Auk - Razor-billRazor-bill (Alca torda)
Auk, a name of certain swimming birds, family Alcidæ, including the great auk, the little auk, the puffin, &c. The genus Alca, or auks proper, contains only two species, the great auk (Alca impennis), and the razor-bill (Alca torda). The great auk or gair-fowl, a bird about 3 feet in length, used to be plentiful in northerly regions, and also visited the British shores, but has become extinct. Some seventy skins, about as many eggs, with bones representing perhaps a hundred individuals, are preserved in variousmuseums. Though the largest species of the family, the wings were only 6 inches from the carpal joint to the tip, totally useless for flight, but employed as fins in swimming, especially under water. The tail was about 3 inches long; the beak was high, short, and compressed; the head, neck, and upper parts were blackish; a large spot under each eye, and most of the under parts white. Its legs were placed so far back as to cause it to sit nearly upright. The razor-bill is about 15 inches in length, and its wings are sufficiently developed to be used for flight. It is found in numbers on some parts of the British shores, as the Isle of Man.
Aulap´olay, orAlleppi, a seaport on the south-west coast of Hindustan, Travancore, between the sea and a lagoon, with a safe roadstead all the year round; exports timber, coir, coconuts, &c. Pop. 24,918.
Auld Lichts.SeePresbyterianism.
Aulic(Lat.aula, a court or hall), an epithet given to a council (theReichshofrath) in the old German Empire, one of the two supreme courts of the German Empire, the other being the court of the imperial chamber (Reichskammergericht). It had not only concurrent jurisdiction with the latter court, but in many cases exclusive jurisdiction, in all feudal processes, and in criminal affairs, over the immediate feudatories of the Emperor and in affairs which concerned the imperial Government.
Au´lis, in ancient Greece, a seaport in Bœotia, on the strait called Euripus, between Bœotia and Eubœa. SeeIphigenia.
Aullagas(ou-lyä'gäs), a salt lake of Bolivia, which receives the surplus waters of Lake Titicaca through the Rio Desaguadero, and has only one perceptible insignificant outlet, so that what becomes of its superfluous water is still a matter of uncertainty.
Aulnoy(ō-nwä), Countess d', French writer, born 1650, died 1705, was the author ofContes des Fées(Fairy Tales), many of which, such asThe White Cat,The Yellow Dwarf, &c., have been translated into English. She also wrote a number of novels, historical memoirs, &c.
Aumale(ō-mäl), a small French town, department of Seine Inférieure, 35 milesN.E. of Rouen, which has given titles to several notables in French history.—Jean d'Arcourt, Eighth Count d'Aumale, fought at Agincourt, and defeated the English at Gravelle (1423).—Claude II, Duc d'Aumale, one of the chief instigators of the massacre of St. Bartholomew, was killed 1573.—Charles de Lorraine, Duc d'Aumale, was an ardent partisan of the League in the politico-religious French wars of the sixteenth century.—Henri-Eugene-Philippe Louis d'Orleans, Duc d'Aumale, son of Louis Philippe, king of the French, was born in 1822. In 1847 he succeeded Marshal Bugeaud as Governor-General of Algeria, where he had distinguished himself in the war against Abd-el-Kader. After the revolution of 1848 he retired to England; but he returned to France in 1871, and was elected a member of the Assembly; became Inspector-General of the army in 1879, and was expelled along with the other royal princes in 1886, but was allowed to return. Author of aHistory of the House of Condé, &c. He died in 1897.
Aun´gerville, Richard, known as Richard de Bury (from his birthplace Bury St. Edmund's), English statesman, bibliographer, and correspondent of Petrarch, born 1281, died 1345. He entered the order of Benedictine monks, and became tutor to the Prince of Wales, afterwards Edward III. Promoted to several offices of dignity, he ultimately became Bishop of Durham, and Lord Chancellor of England. During his frequent embassies to the Continent he made the acquaintance of many of the eminent men of the day. He was a diligent collector of books, and formed a library at Oxford. Author ofPhilobiblon, printed at Cologne in 1473;Epistolœ Familiarium, including letters to Petrarch, &c.
Aurangabad´, a town of India, in the territory of the Nizam of Hyderabad, 175 miles from Bombay. It contains a ruined palace of Aurangzib and a mausoleum erected to the memory of his favourite wife. It was formerly a considerable trading centre, but its commercial importance decreased when Hyderabad became the capital of the Nizam. Pop. 34,000.
Aurangzib('ornament of the throne'), one of the greatest of the Mogul emperors of Hindustan, born in Oct. 1618 or 1619. When he was nine years old his weak and unfortunate father, Shah Jehan, succeeded to the throne. Aurangzib was distinguished, when a youth, for his serious look, his frequent prayers, his love of solitude, his profound hypocrisy, and his deep plans. In his twentieth year he raised a body of troops by his address and good fortune, and obtained the government of the Deccan. He stirred up dissensions between his brothers, made use of the assistance of one against the other, and finally shut his father up in his harem, where he kept him prisoner. He then murdered his relatives one after the other, and in 1659 ascended the throne. Notwithstanding the means by which he had got possession of power, he governed with much wisdom. Two of his sons, who endeavoured to form a party in their own favour, he caused to be arrested and put to death by slow poison. He carried on many wars, conquered Golconda and Bijapur, and drove out, by degrees, the Mahrattas from their country. After his death, on 4th March, 1707, the Mogul Empire declined.
Aurantia´ceæ, the orange tribe, a nat. ord. ofplants, polypetalous dicotyledons, with leaves containing a fragrant essential oil in transparent dots, and a superior pulpy fruit, originally natives of India; examples comprise the orange, lemon, lime, citron, and shaddock.
Auray(ō-rā), a seaport of North-West France, department Morbihan, with a deaf and dumb institute, and within 2 miles of St. Anne of Auray, a famous place of pilgrimage. Pop. 6653.
Aure´lian, Lucius Domitius Aurelianus, Emperor of Rome, of humble origin, was born aboutA.D.212, rose to the highest rank in the army, and on the death of Claudius II (270) was chosen emperor. He delivered Italy from the barbarians (Alemanni and Marcomanni), and conquered the famous Zenobia, Queen of Palmyra. He followed up his victories by the reformation of abuses, and the restoration throughout the Empire of order and regularity. He lost his life,A.D.275, by assassination, when heading an expedition against the Persians.
Aure´lius Antoni´nus, Marcus, often called simplyMarcus Aurelius, Roman emperor and philosopher, son-in-law, adopted son, and successor of Antoninus Pius, bornA.D.121, succeeded to the throne 161, died 180. His name originally was Marcus Annius Verus. He voluntarily shared the government with Lucius Verus, whom Antoninus Pius had also adopted. Brought up and instructed by Plutarch's nephew, Sextus, the orator Herodes Atticus, and L. Volusius Mecianus, the jurist, he had become acquainted with learned men, and formed a particular love for the Stoic philosophy. A war with Parthia broke out in the year of his accession, and did not terminate till 166. A confederacy of the northern tribes now threatened Italy, while a frightful pestilence, brought from the East with the army, raged in Rome itself. Both emperors set out in person against the rebellious tribes. In 169 Verus died, and the sole command of the war devolved on Marcus Aurelius, who prosecuted it with the utmost rigour, and nearly exterminated the Marcomanni. His victory over the Quadi (174) is connected with a famous legend. Dion Cassius tells us that the twelfth legion of the Roman army was shut up in a defile, and reduced to great straits for want of water, when a body of Christians enrolled in the legion prayed for relief. Not only was rain sent, which enabled the Romans to quench their thirst, but a fierce storm of hail beat upon the enemy, accompanied by thunder and lightning, which so terrified them that a complete victory was obtained, and the legion was ever after calledThe Thundering Legion(Legio Fulminatrix). After this victory the Marcomanni, the Quadi, as well as the rest of the barbarians, sued for peace. The sedition of the Syrian governor Avidius Cassius, with whom Faustina, the empress, was in treasonable communication, called off the emperor from his conquests, but before he reached Asia the rebel was assassinated. Aurelius returned to Rome, after visiting Egypt and Greece, but soon new incursions of the Marcomanni compelled him once more to take the field. He defeated the enemy several times, but was taken sick at Sirmium, and died at Vindobona (Vienna) in 180. His only extant work is theMeditations, written in Greek. It has been translated into most modern languages (into English first by George Long in 1862, and by J. Jackson in 1906). This may be regarded as a manual of practical morality, in which wisdom, gentleness, and benevolence are combined in the most fascinating manner. Many believe it to have been intended for the instruction of his son Commodus. Aurelius was one of the best emperors Rome ever saw, although his philosophy and the magnanimity of his character did not restrain him from the persecution of the Christians, whose religious doctrines he was led to believe were subversive of good government, and whom he charged, therefore, with obstinacy, the greatest social crime in the eyes of Roman authority. Marcus Aurelius was not so much a philosopher as a seeker after righteousness.—Bibliography: P. B. Watson,M. Aurelius Antoninus; Sir Samuel Dill,Roman Society from Nero to Marcus Aurelius; Translations of theMeditationsby G. H. Kendall, and J. Jackson.
Aurengzebe.SeeAurangzib.
Aure´ola, orAu´reole, in paintings, an illumination surrounding the whole figure of a holy person, as Christ, a saint, or a martyr, intended to represent a luminous cloud or haze emanating from him. It is generally of an oval shape, or may be nearly or quite circular, and is of similar character with the nimbus surrounding the heads of sacred personages.
Au´rĕus, the first gold coin which was coined at Rome, 207B.C.Its value varied at different times, from about 12s.to £1, 4s. SeeNumismatics.
Aurich(ou´rēh), a German town, province of Hanover. Pop. 6070.
Au´ricle.SeeHeart.
Auric´ula, a garden flower derived from the yellowPrimŭla Auricŭla, found native in the Swiss Alps, and sometimes called bear's-ear from the shape of its leaves. It has for over three centuries been an object of cultivation by florists, who have succeeded in raising from seed a great number of beautiful varieties. Its leaves are obovate, entire or serrated, and fleshy, varying, however, in form in the numerous varieties. The flowers are borne on an erect umbel and central scape with involucre. The original colours of the corolla are yellow, purple, andvariegated, and there is a mealy covering on the surface. There are auricula clubs and societies in the north of England.
Auricular Confession.SeeConfession.
Au´rifaber, the Latinized name of Johann Goldschmidt, one of Luther's companions, born 1519, became pastor at Erfurt in 1566, died there in 1579. He collected the unpublished MSS. of Luther, and edited theEpistolæand theTable-talk.
Auriflamme.SeeOriflamme.
Auri´ga, in astronomy, theWaggoner, a constellation of the northern hemisphere, containing Capella, a star of the first magnitude.Nova Aurigæ,a temporary star, appeared in the constellation in 1892.
Aurillac(ō-rē-ya˙k), a town of France, capital of the department Cantal, in a valley watered by the Jordanne, about 270 miles S. of Paris; well built, with wide streets; copper-works, paper-works, manufactures of lace, tapestry, leather, &c. Pop. 18,036.
Aurochs(a¨'roks), a species of wild bull or buffalo, theurusof Cæsar,bisonof Pliny, the European bison,BosorBonassus Bisonof modern naturalists. The animal was once abundant in Europe, but were it not for the protection afforded by the late Emperor of Russia to a few herds which inhabit the forests of Lithuania it would before this have been extinct.
Auro´ra, an American city, of Kane county, Illinois, on Fox River, 40 miles W. by S. of Chicago; it has flourishing manufactures, railway-works, and a considerable trade. Pop. (1920), 36,265.
Auro´ra(Gr.Eōs), in classical mythology, the goddess of the dawn, daughter of Hyperion and Theia, and sister of Helios and Selēnē (Sun and Moon). She was represented as a charming figure, 'rosy-fingered', clad in a yellow robe, rising at dawn from the ocean and driving her chariot through the heavens. Among the mortals whose beauty captivated the goddess, poets mentioned Orion, Tithōnus, and Cephălus.
Auro´ra, one of the New Hebrides Islands, S. Pacific Ocean, about 30 miles long by 5 wide. It rises to a considerable elevation, and is covered with a luxuriant vegetation.
Aurora BorealisAurora Borealis
Auro´ra Borea´lis, a luminous meteoric phenomenon appearing in the north, most frequently in high latitudes, the corresponding phenomenon in the southern hemisphere being calledAurora Australis, and both being also calledPolar Light,Streamers, &c. The northern aurora has been far the most observed and studied. It usually manifests itself by streams of light ascending towards the zenith from a dusky line of cloud or haze a few degrees above the horizon, and stretching from the north towards the west and east, so as to form an arc with its ends on the horizon, and its different parts and rays are constantly in motion. Sometimes it appears in detached places; at other times it almost covers the whole sky. It assumes many shapes and a variety of colours, from a pale red or yellow to a deep red or blood colour; and in far northern latitudes serves to illuminate the earth and cheer the gloom of the long winter nights. The appearance of the aurora borealis so exactly resembles the effects of experimental electrical phenomena that there is every reason to believe that their causes are similar. When electricity passes through rarefied air it exhibits a diffused luminous stream which has all the characteristic appearances of the aurora, and hence it is highly probable that this natural phenomenon is occasioned by the passage of electricity through the upper regions of the atmosphere. The synchronism of auroral display with disturbances of the magnetic needle is an ascertained fact, and the connection between auroræ and magnetism is further evident from the fact that the beams or coruscationsissuing from a point in the horizon west of north are frequently observed to run in the magnetic meridian. What are known as magnetic storms are invariably connected with exhibitions of the aurora, and with spontaneous galvanic currents in the ordinary telegraph wires; and this connection is found to be so certain that, upon remarking the display of one of the three classes of phenomena, we can at once assert that the other two are also present. In recent years it has been established that auroræ wax and wane in frequencypari passuwith sun-spots in an 11-year cycle, and that they often manifest themselves about the time of transit of a conspicuous spot across the sun's central meridian. Also they frequently recur at successive intervals of about 27 days, which is the period of a solar rotation relative to the earth. It is therefore inferred that auroræ are largely excited by influences proceeding from the sun, and it is suggested that they are the result of the impinging upon our upper atmosphere of streams of electric corpuscles expelled from the solar orb, these streams when approaching our planet being mainly directed to its higher latitudes as a consequence of its magnetic polarity. The aurora borealis is said to be frequently accompanied by sound, which is variously described as resembling the rustling of pieces of silk against each other, or the sound of wind against the flame of a candle. The aurora of the southern hemisphere is quite a similar phenomenon to that of the north.—Bibliography: A. Angot,Les Aurores Polaires; Captain H. P. Dawson,Observations of the International Polar Expeditions, 1882-3, Fort Rae.
Aurungabad.SeeAurangabad.
Aurungzebe.SeeAurangzib.
Ausculta´tion, a method of distinguishing the state of the internal parts of the body, particularly of the thorax and abdomen, by observing the sounds arising in the part either through the immediate application of the ear to its surface (immediate auscultation), or by applying the stethoscope to the part, and listening through it (mediate auscultation). Auscultation may be used with more or less advantage in all cases where morbid sounds are produced, but its general applications are: theauscultationof respiration, theauscultationof the voice;auscultationof coughs;auscultationof sounds foreign to all these, but sometimes accompanying them;auscultationof the actions of the heart; obstetricauscultation. The parts when struck also give different sounds in health and disease.
Auso´nia, an ancient poetical name of Italy.
Auso´nius, Decimus Magnus (c.A.D.310-395), Roman poet, born at Burdigala (Bordeaux). Valentinian entrusted to him the education of his son Gratian, and appointed him afterwards quæstor and pretorian prefect. Gratian appointed him consul in Gaul, and after this emperor's death he lived upon an estate at Bordeaux, devoted to literary pursuits. He wrote epigrams, idyls, eclogues, letters in verse, &c., still extant, and was probably a Christian. He was rather a man of letters than a poet, and his poems are devoid of inspiration.
Aus´pices, among the ancient Romans strictly omens or auguries derived from birds, though the term was also used in a wider sense. Nothing of importance was done without taking the auspices, which, however, simply showed whether the enterprise was likely to result successfully or not, without supplying any further information. Magistrates possessed the right of taking the auspices, in which they were usually assisted by an augur. Before a war or campaign a Roman general always took the auspices, and hence the operations were said to be carried out 'under his auspices'. SeeAugur.
Aus´sig, a town in Bohemia, in the republic of Czecho-Slovakia, formerly in Austria, near the junction of the Bila with the Elbe, 42 milesN.N.W.of Prague; has large manufactures of woollens, chemicals, &c. The town is now known as Ousti nad Labem. Pop. 40,000.
Aus´ten, Jane, English novelist, born 1775, at Steventon, in Hants, of which parish her father was rector. Her principal novels are,Sense and Sensibility; Pride and Prejudice, which Disraeli is said to have read seventeen times;Mansfield Park; andEmma. Two more were published after her death, entitledNorthanger AbbeyandPersuasion, which were, however, her most early attempts. Her novels are marked by ease, humour, and a complete knowledge of the domestic life of the English middle classes of her time. She died in 1817.
Austenite, a constituent of high-carbon steel (q.v.).
Aus´terlitz, a town with 3703 inhabitants, in Moravia, 10 milesE.of Brünn, famous for the battle of 2nd Dec., 1805, fought between the French (70,000 in number) and the allied Austrian and Russian armies (95,000). The decisive victory of the French led to the Peace of Pressburg between France and Austria.
Aus´tin, capital of the State of Texas, on the Colorado, about 200 miles from its mouth, and accessible to steamboats during certain seasons. There is a State university and other institutions, and a splendid capitol built of red granite. Pop. (1920), 34,876.
Austin, Alfred, English poet, born at Hedingley, near Leeds, in 1835, educated at Stonyhurst and St. Mary's College, Oscott; took the degree ofB.A.at London in 1853, was called to the bar and practised, but gave up law for literature in 1861. He published, in 1861, asatire calledThe Season, followed by many poems, includingThe Human Tragedy,The Golden Age,Savonarola(a tragedy),English Lyrics,Fortunatus the Pessimist,Lyrical Poems,Narrative Poems,Prince Lucifer,Alfred the Great,A Tale of True Love,Flodden Field(a tragedy), &c. His works in prose includeThe Garden that I love,In Veronica's Garden,Spring and Autumn in Ireland,Haunts of Ancient Peace,The Bridling of Pegasus, &c. He was made Poet Laureate in 1896, about four years after the death of Tennyson. He died in 1913.
Aus´tin,John, an English writer on jurisprudence, born 1790, died 1859. From 1826 to 1835 he filled the chair of jurisprudence at London University. He served on several royal commissions, one of which took him to Malta; lived for some years on the Continent, and finally settled at Weybridge, in Surrey. His fame rests solely on his great works:The Province of Jurisprudence Determined, published in 1832; and hisLectures on Jurisprudence, published by his widow between 1861 and 1863.—His wife, Sarah, one of the Taylors of Norwich, produced translations of German works, and other books bearing on Germany or its literature; also,Considerations on National Education, &c. Born 1793, died 1867. Her daughter, Lady Duff Gordon, translated Meinhold'sMary Schweidler, the Amber Witch, and other German works.
Austin, St.SeeAugustine.
Austin Friars.SeeAugustins.
Australasia,a division of the globe usually regarded as comprehending the Islands of Australia, Tasmania, New Zealand, New Caledonia, the New Hebrides, the Solomon Islands, New Ireland, New Britain, the Admiralty Islands, New Guinea, and the Arru Islands, besides numerous other islands and island groups; estimated area, 3,400,000 sq. miles; pop. 6,000,000. It forms one of the three portions into which some geographers have divided Oceania, the other two being Malaysia and Polynesia. The British territories in Australasia comprise the Commonwealth of Australia, the Australian dependencies of Papua and Northern Territory, New Zealand and adjacent islands, and the crown colony of Fiji.
Australia - political
Australia(older name,New Holland), the largest island in the world, a sea-girt continent, lying between the Indian and Pacific Oceans,S.E.of Asia; between lat. 10° 39' and 39° 11'S.; long. 113° 5' and 153° 16'E.; greatest length, fromW.toE., 2400 miles; greatest breadth, fromN.toS., 1700 to 1900 miles. It is separated from New Guinea on the north by Torres Strait, from Tasmania on the south by Bass Strait. It is divided into two unequal parts by the Tropic of Capricorn, and consequently belongs partly to the South Temperate, partly to the Torrid Zone. It is occupied by five British colonies, namely, New South Wales, Victoria, and Queensland in the east; South Australia in the middle, stretching from sea to sea; and Western Australia in the west, which, with the Island of Tasmania, form the Commonwealth of Australia. Their area and population are as follows:—
Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane, and Perth are the chief towns. The population of the Commonwealth of Australia was 4,895,894 in 1917 and 5,412,318 in 1920.
Although there are numerous spacious harbours on the coasts, there are few remarkable indentations, the principal being the Gulf of Carpentaria, on theN., the Great Australian Bight, and Spencer's Gulf, on theS.The chief projections are Cape York Peninsula and Arnhem Land in the north. Parallel to theN.E.coast runs the Great Barrier Reef for 1000 miles. In great part theE.coast is bold and rocky, and is fringed with many small islands. Part of theS.coast is low and sandy, and part presents cliffs of several hundred feet high. TheN.andW.coasts are generally low, with some elevations at intervals.
The interior, so far as explored, is largely composed of rocky tracts and barren plains with little or no water. The whole continent forms an immense plateau, highest in the east, low in the centre, and with a narrow tract of land usually intervening between the elevated area and the sea. The base of the table-land is granite, which forms the surface-rock in a great part of the south-west, and is common in the higher grounds along the east side. Secondary (cretaceous) and tertiary rocks are largely developed in the interior. Silurian rocks occupy a large area in South Australia, on both sides of Spencer Gulf. The mountainous region in the south-east and east is mainly composed of volcanic, Silurian, carbonaceous, and carboniferous rocks yielding good coal. No active volcano is known to exist, but in the south-east there are some craters only recently extinct. The highest and most extensive mountain-system is a belt about 150 miles wide skirting the whole eastern and south-eastern border of the continent, and often called, in whole or in part, the Great Dividing Range, from forming the great water-shed of Australia. A part of it, called the Australian Alps, in the south-east, contains the highest summits in Australia, Mount Kosciusko (7175 feet), MountClarke (7256 feet), and Mount Townshend (7353 feet). West of the Dividing Range are extensive plains or downs admirably adapted for pastoral purposes. The deserts and scrubs, which occupy large areas of the interior, are a characteristic feature of Australia. The former are destitute of vegetation, or are covered only with a coarse, spiny grass that affords no sustenance to cattle or horses; the latter are composed of a dense growth of shrubs and low trees, often impenetrable till the traveller has cleared a track with his axe.
Australia - GeologicalCOMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA Geological
The rivers of Australia are nearly all subject to great irregularities in volume, many of them at one time showing a channel in which there is merely a series of pools, while at another they inundate the whole adjacent country. The chief is the Murray, which, with its affluents the Murrumbidgee, Lachlan, and Darling, drains a great part of the interior west of the Dividing Range, and falls into the sea on the south coast (after entering Lake Alexandrina). Its greatest tributary is the Darling, which may even be regarded as the main stream. On the east coast are the Hunter, Clarence, Brisbane, Fitzroy, and Burdekin; on the west, the Swan, Murchison, Gascoyne, Ashburton, and De Grey; on the north, the Fitzroy, Victoria, Flinders, and Mitchell. The Australian rivers are of little service in facilitating internal communication. Many of them lose themselves in swamps or sandy wastes of the interior. A considerable river of the interior is Cooper's Creek, or the Barcoo, which falls into Lake Eyre, one of a group of lakes on the south side of the continent having no outlet, and accordingly salt. The principal of these are Lakes Eyre, Torrens, and Gairdner, all of which vary in size and saltness according to the season. Another large salt lake of little depth, Lake Amadeus, lies a little west of the centre of Australia. Various others of less magnitude are scattered over the interior.
The climate of Australia is generally hot and dry, but very healthy. In the tropical portions there are heavy rains, and in most of the coast districts there is a sufficiency of moisture, but in the interior the heat and drought are extreme. Considerable portions now devoted to pasturage are liable at times to suffer from drought. At Melbourne the mean temperature is about 56°, at Sydney about 63°. The south-eastern settled districts are at times subject to excessively hot winds from the interior, which cause great discomfort, and are often followed by a violent cold wind from the south ('southerly bursters'). In the mountainous and more temperate parts snow-storms are common in winter (June, July, and August).
Australia is a region containing a vast quantity of mineral wealth. Foremost come its rich and extensive deposits of gold, which, since the precious metal was first discovered in 1851, have produced a total of nearly £600,000,000. The greatest quantity has been obtained in Victoria,but New South Wales and Queensland have also yielded a considerable amount, and now Western Australia stands first in respect of annual output. Australia also possesses silver, copper, tin, lead, zinc, antimony, mercury, plumbago, &c., besides coal (now worked to a considerable extent in New South Wales) and iron. Various precious stones are found, as the garnet, ruby, topaz, sapphire, and even the diamond. Of building-stone there are granite, limestone, marble, and sandstone.
Australia - ClimateCOMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA Mean Annual Rainfall and Temperature
The Australian flora presents peculiarities which mark it off by itself in a very decided manner. Many of its most striking features have an unmistakable relation to the general dryness of the climate. The trees and bushes have for the most part a scanty foliage, presenting little surface for evaporation, or thick leathery leaves well fitted to retain moisture. The most widely-spread types of Australian vegetation are the various kinds of gum tree (Eucalyptus), the shea-oak (Casuarīna), the acacia or wattle, the grass tree (Xanthorrhœa), many varieties of Proteaceæ, and a great number of ferns and tree-ferns. Of the gum tree there are found upwards of 150 species, many of which are of great value. Individual specimens of the 'peppermint' (E. amygdalĭna) have been found to measure from 480 to 500 feet in height. As timber trees the most valuable members of this genus are theE. rostrāta(or red gum),E. leucoxўlon, andE. margināta(jarrah), the timber of which is hard, and almost indestructible. A number of the gum trees have deciduous bark. The wattle or acacia includes about 300 species, some of them of considerable economic value, yielding good timber or bark for tanning. The most beautiful and most useful is that known as the golden wattle (A. dealbāta) which in spring is adorned with rich masses of fragrant yellow blossom. Palms—of which there are twenty-four species, all except the coco-palm peculiar to Australia—are confined to the north and east coasts. In the 'scrubs' already mentioned hosts of densely-intertwisted bushes occupy extensive areas. Themalleescrub is formed by a species of dwarf eucalyptus, themulgascrub by a species of thorny acacia. A plant which covers large areas in the arid regions is thespinifexor porcupine grass, a hard, coarse, and excessively spiny plant, which renders travelling difficult, wounds the feet of horses, and is utterly uneatable by any animal. Other large tracts are occupied by herbs or bushes of a more valuable kind, from their affording fodder. Foremost among those stands the salt-bush (Atriplex nummularia, ord. Chenopodiaceæ). Beautiful flowering plants are numerous. Australia also possesses great numbers of turf-forming grasses, such as the kangaroo-grass (Anthistiria austrālis), which survives even a tolerably-protracted drought. The native fruit trees are few and unimportant, and the same may be said of the plants yielding roots used as food; but exotic fruits and vegetables may now be had in the different colonies in great abundance and of excellent quality. The vine, the olive, and mulberry thrive well, and quantities of wine are now produced. The cereals of Europe and maize are extensively cultivated, and large tracts of country, particularly in Queensland, are under the sugar-cane.
The Australian fauna is almost unique in its character. Its great feature is the nearly totalabsence of all the forms of mammalia which abound in the rest of the world, their place being supplied by a great variety of marsupials—these animals being nowhere else found, except in the opossums of America. There are about 110 kinds of marsupials (of which the kangaroo, wombat, bandicoot, and phalangers or opossums, are the best-known varieties), over twenty kinds of bats, a wild dog (the dingo), and a number of rats and mice. Two extraordinary animals, the platypus, or water-mole of the colonist (Ornithorhynchus), and the porcupine ant-eater (Echidna) constitute the lowest order of mammals (Monotremata), and are confined to Australia. Their young are produced from eggs. Australia now possesses a large stock of the domestic animals of Britain, which thrive there remarkably well. The breed of horses is excellent. Horned cattle and sheep are largely bred, the first attaining a great size, while the sheep improve in fleece and their flesh in flavour. There are upwards of 650 different species of birds, the largest being the emu, or Australian ostrich, and a species of cassowary. Peculiar to the country are the black swan, the honey-sucker, the lyre-bird, the brush-turkey, and other mound-building birds, the bower-birds, &c. The parrot tribe preponderates over most other groups of birds in the continent. There are many reptiles, the largest being the alligator, found in some of the northern rivers. There are upwards of sixty different species of snakes, some of which are very venomous. Lizards, frogs, and insects are also numerous in various parts. The seas, rivers, and lagoons abound in fish of numerous varieties, and other aquatic animals, many of them peculiar. Whales and seals frequent the coasts. On the northern coasts are extensive fisheries of trepang, much visited by native traders from the Indian Archipelago. Some animals of European origin, such as the rabbit and the sparrow, have developed into real pests in several of the colonies.
Australia - topographyCOMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA Surface Features
The natives belong to the Australian negro stock, and are sometimes considered the lowest as regards intelligence in the whole human family, though this is doubtful. At the census of 1891 they were believed to number about 60,000, exclusive of those in the unexplored parts. They are of a dark-brown or black colour, with jet-black curly but not woolly hair, of medium size, but inferior muscular development. In the settled parts of the continent they are inoffensive, and rapidly dying out. They have no fixed habitations; in the summer they live almost entirely in the open air, and in the more inclement weather they shelter themselves with bark erections of the rudest construction. They have no cultivation and no domestic animals. Their food consists of such animals as they can kill, and no kind of living creature seems to be rejected, snakes, lizards, frogs, and even insects being eaten, often half raw. They are ignorant of the potter's art.In their natural condition they wear little or no clothing. They speak a number of different languages or dialects. The women are regarded merely as slaves, and are frequently maltreated. They have no religion; they practise polygamy, and are said sometimes to resort to cannibalism, but only in exceptional circumstances. They are occasionally employed by the settlers in light kinds of work, and as horse-breakers; but they dislike continuous occupation, and soon give it up. The weapons of all the tribes are generally similar, consisting of spears, shields, boomerangs, wooden axes, clubs, and stone hatchets. Of these the boomerang is the most singular, being an invention confined to the Australians.
The five colonies, independently of each other, having declared their desire for a federal union, the Commonwealth of Australia was proclaimed. A Convention, which sat at Adelaide in 1897-8, drafted a Constitution Bill, and on 9th July, 1900, the British Parliament passed the Act to constitute the Commonwealth. There is now a Governor-General and Central or Federal Parliament, consisting of a Senate and a House of Representatives, while each State has also (as before) a Governor, an administration, and a Parliament of its own. Each Parliament consists of two Houses corresponding to the British House of Lords and House of Commons, but both Houses are elected by popular vote. Altogether the machinery of government very much resembles that of the home country. The aggregate annual revenue of the colonies is over £30,000,000. The public debt on 30th June, 1917, was £372,517,623. The former militia and volunteer units have been gradually merged into the new Citizen Army started by the Australian Government in 1911. The Government also agreed in the same year to furnish an Australian fleet unit, upon which King George conferred the title of 'Royal Australian Navy'. There is no established Church in the colonies. The denomination which numbers most adherents is the English or Anglican Church, next to which come the Roman Catholics, Presbyterians, and Methodists. Education is well provided for, instruction in the primary schools being in some cases free and compulsory, and the higher education being more and more attended to. There are flourishing universities in Melbourne, Sydney, and Adelaide. Newspapers are exceedingly numerous, and periodicals of all kinds are abundant. There is as yet no native literature of any distinctive type, but names of Australian writers of ability both in prose and poetry are beginning to be known beyond their own country.
Pastoral and agricultural pursuits and mining are the chief occupations of the people, though manufactures and handicrafts also employ large numbers. The total land area under cultivation was calculated at 13,298,576 acres in 1919-20. For sheep-rearing and the growth of wool the Australian colonies are unrivalled, and while the production of gold has considerably decreased, that of wool is constantly on the increase. The great bulk of the wool exported goes to Britain, which receives over 300,000,000 pounds from the Australian colonies annually (£37,256,915 in 1919-20). The commerce is rapidly extending, and becoming every year more important to Britain, whence the colonists derive their chief supplies of manufactured goods in return for wool, gold, and other produce. Next to wool come gold, tin, copper, wheat, preserved meat, and tallow, hides and skins, cotton, tobacco, sugar, and wine as the most important items of export. The chief imports consist of textile fabrics, haberdashery, and clothing, machinery and metal goods. The aggregate imports in 1920 amounted to about £97,456,899 in value, the exports to £148,564,523. There are upwards of 23,000 miles of railway in actual use or in course of construction, and about 133,000 miles of telegraph. In 1912 the building of the Trans-Australian railway from Port Augusta to Kalgoorlie was commenced. The longest telegraph line is that running northwards across the continent from Adelaide. The two chief routes for mails between Britain and the Australian colonies are by way of the Suez Canal, and by San Francisco across the American continent. The coinage is the same as in the mother country. Banks and banking offices are numerous, including post office or other savings banks for the reception of small sums.
It is doubtful when Australia was first discovered by Europeans. Between 1531 and 1542 the Portuguese published the existence of a land which they called Great Java, and which corresponded to Australia, and probably the first discovery of the country was made by them early in the sixteenth century. The first authenticated discovery is said to have been made in 1601 by a Portuguese named Manoel Godinho de Eredia. In 1606 Torres, a Spaniard, passed through the strait that now bears his name, between New Guinea and Australia. Between this period and 1628 a large portion of the coastline of Australia had been surveyed by various Dutch navigators. In 1664 the continent was named New Holland by the Dutch Government. In 1688 Dampier coasted along part of Australia, and about 1700 explored a part of theW.andN.W.coasts. In 1770 Cook carefully surveyed theE.coast, named a number of localities, and took possession of the country for Britain. He was followed by Bligh in 1789, who carried on a series of observations on theN.E.coast, adding largely to the knowledge already obtained of this new world. Colonists had now arrived on thesoil, and a penal settlement was formed (1788) at Port Jackson. In this way was laid the foundation of the future colony of New South Wales. The Moreton Bay district (Queensland) was settled in 1825; in 1835 the Port Phillip district. In 1851 the latter district was erected into a separate colony under the name of Victoria. Previous to this time the colonies both of Western Australia and of South Australia had been founded—the former in 1829, the latter in 1836. The latest of the colonies is Queensland, which dates from 1859. The discovery of gold in abundance took place in 1851 and caused an immense excitement and great influx of immigrants. The population was then only about 350,000, and was slowly increasing; but the discovery of the precious metal started the country on that career of prosperity which has since been almost uninterrupted. Convicts were long sent to Australia from the mother country, but transportation to New South Wales practically ceased in 1840, and the last convict vessel to W. Australia arrived in 1868. Altogether about 70,000 convicts were landed in Australia (besides almost as many in Tasmania).
The record of interior exploration forms an interesting part of Australian history. This has been going on since early last century, and is as yet far from complete. There is still a large area of the continent of which little or nothing is known, comprising especially a vast territory belonging to Western Australia, and a portion of South Australia. Among the men who have won fame in the field of Australian exploration are Oxley (1817-23), who partly explored the Lachlan and Macquarie, discovered the Brisbane, &c.; Hume and Hovell (1824), who crossed what is now the colony of Victoria from north to south; Cunningham (1827), who discovered the Darling Downs; Sturt (1828-9), who examined the Macquarie, part of the Darling, and the Murrumbidgee, which he traced to the Murray, sailing down the latter to Lake Alexandrina; in 1844 he penetrated to near the middle of the continent from the south; Mitchell (1831-6) made extensive explorations in New South Wales and Victoria; M‘Millan (1839) explored and traversed Gippsland; Eyre (1840) travelled by the coast from Adelaide to King George's Sound; Leichhardt in 1844-5 travelled from Brisbane to Port Essington, discovering fine tracts of territory and the numerous rivers flowing into the Gulf of Carpentaria; in 1848 he was lost in the northern interior, in attempting to cross Australia from east to west, and nothing further regarding his fate has been discovered; Kennedy (1848) was killed in exploring Cape York Peninsula; A. C. Gregory (1855-6) explored part of North-Western Australia, and crossed from that to the Brisbane district, an important exploring journey; M‘Douall Stuart (1859-60-2) crossed the continent from south to north and back again nearly in the line of the present overland telegraph; Burke, Wills, Gray, and King (1860-1) crossed from Melbourne to the Gulf of Carpentaria, but Burke, Wills, and Gray perished on the return journey; F. T. Gregory (1861) explored the region of the Ashburton, Fortescue, and other rivers of North-West Australia; Warburton (1873) travelled with camels from the centre of the continent to the north-west coast; J. Forrest (1874) made an important journey in Western Australia; Giles (1874-6) explored Central Western Australia; Favenc (1878-9) travelled from Brisbane to Port Darwin; A. Forrest (1879) explored part of Northern Australia; Mills (1883) traversed with camels a considerable stretch of new ground in Western Australia; Winnicke (1883-4), also with camels, explored and mapped about 40,000 sq. miles of the unknown interior; Lindsay (1885-6) travelled north-west from Lake Eyre, and then north-east to the Gulf of Carpentaria. Among subsequent explorations mention may be made of Carnegie's eight months' journeyings in W. Australia (1896-7). (See articles on the separate colonies.)—Bibliography: Wall,Physical Geography of Australia; Aflalo,Natural History of Australia; T. A. Coghlan,A Statistical Account of the Seven Colonies of Australasia(Sydney); G. W. Rusden,History of Australia.
Austra´lioids, one of the five groups into which Professor Huxley classifies man, comprising the indigenous non-Aryan inhabitants of Central and Southern India, the ancient Egyptians and their descendants, and the modern Fellahs.
Austria, orGerman Austria, a republic formed out of the fragments of the old Austro-Hungarian Empire. The republic was proclaimed on 12th Nov., 1918, and the government was taken in hand by the National Constitutional Assembly. The new republic, the frontiers of which were provisionally defined by the treaty of St. Germain (q.v.), includes Upper Austria, Lower Austria, Salzburg, and parts of Styria, Carinthia, Tyrol, and Vorarlberg, some districts having been assigned to Yugo-Slavia and Italy. German Austria now has an area of 30,716 sq. miles, and a pop. of 6,130,197.
Austria-Hungary(in Ger.Oesterreich, that is, Eastern Empire), previous to the changes resulting from the European War (1914-18), a Central European monarchy, inhabited by several nationalities, and consisting of the Austrian Empire, the Hungarian monarchy, and the territory of Bosnia and Herzegovina annexed by Austria on 5th Oct., 1908. The States had together a total area of about 261,242 sq. miles, and were boundedS.by Turkey, the Adriatic, and Italy;W.by Switzerland, Bavaria, andSaxony;N.by Prussia and Russian Poland; andE.by Russia and Roumania. On 12th Nov., 1918, the German-Austrian Republic was proclaimed, and the government was taken in hand by the National Constitutional Assembly. The account given in the following pages applies to the countries only as they existed before the end of the European War.
The population of Austria proper in 1913 was estimated at 29,193,293.
The prevailing character of the Austrian dominions is mountainous or hilly, the plains not occupying more than a fifth part of the whole surface. The loftiest ranges belong to the Alps, and are found in Styria, Salzburg, and Carinthia, the highest summits being the Ortlerspitzen (12,814 feet) on the western boundary of Tyrol, and the Grossglockner (12,300 feet) on the borders of Salzburg, Tyrol, and Carinthia. Another great range is that of the Carpathians. The chief rivers are the Danube, with its tributaries, and the Dniester. The Danube is navigable for pretty large vessels; the tributaries also are largely navigable. The lakes are numerous and often picturesque, the chief being Lake Balaton or the Plattensee. The climate is exceedingly varied, but generally good. The principal products of the north are wheat, barley, oats, and rye; in the centre vines and maize are added; and in the south olives and various fruits. The cereals grow to perfection, other crops being hops, tobacco, flax, and hemp. Sheep and cattle are largely reared.—Wild deer, wild swine, chamois, foxes, lynxes, and a species of small black bear are found in many districts, the fox and lynx being particularly abundant.—In mineral productions Austria is very rich, possessing, with the exception of platinum, all the useful metals, the total annual value of the mineral products of Austria being estimated at upwards of £15,000,000, the principal being coal, salt, and iron.
Before the European War, manufactures were in the most flourishing condition in Bohemia, Moravia, Silesia, and Lower Austria; less so in the eastern provinces, and insignificant in Dalmatia, Bukowina, Herzegovina, &c. Among the most important manufactures were those of machinery and metal goods, Austria holding a high place for the manufacture of musical and scientific instruments, gold and silver plate and jewellery; of stone and china-ware and of glass, which is one of the oldest and most highly-developed industries in Austria; of chemicals; of sugar from beet; of beer, spirits, &c.; and especially the manufactures of wool, cotton, hemp, and flax.
In addition to the general import and export trade, Austria carried on a very considerable amount of business in the transit of goods through her territory. In 1914 the total value of imports into Austria-Hungary was £114,716,000, of exports £83,996,000; the value of imports in 1913 was £141,433,000, the exports £115,129,000. Among imports were cotton and other fibres, textile goods and yarn, metals, machinery, drugs, chemicals, oils, fats, hides, skins, &c. The chief exports were cereals, animals, metallic goods, woven fabrics, pottery and glass manufactures. Nearly two-thirds of the commerce are with Germany, next in importance being the trade with Roumania, Italy, and Russia. The exports direct to the United Kingdom in 1913 were £7,705,949; the imports of British produce direct, £4,480,760; but these amounts do not include indirect exports and imports through other countries. The staple exports to the United Kingdom were corn and flour. The chief imports from it were cotton manufactures, machinery and metals, woollen goods, fish, &c. In 1913 the mercantile navy of Austria had a total burden of about 471,252 tons. The principal ports were Trieste, in Austria, and Fiume, in Hungary.
None of the European States, except Russia, exhibited such a diversity of race and language as the former dual monarchy. The Slavs—who differ greatly, however, amongst themselves in language and civilization—amounted to above 20,000,000, or 46 per cent of the total population, and formed the great mass of the population of Bohemia, Moravia, Carniola, Galicia, Dalmatia, Croatia, and Slavonia, and Northern Hungary, and half the population of Silesia and Bukowina. The Germans, about 9,950,266, formed almost the sole population of the archduchy of Austria, Salzburg, the greatest portion of Styria and Carinthia, almost the whole of Tyrol and Vorarlberg, large portions of Bohemia and Moravia, the whole of West Silesia, &c.; and they were also numerous in Hungary and Transylvania. The Magyars or Hungarians (10,061,549) formed nearly half of the inhabitants of the former Kingdom of Hungary and the connected provinces.
The State religion of the former dual monarchy was the Roman Catholic. In 1910 there were in the Austrian portion of the monarchy 22,530,000 Roman Catholics, 3,417,000 Greek Catholics united to the Roman Church, 689,000 non-united, 589,000 Protestants, and 1,314,000 Jews.
The intellectual culture of the people was highest in the German provinces, but in some of the other provinces the percentage of uneducated was very high. Attendance at the elementary schools was compulsory on all children from their sixth to the end of their fourteenth year in most of the Austrian provinces; to at least the twelfth year in the whole empire. There were numerous gymnasia and 'real schools', the gymnasia beingintended chiefly to prepare pupils for the universities, while in the real schools a more practical end was kept in view, and modern languages and physical science formed the groundwork of the educational course. The technical high schools in Austria were very important institutions, and there are many other special schools where the students received training in mining, agriculture, industries of all kinds, art, music, commerce, &c. In 1917 there were eight universities maintained by the State, viz. in Vienna, Prague (2), Gratz, Cracow, Lemberg, Innsbruck, and Czernowitz. Most of these have four faculties—Catholic theology, law and politics, medicine, and philosophy.
Before the revolution of 1918 the ruler of the dual monarchy had the title of emperor in his Austrian dominions, but he was only king of Hungary. The Parliament of the Austrian division of the empire was known as the Reichsrath, or council of the realm, consisting of an Upper House (Herrenhaus), composed of princes of the imperial family, nobles with the hereditary right to sit, archbishops, and life-members nominated by the Emperor; and a Lower House (Abgeordnetenhaus) of 516 deputies elected on the basis of universal suffrage. There were seventeen provincial Diets or Assemblies, each provincial division having one. In the Hungarian division of the Empire the legislature was a Parliament consisting of an Upper House or House of Magnates and of a Lower House or House of Representatives, the latter elected by all citizens of full age paying a small amount in taxes, or otherwise qualified. Its powers corresponded to those of the Austrian Parliament or Reichsrath. All matters affecting the joint interests of the two divisions of the monarchy, such as foreign affairs, war, and finance, were dealt with by the Parliaments of the two States. There were three Budgets, viz. one for common affairs, one for Austria, and one for Hungary. The Budget estimates for the former Austrian kingdom in 1913 were £130,716,773 (the revenue balancing the expenditure). In 1918 the estimates were: expenditure 24,321,140,000 crowns, revenue 4,854,789 crowns. Austria's special debt in Feb., 1918, was placed at 54,081,765,681 crowns, of which 29,274,603,300 crowns were war debt. On 20th Nov., 1918, the Provisional Government of the Austrian Republic passed a law adopting the Budget of 1918-9, and empowering the Minister of Finance to make good the difference between revenue and expenditure.
Military service was compulsory and universal throughout the dual monarchy. The old Austro-Hungarian army numbered about 820,000 men on a peace footing.
History.—In 791 Charlemagne drove the Avars from the territory between the Ens and the Raab, and united it to his empire under the name ofthe Eastern Mark(that is, March or boundary land); and from the establishment by him of a margraviate in this new province the former Austrian Empire took its rise. On the invasion of Germany by the Hungarians it became subject to them from 900 till 955, when Otho I, by the victory of Augsburg, reunited a great part of this province to the German Empire, which by 1043 had extended its limits to the Leitha. The margraviate of Austria was hereditary in the family of the Counts of Babenberg (Bamberg) from 982 till 1156, in which year the boundaries of Austria were extended so as to include the territory above the Ens, and the whole was created a duchy. The territory was still further increased in 1192 by the gift of the duchy of Styria as a fief from the Emperor Henry VI, Vienna being by this time the capital. The male line of the House of Bamberg became extinct in 1246, and the Emperor Frederick II declared Austria and Styria a vacant fief, the hereditary property of the German emperors. In 1282 the Emperor Rudolph granted Austria, Styria, and Carinthia to his two sons, Albert and Rudolph. The former became sole ruler (duke), and since then, until 12th Nov., 1918, Austria remained under the House of Habsburg. Albert, who was an energetic ruler, was elected emperor in 1298, but was assassinated in 1308. The first of his successors whom we need specially mention was Albert V, son-in-law of the Emperor Sigismund. He assisted Sigismund in the Hussite wars, and was elected, after his death, King of Hungary and of Bohemia, and German emperor (1438). Ladislaus, his posthumous son, was the last of the Austrian line proper, and its possessions devolved upon the collateral Styrian line in 1457; since which time the House of Austria furnished an unbroken succession of German emperors.
In 1453 the Emperor Frederick III, a member of this House, had conferred upon the country the rank of an archduchy before he himself became ruler of all Austria. His son Maximilian I, by his marriage with Mary, the surviving daughter of Charles the Bold, united the Netherlands to the Austrian dominions. After the death of his father, in 1493, Maximilian was made Emperor of Germany, and transferred to his son Philip the government of the Netherlands. He also added to his paternal inheritance Tyrol, with several other territories, particularly some belonging to Bavaria, and acquired for his family new claims to Hungary and Bohemia. The marriage of his son Philip to Joanna of Spain raised the House of Habsburg to the throne of Spain. Philip, however, died in 1506, and the death of Maximilian, in 1519, was followed by the union of Spain and Austria, his grandson (the eldest son of Philip), Charles I, King ofSpain, being elected Emperor of Germany as Charles V. Charles thus became the greatest monarch in Europe, but in 1521 he ceded to his brother Ferdinand all his dominions in Germany. Ferdinand I, by his marriage with Anna, the sister of Louis II, King of Hungary, acquired the kingdoms of Hungary and Bohemia, with Moravia, Silesia, and Lusatia, the appendages of Bohemia. To oppose him the woywode of Transylvania, John Zapolya, sought the help of the Sultan, Soliman II, who appeared in 1529 at the gates of Vienna, but was compelled to retreat. In 1535 a treaty was made by which John Zapolya was allowed to retain the royal title and half of Hungary, but after his death new disputes arose, and Ferdinand maintained the possession of Lower Hungary only by paying Soliman the sum of 30,000 ducats annually (1562). In 1556 Ferdinand obtained the imperial crown, when his brother Charles laid by the sceptre for a cowl. He died in 1564, leaving his territories to be divided amongst his three sons.
Maximilian II, the eldest, succeeded his father as emperor, obtaining Austria, Hungary, and Bohemia; Ferdinand, the second son, received Tyrol and Lower Austria; and Charles, the youngest, obtained Styria, Carinthia, Carniola, and Görz. Maximilian died in 1576, and was succeeded on the imperial throne by his eldest son Rudolph II, who had already been crowned King of Hungary in 1572, and King of Bohemia in 1575. Rudolph's reign was distinguished by the war against Turkey and Transylvania; the persecutions of the Protestants, who were driven from his dominions; the cession of Hungary in 1608; and in 1611 of Bohemia and his hereditary estates in Austria to his brother Matthias. Matthias, who succeeded Maximilian on the imperial throne, concluded a peace with the Turks, but was disturbed by the Protestant Bohemians, who took up arms in defence of their religious rights, thus commencing the Thirty Years' War. After his death in 1619 the Bohemians refused to acknowledge his successor, Ferdinand II, until after the battle of Prague in 1620, when Bohemia had to submit, and was deprived of the right of choosing her king. Lutheranism was strictly forbidden in all the Austrian dominions. Hungary, which revolted under Bethlem Gabor, Prince of Transylvania, was, after a long struggle, subdued. During the reign of Ferdinand III (1637-57), successor of Ferdinand II, Austria was continually the theatre of war; Lusatia was ceded to Saxony in 1635; and Alsace to France in 1648, when peace was restored in Germany by the Treaty of Westphalia.
The Emperor Leopold I, son and successor of Ferdinand III, was victorious through the talents of Prince Eugene in two wars with Turkey; and Vienna was delivered by Sobieski and the Germans from the attacks of Kara Mustapha in 1683. In 1687 he united Hungary to Transylvania, and in 1699 restored to Hungary the country lying between the Danube and the Theiss. It was the chief aim of Leopold to secure to Charles, his second son, the inheritance of the Spanish monarchy, and in 1701, upon the victory of French diplomacy in the appointment of the grandson of Louis XIV, the War of the Spanish Succession commenced. Leopold died in 1705, but Joseph I, his eldest son, continued the war. As he died without children in 1711, his brother Charles was elected emperor, but was obliged to accede in 1714 to the Peace of Utrecht, by which Austria received the Netherlands, Milan, Mantua, Naples, and Sardinia. In 1720 Sicily was given to Austria in exchange for Sardinia. This monarchy now embraced over 190,000 sq. miles; but its power was weakened by new wars with Spain and France. In the peace concluded at Vienna (1735 and 1738) Charles VI was forced to cede Naples and Sicily to Spain and part of Milan to the King of Sardinia; and in 1739, by the Peace of Belgrade, he was obliged to transfer to the Porte Belgrade, Serbia, &c., partly in order to secure the succession to his daughter, Maria Theresa, by the Pragmatic Sanction. He died in 1740.
On Maria Theresa's marriage to Francis Stephen, Duke of Lorraine (the dynasty henceforth being that of Habsburg-Lorraine), and her accession to the Austrian throne, the Empire was threatened with dismemberment. Frederick II of Prussia subdued Silesia; the Elector of Bavaria was crowned in Lintz and Prague, and in 1742 chosen emperor under the name of Charles VII; Hungary alone supported the heroic and beautiful queen. Charles, however, died in 1745, and the husband of Theresa was crowned Emperor of Germany as Francis I; but a treaty concluded in 1745 confirmed to Frederick the possession of Silesia, and by the Peace of Aix-la-Chapelle, 1748, Austria was obliged to cede the duchies of Parma, Piacenza, and Guastalla to Philip, Infant of Spain, and several districts of Milan and Sardinia. To recover Silesia, Maria Theresa formed an alliance with France, Russia, Saxony, and Sweden, and entered upon the Seven Years' War; but by the Peace of Hubertsberg, 1763, Silesia was recognized as Prussian territory. On the death of Francis I, in 1765, Joseph II, his eldest son, was appointed to assist his mother in the government and elected Emperor of Germany. The partition of Poland (1772) gave Galicia and Lodomeria to Austria, which also obtained Bukowina from the Porte in 1777. At the death of the Empress in 1780 Austria contained 235,000 sq. miles, with a pop. estimated at 24,000,000.
The liberal home administration of the Empresswas continued and extended by her successor, Joseph II, who did much to further the spread of religious tolerance, education, and the industrial arts. The Low Countries, however, revolted, and he was unsuccessful in the war of 1788 against the Porte. His death took place in 1790. He was succeeded by his eldest brother, Leopold II, under whom peace was restored in the Netherlands, and in Hungary, and also with the Porte. On the death of his sister and her husband Louis XVI of France he formed an alliance with Prussia, but died in 1792, before the French revolutionary war broke out.
His son, Francis II, succeeded, and was elected German Emperor, by which time France had declared war against him as King of Hungary and Bohemia. In 1795, in the third partition of Poland, West Galicia fell to Austria, and by the Peace of Campo-Formio (1797) she received the largest part of the Venetian territory as compensation for her loss of Lombardy and the Netherlands. In 1799 Francis, in alliance with Russia, renewed the war with France until 1801, when the Peace of Lunéville was concluded. In 1804 Francis declared himself hereditary Emperor of Austria as Francis I, and united all his States under the name of the Empire of Austria, immediately taking up arms once more with his allies Russia and Great Britain against France. The war of 1805 was terminated by the Peace of Pressburg (26th Dec.), by which Francis had to cede to France the remaining provinces of Italy, as well as to give up portions of territory to Bavaria, Würtemberg, and Baden, receiving in return Salzburg and Berchtesgaden. After the formation of the Confederation of the Rhine (12th July, 1806) Francis was forced to resign his dignity as Emperor of Germany, which had been in his family more than 500 years. A new war with France in 1809 cost the monarchy 42,380 sq. miles of territory and 3,500,000 subjects. Napoleon married Maria Louisa, daughter of the Emperor, and in 1812 concluded an alliance with him against Russia. But in 1813 Francis again declared war against France, and formed an alliance with Britain, Prussia, and Sweden against his son-in-law. By the Congress of Vienna (1815) Austria gained Lombardy and Venetia, and recovered, together with Dalmatia, the hereditary territories which it had been obliged to cede.
In the troubled period following the French revolution of 1830 insurrections took place in Modena, Parma, and the Papal States (1831-2), but were suppressed without much difficulty; and though professedly neutral during the Polish insurrections Austria clearly showed herself on the side of Russia, with whom her relations became more intimate as those between Great Britain and France grew more cordial. The death of Francis I (1835) and accession of his son, Ferdinand I, made little change in the Austrian system of government, and much discontent was the consequence. In 1846 the failure of the Polish insurrection led to the incorporation of Cracow with Austria. In Italy the declarations of Pio Nono in favour of reform increased the difficulties of Austria, and in Hungary the opposition under Kossuth and others assumed the form of a great constitutional movement. In 1848, when the expulsion of Louis Philippe shook all Europe, Metternich found it impossible any longer to guide the helm of the State, and the Government was compelled to admit a free press and the right of citizens to arms. Apart from the popular attitude in Italy and in Hungary, where the Diet declared itself permanent under the presidency of Kossuth, the insurrection made equal progress in Vienna itself, and the royal family, no longer in safety, removed to Innsbruck. After various ministerial changes the Emperor abdicated in favour of his nephew, Francis Joseph; more vigorous measures were adopted; and Austria, aided by Russia, reduced Hungary to submission.
The year 1855 is memorable for the Concordat with the Pope, which put the educational and ecclesiastical affairs of the Empire entirely into the hands of the Papal see. In 1859 the hostile intentions of France and Sardinia against the possessions of Austria in Italy became so evident that she declared war by sending an army across the Ticino; but after disastrous defeats at Magenta and Solferino she was compelled to cede Milan and the north-west portion of Lombardy to Sardinia. In 1864 she joined with the German States in the war against Denmark, but a dispute about Schleswig-Holstein involved her in a war with her allies (1866), while at the same time Italy renewed her attempts for the recovery of Venice. The Italians were defeated at Custozza and driven back across the Mincio; but the Prussians, victorious at Königgrätz (or Sadowa), threatened Vienna. Peace was concluded with Prussia on 23rd Aug. and with Italy on 3rd Oct., the result of the war being the cession of Venetia through France to Italy and the withdrawal of Austria from all interference in the affairs of Germany.
For nearly half a century (from 1866 to 1914) the internal affairs of Austria-Hungary gave much occupation to statesmen of the dual monarchy. Hungarian demands for self-government were finally agreed to, and the Empire was divided into the two parts already mentioned—Austria and Hungary. This settlement was consummated by the coronation of the Emperor Francis Joseph I, at Budapest, as King of Hungary, on 8th June, 1867. In the same year the Concordat of 1855 came up for discussion,and measures were passed for the re-establishment of civil marriage, the emancipation of schools from the domination of the Church, and the placing of different creeds on a footing of equality. The fact of the Austro-Hungarian dominions comprising so many different nationalities gave the central Government much trouble, both in regard to internal and to external affairs. In regard to the 'Eastern Question', for instance, the action of Austria was hampered by the sympathies shown by the Magyars for their blood relations, the Turks, while the Slavs were naturally more favourable to Russia. During the war between Russia and Turkey in 1877-8 Austria remained neutral; but at its close it was decided at the Congress of Berlin that Bosnia and Herzegovina should in future be administered by Austria instead of Turkey. In 1908, taking advantage of the condition of Turkey, Austria formally annexed these provinces. By the middle of Oct., 1918, the Austro-Hungarian monarchy began to break up into independent national States. Four States of some size laid claim to independence, viz. German-Austria, Czecho-Slovakia (recognized by the Allies), Hungary, and Yugo-Slavia. On 13th Oct., 1921, German Austria signed with Hungary the Burgenland pact, agreeing to a plebiscite in several districts. For recent history of Austria, seeFrancis Joseph; European War.—Cf. S. Whitman,Austria(in Story of the Nations Series); H. W. Steed,The Hapsburg Monarchy.
Auteuil(ō-tė-yė), formerly a suburban village of Paris, but now enclosed within the fortifications.
Autobiog´raphy, a department of literature of which, as a definite branch or form at least, we have no very ancient examples, though many autobiographical details are contained, for instance, in Cicero's and Pliny's letters, while St. Augustine has left a fragmentary autobiography in hisConfessions. Various writers of note, without claiming or perhaps intending to write a formal autobiography, have left similar materials in the form of their own memoirs or reminiscences, or, for a portion of their lives, in diaries. The chief English diarists are Pepys and Evelyn, while Crabb Robinson is an admirable modern example. Brief autobiographies were written by Gibbon, Hume, and Sir Walter Scott (of his early life only), and among other writers who have given us autobiographies or kindred works are Fanny Burney, Cobbett, Haydon, Miss Mitford, Harriet Martineau, Leigh Hunt, Hugh Miller (inMy Schools and Schoolmasters), John Stuart Mill, Anthony Trollope, Sir Henry Taylor, Miss F. P. Cobbe, Carlyle, Ruskin, Herbert Spencer, Alexander Bain, and Alfred Russel Wallace. Lord Roberts'sForty-one Years in Indiaand General Grant'sPersonal Memoirsare most interesting autobiographical works by men of action. One of the most famous of autobiographies is that of the Italian Benvenuto Cellini. SeeBiography.