of noble descent for four generations.
Rebel Chinese in the service of the King of Annam, who were the most dangerous opponents of the French during the Tong-King war.
May 11, 1866, on which day the failure of Overend and Gurney was announced. There was a terrible panic in financial circles, and, among other extraordinary measures, it was found necessary to suspend the Bank Charter.
The dungeon in which some 200 English prisoners were confined when Calcutta was taken by Surabjah Dowlah, the Subahdar of Bengal, in 1756. Only twenty-three survived the night.
The name given to an Irish rising in County Dublin in 1209, which nearly exterminated the newly-established English Colony.
The chiefs of the Society of Jesus, during the Papacy of Pius IX, were known by this name, their power in Romebeing almost as great as that of the Pope himself.
The sobriquet of Edward, Prince of Wales, son of Edward III, from the black armour which he habitually wore.
An annual stipend paid by the English settlers within the Pale to the Irish chieftains on their borders, in consideration of their restraining their followers from raiding the English settlements. Black Rent was first paid about 1410.
A treaty signed in London in 1871 by the signatories of the Treaty of Paris of 1856. In 1870, Russia, taking advantage of the Franco-German war, issued a note, declaring herself no longer bound by the clause of that treaty neutralising the Black Sea. A conference was called in London to consider the situation, and by the resulting treaty the clause in question was abrogated. The conference also took the opportunity to prolong the existence of the Danubian Commission for a further period of twelve years.
Thursday, February 6, 1851, is so called in Victoria. A very dry summer was followed by the simultaneous outbreak on that day of numerous bush fires, which did enormous damage, and even threatened Melbourne, coming within a few miles of the town.
A body of Highlanders, enrolled in 1725 for the purpose of maintaining order in the Highlands. They were made a regular line regiment in 1739, and numbered the 43rd. They later became the 42nd, and are now the Royal Highlanders (Black Watch).
SeeVictorian Deadlocks.
The name given to the vessels engaged in the Kanaka labour traffic in the Southern Seas.
A series of disturbances by the Lancashire weavers, in 1826, as a protest against the introduction of machinery. A large amount of damage was done before the rioters were dispersed by the troops.
The White Ship, in which Prince William, son of Henry I, was returning to England, after the close of Henry’s second French war. The vessel struck coming out of Barfleur harbour, and only one of the crew escaped.
The name given to the ultra-royalist party in France who support the claim of the Spanish Bourbons, represented by General de Bourbon, to the throne of France.
An Act of Congress passed in 1878, at the instance of Mr. Bland, providing for the coinage of silver dollars of 412½ grains Troy, which should be legal tender in payment of all debts and dues. The State was bound to purchase not more than four or less than two million dollars worth of silver per annum, to be so coined, and the profit in the operation was to belong to the State.
The name given to a party of Lancashire operatives, who, in the famine year of 1817, started to march to London, to demand assistance from Parliament. Each man carried provisions and a blanket, hence the name.
The supporters of Oribe in Uruguay, in 1835. Their opponents, who followed Rivera, were called Colorados.
The name given to the general body of Republicans, of various shades of opinion, in the French Chamber, who supported the Ministry of M. Combes in 1902-3.
A conference of delegates from Cape Colony, Natal, and the Orange Free State, which met in 1895 to discuss the question of a Customs Union. Natal could not come to terms, and withdrew, but an arrangement was arrived at by the other two parties, and a convention tariff, with five per cent. ad valorem duties, was accepted by both Governments.
A convention signed in 1854, by which the British Government abolished the Orange River Sovereignty, and recognized the independence of the Orange Free State. Among the provisions of the treaty were clauses binding the British Government to make no treaties with native chiefs likely to be detrimental to the interests of the Republic, forbidding slavery, and providing for extradition.
A nickname of Prince Bismarck, taken from a phrase in a speech delivered by him in 1862.
The execution, by Christian II, the last king of United Scandinavia, of many of the leaders of the Swedish National party, in 1520, after the capture of Stockholm. In the same year Gustavus Vasa raised the standard of revolt, and the war which followed led to the final expulsion of the Danes, and the crowning of Gustavus as King of Sweden.
A tribunal established in 1567 by Alva in the Netherlands, to deal with the crime of treason. It had no charter, or official authority of any kind, but it practically usurped the functions of the Council of State, and exercised jurisdiction over all municipal bodies and provincial parliaments. It was abolished in 1576. It was also known as the Council of Troubles.
Charles I was so called by the Puritan party, because he waged war on the Parliament.
The sixteenth section of the Crimes Act of 1882, by which it was proposed to levy compensation for murder or maiming on the ratepayers of the district where the crime was committed, was so called by the Irish members.
SeeNoces Vermeilles.
Another name forWere-gild.
The five chief septs or clans in Ireland in the middle ages. They were the O’Neills of Ulster, the O’Briens of Thomond, the O’Connors of Connaught, the O’Lachlans of Meath, and the M’Murroughs of Leinster.
A tribunal established by Leopold I of Austria after the defeat of the Turks at Vienna and their expulsion from Hungary. It was intended to remove those who had been concerned in Tököli’s rising, and many nobles and magnates were brought before this tribunal on the charge of being in correspondence with Tököli. Most of those accused were condemned, and so numerous were the victims that thirty executioners were employed.
The Assizes held by Jeffreys on the Western Circuit, shortly after the suppression of Monmouth’s rebellion in 1686. Hundreds of Monmouth’s adherents were sent to the scaffold, or transported as slaves to the West Indies.
The Act of the Six Articles, passed in the reign of Henry VIII, was so called.
A name sometimes given to the State of Kentucky, U.S.A., which contains the famous blue grass region, celebrated for the raising of horses.
A series of enactments said to have existed in Connecticut, circ. 1640, by which the death penalty was inflicted for idolatry, blasphemy, witchcraft, theft, perjury, adultery and disobedience to parents. It is, however, generally believed that they are apocryphal.
The nickname of Henry VIII.
The board established by Pitt’s India Act in 1784 to supervise the Government of India by the East India Company.
The sobriquet of the Earl of Mar, the Jacobite leader in the rebellion of 1815. He was a notorious trimmer.
The name given to the opening in the wall of the antechamber in the Doge’s Palace at Venice, into which anonymous accusations were dropped.
In Saxon times, land held by grant or by charter from the public lands.
The first constitution of Massachusetts, prepared by Nathaniel Ward. It provided that all public officials should be chosen annually by the freemen of the plantation. Each town also elected deputies to a general assembly, to serve for one year. Each town had the right to makeits own by bye-laws. It further provided for the annual election of judges, and for equal justice to all, including foreigners, while severe penalties were enacted for witchcraft and blasphemy.
The sobriquet of Ferdinand II, King of the Two Sicilies (1759-1825).
Bombay was ceded to Charles II by Portugal in 1662, as part of the dowry of the Infanta of Portugal. In 1668 it was surrendered by the Crown to the East India Company.
SeeCoyne and Livery.
SeeAfrikander.
An agreement between Newfoundland and the United States, signed in 1890, providing for the continuance of themodus vivendiaffording reciprocal fishing rights to the two countries.
The Peasants’ Friends, a political party formed in Denmark in 1845, in the interests of the rural population.
In Norse times, the freeholders or owners of Odal land.
A table of unauthorized import duties issued by Cecil, Earl of Salisbury, in 1608, after the decision in the Crown’s favour in Bates’ case. In 1610 the Commons declared these impositions illegal.
A declaration of James I in 1618, as to the sports which might lawfully be indulged in on Sundays after Divine Service. Dancing, archery, maypoles, leaping were permitted; bear-baiting was forbidden. None, however, might take part unless they had been to church.
A conspiracy headed by John Wilkes Booth, at the end of the American Civil War, having for its object the assassination of the President, Vice-President, and some others. President Lincoln was shot by Booth on April 14, 1865, and on the same date Seward, the Secretary of State, was wounded by Payne, another of the conspirators. The conspirators were brought to trial, and four of them hanged, the others being sentenced to various terms of imprisonment.
A code of laws framed in 1249 by a commission composed of twelve English and twelve Scottish knights. They dealt with the surrender of fugitives crossing the border, and provided for the trial of border raiders by special courts, held under the joint authority of the two nations.
Before the American Civil War, this name was applied to the States bordering on the free states, namely, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, Kentucky, and Missouri.
An old system of land tenure, still existing in certain ancient boroughs, whereby real estate passes to the youngest son.
A small affray in Boston in 1770, in which the troops fired on the rioters, and a few persons were killed. Captain Preston, who commanded the troops, was tried and acquitted.
An Act passed in 1774, closing the Custom House and Port of Boston. It was passed as a measure of retaliation for the action of the inhabitants in preventing the importation of tea by the East India Company free of the English duty.
In December, 1773, on the arrival of the tea-ships of the East India Company, bringing duty-free tea, the ships were boarded by a party of men disguised as Red Indians, who threw the tea into the harbour. The result of this action was the passing of the Boston Port Act.
A small inlet in the coast of New South Wales, where the first convict establishment was formed in 1787. The penal settlement was removed to Port Jackson in the following year, but the name was constantly used, generically, for the convict settlements in Australia.
The supporters of General Boulanger, who obtained a brief popularity in France in 1886, largely owing to the army reforms he introduced while Minister of War. He gradually, however, attracted to his standard the reactionary parties, who hoped that he would destroy Parliamentary Government. He quickly obtained a large following in the country, rather by denunciation of Parliamentary abuses than by the advocacy of any definite policy, and in 1888 he was elected for three Departments. At this period he might have overturned the Government, but shrank from the decisive step, and from that time his influence began to wane. He left France to escape prosecution, and his following quickly dwindled away, until in 1890, it was found desirable to dissolve the Boulangist committee. Boulanger committed suicide in Brussels in 1891.
A mutiny on board H.M.S. Bounty, Captain Bligh, headed by a master’s mate named Christian, in 1790. The mutineers made first for Tahiti, but eventually settled on Pitcairn Island, where they founded a community whose descendants still inhabit the island. Pitcairn Island was taken under British protection in 1839.
A nickname of Napoleon III, compounded of the first syllables of Boulogne, Strasbourg, and Paris, the scenes of his two unsuccessful and one successfulcoups d’état, in 1840, 1836, and 1851 respectively.
Eight famous police officers, attached to Bow Street Police Court, who were appointed about 1805. The most famous of them was Townsend. They were also known as the “Robin Redbreasts” from their red waistcoats.
A Chinese Secret Society, whose principal object is the expulsion from China of Europeans, and especially of missionaries. They have met with considerable sympathy in Court circles, and their outrages in 1900 led to a joint European expedition. Their rising was suppressed for a time, but the agitation is seething, and may break out again at any time.
This title is given to John XII, who was elected Pope in 956, at the age of eighteen, and Benedict IX, who was Pope from 1033 to 1044, having been chosen at the age of ten.
In early Russian history, the large landowners, under the authority of the great princes who ruled the various Principalities into which Russia was divided.
One of the weapons employed by the Irish Land League, in its campaign against the landlords. It consists in ostracizing the person aimed at, and forbidding any one to deal with or work for him, or supply his wants. Its first victim was Captain Boycott, the agent of the Earl of Erne in 1880, and from his name the word is derived.
The name given by Walpole to the party of young Whigs, under William Pitt, who acted with the “Patriots” in 1733.
SeeHunting of Braemar.
The highest or priestly caste among the Hindus.
A Hindu sect, founded in 1830 by Rammohun Roy. Its tenets are monotheistic, rejecting the numerous gods of the Hindu Pantheon, and adoring Brahma as the supreme deity. Its adherents ignore all caste distinctions.
Queen Anne was so called by the Londoners.
The sobriquet of Baldwin, first Count of Flanders.
A nickname of François du Tremblay, the familiar of Cardinal Richelieu. He was also called theAlter Egoof Richelieu, andl’Eminence Grise.
A band of agitators in Ireland, under the leadership of John Sadleir, who stumped the country in opposition to the Ecclesiastical Titles Bill in 1851.
The sobriquet of Marshal Ney, conferred on him by Napoleon during the Russian campaign of 1812.
A peasant revolt in Kemmerland and Friesland in 1491, caused by the exaction of the Ruytergeld, notwithstanding the enormous price of bread.
A series of disturbances in various parts of England, in1816, caused by the high prices of food-stuffs, due to the bad harvest and the cessation of the Great War. In many places it was necessary to call out the military to disperse the rioters.
The agreement between the Catholic and Protestant nobles of the Netherlands to agitate for the exclusion of the Inquisition. It was signed at Breda in 1566, and from it originated the Society of theGueux.
A manifesto issued by Charles II, in 1660, after the retirement of Richard Cromwell. By this instrument he promised a general amnesty, liberty of conscience, the settlement by Parliament of the various claims to forfeited estates, and payment of all arrears due to the army, subject always to such advice as might subsequently be tendered him by Parliament.
Three treaties signed by England with Holland, France and Denmark respectively in 1667, after the naval war with Holland, in which de Witte had succeeded in penetrating to Sheerness. By the treaty with Holland, each country retained her conquests, England thus securing New York and New Jersey, and Holland, Surinam. By the treaty with France, England acquired St. Kitts, Antigua and Montserrat, and restored to France Nova Scotia and Cayenne. By that with Denmark, the latter power reserved her right to the Orkneys.
The Irish Law which prevailed throughout Ireland after the conquest by Henry II, excepting within the Pale. It was abolished in the reign of James I.