LITERATURE IN GERMANY.—In Germany, the great literary product of this period wasLuther'stranslation of theBible. The immediate effect of the controversy in religion was not favorable to the cause of letters. Attention was engrossed by theological inquiries and discussion. But in most of the countries, in the department of theology, preachers and writers of much ability and learning appeared on both sides of the controversy. Biblical study and historical researches were of necessity fostered by the exigencies of religious debate.
THE JESUIT MISSIONS.—TheMingdynasty continued in power in China until 1644. About the middle of the sixteenth century thePortuguesecame to the island of Macao, and commercial relations began between China and Europe. They brought opium into China, which had previously been imported overland from India. In 1583Matteo Ricci, a Jesuit missionary, began his labors in China. He and his associates had great success. His knowledge of the book language was most remarkable. The concessions of the Jesuit fathers to the Chinese in matters of ritual excited much opposition in the Church. But for this dissension among the different Catholic orders, the Roman Catholic faith, which had gained very numerous converts, would have spread far more widely.
THE MANCHU CONQUEST.—There were notable literary achievements in this period, one of which was anencyclopediain more than twenty-two thousand books. Four copies were made: only one, a damaged copy, now remains. The great political event of the time was the seizure of the throne by theManchu Tartars(1644), who came in as auxiliaries against a rebellion, but have worn the crown until now. The shaved head and the long cue are customs introduced by the Tartar conquerors. Certain privileges, and certain habits to which the natives clung, as the mode of dress for women, and the compression of their feet, were retained by express stipulation.
FEUDAL SYSTEM.—In 1603Iyéyasu, an eminent general, founded theTokugawadynasty, which continued until the resignation of the last Shôgun (or Tycoon) in 1867. The rulers of that line held their court atYedo, which grew into a flourishing city. The long period of anarchy and bloodshed that had preceded, was brought to an end. Iyéyasu laid the foundation of a feudal system which his grandsonIyémitsu(1623-1650) completed. Japan was divided into fiefs, each under adaimiôfor its chief, who enjoyed a large degree of independence. The people consisted of four classes: (1) the military families, who had the right to wear two swords, the clansmen of the great nobles; (2) the farming class; (3) the artisans; (4) the tradesmen.
CHRISTIANITY IN JAPAN.—Christianity was preached in Japan byXavier, a successful Jesuit missionary, in 1583. Other Jesuit preachers followed. A multitude of converts were made. But on account of immoralities of Europeans, and the dread of foreign political domination, the government engaged in a series of severe persecutions. In 1614 an edict proscribed Christianity. A portion of the peasants who were converts were so oppressed, that they revolted (1637). The result was an act of terrible cruelty,—the massacre of all Christians; so that none remained openly to profess the Christian faith.
THE MUGHAL EMPIRE.—In the latter half of the fourteenth and in the fifteenth centuries, the most ofIndiawas ruled by distinct Mohammedan dynasties. The dominion of the Afghan dynasty atDelhiwas thus greatly reduced. In 1525 theMughal (Mogul)Empire was founded byBabar, a descendant ofTamerlane. Babarinvaded India, and defeated the Sultan ofDelhiin the battle ofPaniput. The new empire was not permanently established until his grandsonAkbar(1556-1605), in a series of conquests, spread his dominion over all India north of the Vindhyar mountains. Not until the reign ofAurungzeb(1658-1707), was the Deccan subdued. After 1600 the Portuguese no longer had the monopoly of the foreign trade: the Dutch and English became their rivals.
LITERATURE.—See lists of works on general history, p. 16; on modernhistory, p. 395; on the history of particular countries, p. 359.
General Works on the Period. De Thou'sHistory of his ownTimes; ROBERTSON'SHistory of Charles V. (Prescott's ed.);Von Raumer'sGesch. Europas seit d. Ende d, 15 tu Jahrk, (8vols).; Hallam'sIntroduction to the Literature of Europe in theFifteenth, Sixteenth, and Seventeenth Centuries; RANKE'S seriesof works on this period,—theHistory of the Popes, and theHistories of Germany, France, and England; Histories of theReformation by D'Aubigné, Döllinger (Roman Catholic), Spalding (RomanCatholic), Fisher, HAUSSER, Hardwick, Stebbing; Laurent,LaReforme; Lavisse et Rambaud,Histoire Genérale(iv. andv.); Seebohm'sEra of Protestant Revolution; Works of Janssen,Pastor, Creighton.
On the German and Swiss Reformation: Waddington'sHistory,etc.; Hagenhach,Vorlesungen, etc.; Lives of Luther, byMeurer, Michelet, Beard, KÖSTLIN; Lives of Zwingh, by CHRISTOFFEL,MORIKOFER; Lives of Calvin, by HENRY, Dyer, Kampschulte (RomanCatholic).
Reformation in France. Works by Soldan, Von Polenz, Smiles, Browning;BAIRD'S works onHuguenots; Perkins,France under Richelieuand Mazarin(2 vols.); Hanotaux,Richelieu(2 vols.).
The Revolt of the Netherlands. Blok'sHistory of the Netherlands(3 vols.), etc.; MOTLEY'SRise of the Dutch Republic, andHistory of the United Netherlands; PRESCOTT'SHistory of Philip II.; TH. JUSTE,Hist, de la Rèvol. des Pays-Bas, etc. (2 vols).
The Reformation in England. The Histories of Macaulay. Lingard, Froude, Burnet'sHistory of the Reformation in England. S. R. Gardiner'sHistory of England(1603 to 1656); Clarendon'sHistory of the Great Rebellion; a series of works on this period by GUIZOT; Neal'sHistory of the Puritans; Gairdner,History of the English Church from Henry VIII. to Mary; selections of documents by Prothero and by Gardiner; Lives of Cromwell, by CARLYLE, by Forster, Gardiner, Harrison, Firth; Strype's Lives of the Leading Reformers—Cranmer, etc.
On the Reformation in Scotland. BURTON'SHistory of Scotland;Robertson'sHistory of Scotland; McCrie'sLife of JohnKnox; W. M. TAYLOR,Life of John Knox.
On the Thirty Years' War. GINDELY'SHistory, etc.; Gardiner,The Thirty Years' War; Life of Gustavus Adolphus.
For more extended lists, see Adams'sManual, etc.; andFisher'sThe Reformation(Appendix). For list of works oncolonization in America, see the list at the end of Period III.
PERIOD III. FROM THE PEACE OF WESTPHALIA TO THE FRENCH REVOLUTION. (1648-1789)
CHARACTER OF THE PERIOD.—One feature of this period is the efforts made by the nations to improve their condition, especially to increase the thrift and to raise the standing of the middle class. An illustration is what is called the "mercantile system" in France. Along with this change, there is progress in the direction of greater breadth in education and culture. In both of these movements, rulers and peoples cooperate. Monarchical power, upheld by standing armies, reaches its climax. The result is internal order, coupled with tyranny. Great wars were carried on, mostly contests for succession to thrones. The outcome was an equilibrium in the European state system, dependent on the relations of five great powers.
FIRST SECTION OF THE PERIOD.—In the first half of the period, the East and the West of Europe are slightly connected. In the West,Francegains the preponderance overAustria, until, by the Spanish war of succession,Englandrestores the balance. In the East,Swedenis in the van, until, in the great Northern war (1700-1721),Russiabecomes predominant.
SECOND SECTION OF THE PERIOD.—In the second half of the period, the East and the West of Europe are brought together in one state system, in particular by the rise of the power ofPrussia.
CHIEF EVENTS.—The fall ofSwedenand the rise ofRussiaandPrussiaare political events of capital importance. The maritime supremacy ofEngland, with the loss by England of theAmericancolonies, is another leading fact. In the closing part of the period appear the intellectual and political signs of the great Revolution which broke out inFrancenear the end of the eighteenth century.
LOUIS XIV.: MAZARIN.—The great ministerRichelieudied in 1642. "Abroad, though a cardinal of the Church, he arrested the Catholic reaction, freed Northern from Southern Europe, and made toleration possible; at home, out of the broken fragments of her liberties and her national prosperity, he paved the way for the glory of France." He paved the way, also, for the despotism of her kings. He had been feared and hated by king and people, but had been obeyed by both. A few months laterLouis XIII., a sovereign without either marked virtues or vices, followed him (1643).Louis XIV.(1643-1715) was then only five years old; andMazarin, the heir ofRichelieu'spower, stood at the helm until his death (1661). To this Italian statesman, ambitious of power and wealth, but astute, and, likeRichelieu, devoted to France, the queen,Anneof Austria, willingly left the management of the government. The rebellion of theFronde(1648-1653) was a rising of the nobles to throw off the yoke laid on them byRichelieu. They were helped by the discontent of parliament and people with the oppressive taxation. In Paris, there was a rising of the populace, who built barricades; but the revolt was quelled. Its leaders,Conti, the Cardinal deRetz, and the greatCondé, a famous soldier, were compelled to fly from the country.Mazarin, who had been obliged to fly to Cologne, returned in triumph. After that, resistance to the absolute monarch ceased,—the monarch whose theory of government was expressed in the assertion, "I am the State" (l'etat c'est moi). In thePeaceof thePyrenees(1659),Spaingave in marriage toLouis, the InfantaMaria Theresa, the daughter ofPhilip IV., and ceded to France important places in the Netherlands.Mariarenounced all claims on her inheritance, for herself and her issue, in consideration of a dowry of five hundred thousand crowns to be paid by Spain. Shortly after,Mazarin, who had negotiated the treaty, in full possession of his exalted authority and the incalculable treasures which he had amassed, died.
LOUIS XIV. AND HIS OFFICERS.—Louis XIV.was now his own master. His appetite for power was united with a relish for pomp and splendor, which led him to makeVersailles, the seat of his court, as splendid as architectural skill and lavish expenditure could render it, and to make France the model in art, literature, manners, and modes of life, for all Europe. With sensual propensities he mingled a religious or superstitious vein, so that from time to time he sought to compound for his vices by the persecution of the Huguenots. He was the central figure in the European life of his time. Taking care that his own personal authority should not be in the least impaired, he madeColbertcontroller-general, to whom was given charge of the finances of the kingdom.Louvoiswas made the minister of war.Colbertnot only provided the money for the costly wars, the luxurious palaces, and the gorgeous festivities of his master, but constructed canals, fostered manufactures, and built up the French marine.Louvois, with equal success, organized the military forces in a way that was copied by other European states. Able generals—Turenne,Condé, andLuxemburg—were in command. The nobles who held the offices, military as well as civil, vied with one another in their obsequious devotion to the "great king."Vauban, the most skillful engineer of the age, erected impregnable fortifications in the border towns that were seized by conquest. In the arts of diplomacy, the French ambassadors were equally superior. The monarch was sustained by the national pride of the people, and by their ambition to dominate in Europe.
ATTACK ON THE NETHERLANDS.—Louishad already purchased of the EnglishDunkirk,—which was shamefully sold to him byCharles II.,—whenPhilip IV.of Spain died (1665). He now claimed parts of the Netherlands as being an inheritance of his queen, according to an old law of those provinces. He conquered the county ofBurgundy, orFranche Comté, and various places in that country.Holland, afraid that he might push his conquests farther, formed theTriple AlliancewithEnglandandSweden. In the Treaty ofAachen(Aix), Louis gave up to the SpaniardsFranche Comté, but retained the captured cities in the Netherlands (1668), whichVaubanproceeded to fortify.
ATTACK ON HOLLAND.—The next attack ofLouiswas uponHolland. Holland and the Spanish Netherlands were at variance in religion, as well as in their political systems, and rivals in trade and industry. The first minister of the emperor,Leopold., was in the pay ofLouis. Sweden, in the minority ofCharles XI., was in the hands of the Swedish nobles. England had now joinedLouis, who, in return for help in the Netherlands, was to furnish subsidies to assistCharles II.in establishing Catholicism in his realm. In Holland, there was a division between the republicans, of whom the grand pensionary,John de Witt, was the chief, and the adherents of the house of Orange.
THE WAR: THE PEACE OF NIMWEGEN.—Louis, having first seizedLorraine,—whose duke had allied himself to the United Provinces,—accompanied by his famous generals,Condé, Turenne,andVauban, put himself at the head of an army of one hundred and twenty thousand men, which crossed the Rhine, and advanced to the neighborhood of the capital of Holland. The Orange party charged the blame of the failure to defend the land on their adversaries, whom they accused of treachery.De Wittand his brother,Cornelius, were killed in the streets of Hague.William III., the Prince of Orange (1672-1702), assumed power.Gröningenheld out against the French troops. Storms on the sea and on the land aided the patriotic defenders of their country. The "Great Elector" of Brandenburg,Frederic William, lent them help. At length the German emperor was driven by the French aggressions to join actively in the war, on the side of the Dutch. The English Parliament (1674) forcedCharles II.to conclude peace with them. In the battle ofSasbach,Turennefell (1675).Swedentook the side of France, and invaded the elector's territory; but the elector's victory atFehrbellin(1675) laid the foundation of the greatness ofPrussia.William III.kept the field against the great generals of France, and married the daughter ofJames, the Duke of York, the brother ofCharles II.In bringing the war to an end,Louis, by shrewd diplomacy, settled with the United Provinces first. By thePeace of Nimwegen(1678 and 1679), Holland received back its whole territory; France kept most of her new conquests in the Netherlands, with the county ofBurgundy, the city ofBesançon, and some imperial towns inAlsacenot ceded in the Peace of Westphalia; the emperor lost to FranceFreiburgin the Breisgau. The elector, left to shift for himself, was forced to give back his profitable conquests to Sweden (1679).
EFFECT OF THE WAR.—In the war with Holland,Louishad shown his military strength, and his skill in making and breaking alliances. He had made progress towards the goal of his ambition, which was to act as dictator in the European family of states. To the end of the century, France stood on the pinnacle of power and apparent prosperity.
CONDITION OF FRANCE.—Manufactures flourished to an astonishing degree. France became a naval power with a large fleet and with all its services better organized than those of the contemporary English marine.Colbertfinished the canal between the Mediterranean and the Atlantic. Colonies were founded inSt. Domingo,Cayenne,Madagascar.Canadawas increasing in strength. A uniform, strict judicial system was established. Restless nobles were cowed, and the common people thus drawn to the monarch.
THE FRENCH COURT.—In his court, the king established elaborate forms of etiquette, and made himself almost an object of worship. The nobility swarmed about him, and sought advancement from his favor. Festivals and shows of all sorts—plays, ballets, banquets, dazzling fireworks—were the costly diversion of the gay throngs of courtiers, male and female, in that court, where sensuality was thinly veiled by ceremonious politeness and punctilious religious observances. Poets, artists, and scholars were liberally patronized, and joined in the common adulation offered to the sovereign. Stately edifices were built, great libraries gathered; academies of art and of science, an astronomical observatory, and the botanic garden for the promotion of the study of natural history, were founded. The palace atVersailles, with its statues, fountains, and gardens, furnished a pattern which all the rest of Europe aspired to copy. Every thing there wore an artificial stamp, from the trimming of the trees to the etiquette of the ballroom. But there was a splendor and a fascination which caused the French fashions, the French language and literature, with the levity and immorality which traveled in their company, to spread in the higher circles of the other European countries.
THE GALLICAN CHURCH.—Louis XIV.desired, without any rupture with Rome, to take to himself a power in ecclesiastical affairs like that assumed in England byHenry VIII. Under the pontificate ofInnocent XI., the assembly of the French clergy passed four propositions asserting the rights of the national Gallican Church, and limiting the Pope's prerogative (1682). The king had for his ecclesiastical champion the able and eloquentBossuet, the Bishop of Meaux. Subsequently, underInnocent XII.,Louis, afraid of a schism and anxious to procure other advantages, yielded up the four obnoxious propositions.
JANSENISM.—The controversy raised by theJansenistswas an important event in the history of France. They took their name fromJansenius, who had been Bishop ofYpres, an ardent disciple ofSt. Augustine'stheology. They strenuously opposed the theology and moral maxims of the powerful Jesuit order. Their leaders,St. Cyran,Pascal,Arnauld,Nicole, and others, were calledPort Royalists, from their relation to a cloister atPort Royal, where some of them resided. They were men of literary and philosophical genius, as well as theologians and devotees.Blaise Pascalwrote the "Provincial Letters," a satirical and polemical work against the Jesuit doctrines. This has always been deemed in style a masterpiece of French prose. His posthumousThoughtsis a profound and suggestive fragment on the evidences of religion. In the heated controversy that arose, the Jansenist leaders were for a more limited definition of the Pope's authority in deciding questions of doctrine. The French court at length took the side of the Jesuits. In 1713 the Pope's bull against theMoral ReflectionsofQuesnel, a Jansenist author, was a heavy blow at his party. Finally, the Jansenists were proscribed by the king, and the cloister at Port Royal leveled to the ground. The Jansenist influence made a part of the tendencies to liberalism that led to the Revolution at the close of the century.
THE HUGUENOTS.—AfterMazarin'sdeath, the king fell under the influence of a party hostile to the Huguenots.Louvoisfostered this feeling in him, as didMadame de Maintenon, whom he had secretly married, and by whom he was influenced through life. As he grew older, he sought to appease a guilty conscience by inflicting tortures on religious dissenters. He issued edicts of the most cruel character. He adopted the atrocious scheme of thedragonade, or the billeting of soldiers, over whom there was no restraint, in Huguenot families. In the course of three years, fifty thousand families, industrious and virtuous people, had fled the country. In 1685 theEdict of Nantes, the charter of Protestant rights, was revoked. Emigration was forbidden; yet not far from a quarter of a million of refugees escaped, to enrich by their skill and labor the Protestant countries where they found an asylum. Many of the refugees were received by the ElectorFrederick, and helped to build upBerlin, then a small city of twelve thousand inhabitants. France was not only in a degree impoverished by those who fled, but, also, by the much larger number who remained to be harassed and ruined by the foolish and brutal bigotry of their ruler.
The loss to France by the exile of the Huguenots was incalculable. "Here were the thriftiest, the bravest, the most intelligent of Frenchmen, the very flower of the race; some of their best and purest blood, some of their fairest and most virtuous women, all their picked artisans. In war, in diplomacy, in literature, in production of wealth, these refugees gave what they took from France to her enemies; for they carried with them that bitter sense of wrong which made them henceforth foremost among those enemies, the forlorn hope of every attack on their ancient fatherland. Large numbers of officers, and those among the ablest, emigrated; among them pre-eminent Marshal Schomberg, 'the best general in Europe.' The fleet especially suffered: the best of the sailors emigrated; the ships were almost unmanned. The seamen carried tidings of their country's madness to the ends of the earth: as Voltaire says, 'the French were as widely dispersed as the Jews.' Not only in industry, but in thought and mental activity, there was a terrible loss. From this time literature in France loses all spring and power."
In England, the Huguenot exiles quickened manufactures; in Holland, commerce; in Brandenburg, they made a new era in agriculture. Moreover, from this time the policy of Brandenburg was changed: the hostility to the emperor and the house of Austria gave way. An antagonism to France arose: "a process begun by the Great Elector, carried on by Frederick the Great, and brought to a triumphant close in our own days, dates from the revocation of the Edict of Nantes."
THE COST OF NATIONAL UNITY IN FRANCE.—From the beginning of the Reformation, the problem for the nations to solve was, how to combinereligious freedomwithnational unity. The intolerance of the Spanish branch of the Hapsburgs deprived them ofHolland, and broke down their power. This effort to secure uniformity of belief was shattered. A like effort inGermanyresulted in the Thirty Years' War, and the utter loss of the national unity which it aimed to restore. The civil wars inFrance, aiming at the same result, uniformity of belief, ended in an accommodation between the parties, secured byHenry IV. in theEdict of Nantes. There was a partial sacrifice of national unity. This was reestablished by the policy ofRichelieuand the acts ofLouis XIV.,but at a fearful cost. The loss of the Huguenot emigrants; the loss of character, with the loss of the spirit of independence, in the nobles of France; the full sway of a monarchical despotism,—this was the price paid for national unity.
AGGRESSIONS OF LOUIS.—The readiness of the European states to accept the provisions of theNimwegen TreatyemboldenedLouisto further outrages and aggressions. Germany, split into a multitude of sovereignties, and for the most part inactive as if a paralysis lay upon her, was a tempting prey to the spoiler. He claimed that all the places which had stood in a feudal relation to the places acquired by France in the Westphalian and Nimwegen treaties, should become dependencies of France. He constitutedReunions, or courts of his own, to decide what these places were, and enforced their decrees with his troops (1679). He went so far, in a time of peace, as to seize and wrest from the German Empire the city ofStrasburg, to establish his domination there, and to introduce the Catholic worship, in the room of the Protestant, in the minster (1681). Instead of heeding the warning of the Prince of Orange, the empire concluded withLouisthe truce ofRegensburg, by which he was suffered to retain these conquests. He evinced his arrogance in making a quarrel withGenoa, in bombarding the city, and in forcing the doge to come to Versailles and beg for peace (1684).
HUNGARY AND AUSTRIA.—The EmperorLeopoldwas busy in the eastern part of his dominions. The success of the Turks, who gained possession of Lower Hungary, called out a more energetic resistance; but a victory gained by the imperial general,Montecuculi, atSt. Gothard, on the Raab (1664), only resulted in a truce. The Austrian government, guided by the minister,Lobkowitz, used the opportunity to rob the Hungarians of their liberties and rights. Political tyranny and religious persecution went hand in hand. Protestant preachers were sold as galley-slaves.Tököly, an Hungarian nobleman, led in a revolt, and invoked the help of the Turks. In 1683 the Turks laid siege toVienna, which was saved by a great victory gained under its walls by a united German and Polish army; the hero in the conflict beingJohn Sobieski, king of Poland. The German princes andVenicenow united in the prosecution of the war. The conquest of Hungary from the Turks enabledLeopoldto destroy Hungarian independence. After their defeat byCharles of LorraineatMohacs(1687), the Diet ofPressburgconferred on the male Austrian line the crown of Hungary, and abandoned its old privilege of resisting unconstitutional ordinances (1687). A great victory gained over the Turks by PrinceEugeneatZentawas followed by the Peace ofCarlowitz, which gave Hungary and Transylvania to Austria, Morea to Venice, and Azof to Russia.Tökölydied in exile.
THE RESTORATION IN ENGLAND (1660).—Richard Cromwellquietly succeeded to the Protectorate. But the officers of the army recalled the "Rump" Parliament, the survivors of the Long Parliament. After eight monthsRichardgave up his office. The "Rump" was soon in a quarrel again with the army, and was expelled by its chief,Lambert.Monk, the commander of the English troops inScotland, refused to recognize the government set up by the officers in London. The fleet declared itself on the side of Parliament.Lambertwas forsaken, andMonkentered London (1660). A new Parliament or Convention was convoked, which included the Upper House. The restoration ofCharles II. was now effected by means of the combined influence of the Episcopalians and Presbyterians, and through the agency ofMonk.Charles, in his Declaration fromBreda, prior to his return, promised "liberty to tender consciences." This and subsequent pledges were falsified: he had the Stuart infirmity of breaking his engagements. With an easy good-nature and complaisant manners, he was void of moral principle, and in his conduct an open profligate. At heart he was a Roman Catholic, and simply from motives of expediency deferred the avowal of his belief to his death-bed. The army was disbanded. Vengeance was taken on such of the "regicides," the judges ofCharles I., as could be caught, and on the bodies ofCromwell,Ireton, andBradshaw. The Cavalier party had now every thing their own way. The Episcopal system was reestablished, and a stringentAct of Uniformitywas passed. Two thousand Presbyterian ministers were turned out of their parishes. If there was at any time indulgence to the nonconformists, it was only for the sake of the Roman Catholics.John Bunyan, the author of "Pilgrim's Progress," was kept in prison for more than twelve years. The sale ofDunkirkto France (1662) awakened general indignation.
THE "YEAR OF WONDERS:" THE CONDUCT OF CHARLES.—The year 1665 was marked as the year of theGreat Plaguein London, where the narrow and dirty streets admitted little fresh air. It was estimated that not less than one hundred thousand people perished. In less than a year after the plague ceased, there occurred theGreat Firein London (Sept., 1666), which burned for three days, and laid London in ashes from the Tower to the Temple, and from the Thames to Smithfield. St. Paul's, the largest cathedral in England, was consumed, and was replaced by the present church of the same name, planned bySir Christopher Wren. The king showed an unexpected energy in trying to stay the progress of the flames. But neither public calamities, nor the sorrow and indignation of all good men, including his most loyal and attached adherents, could check the shameless profligacy of his palace-life. The diaries ofEvelynand ofPepys, both of whom were familiar with the court, picture the disgraceful depravation of morals, which was stimulated by the king's example. But the nation was even more aggrieved by his conduct in respect to foreign nations. In a war with Holland, arising out of commercial rivalry, the English had the mortification of seeing the Thames blockaded by the Dutch fleet (1667).Hyde, Earl of Clarendon, Charles's principal adviser, whose daughter married the Duke of York, was driven from office, and went into exile to escape a trial. TheTriple Allianceagainst Louis (p. 453) was gratifying to the people; but in theTreaty of Dover(1670),Charlesengaged to declare himself a Roman Catholic as soon as he could do so with prudence, and promised to join his cousin,Louis XIV., against Holland, and to aid him in his schemes; in return for which he was to receive a large subsidy fromLouis, a pension during the war, and armed help in case of an insurrection in England.
THE "CABAL" MINISTRY.—Acabinet, as we now term it,—a small number of persons,—had, before this reign, begun to exercise the functions which belonged of old to the King's Council. At this time, thecabalministry—so called from the first letters of the names, which together made the word—was in power. In 1672 war withHollandwas declared, and was kept up for two years.
DECLARATION OF INDULGENCE.—WhenCharlesbegan this second Dutch war, he issued orders for the suspension of the laws against the Catholics and Dissenters. His design was to weaken the Church of England. The anger of Parliament and of the people at this usurpation obliged him to recall the declaration.
THE TEST ACT.—Parliament, in 1673, passed an act which shut out allDissenters from office. This act the king did not venture to reject;although the effect of it was to oblige his brotherJames, theDuke of York, to resign his office of lord high admiral.
DANBY'S MINISTRY.—The cabal ministry was gradually broken up; andShaftesbury, an able minister, went over to the other side. TheEarl of Danbybecame the chief minister. He was in agreement with the House of Commons. He favored the marriage which unitedMary, the daughter of the Duke of York, toWilliam, Prince of Orange.
THE "POPISH PLOT" (1678).—The already exasperated nation was infuriated by an alleged "Popish Plot" for the subverting of the government, and for the murder of the king and of all Protestants.Titus Oates, a perjurer, was the main witness. Many innocent Roman Catholics were put to death. This pretended plot led to stringent measures shutting out papists from office.Halifax, an able man who called himself "a trimmer," because he did not always stay on one side or with one party, opposed a bill that would have excluded the king's brother from the succession, and it failed.
HABEAS CORPUS ACT.—In 1679 theHabeas Corpus Actwas passed, providing effectually against the arbitrary imprisonment of subjects. Persons arrested must be brought to trial, or proved in open court to be legally confined.
PARTIES: RUSSELL AND SIDNEY.—At this time the party names ofWhigandTorycame into vogue. Insurgent Presbyterians in Scotland had been called "Whigs," a Scotch word meaning whey, or sour milk. The nickname was now applied toShaftesbury'sadherents, opponents of the court, who wished to exclude the Duke of York from the throne on account of his being a Catholic.Tories, also a nickname, the designation of the supporters of the court, meant originally Romanist outlaws, or robbers, in the bogs of Ireland. Many of the Whigs began to devise plans of insurrection, from hatred ofCharles'sarbitrary system of government. Some of them were disposed to put forwardMonmouth, the eldest of Charles's illegitimate sons, and a favorite of the common people. The "Rye-House Plot" for the assassination of the king and his brother was the occasion of the trial and execution of two eminent patriots,—William, LordRussell, andAlgernon Sidney, a warm advocate of republican government. Both, it is believed, were unjustly condemned. The Duke of York assumed once more the office of admiral.Charles, before his death, received the sacrament from a priest of the Church of Rome (1685).
JAMES II. (1685-1688): MONMOUTH'S REBELLION.—A few months after James's accession, the Duke of Monmouth landed in England; but his effort to get the crown failed. His forces, mostly made up of peasants, were defeated atSedgemoor; and he perished on the scaffold. Vengeance was taken upon all concerned in the revolt; and Chief JusticeJeffreys, for his brutal conduct in the "Bloody Assizes," in which, savage as he was, he nevertheless became rich by the sale of pardons, was rewarded with the office of lord chancelor.
JAMES'S ARBITRARY GOVERNMENT.—James paid no heed to his promise to defend the Church of England. Of a slow and obstinate mind, he could not yield to the advice of moderate Roman Catholics, and of the Pope,Innocent XI.; but set out, by such means as dispensing with the laws, to restore the old religion, and at the same time to extinguish civil liberty. He turned out the judges who did not please him. He created a newEcclesiastical Commission, for the coercion of the clergy, with the notoriousJeffreysat its head. After having treated with great cruelty the Protestant dissenters, he unlawfully issued aDeclaration of Indulgence(1687) in their favor, in order to get their support for his schemes in behalf of his own religion. He turned out the fellows of Magdalen College, Oxford, for refusing to appoint a Catholic for their president. He sent seven bishops to the Tower in 1688, who had signed a petition against the order requiring a second Declaration of Indulgence to be read in the churches. Popular sympathy was strongly with the accused, and the news of their acquittal was received in the streets of London with shouts of joy.
REVOLUTION OF 1688: WILLIAM AND MARY (1689-1694).—The birth of a Prince of Wales by his second wife,Mary of Modena, increased the disaffection of the English people. His two daughters by his first wife—MaryandAnne—were married to Protestants;Mary, toWilliam, Prince of Orange and stadtholder of Holland, andAnnetoGeorge, Prince of Denmark. By a combination of parties hostile to the king,Williamwas invited to take the English throne.Jameswas blind to the signs of the approaching danger, and to the warnings ofLouis XIV. of France. When it was too late, he attempted in vain to disarm the conspiracy by concessions.Williamlanded in safety atTorbay. He was joined by persons of rank. LordChurchill, afterwards the celebratedDuke of Marlborough, left the royal force of which he had the command, and went over to him. The king's daughter,Anne, fled to the insurgents in the North.Williamwas quite willing thatJamesshould leave the kingdom, and purposely caused him to be negligently guarded by Dutch soldiers. He fled to France, never to return. Parliament declared the throne to be, on divers grounds, vacant, and promulgated aDeclaration of Rightaffirming the ancient rights and liberties of England. It offered the crown toWilliam and Mary, who accepted it (1689). A few months later, the estates of Scotland bestowed upon them the crown of that country. Presbyterianism was made the established form of religion there. The union of the kingdoms was consummated under their successor,Anne, when Scotland began to be represented in the English Parliament.
THE MASSACRE OF GLENCOE.—A Highland chief,MacIanofGlencoe, with many of his followers, was treacherously slaughtered by order ofDalrymple, the Master of Stair, who governed Scotland, and had obtained by misrepresentation from William leave to extirpate that "set of thieves," as he had called them.
WILLIAM IN IRELAND.—The sovereignty of Ireland passed, with that of England, toWilliamandMary. ThereJames II., supported by France, made a stout resistance. It was a conflict of the Irish Catholics, together with the descendants of the Norman-English settlers, comprising together about a million of people, against the English and Scottish colonists, not far from two hundred thousand in number. The latter, with steadfast courage, sustained a siege inLondonderryuntil the city was relieved by ships from England. Many of the inhabitants had perished from hunger. The victory of William atBoyne(1690), whereSchomberg, his brave general, a Huguenot French marshal, fell, decided the contest.Williamled his troops in person through the Boyne River, with his sword in his left hand, since his right arm was disabled by a wound.Jameswas a spectator of the fight at a safe distance.
ENGLISH LIBERTY.—InWilliam'sreign, liberty in England was fortified by theBill of Rights, containing a series of safeguards against regal usurpation. Papists were made ineligible to the throne. TheToleration Actafforded to Protestant dissenters a large measure of protection and freedom. The press was made free from censorship (1695), and newspapers began to be published. Provision was made for the fair trial of persons indicted for treason. TheAct of Settlement(1701) settled the crown, if there should be no heirs ofAnneor ofWilliam, upon the PrincessSophia, Electress of Hanover, the daughter ofElizabethof Bohemia, and granddaughter ofJames I., and on her heirs, being Protestants.
THE GRAND ALLIANCE: TO THE PEACE OF RYSWICK.—The next war whichLouis XIV. began was that of the succession in the territory of the Palatinate, which he claimed, on the extinction of the male line of electors, forElizabeth Charlotte, the gifted and excellent sister of the deceased ElectorCharles, and the wife of theDuke of Orleans, the king's brother.
The table which follows will show the nature of this claim:—
FREDERIC, V, 1610-1632, Elector and King of Bohemia,m.Elizabeth, daughter of James I. of England.|+—CHARLES LEWIS, 1649-1680.| || +—CHARLES, 1680-1685.| || +—Elizabeth,m. Philip, Duke of Orleans,d. 1701.|+—Sophia,m. Ernest Augustus, Elector of Hanover.|+—George I of England.
Philip,Duke of Orleans, was the only brother of Louis XIV. From him descended KingLouis Philippe(1830-1848).
Another reason that Louis had for war was his determination to secure the archbishopric of Cologne for the bishop of Strasburg, a candidate of his own. In 1686 theLeague of Augsburghad been formed by the emperor with Sweden, Spain, Bavaria, Saxony, and the Palatinate, for defense against France. TheGrand Alliance, in which England and Holland were included, was now made (1689). In the year before, by the advice ofLouvois, the French had deliberately devastated the Palatinate, demolishing buildings, and burning cities and villages without mercy. The ruins of theCastle of Heidelbergare a monument of this worse than vandal incursion, the pretext for which was a desire to prevent the invasion of France. In the war the English and Dutch fleets, underAdmiral Russell, defeated the French, and burned their ships, at the battle ofLa Hogue(1692). This battle was a turning-point in naval history: "as at Lepanto," says Ranke, where the Turks were defeated (1571), "so at La Hogue, the mastery of the sea passed from one side to the other." But in the Netherlands, whereWilliam III., the soul of the League, steadfastly kept the field, after being defeated byLuxemburg; in Italy, where the Duke of Savoy was opposed by the MarshalCatinat; and in a naval battle between the English and French atLagos Bay,—the French commanders were successful. In 1695William'stroops besieged and captured the town ofNamur. At lengthLouiswas moved by the exhaustion of his treasury, and the stagnation of industry in France, to conclude thePeace of Ryswickwith England, Spain, and Holland (1697). TheDuke of Savoyhad been detached from the alliance. Most of the conquests on both sides were restored.William III.was acknowledged to be king of England. In the treaty with the emperor, France retainedStrasburg.Williamwas a man of sterling worth, but he was a Dutchman, and was cold in his manners. The plots of the Jacobites, as the adherents of James were called, did more than any thing else to make him popular with his subjects.
OCCASION OF THE WAR.—The death ofCharles II.of Spain (1700) was followed by the War of the Spanish Succession. The desire ofLouisto have his hands free in the event ofCharles'sdeath had influenced him in making the Treaty ofRysivick.Charleshad no children. It had been agreed in treaties, to which France was a party, that the Spanish monarchy should not be united either to Austria or to France; and that ArchdukeCharles, secondson of the EmperorLeopold I., should have Spain and the Indies. ButCharles II.of Spain left a will making Louis's second grandson,PhilipDuke of Anjou, the heir of all his dominions, with the condition annexed that the crowns of France and Spain should not be united. Instigated by dynastic ambition,Louismade up his mind to break the previous agreements, and seize the inheritance for Philip.Philip V.thus became king of Spain. On the death ofJames II.(1701),Louisrecognized his sonJames, called "the Pretender," as king of Great Britain. This act, as a violation of the Treaty of Ryswick, and as an arrogant intermeddling on the part of a foreign ruler, excited the wrath of the English people, and inclined them to war. TheGrand Allianceagainst France (1701) included the Empire, England, Holland, Brandenburg (or Prussia), and afterwards Portugal and Savoy (1703). France was supported by the electors of Bavaria and Cologne, and at first by Savoy.William III.died in 1702, and was succeeded byAnne, the sister of his deceased wife, and the second daughter ofJames II.
The following table will help to make clear the several claims to theSpanish succession:—
Philip III, King of Spain, 1598-1621.|+—Maria Anna,m.Emperor Ferdinand III.| || +—Leopold I,m.(3) Eleanor, daughter of Elector Palatine.| | || | +—Joseph I, d. 1711.| | || | +—Charles VI.[2]| || +—Anna Maria|m.+—PHILIP IV (1621-1665)| || +—CHARLES II, 1665-1700.| || +—Margaret Theresam.Leopold I| | || | +—Maria Antoniam.Maximilian of Bavaria| | || | +—Joseph Ferdinand, [1] Electoral Prince of Bavaria.| || +—(1) Maria Theresa.|m.| +—Louis XIV| | || | +—Louis, the Dauphin.| | || | +—Philip of Anjou [2] (PHILIP V of Spain), d. 1746.| |+—Anne.m.Louis XIII of France
1 Recognized as heir of Charles II of Spain until his death.
2 Rival claimants for the Spanish crown after Charles II, the elder brother of each having resigned his pretensions.
EVENTS OF THE WAR.—In this war, there were displayed the military talents of two great generals,—theDuke of Marlboroughand PrinceEugeneof Savoy.Marlboroughhad two glaring faults, He was avaricious, and, like other prominent public men in England at that day, was double-faced. After deserting the service ofJamesfor that ofWilliam, he still kept up at times a correspondence with the exiled house. He was a man of stately and winning presence, a careful commander, in battle cool and self-possessed. At the council board, he had the art of quietly composing differences by winning all to an adhesion to his own views. It is said of him, that he "never committed a rash act, and never missed an opportunity for striking an effective blow."Eugene, on his father's side, sprang from the house of Savoy. His mother was a niece ofMazarin. He was brought up at the court ofLouis XIV.; but when the king repeatedly refused him a commission in the army, he entered the service of Austria, was employed in campaigns against the Turks, and rose to the highest distinction. Flattering offers fromLouis XIV. he indignantly rejected. His career as a soldier was long and brilliant. The personal sympathy ofEugeneandMarlboroughwith each other was one important cause of their success.Eugenewas first sent to Italy. There he droveCatinat, the French general, back onMilan, and captured his successor in command,Villeroi(1702). After a drawn battle betweenEugeneandVendome(1702), a commander of much more skill than his predecessor, the French had the advantage in Italy. In 1703,Eugenecame to Germany, andMarlboroughinvaded the Spanish Netherlands. In 1704 Marlborough carried out the plan of a grand campaign which he had devised. He crossed the Rhine at Cologne, moved southward, capturedDonauwörth, and drove the Bavarians across the Danube. The united forces ofMarlboroughandEugenedefeated the French and Bavarian armies atBlenheim(orHochstädt), on the left bank of the river, with great slaughter. There were captured fifteen thousand French soldiers, with their generalTallard. This victory raisedMarlborough'sreputation, already great on account of his masterly conduct of his army, to the highest point. He was made a duke by QueenAnne, and a prince of the Empire byLeopold. In Spain, the English capturedGibraltar.Charlesof Austria (who had assumed the title ofCharles III.of Spain) conquered Madrid (1706), but held it for only a short time. The country generally favoredPhilip; the arms ofVendomewere triumphant; andAragon,Catalonia, andValenciahad to submit to Castilian laws as the penalty of their adhesion to the Austrian cause. In 1706MarlboroughvanquishedVilleroiatRamillies, a village in the Netherlands, in a great battle in which the French army was routed, and their banners and war material captured. The Netherlands submitted to Austria. AtTurin,Eugenegained a victory over an army of eighty thousand men; and the fame of this modest and unpretending, but brave and skillful leader was now on a level with that of the English general. Lombardy submitted toCharles III., and the French were excluded from Italy. Another victory of the two commanders atOudenarde(1708) overVendomeand theDuke of Burgundy, broke down the hopes ofLouis, and moved him to offer the largest concessions, which embraced the giving up ofStrasburgand ofSpain. But the allies, flushed with success, went so far as to demand that he should aid in driving his grandson out of Spain. This roused France, as well asLouishimself, to another grand effort. AtMalplaquet, in a bloody conflict, the French were again defeated byMarlboroughandEugene.
TO THE PEACE OF UTRECHT.—Circumstances now favored the vanquished and humbled king of France. The Whig ministry in England, which the victories ofMarlboroughhad kept in office, fell from power (1710); and its enemies, and the enemies ofMarlborough, were anxious to weaken him.Annedismissed from her service the Duchess of Marlborough, a haughty woman of a violent temper.Harley, Earl of Oxford, andSt. John, afterwards ViscountBolingbroke, became the queen's principal ministers. They wished to end the war. The EmperorJoseph(1705-1711), who had succeededLeopold I., died; so thatCharles, if he had acquired Spain, would have restored the vast monarchy ofCharles V., and brought in a new source of jealousy and alarm. Negotiations for peace began.Marlborough, who had been guilty of traitorous conduct, was removed from his command, and deprived of all his offices (1712). In 1713 the Peace ofUtrechtwas concluded between England and France, in which Holland, Prussia, Savoy, and Portugal soon joined. It was followed by the Peace ofRastadtandBadenwith the emperor (1714). Spain and Spanish America were left toPhilip V., the Bourbon king, with the proviso that the crowns of France and Spain should never be united. France ceded to EnglandNewfoundland,Nova Scotia, and theHudson Bay Territory. Spain ceded to EnglandGibraltarandMinorca. TheElector of Brandenburgwas recognized asKing of Prussia. Savoy received the island ofSicily, which was exchanged seven years later forSardinia, and for the title of king for the duke. Holland gained certain "barrier" fortresses on its border. Austria received the appanages of the Spanish monarchy,—theSpanish Netherlands,Naples,Sardinia, andMilan, but notSicily. The emperor did not recognize the Bourbons in Spain.
LAST DAYS OF LOUIS XIV.—In the next year after the peace,Louis XIV. died. Within two years (1710-1712) he had lost his son, his grandson theDuke of Burgundy(whom the piousFenélonhad trained), his wife, and his eldest great-grandson, and, two years later (1714), his third grandson, theDuke of Berry. He left France overwhelmed with debt, its resources exhausted, its credit gone, its maritime power prostrate; a land covered with poverty and wretchedness. This was the reward of lawless pride and ambition in a monarch who owed his strength, however, to the sympathy and subservience of the nation.
LAW'S BANK.—During the minority ofLouis XV. (1715-1774)Philip, Duke of Orleans, was regent, a man of extraordinary talents, but addicted to shameful debauchery. The opportunity for effective reform was neglected. The most influential minister was CardinalDubois, likewise a man of unprincipled character. The state was really bankrupt, when a Scottish adventurer and gambler,John Law, possessed of unusual financial talents, but infected with the economical errors of the time, offered to rescue the national finances by means of abank, which he was allowed to found, the notes of which were to serve as currency. Almost all the coined money flowed into its coffers; its notes went everywhere in the kingdom, and were taken for government dues; it combined with its business "the Mississippi scheme," or the control of the trade, and almost the sovereignty, in theMississippiregion; it absorbed the privileges of the different companies for trading with the East; finally it took charge of the national mint and the issue of coin, and of the taxation of the kingdom, and it assumed the national debt. The temporary success of the gigantic financial scheme turned the heads of the people, and a fever of speculation ran through all ranks. The crash came, the shares in the bank sunk in value, the notes depreciated; and, in the wrath which ensued upon the general bankruptcy,Law, who had been honored and courted by the high and the low, fled from the kingdom. He died in poverty atVenice. The state alone was a gainer by having escaped from a great part of its indebtedness.
ITALY.—Before the middle of the eighteenth century, the Spanish Bourbons again had possession ofNaplesandSicily, besides other smaller Italian states. Austria, besides holdingMilan, was the virtual ruler ofTuscany.
SPAIN IN ITALY.—Philip V. was afflicted with a mental derangement peculiar to his family. The government was managed by the ambitious queen,Elizabethof Parma, and the intriguing Italian,Alberoni, the minister in whom she confided. He sought to get back the Italian states lost by the Peace ofUtrecht. ButSardiniaandSicilywere restored when he was overthrown, through the fear excited by theQuadruple Allianceof France, England, Austria, and Holland (1718). Later, the queen succeeded in obtaining the kingdom ofNaplesandSicilyfor her oldest son,Don Carlos, under the name ofCharles III. Parma, Piacenza, andGuastalla, she gained for her second son,Philip(1735). WhenCharlessucceeded to the Spanish throne (1759-1788), he leftNaplesandSicilyto his third son,Ferdinand.
AUSTRIA IN ITALY.—The house of Savoy steadily advanced in power. By the Peace of Ryswick, VictorAmadeus II. (1675-1730), secured important places previously gained. He became "King of Sardinia" (1720). By him the University of Turin was founded, and the administration of justice much improved. His next two successors carried forward this good work.VenicelostMoreato the Turks, but retainedCorfuand her conquests inDalmatia(1718). Liberty was gone, and there was decay and conscious weakness in the once powerful republic.Genoawas coveted by Savoy, Austria, and France. The consequent struggles are the material of Genoese history for a long period.Corsicawas oppressed, andGenoacalled on France to lend help in suppressing its revolt (1736). The Corsicans especially, underPaoli, defended themselves with such energy that France found its work of subjugation hard and slow (1755). The island was ceded to France by Genoa(1768).Milan, with Mantua, was Austrian, after the Peace of Utrecht (1713).TuscanyunderFerdinand II. (1628-1670) bestowed its treasure on Austria and Spain, and fell under the sway of ecclesiastics. UnderCosmo III. (1670-1723), the process of decline went on. After the death of the last of the Medici,John Gasto(1737), Tuscany was practically under the power of Austria, notwithstanding the stipulation that both states should not have the same ruler. It was governed byFrancis Stephen(1738-1765), Duke of Lorraine, husband of the EmpressMaria Theresa; and, when he became emperor (Francis I.), by his second son,Leopold(1765-1790). At Rome, PopeInnocent XI. (1676-1689) had many conflicts withLouis XVI. which came to an end under the well-meaningInnocent XII. (1691-1700). Contests arose on the part of Rome against the Bourbon courts respecting the Jesuit order, and with the forces adverse to the Church and the Papacy, in the closing part of the eighteenth century. In 1735, the EmperorCharles VI. allowed that Naples and Sicily should be handed over, as a kingdom, toDon Carlos, the son of the Spanish Bourbon king, under the name ofCharles III., by whom it was granted to his sonFerdinand IV. (1759).
CLOSE OF ANNE'S REIGN.—Anne'shusband, PrinceGeorge of Denmark, had no influence, and deserved none. One of the important events of her reign was the Union of England and Scotland in 1707 (p. 461). After the Tories came into power, the two leaders,OxfordandBolingbroke, were rivals. An angry dispute between them hastened the queen's death (1714). One of the Tory measures, prompted by hostility to Dissenters, was a law forbidding any one to keep a school without a license from a bishop.
GEORGE I, 1714-1727,m.Sophia Dorothea of Zell.|+—GEORGE II, 1727-1760,m.Caroline,daughter of John Frederick, Margrave of Anspach.|+—Frederick, Prince of Wales,d.1751,m.Augusta of Saxe Gotha.|+—Augustam.| Charles William Ferdinand, Duke of Brunswick.| || +—Caroline|m.| +—GEORGE IV, 1820-1830.| |+—GEORGE III, 1760-1820,m.Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.|+—WILLIAM IV, 1830-1837.|+—Edward, Duke of Kent,d.1820,m.Victoria of Saxe Coburg.|+—VICTORIA, succeeded 1837,m.Albert of Saxe Coburg.
REIGN OF GEORGE I.—George I., the first king of the house ofHanover, could not speak English. His private life was immoral. His first ministers were Whigs.BolingbrokeandOxfordwere impeached, and fled the country. The "Pretender,"James Edward(son ofJames II.), with the aid of Tory partisans, endeavored to recover the English crown. His standard was raised in the Highlands and in North England (1715), but this Jacobite rebellion was crushed. After the rebellion of 1715, a law was passed, which is still in force, allowing a Parliament to continue for the term of seven years. A second conspiracy in 1717 had the same fate. England had an experience analogous to that of France withLaw, with theSouth SeaCompany, which had a monopoly of trade with the Spanish coasts of South America. A rage for speculation was followed by a panic. The estates of the directors of the company were confiscated by Parliament for the benefit of the losers.Robert Walpolewas made first minister, a place which he held underGeorge I.andGeorge II.for twenty-one years.WilliamandAnnehad attended the meetings of the Cabinet.George I., who could not speak English, staid away. From this time, one of the ministers was called the "prime minister."
THE REIGN OF GEORGE II.—George II. was systematic in his ways, frugal, willful, and fond of war. In his private life, he followed the evil ways of his father.Walpole'sinfluence was predominant. The clever QueenCarolinelent him her support. Walpole reluctantly entered into war withSpain(1739), on account of the measures adopted by that power to prevent English ships from carrying goods, in violation of the treaty ofUtrecht, to her South American colonies. The principal success of England was the taking ofPorto BellobyAdmiral Vernon.
When the war was declared, the people expressed their joy by the ringing of bells. "They are ringing the bells now," saidWalpole:"they will be wringing their hands soon." The blame for the want of better success in the war was laid on the prime minister, and he was driven to resign. Then followed the ministry of thePelhams, Henry Pelham and the Duke of Newcastle, who, like Walpole, managed Parliament by bribing the members through the gift of offices.
In the war of the Austrian succession (1740), England took part with Austria, and the king in person fought in Germany. In 1745Prince Charles Edward Stuart, the youngPretender(whose father, the old Pretender, styled himselfJames III.), landed in the Highlands. The Highlanders defeated the English atPreston Pans, near Edinburgh. The Pretender marched into England as far as Derby, at the head of the Jacobite force, but had to turn back and retreat to Scotland. The contest was decided by the victory of the English under theDuke of Cumberland, at Culloden (1746), which was attended by an atrocious slaughter of the wounded.Cullodenwas the last battle fought in behalf of the Stuarts. Nearly eighty Jacobite conspirators, one of whom was an octogenarian,Lord Lovat, were executed as traitors. These Jacobites were the last persons who were beheaded in England. The Pretender wandered in the Highlands and Western Islands for five months, under different disguises. He was concealed and aided by a Scottish lady,Flora Macdonald. Then he escaped to the Continent, where he led a miserable and dissipated life, and died in 1788. His brother Henry, Cardinal York, the last of the Stuarts in the male line, died in 1807.
SWEDEN.—The eventful epoch in the history of Sweden, in this period, is the reign of Charles XII. (1697-1718). At his accession, when he was only sixteen years old, Sweden ruled the Baltic. Its army was strong and well disciplined. What is now St. Petersburg was a patch of swampy ground in Swedish territory, where a few fishermen lived in their huts. The youth of Charles was prophetic of his career. In doors, he read the exploits of Alexander the Great; out of doors, gymnastic sports and the hunting of the bear were his favorite diversions. He became an adventurous warrior after, the type of Alexander. His rashness and obstinacy occasioned at last the downfall of his country. Three great powers,Russia, Poland, andDenmark,with the support ofPatkul, a disaffected Livonian subject of Sweden, joined in an attack on the youthful monarch (1699).Patkul, who was a patriot, unable to secure the rights of Livonia, and condemned as a rebel, had entered the service of the Elector Augustus of Saxony, who was king of Poland. There were territories belonging to Sweden which each of the confederates coveted.Frederick IV.of Denmark expected to incorporate Sweden itself in his dominions.
RUSSIA: PETER THE GREAT.—The first ruler of the house of Romanoff, which has raised Russia to its present rank, wasMichael(1613-1645). UnderAlexis,his son (1645-1676), important conquests were made from the Poles, and theCossacksacknowledged the sovereignty of the Czar. The principal founder of Russian civilization wasPeter the Great(1682-1725). Through the machinations of his half-sisterSophia, who contrived to get the armed aid of the streltzi,—the native militia,—he had to share the throne with a half-brother,Ivan, who was older than himself, and lived until 1696.Sophiapushed aside Peter's mother, and grasped the reins of power. Peter learned Latin, German, and Dutch, and acquired much knowledge of various sorts. As he grew older, his life was in danger; but at the age of seventeen, he was able to crush his enemies (1689).Sophia, who was at their head, he shut up in a monastery for the remainder of her days. FromLefort, a Swiss, and other foreigners, Peter derived information about foreign lands, and was led to visit them in order to instruct himself, and to introduce into his own country the arts and inventions of civilized peoples. He invited into Russia artisans, seamen, and officers from abroad. He traveled through _Germany _and _Holland _toEngland, and with his own hands worked at ship-building at the dock-yards ofZaandam(near Amsterdam) andDeptford. On his way to Venice, he was called home by a revolt of the streltzi, which he put down. He was unsparing in his vengeance, and, despite his veneer of culture, never got rid of his innate barbarism. _Azoff _he conquered, and it was ceded to him by the Turks in the Peace ofCarlowitz(1699). Then his ambitious thoughts turned to the Baltic, for he was bent on making Russia a naval power. He formed a secret alliance with Denmark and Poland against Sweden.
CONDITION OF POLAND.—In 1697 _Frederick Augustus _II.,—Augustusthe Strong,—Duke of Saxony, was elected king of Poland: he became a Roman Catholic that he might get the crown. But the Polish nobles took care to increase their power, which was already far too great to be compatible with unity or order. Under the anarchical but despotic nobility and higher clergy, stood the serfs, embracing nine-tenths of the whole population, who were without protection against the greed and tyranny of their lords.
EVENTS OF THE NORTHERN WAR.—The _Danes _first attacked the territory ofHolstein Gottorp, whose duke had married the sister ofCharles XII.William III. of England supported Sweden. The Anglo-Dutch fleet came to Charles's assistance. He landed his troops inZealand. The Danes gave up their alliance, and sued for peace. Europe was now astonished to discover that the Swedish king was an antagonist to be feared. In the field he shared the hardships of the common soldier, and was as brave as a lion. _Charles _now attacked the Russian army beforeNarva, in Livonia. With the Swedish infantry he stormed the camp of the Russians, and routed their army, which was much larger in numbers than his own (1700). He then raised the siege ofRiga, which the Poles and Saxons were besieging, having first defeated their troops on theDwina. These brilliant successes might have enabled _Charles _to conclude peace on very advantageous terms. But he lacked moderation. He was as passionate in his public conduct as _Peter the Great _was in his private life. He was resolved to dethrone _Augustus _in Poland. After the battle ofClissau(1703), he occupied that country, and made the Diet give the crown toStanislas Lesczinski, the Palatine of Posen. To prevent Russia and Saxony from uniting against the new king,Charlescarried the war into Saxony, and forcedAugustus, in the Peace ofAltranstädt, to renounce his claim to the Polish crown, and to surrenderPatkul, the rebel, who had become a subject of Russia, whom he put to death with circumstances of cruelty. In 1703Peterlaid the foundations of the new city ofSt. Petersburg. But, a few years later, Russia was invaded byCharles, who in 1708 almost captured the Czar atGrodno, defeated his army nearSmolensk, and was expected to advance toMoscow. But the imprudent Swede turned southward into the district of theUkraine, there to be joined byMazeppa, the "hetman" of the Cossacks, who led them in revolt against Peter. Mazeppa was able, however, to bring him but few auxiliaries. The harshness of the winter, and other untoward events, weakened the Swedish force. The battle ofPultowa(1709) was a great victory for the Czar. Charles escaped with difficulty to Turkey. There he remained for three years, supported with his retinue, atBender, by the Sultan. His object was to bring about a war between the Sultan and the Czar. He so far succeeded thatPeter, when surrounded on thePruthby Turkish troops, was rescued only by the courage and energy ofCatherine, the mistress whom he afterwards married.Charleswas finally obliged to leave Turkey, after being exposed to imminent peril in an attack by the janizaries, who seized his camp and took him captive. With a few attendants, riding by day and sleeping in a cart or carriage by night, he journeyed back to Sweden, and arrived atStralsund(1714). The hostile allies, together withHanoverandPrussia, were once more in array against him.Baron van Görtz, a German, became his principal adviser. He negotiated a peace withPeter, of whom the other allies were beginning to be jealous.Charles'splan was to invade Norway, then to land in Scotland, and, with the help of Spain and of the Jacobites, to restore the Stuarts to the English throne. While besiegingFriedrichshall, a fortress in Norway, he exposed himself near the trenches, and was killed by a bullet (1718). It was long a question whether the fatal shot was fired from the enemy or by an assassin. Not until 1859 was it settled, by an examination of the skull, that the gun was discharged from the fortress.
RESULTS OF THE WAR—One result of the Northern war was the execution ofGörtz, to whom the Swedish aristocracy were inimical, and a reduction of the king's authority.HanoverreceivedBremenandVerden;Prussia, the largest part ofPomerania;Swedengave up its freedom from custom duties in the Sound.Augustuswas recognized as king ofPoland.Russia, by thePeace of Nystadt(1721), obtainedLivonia, Esthonia, Ingermannland,and a part ofCarelia, but restoredFinland.Swedenno longer had a place among the great powers. The place that Sweden had held was now taken byRussia.
CHANGES IN RUSSIA.—The Czar,Peter, took the title of emperor. He transferred the capital fromMoscowtoSt. Petersburg. By constructing canals, roads, and harbors, he promoted trade and commerce. By fostering manufactures and the mechanic arts, and by opening the mines, he increased the wealth of the country. He altered the method of government, making theukases, or edicts, emanate from the sole will of the emperor. He abolished the dignity ofPatriarch, making theHoly Synod, of which the Czar is president, the supreme ecclesiastical authority.Petermade a second journey through Germany, Holland, and France (1716). His sonAlexis, who allied himself with a reactionary party that aimed to reverse the Czar's policy, he finally caused to be tried for treason. He was condemned, but died either from the bodily torture inflicted on him to extort confession, or, as many have believed, by poison, or other means, used by the direction of his father. His friends, after being barbarously tortured, were put to death.
Great as was the work ofPeter, "he brought Russia prematurely into the circle of European politics. The result has been to turn the rulers of Russia away from home affairs, and the regular development of internal institutions, to foreign politics and the creation of a great military power." In his last years, the frugality of his own way of living in his new capital was in striking contrast with the splendor with which his queen,Catherine, preferred to surround herself. He died at the age of fifty-three, in consequence of plunging into icy water to save a boat in distress.
The document called "The Testament of Peter the Great," which explains what has to be done in order that Russia may conquer all Europe, is not genuine. It is first heard of in 1812, in a book published byLesur, probably by direction of Napoleon I. "Lesur's book," saysMr. E. Schuyler, "was merely a pamphlet to justify the invasion of Russia by Napoleon." (Schuyler'sLife of Peter the Great, vol. ii, p. 512.)