Ouestions and Answers COVERING THE HISTORY Of ENGLAND AND THE CAUSES OF THE WORLD WAR BY PROF. JAMES B. TAYLOR, A. M. Head of His«x,rv Department in Huntingtcn School No Lheastem College SUPPLEMENTARY TO THE WORLD'S HISTORY AT A GLANCE THE BALL PUBLISHING COMPANY BOSTON, MASS. Class Book. 7 "5 Copyright)} — COPYRIGHT DEFOSm mmmm///mmmiimBm?Mmmm<p s «5 0* 05 >« s o o 153 § o 1 SO CO CO r-4 000* i-j phso CO 10 8(" l> K5SI t- eo,-* O* 90 B0 s fr- i-i CO SO WH ex *P a 8 1 § 1 £ 3 oo eo^ (X ~ r-t oo t-^o so eo»o fr- O i> OS »0 «5 so o SO 00 CX England, including Wales Scotland Ireland l i-l CO -P ° 8 . HISTORY OF ENGLAND The Executive Government of the British Empire is only nominally vested in the sovereign. Its real power is in the cabinet, consisting of ministers appointed by the king, but the cabinet is always substantially in har- mony with the ruling majority in the House of Commons. The members of the cabinet, contrary to the custom in the United States, are entitled to seats in either the House of Commons or House of Lords (according to their station). Thus all measures of government policy are sure of being introduced into parliament and when- ever .any government bill is rejected by a decisive vote the cabinet resign and the king appoints a new body of ministers. As a resignation of the cabinet always follows a vote definitely showing want of confidence in the executive it will be seen that this virtually compels the king to choose ministers who will work in accord with the popular will. The king, indeed, does not have much latitude of choice in the personnel of his cabinet. He appoints the prime minister, who usually takes the office of First Lord of the Treasury, and for this position almost always selects the leader of the majority party in parliament. The prime minister then recommends to the king the colleagues he desires to be appointed. While the members of the cabinet are usually taken from the majority party and from those who are most in harmony with the prime minister's policies, in times of national emergency a " coalition " cabinet may be made up regardless of party affiliations. Citizenship. There is no imperial citizenship in Great Britain, for there is strictly speaking no imperial govern- ment. The bestowal of the privileges of a British sub- ject upon an alien is effected by the authority of a colonial government or of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. If granted by a colony it applies only within that colony in which the naturalization takes place. An alien naturalized in Canada ceases to be a British subject when he goes out of Canada, whether he remains in the British Empire or goes outside of its jurisdiction. An American naturalized in Canada would in such case revert to his American citizenship unless it had been forfeited by American laws, in which case he would be without a country until he returned to Canada HISTORY OF ENGLAND 9 or regained new citizenship elsewhere. The question of the validity in other parts of the empire of citizenship granted by naturalization under the laws of the United Kingdom has never been tested but it does not give the right of admission to any dominion outside the United Kingdom, as no British subject is free to migrate from one part of the empire unless he can satisfy the require- ments of the local immigration laws. Under this principle British Columbia was able recently to avoid a serious " cheap labor " menace caused by the attempted im- migration of large numbers of Hindoo British subjects who were compelled to return to India. The Franchise in the United Kingdom is very com- plicated and there are many different kinds of franchises. It is based on property qualifications, although these have now been made so broad that tenants, lodgers, and servants not living in the same house with their employers are admitted to vote provided the yearly rental value of their lodging is £10 ($50). In England the holding of an estate in freehold of an annual value of 40 shillings ($7.60) is sufficient, but this does not ob- tain in Scotland or Ireland. Lands held in life tenure of annual value of £5 in England, or in Scotland and Ireland of £10; land held on lease of at least 60 years (in Scotland for 57 years) to the same relative values; or leases of at least 20 years of annual value of £50 (in Scotland 19 years at £50 and in Ireland 14 years at £20) give the voting right. Occupation of a tenement rated for the support of the poor upon which rates have been paid constitutes a qualification throughout the Kingdom in counties, limited, however, in England and Scotland by provision as to actual residence therein. The pro- vision for lodgers has been mentioned above and there are several old franchises dependent upon membership in certain chartered companies and the six University Constituencies admit graduates of the respective uni- versities to the roll of election. The above provisions relate to qualifications for parliamentary elections. All electors must be of full age (21 years) and registered in the voting lists. The following are disqualified for registration; infants, idiots, lunatics, persons who have received poor relief within a year, bankrupts, aliens, and women; although single or widowed women are 10 HISTORY OP ENGLAND eligible to vote in municipal elections. A married woman is not entitled to vote at any election as she is supposed to be represented in the franchise by her husband. On similar reasoning a servant or employee may only vote ■when he lives apart from his employer. About one- sixth of the population are electors. Voting at all elec- tions is by ballot. Local Government. England and Wales are divided for this purpose into 62 administrative counties (including the County of London) which do not coincide with the geographical divisions. Each administrative county has its own county council, elected for three-year term by popular vote. Aldermen's terms are for six years, half of them expiring every third year. Women are eligible to hold offices in counties or municipalities. The jurisdiction of the county councils includes local taxation (rates) borrowing money, management of public buildings, licensing of amusements, maintenance of county institutions and public works and the regulation of fees of officers, licenses, weights and measures and public health provisions. They are also the local educa- tion authorities and through a standard committee com- posed of an equal number of magistrates and county councilmen control their local police forces. With the exception of the County of London the ad- ministrative counties are subdivided into county dis- tricts, which may be "urban" (municipal) or "rural." These divisions have their district council for the ad- ministration of municipal or rural affairs. Generally speaking each rural district comprises several country parishes, each of which has its parish meeting at which every parochial member may vote. If the parish has over 300 members it has a parish council. Women can hold office in all these branches of local government. In the great towns, including county boroughs, local business is administered by a municipal corporation which derives its authority from a charter from the crown. The main central authority in London, how- ever, is the county council created by the local govern- ment of 1888. National Defense. The Committee of Imperial De- fense under the presidency of the prime minister usually consists of the Secretaries for Foreign Affairs, War, HISTORY OF ENGLAND 11 the Colonies and India ; the Chancellor of the Exchequer, First Lord of Admiralty together with the Chief of the Imperial General Staff, First Sea Lord, Director of Naval Intelligence, Director of Military Operations. Other officials may from time to time be included. At present of course it includes the newly created Minister of Munitions. The Army is obtained entirely by voluntary enlistment though owing to the exigencies of the war, conscription is being strongly urged and seems likely to be soon adopted as a method of securing needed forces. It is divided into the regular and territorial forces. A large part' of the regular army serves in the dominions beyond the sea and these forces are what is generally known as the British army, as distinguished from native or local forces in the various dependencies. The regular army is paid from the imperial exchequer (except in India) although certain colonies contribute toward its maintenance. In peace it consists of the permanent troops, the army reserve and the special reserve. Service is under an enlistment for 12 years, of which 3 to 9 years are spent " with the colors " and the remainder in the army re- serve. Under satisfactory conditions this service may be extended to 21 years. Enlistment is allowed between the ages of 18 and 25. The special reserve was created out of the militia in 1907 and is available for service abroad in time of war. Its period of service is 6 years with re-enlistment for 4-year terms or into the permanent forces. On mobilization for war the bulk of the regular army at home becomes absorbed into an " Expeditionary Force," including all branches of the service and totaling about 165,000. The territorial army is organized for home defense, although nearly 20,000 men had accepted liability for services abroad. Its age limits for enlistment are from 17 to 35 inclusive, and the enlistment term is 4 years. All officers except certain generals and staff are non- professional, and it is confined to Great Britain, Ireland having none. In the size of its army prior to the outbreak of the war, Great Britain ranked sixth among the nations of the world with approximately 400,000 men on peace 12 HISTORY OF ENGLAND footing, of whom 134,000 were navy; of the remainder 186,000 men were in Europe and 80,000 men in India, while on war footing it aggregated 1,000,000 men with volunteers. It was exceeded by the armies of Russia, Germany, France, Austria-Hungary and Italy. Since the outbreak of the war it has, of course, been impossible to get accurate figures showing the actual forces in the field. Not only has enormous enlistment taken place throughout the United Kingdom, but colonies and domin- ions abroad have contributed large bodies of troops to the defense of the empire. The original army estimates for 1914-15 gave 747,141 of all ranks exclusive of 75,896 regular forces in India and required an appropriation of £28,845,000. Three supplementary votes of credit totaling £362,000,000 have increased the estimated number of forces by 2,186,- 400 men. Mr. Asquith's statement that there were about 3,000,000 men on duty in the British regular army is the best statistic available and this does not include troops sent by Australia, Canada and other " Dominions beyond the Seas." In 1914 the territorial force enrolled was 312,000 men with an actual strength of about 250,000. On the out- break of the war this enrollment was doubled and the force recruited up to full strength. The special reserve which was 80,120 has been largely augmented and used mainly to supply officers and men to the regular battalions in the field. An important addition to the army has been the re- organization of the Royal Flying Club into a branch of the service, but no details as to the number of aeroplanes or aviators are accessible. The Navy. While Britain's army has been small and to a great extent she was unprepared for the great war, her navy has long been by far the largest and most powerful in the world. The best estimates that can be given are those prepared for 1914-15 before the war began, bearing in mind that while no data about new war craft has been given out the manufacture everywhere has been greatly accelerated and increased. HISTORY OF ENGLAND Summary of British Fleet 13 Complete by End of Class 1913 1914 1915 Super Dreadnaughts 1 11 16 23 Dreadnaughts 2 15 15 16 Pre-Dreadnaught Battleships 40 40 38 Cruisers 50 50 44 Light Cruisers 68 76 84 Torpedo Gunboats 18 18 18 Sloops, Gunboats, etc 17 23 23 Destroyers about 228 248 262 Torpedo Boats 3 about 100 100 ? Submarines about 77 85 ? 1 Carrying guns of or over 13.5 inch. 2 No distinction is made between battleships and cruisers of this class as a cruiser is only a swifter battleship. There is also one Australian dreadnaught. including coastal destroyers and many old torpedo boats. By statistics compiled from press reports up to July 27, 1915, we are informed that the total of British war- ships destroyed has been 39, with tonnage of 243,797 and value of $87,129,500. National Insurance and Old Age Pension. By recent acts of parliament provision has been made for com- pulsory insurance against loss of health for the preven- tion and cure of sickness, and for compulsory insurance against unemployment. Health insurance is adminis- tered by insurance commissioners and by various socie- ties. Insured persons who are not members of an approved society must contribute to a post office fund and are known as deposit contributors. The funds are contributed by the employer (threepence, 6c, per week per employed person), the worker (fourpence, -8c, per week) and the state. Contributions cease at the age of 70, when the Old Age Pension Act comes into play. The benefits include medical treatment, sanitarium, payments during sickness, and for women a payment of 30 shillings (about $7.25) on confinement. Unemployment insurance is administered by the Board of Trade through labor exchanges. It now covers only a few trades but may be extended by the Board of Trade. The funds are provided by the employer and the workmen (each 23^2 pence per week), and the 14 HISTORY OF ENGLAND state which gives one-third of the total contribution for workman and employer. It gives a benefit of a weekly payment for a limited number of weeks during unemployment '. Under the Old Age Pension Acts every person over 70 years who is a British subject and has resided 12 years out of the preceding 20 years in the United King- dom and whose yearly means do not exceed £31- 10s (about $150) is entitled to a pension with certain ex- ceptions to bar out the undeserving or those who are receiving other aid. The weekly pension is five shillings ($1.20), with a pro-rata decrease in the case of those receiving more than a specified amount of income. On March 28, 1913, there were 967,921 pensions (363,811 to men) payable in the United Kingdom. Of these about 95 per cent were for the five shilling rate. There are, of course, a variety of statutes under the laws by which the usual relief is administered to paupers — either in their own houses or in government institu- tions built for the purpose. In 1912-13 £17,784,579 (about $86,000,000) was expended in poor relief in the United Kingdom. Public Instruction. Among the European nations the United Kingdom stands high in number of institutions of higher education and in percentage of pupils in ele- mentary schools. She has 93 colleges (18 universities) with an average enrollment of 335 students to each college and one college to each half million of her population. She has 32,800 elementary schools with an attendance of 157 pupils to each 1000 of population. In elementary education sufficient school accommodation must be provided in every district for all resident children between the ages of 5 and 14 and provision is made for the com- pulsory education of defective children to the age of 16 years. In. the year 1913 there were in England and Wales 1010 secondary schools receiving grants from the Board of Education, with 174,423 pupils. This does not in- clude secondary schools recognized as efficient but not receiving grants from the state. HISTORY OF ENGLAND 15 « a ^ S a « :a o < Z o a u o U ■J w s Eh CM CM CO -F oo eo © o" : eo CM O i as || 3 S OS CM © CM CO CM g p. © © © oo o to J~- cm •* 00* JH O 50 CM OS o CO CD © © © CO CO CO t-T © -* «? so © H 00 so cm eo r< © •2 s 05 Si 2 : © -1 ; cm «o CO t> "* 00 CM K0 -h CO CO ■ Si ^ 8 s s © © © 00 ©* - sc i> eo a: >* a* II II © © © O O (34 o o <* O? OO 00 i-i © e* 00 i-l -# CO i-h © © © © © 0' OS CO «S c © ■ as ■>* 00 J> OS «s us © © © © c cc OS eo" b- 0! CO M g © o eo o o o o -f o o «0 © ©* © i— r^ CO r-T © l-H © t~ oo >o 00 © j> © ■* oT -f «5 CO i-i 6* at «5 t~ l> CO © X •2 1 1 o gg — c ec OS OS c > cq&q © © co co ^ © -f 2 -* o< ^ « 3 °. t xfl .-I « CO CO -e< «> '- 1 •* © © t- rH ^< uj © eo - © © ■*?©<&* r-i CO "5 eo © © r> OS M "-S 3 g 93 ft. © © © © © © © O © © © ©< © © © © i-H J> »o © CO © i> 00 © CO «o © © © »o 00 © ©f t> fC >C © «5 i> Tfl 00 i-H r-l s 0' CO u5 30 co 8, 2 ca 1 2 g-al •gtJ«3 • S 3 11 HISTORY OF ENGLAND III. The British Empire — The United Kingdom 17 Area in How acquired Population Countries square miles by England Date as per Census of 1911 England Ireland 50,874 34,045,290 32,586 Conquest 1172 4,390,219 Wales 7,466 Conquest 1282 2,025,202 Scotland 30,405 Union 1603 4,760,904 Isle of Man and Channel Islands 302 148,915 Total 121,633 45,370,530 British Dominions Europe: Gibraltar 2 Treaty Cession 1713 20,000 Malta and G070 117 Treaty Cession 1814 211,000 America: Newfoundland and Labrador 162,734 Treaty Cession 1583 243,000 Canada Prince Edward Island 2,184 Conquest 1763 94,000 Nova Scotia 21,428 Conquest and 1627- Cession 1713 492,500 New Brunswick 27,985 Treaty Cession 1763 352,000 Quebec 706,834 Conquest and Cession 1759- 1763 2,003,000 Ontario 407,262 Conquest and 1759- Cession 1763 2,523,500 Manitoba 251,832 Settlement 1813 455,000 Saskatchewan 251,700 Settlement 1670 492,500 Alberta 255,285 Settlement. 1670 375,000 British Columbia 355,855 Settlement 1670 400,000 Northwest Territories 1,242,224 Settlement 1670 17,200 Yukon Territory 207,076 Settlement 1670 8,500 West Indies Bermuda 19 Settlement 1612 19,000 Bahamas 4,404 Settlement 1629 56,000 Barbados 166 Settlement 1605 196,000 Jamaica, Turks Island etc. 4,462 Conquest 1655 850,000 Leeward Islands 715 Settlement 1623- 1659 140,000 Trinidad and Tobago 1,974 Conquest 1797 330,000 Windward Islands 672 Cession 1763- 1783 200,000 Central America British Honduras 8,598 Conquest 1798 40,500 South America British Guiana 90,500 Conquest and 1803- Cession 1814 310,000 Falkland Islands 6,500 Treaty Cession 1771 2.000 South Georgia 1,000 Treaty Cession 1771 Uninhabited IS HISTORY OF ENGLAND Area in square How acquired Countries miles by England Date Population Asia: Empire of India 1,802,112 Conquest 1757- 1897 315,000,000 Straits Settlements 1,600 Treaty Cession 1785- 1909 700,000 Aden, Perim, Socotia, r '- etc. Treaty Cession 1905 58,000 Ceylon 25,481 Treaty Cession 1801 4,100,000 Hongkong 401 Treaty Cession 1842- 1906 440,000 Sarawak 42,000 Treaty Cession 1842 650,000 North Borneo 31,106 Cession 1877 204,000 Cyprus 3,584 Treaty Cession 1878 275,000 Federated Malay 27,506 Treaty Cession 1874- States 1888 1 ,000,000 Other Malay States 24,600 Treaty Cession 1909 800,000 Brunei 4,000 Treaty Cession 1888 30,000 Weihaiwei 285 Treaty Cession 1898 160,000 Africa: Ascension 34 Occupation 1815 150 St. Helena 47 Conquest 1673 3,500 West Africa Nigeria (Northern and Southern) 336,080 Treaty Cession 1891 17,000,000 Gold Coast 80,235 Treaty Cession 1672 1,400,000 Sierra Leone 24,908 Treaty Cession 1787 1,100,000 Gambia 3 3,619 Treaty Cession 1807 146,000 Mauritius i 809 Conquest and 1810- | Cession 1814 370,000 Seychelles'"" 156 Treaty Cession 1814 23,000 Somaliland 68,000 Treaty Cession 1884 300,000 East Africa 247,600 Treaty Cession 1888 4,000,000 Uganda 121,437 Treaty Cession 1894 2,500,000 Zanzibar 1,020 Treaty Cession 1890 200,000 Nyassaland 39,315 Treaty Cession 1891 1,000,000 Rhodesia 439,575 Annexation 1889* 1,750,000 Swaziland 6,536 Treaty Cession 1894* 1.100,000 Union of South Africa Constituted by including the following Act of Parlia- colonies: ment, 1909 Transvaal 110,500 Annexation 1900 1,686,000 Orange Free State 50,389 Annexation 1900 529,000 Cape Province 277,000 Treaty Cession 1814 2,565,000 Natal 35,295 Annexation 1843 1,200,000 Basutoland 11,716 Annexation 350,000 Bechuanaland 275,000 Annexation 1895 126,000 Egypt 400,000 Occupation 1882 12,000,000 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 19 Area in square II oio acquired Countries miles by England Date Population Soudan (Anglo-Egyp- tian) 985,000 Treaty Cession 1898 2,000,000 Australasia and Ocean ICA Constituted 'by comprising the follow- Act of Parlia - ing colonies: ment, 1900 Commonwealth of Australia New South Wales 309,100 Settlement 1788 1,855,561 Tasmania 26,215 Settlement 1803 196,758 Queensland 670,500 Settlement 1824 678,864 Western Australia 975,920 Settlement 1828 323,952 Victoria 87,884 Settlement 1832 1,421,985 South Australia 380,070 Settlement 1836 438,173 Northern Territory 523,620 Settlement 1863 3,664 Federal Territory 912 Settlement 2,868 New Zealand 104,751 Settlement 1845 1,050,000 FijiJ hi 7»*S5 Cession from the natives 1874 130,000 Papua 1 90,540 Annexation 1884 360,000 Pacific^Islands 15.356J Treaty Cession 1893- 1906 200,000 20 HISTORY OF ENGLAND A Comparison of the Navies of the Nations at War and of the United States as per Official, Estimates to the End of 1915. Class •■gs £K1 1 3 1 a a | if is =» « e ^&3 1 8 Super-Dreadnaughts 23 Dreadnaughts 16 11 6 7 7 27 11 10 Pre-Dreadnaughts 38 192 8 12 16 19 12 3 221 Armoured Cruisers 44 19 9 3 13 S 3 2 lis Protected Cruisers 843 18 16 9 17 34 7 111 Torpedo Gunboats 18 7 10 4 7 2 Sloop Gunboats 23 3? Destroyers Torpedo Boats 262 87i 43 130 52 164 16 8 56 1001 1591 86i 281 47 60 7 131 Submarines 85i 76i 20i 31 15 27+4 12 38 Monitors 4 Old and Coast Service Battleships 2 + 7 3 i All figures under this mark are at the end of 1914. 2 Six of these are semi-dreadnaughts. 3 Classed as light cruisers. * Number in service at outbreak of war but largely increased since then with no estimate available. 6 Turkey also has several small ships and a number of German merchant ships available for war use. 6 Includes one second-rate cruiser. 7 Scout ships. HISTORY OF ENGLAND 21 Questions and Answers 1. How early was Great Britain known to the Ancients? Ans The Phoenicians obtained tin from Britain probably as early as the tenth century B. C, when Solo- mon was " in all his glory." 2. How do we know that England was once a part of France? Ans The Strait of Dover is only 120 feet deep at its narrowest point and nowhere over 150 feet deep, and only twenty-one miles wide. The Washington Monument, it placed midstream, would be more than three-quarters above water. Moreover, the chalk hills of Dover are a continuation of those of Calais, and similar fossil remains are found both sides of and under the North Sea. 3. What known conqueror first invaded Britain and when? Ans In 55 B. C. Julius Csesar crossed the Channel to scare the Britons from helping their kindred in his province of Gaul, now France, which, as he writes, the Celts inhabit." 4. Who were the Britons? Ans The Britons were but one branch of the great Celtic race that then (100 B. C.) inhabited all western Europe: Celtiberians in Spain, Gauls or Celts in France, Britons in Britain. Their closest relatives were just across the Channel in Brittany. 6. When and how did England get its name? Ans. After the Angles, who came from just south of Denmark (Angeln), had invaded and settled the eastern coast, beginning in 547 A. D., and spread inland, it became common to call all the invading tribes Angles, or English; hence England, or the land of the Angles. 6. What is perhaps the most beautiful pun in the English language? Ans. When Pope Gregory the Great was a monk, he saw some fair-haired youths exposed for sale in the Roman market; he asked the dealer whence they came. They 22 HISTORY OF ENGLAND are Angles," was the reply. " Not Angles but Angels," said the monk and resolved, if ever he had power, to send missionaries to so promising a race. 7. How did Gregory fulfil his vow? Ans. In 597 Augustine, with forty monks, landed on an island at the mouth of the Thames, sent by Gregory on a mission to convert Ethelbert, King of Kent, who had married a Christian princess. 8. Why is the head of the English Church called the Archbishop of Canterbury? Ans. When converted, Ethelbert invited Augustine to his capital, Canterbury, and there the first cathedral and monastery were built and 10,000 subjects baptized •within a year. (Part of the original monastery is still used as a missionary college.) 9. Why are the English often called Saxons and the early language called Anglo-Saxon? Ans. Quite a time before the invasion of the Angles, or in 477, the Saxons from the low ground between the Elbe and the Weser had invaded the southeastern, southern and southwestern coasts of Britain and settled Essex, Sussex and Wessex. 10. Did any other tribes invade England besides Angles and Saxons? Ans. The Romans had conquered about all England in the first century A. D., but deserted it in the early part of the fifth, when Rome began to totter. In 449, after the Romans had gone, the Jutes from Jutland, or Denmark, landed in Kent to help against the Picts and Scots who were now attacking the Celts weakened by Roman bondage. The Jutes readily stopped the raids from the north of the island but decided to stay and occupy the best of Kent themselves, and they were soon followed by their former neighbors, the Saxons and Angles. 11. Was there any native hero during the times of invasion — the fifth and sixth centuries? Ans. Arthur is the shadowy, mythical champion of the Celts. Whether he ever existed, or was a chief or a king, whether born in Britain or Brittany, has been much dis- cussed but according to tradition he was a Christian HISTORY OF ENGLAND 23 and fought valiantly against the pagans. He furnished the basis for the Arthurian legends, the finest group of English myths, as developed by William of Malmesbury (1125), Geoffrey of Monmouth (1136), Wace (1155), Sir Thomas Mallory (1470) and Tennyson in the "Idylls of the King" and Richard Hovey in "Launcelot and Guinevere." 12. What was the Heptarchy? Ans. The Heptarchy is a name given to the seven kingdoms of England formed by the invading tribes — Kent, Essex, Sussex, Wessex, East Anglia, Mercia and Northumberland, but sometimes there were eight, and the number varied, as they were constantly fighting among themselves for mastery. 13. Which of these seven or eight little kingdoms in England became predominant? Ans. After gaining a victory over Mercia, in south central England, Wessex, by the beginning of the ninth century, was clearly the strongest in the Heptarchy. . 14. Who first assumed the title of king of the whole country? Ans. About 828 Egbert, king of Wessex, after a series of wars with his neighbors, compelled them all to acknowl- edge him as their overlord. He had spent some time at the court of Charlemagne, Emperor of the Roman Empire of the West, including France, Germany and Italy, and had, in consequence, imbibed larger ideas of sovereignty than his predecessors. He called himself " King of the English," however, not of the land. 15. What greater king than Egbert soon became prominent? Ans. Alfred the Great, the only English ruler to obtain the title. He died in 901 and the thousandth anniversary of his death was celebrated at the opening of this century. 16. What did Alfred do that he should be called "The Great?" Ans. Alfred was most famous for his successful con- tests with the Danes, who were making constant invasions in the last half of the ninth century. 24 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 17. What was the Treaty of Wedmore (Wetmoor)? Ans. After "a crowning victory," Alfred compelled the Danes to acknowledge him as overlord in 878 and to sign this treaty, by which they obtained a large part of England north of Watling Street (the old Roman road running from London to Chester, near Liverpool), and which now forms the foundation for the great Midland Railway from London to Liverpool. 18. What else did Alfred do for his country? Ans. Alfred started the English navy; he prepared a code of laws based on the Ten Commandments and the Golden Rule, and he translated for his people two or three valuable classics. 19. What are we to understand by "Danelaw" and "Danegelt"? Ans. "Danelaw" signifies that part of England where the Danes lived and "Danegelt" was the money, gold (gilded), paid the Danes by a later king than Alfred to bribe them from further raids. 20. Did the Danes ever gain entire control of England? Ans. In 1013 Sweyn, King of Denmark, overcame all resistance in England, and dying soon after (1017), left it to his son, Canute, who ruled over Norway, Sweden, Denmark and England — ■ a great northern empire. Canute was, moreover, a wise and capable ruler. He divided England into four earldoms — ■ Wessex, Mercia, East Anglia and Northumbria — ■ which, with their depend- encies, embraced the whole country. Dying in 1035 he was succeeded by two worthless sons who divided Eng- land between them, but they were unsatisfactory to both Danes and English who in 1042 united in restoring the former line of Saxon or English kings in the person of Edward the Confessor, son of Ethelred II. 21. Is the invasion, conquest and occupation of a large part of England by Danes to be regarded as an injury? Ans. Although the early Danes were fierce pagans who delighted in destroying all signs of Christianity and civilization, such as towns and monasteries, they never- theless undoubtedly infused much vigor, an intense HISTORY OF ENGLAND 25 love of liberty, and a virile power of resisting oppression. It was in the north of England where the Danes were most numerous that William the Conqueror met the fiercest resistance and rebellion. 22. Who was William the Conqueror? Ans. When the Danes, under Sweyn, invaded England, the English king, Ethelred, sent his Norman wife, Emma, over to Normandy with her son Prince Edward, then nine years of age. In boyish admiration or submission of the weaker to the stronger will, Edward is said to have promised the succession in England to his forceful cousin, William, destined soon to be the ruling Duke of Nor- mandy in France. But Edward married the daughter of Godwin, Earl of Wessex, his most powerful subject, and named Harold, his wife's brother, who had succeeded his father Godwin in Wessex, as the next king. 23. What is probably the most memorable year in English History? Ans. The year 1066 is especially prominent, in English History as it marks the last, the greatest, in fact the only complete conquest of the " tight little isle " and the infusion of the last and most important molding element in the composite character of the present English nation. 24. How was the Norman Conquest accomplished? Ans. When William, Duke of Normandy, heard of Harold's accession to the English throne, he was about to start on a hunting expedition, but he stopped short; he spoke to no one and no one dared speak to him. Harold was crowned in January, 1066, and during the spring and summer William prepared a fleet, and smiths and armorers were busy on lances, swords and coats of mail. The pope favored the expedition and forwarded a banner he had blessed. Several hundred vessels and transports crossed the Channel in October and landed an unknown number of archers and cavalry. King Harold was in the north of England crushing an invasion from Norway in which his own brother, Tostig, was treacherously interested, with an eye for the throne. Hastening south, Harold joined issue at Hastings in an all-day contest, October 14, 1066. The Saxons spent the previous night 26 HISTORY OF ENGLAND in revelry; the Normans in prayer and confession. The Saxons relied on javelins and battleaxes; the Normans on cavalry and archers. Finally at' dark, after heavy losses on both sides, strategy carried the day for William, Harold and all his immediate followers were slain and by the great battle of Hastings the control of England from outside the isle changed hands for the last time. 25. Were these conquerors from France Frenchmen? Ans. As their name suggests, the Normans were Northmen or Scandinavians, the same stock that had partly conquered England in Arthur's time. Early in the tenth century these pirates, or vikings, had sailed up the Seine, ravaged the land and, liking the attractive valley, had settled there with Rouen as their capital. Their leader was Rollo. 26. What new features did the Normans introduce into England? Ans. By intercourse and intermarriage as well as mere propinquity to the French, whose sovereignty they acknowledged, the Normans had acquired European culture and Christianity. They were much more nimble- witted than the stolid, hard-drinking Saxons and had distinct ideas of chivalry, court law and manners. 27. How did Saxons, Jutes, Angles, Danes and Nor- mans get on together in one rather small island? Ans. They were all Teutons and so naturally coalesced much more readily with one another than they did with the former Celtic inhabitants. The contest of the Anglo- Saxons with the natives lasted for a century and a half, from 450 to 600, and they then controlled only England and the lower part of Scotland. Wales and upper Scotland were not subdued for centuries, and harmony between Celt and Saxon is hardly perfect yet in more distant and separate Ireland. 28. Are there many common geographical names in England today by which we can partly locate these different invading tribes? Ans. Essex, Wessex, Sussex and Middlesex of course indicate Saxons and the general location in respect to one another — as east, west, south and between. London HISTORY OF ENGLAND 27 is in Middlesex. Norfolk and Suffolk counties in East Anglia indicate the folks in the north or south portions of that section. By, or Bye, signifies town in Danish (note, by-laws); hence Whitby, Rugby, Grimsby, etc., show Danish origin and are to be found generally north of Watling Street or toward the northeast. Chester, Col- chester, Dorchester, Lancaster, Worcester and words of similar ending show where Roman camps (caslra) were placed, and Lincoln, a Roman colony. By the time the Normans landed England was pretty thoroughly settled and few new names arose; still' Beaumont, Richmond, Montgomeryshire give us hints of aristocratic connec- tions. 29. What is the Bayeux Tapestry? Ans. The Bayeux Tapestry is still preserved in Bayeux, Normandy, and is of very great value as it faithfully records the leading events in English history from the last of Edward the Confessor's reign to the battle of Hastings. There are seventy-two scenes depicted on the two hundred and fourteen feet of the foot-and-a-half wide hanging. Some think it the work of Matilda, wife of William. 30. What sort of a ruler was William the Conqueror? Ans. William was capable, stern, but in the main just; he had a conscience and feared God, though not man. When angered by rebellion and foreign invasion in the north he swore by " the splendor of God " to lay waste the land, and fulfilled his oath. 31. What was the Domesday Book? Ans. In 1086 William ordered a survey and valuation of the whole kingdom outside of London. The people called the compilation the Domesday Book, or Doomsday Book, for, like the Day of Doom, it left out no one; "not a rood of land, a peasant's hut; not an ox, cow, pig or even a hive of bees escaped." The book still exists. 32. How many Norman kings were there? Ans. William the Conqueror was succeeded by his sons William Rufus, or William II, and Henry I, and his grandson Stephen. 28 HISTORY OF ENGLANDJ j | 33. What was the general character of the successors of William? Ans. William Rufus, unlike his father, feared neither God nor man. He kept the barons under good control but robbed the church. Henry I, who ruled from 1100 to 1135, the longest Norman rule, was the best of the three sons of William. On first coming to the throne he re-established justice and guaranteed it by a charter, the first formal document of the kind ever issued, and he sent a hundred copies to the leading monasteries and cathedrals. Stephen usurped the throne which Henry had left to his daughter and he was supported by many nobles who preferred a man for a ruler. 34. What terminated the Norman rule? Ans. Matilda, the daughter of Henry I, had married the Count of Anjou in France and engaged in civil war against the usurper, Stephen. This struggle ended in a compromise by which the rule should go to Matilda's son on the death of Stephen. This placed the son of a Frenchman on the English throne in 1154 and established the new reigning dynasty of the Plantagenets or Angevins. 35. How did the Plantagenets get their name? Ans. The Count of Anjou, whose son was the first Plantagenet king, wore a sprig of the broom plant, planta genesta, in his helmet. 36. How long did the Plantagenets rule and what were some of the most prominent events? Ans. The Plantagenet line continued from 1154 to the death of Richard III in the battle of Bosworth Field in 1485, or over three centuries and a quarter. The Hundred Years' War with France and the War of the Roses were two of the chief events; the conquests of Wales and Scotland were important. Magna Charta and the House of Commons were products of this-period. 37. How much territory did Henry II, the first Planta- genet king rule over? Ans. From his mother came his right over England and Normandy and its dependency, Brittany; from his father he obtained Anjou and Maine, and from his wife, Eleanor, the divorced queen of France, he acquired the HISTORY OF ENGLAND 29 great southern dukedom of Aquitaine in France; so that his rule extended from the Pyrenees to the border of Scotland and included the larger half of France. In addition, the Earl of Pembroke conquered the eastern part of Ireland and added it to the royal possessions — the beginning of the trouble with Ireland. 38. Who was Thomas a Becket? Ans. Thomas a Becket was a most capable and faithful Lord Chancellor of Henry Second and helped him secure control of his extensive French possessions by furnishing 700 knights; but when made Archbishop of Canterbury, he defended the church from any encroachments on the part of Henry as stubbornly as he had fought in his behalf. Henry needed money and taxed the church land as well as that of the nobles. Becket opposed this and a quarrel ensued between the head of the church and the head of the state. Again, the king wanted to extend the power of the state courts over criminals in the church who were protected by the "benefit of clergy." This also Becket opposed stoutly and the quarrel was in- tensified. Becket fled the realm during the first quarrel. Henry banished his friends and relatives to the number of four hundred and Becket retaliated by excommunicating the king and his counsellors. After six years, a reconcilia- tion was made by the king but, on returning to England, Becket promptly excommunicated the Archbishop of York and his assistant bishops for supporting Henry in his (Becket 's) absence. The king in temper exclaimed, " Will no one rid me of this turbulent priest? " Three knights hastened to Canterbury without the king's knowledge and brutally murdered Becket within his own cathedral. 39. What were the results of the murder of Becket? Ans. All England was horrified. The Pope proclaimed him Saint Thomas. The great Cathedral at Canterbury was hung with mourning. Becket's shrine became the most famous in England. " To Canterbury they wende, the holy blisful martir for to seke. That hem have holpen when that they were seke." Civil war broke out in France and Henry, believing it a judgment of heaven for Becket's death, journeyed from France to Canterbury, knelt before the grave of Becket and submitted to be beaten by the priests with rods. 30 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 40. What was the chief work of Henry II, the first Plantagenet? Ans. The chief distinguishing act of Henry II was his strenuous effort to establish justice, law and order. Instead of the Trial by Battle by which the forceful Normans had settled individual quarrels and charges of treason, relying on God to spare the innocent and avenge them on their adversaries, Henry allowed a man charged with crime to absolve himself by the testimony of twelve reputable neighbors who knew his character. From this it was an easy step to a jury of any twelve reputable men to hear and weigh the evidence of witnesses and soon both grand and petit juries were common in England. It was Henry's further effort to stop the abuse of " benefit of clergy," by which many a rascal escaped altogether or with a mild punishment, that caused the fierce quarrel with Archbishop Becket. 41. Just what was the "benefit of clergy"? Ans. Ecclesiastical courts had been established in which to try all the clergy who might be charged with misdemeanors. As very 'few except the clergy could read it grew common for any well-born sinner who could manage to spell out a sentence or two, to claim the privi- leges or benefit of clergy. The two very different uses of the words clerk and clerical come from this confusion of readers with priests. 42. How were Henry IPs last days clouded? Ans. By the revolts of his four sons in his domains in France where he had given them authority over dif- ferent districts. Henry, his eldest, had even been crowned as an associate king but he and Geoffrey died before their father, leaving Richard Cceur de Lion, his second son, to succeed him, and John, the youngest and favorite son, who was forgiven by the dying father for rebellion. The mother, Eleanor, helped the sons against the king. 43. How did Richard I gain the title of Cceur de Lion or Lion Hearted? Ans. He was very large, strong and courageous. He was also impulsive, warm-hearted and generous to his friends, though harsh and hard to his foes. An old story says he tore the heart out of a lion that attacked him. HISTORY OF ENGLAND 31 44. Why was Richard I often called the " Absentee "? Ans. Because of the ten years he was king of England, (1189-1199) he spent over nine abroad, either as a great warrior in the Third Crusade or as a prisoner to the Emperor of Germany, being held captive on his way home for his insolence to an Austrian duke during the crusade. He is a leading figure in Scott's " Talisman " and in " Ivanhoe." 45. Why has there never been more than one John among the English rulers? Ans. Simply because that one was such a failure. He quarreled with the Pope, with his barons and with France and lost heavily in each quarrel — all Normandy in the case with France. He suffered humiliation before the Pope's representative, and Magna Charta was wrung from him by his lords and barons. 46. What was Magna Charta? Ans. Magna Charta is the most important document in English history. It was forced from John's unwilling hand June 15, 1215, at Runny mede (meadow). Among its sixty-odd articles, many of which have ceased to have significance, are such as: " Every man shall be tried by his peers, or the law of the land. Justice shall neither be sold, delayed nor denied. Dues shall be imposed only with the consent of the National Council." This Charter of English liberty was held so important that it was con- firmed thirty-seven times within the following two cen- turies. The shrivelled parchment can be seen in the British Museum. 47. What were the peculiar circumstances amid which John died? Ans. In 1216, the year after he signed Magna Charta and was so angry at doing it that he rolled on the ground and bit sticks like a mad dog, he died suddenly one night at a monastery. He had eaten peaches and drunk ale after a hard day's fight and flight from his own subjects, who were led by Prince Louis of France at their own re- quest. Some think the monks poisoned the peaches and cream but fruit and liquor on a much-fatigued stomach are enough to account for his demise. 32 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 48. Was the loss of Normandy a serious one to England? Ans. The loss of Normandy was a distinct gain for English nationality as henceforth it obliged every Norman, the ruling race in England, to return to Normandy, or look on England as his own country. The Norman now blended with the Saxon. 49. What was the next step after Magna Charta in the development of liberty and self-government in Eng- land. Ans. Just fifty years after Magna Charta had been granted by John, during the reign of his son, Henry III (1216-1272), Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester and brother-in-law of the king, led the nobles in a revolt against the childish, extravagant king. After defeating the king in 1264 in the battle of Lewes, Sir Simon the Righteous, as the people loved to call him, summoned a new Parliament and to that Parliament he called for the first time representatives of the boroughs (incor- porated towns) to join earls, barons and clergy in their councils, 1265. This was the beginning of the present House of Commons, though it was not fully established till the next reign. 50. When and how did the House of Commons, the final source of all power in England today, become fully established? Ans. In 1295, Edward I, the efficient son of the weak Henry III, called the " Model Parliament " on the lines of Simon de Montfort's Parliament of thirty years before, saying that it was no more than right that he who paid money should have something to say about its use. Henceforth representatives of all classes of freemen as- sembled regularly for purposes of taxation, legislation and united political action. Henceforth Parliament con- sisted of two Houses, that of Lords and Clergy and that of the Commons. 51. Was Edward I famous for anything else than establishing the House of Commons? Ans. Edward I was one of the great kings of England. " Hammer of the Scots. Keep Treaties " is engraved on his tomb. He invaded and conquered 'Wales, the stronghold of stubborn Celts. He also brought Scotland HISTORY OF ENGLAND 33 to acknowledge him as overlord and, as such, settled the dispute between John Baliol and Robert Bruce, as to which should rule Scotland, in Baliol's favor. As a sign of his sovereignty, he brought the famous Stone of Destiny from Scotland to Westminster Abbey. 52. What is the story of the Stone of Destiny? Ans. The Stone of Scone, as it was sometimes called, was reputed to have been used as a pillow by Jacob at Luz or Bethel when he "saw angels ascending and de- scending," and great power and rule were promised him. This is, of course, a myth. The stone is of the same character as its neighbors, but for unknown generations the kings of Scotland had sat on it when first crowned. Edward I placed it under the seat of the coronation chair in Westminster Abbey where, seated thereon, every ruler of England, beginning with Edward II, the first Prince of Wales, has been crowned. It was used, also, when Oliver Cromwell became Lord Protector of England. 53. What is the origin of the title "Prince of Wales"? Ans. Edward II, son of Edward I, was born in Car- narvon Castle in Wales during the war of subjugation. The doughty Welsh vowed they would never obey any but a Welsh prince. " Come to the Castle tomorrow," said the king, " and I will offer you a native prince for your allegiance." Queen Eleanor had accompanied the king on his campaign and the new born babe was shown to the curious Welshmen as one who was born in Wales and knew no other language. By this tactful act the sturdy king won their hearts faster than he could by arms. 54. Did the first Prince of Wales equal his stalwart father? Ans. Edward II proved to be one of the weakest kings in English history. He was fond of dress and dis- play and very dependent on worthless favorites. One of these, Piers Gaveston, a Frenchman, was put to death by the barons after he had been banished three times only to return at the king's desire. But the worst disgrace to Edward and the whole country was the terrible defeat at Bannockburn, 1314, when Robert Bruce, a fugitive and wanderer in the previous reign, now re-won the independence of Scotland. 34 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 55. Is there any other interesting memorial of Edward I in London besides the Stone of Destiny? Ans. Charing Cross, which is almost in the center of the London of today and the location of the enormous station where thousands of Americans detrain yearly, is named for the beautiful cross erected in the village of Charing to mark the last spot where the coffin of Queen Eleanor rested on its way to Westminster Abbey. 56. Who succeeded the weak Edward II? Ans. Edward III, son of Edward II, was another of the great kings of England, like his grandfather. He reigned just half a century, from 1327 to 1377, and with him began the Hundred Years' War with France. 57. What was the cause of so long a war? Ans. England was a great wool-producing country but " the English didn't know what to do with it any more than the sheep on whose backs it grew," as quaint Thomas Fuller says. So they sent it to Flanders to be made into cloth. Hence trade, mutual interests, drew England and Flanders toward each other, which angered jealous Philip VI of France, to whom Flanders was a dependency. Moreover Philip desired to secure Aquitaine, in southern France, which came to England as the dowry of Henry IPs wife, ex-queen of France. Edward, on his side, claimed the throne of France through his mother Isabelle, sister of . the late king of France, who had died childless and left the throne to a cousin. Edward said a nephew was a nearer relation than a cousin and though the Salic law of France forbade female rule, there was no sufficient reason why he might not inherit it through a female. The French replied -that his mother could never bestow what she never possessed and so there was war. 58. What was the most famous battle of that war? Ans. In 1346 the English won the very famous battle of Crecy. The English archers, with bows kept dry in their cases over a rainy night, poured such a storm of long, white arrows on the larger force of French, whose crossbows were wet, that the French yielded. The king gave the honor of victory to his fifteen-year old boy, Edward, the Black Prince. Cannon were used for the first time in the field but only to frighten horses. HISTORY OF ENGLAND 35 59. Was Crecy the only important victory in the war waged in France by Edward III? Ans. Ten years after Crecy, in 1356, Edward found his ten thousand men well nigh surrounded by 60,000 French at Poitiers in the heart of France but he placed his men in lanes and vineyards, his archers again won the day and the French king John and his son Philip were taken prisoners. Edward had also captured Calais, the nearest French town to England. England held on to Calais till it was lost in Bloody Mary's reign, two hun- dred years later. The Scotch, always inclined to be allies of France, were also defeated and their king, David, made a third royal prisoner in Edward's hands. 60. How did a thunder-storm end a war? Ans. Edward was about ready to besiege Paris when the French opened negotiations. During the discussion, a severe thunder-storm destroyed many horses and men in the English camp. Edward took this for a sign that heaven was displeased with his attempt and he fell on his knees before the beautiful Cathedral of Chartres and vowed to make peace. The Treaty of Bretigny, 1360, followed, by which Edward gave up all claim to Normandy and the crown but retained Calais and the south of France. 61. What caused the War of the Roses? Ans. Edward Ill's long reign of half a century (1327- 1377) was followed by that of Richard II, son of the Black Prince who had died of the Black Death which ravaged Europe at that time and carried off over half of the population. Richard II was a weak king and was supplanted by Henry Bolingbroke, son of the Duke of Lan- caster, fourth son of Edward III. This usurpation, though favored and confirmed by Parliament, not only set aside a ruling king but also ignored the claim of a living son of the third son of Edward. This laid the foundation of the sharp rivalry between the Houses of York and Lancaster, resulting in a war a half century later. 62. How did the Black Death that crossed Europe from the East and destroyed half the population of Eng- land, as in other lands, cause economic changes in the Kingdom? Ans. After the pestilence had spent its force, there were not enough laborers left to shear the sheep or till 36 HISTORY OF ENGLAND ,] the soil. Freemen demanded higher wages, while serfs, or villeins and slaves left their masters and roamed over the country demanding pay for services. It was the begin- ning of the contest between capital and labor which is still unsettled. Parliament was severe. It forbade any asking for higher pay and branded runaways with " F on the forehead; but the general agricultural strike lasted for thirty years and culminated in Wat the Tyler's in- surrection of 1381. Richard II, son of the Black Prince, was king then but his wasteful uncle, John of Gaunt, had control. 63. How did Wat Tyler's rebellion arise and how did it end? Ans. To raise money, poll taxes were levied on every member of every laborer's family over fifteen years of age to an amount equal to several days' labor by a full grown man. The country was already on the verge of revolt. The tax collectors were rough, and an insult to a young girl brought her father's hammer on the offender's head and a multitude of sympathizers to his leadership. The movement spread to London from the south and east. The mob held control of London for three weeks, burnt John of Gaunt 's palace, beheaded the Lord Chancellor and the chief collector of the tax, burnt all law papers obtainable and murdered some lawyers, as they considered the profession the poor man's foe. They demanded that villeinage should cease and a uniform rent be fixed for land used for agriculture; also free trade and pardon for themselves. The young king, Richard II, met them bravely and promised relief but Walworth, Mayor of London, stabbed Tyler during the open conference in the fields and the whole movement collapsed and Parliament exacted severe punishment and granted no assistance to the needs. The Commons were as harsh as the Lords, but though no immediate benefit was secured, it started the movement toward less restriction. 64. Did not usurpation of the rule by Henry IV, cousin of Richard II and first of the House of Lancaster, cause changes in the administration of government? Ans. As Henry owed his accession to Parliament he was somewhat at their mercy and had to assent to the demands of Parliament in 1407 that all money bills should - HISTORY OF ENGLAND 37 originate in the House of Commons and that their delibera- tions in regard to grants of money should be free from his interference. The demands of money for the wars by kings were often made occasions to gain some reform which brought the king still more under control. 65. How and when was the Hundred Years' War renewed? Ans. Henry V, the spirited son of the usurping Henry IV, on his father's dying advice renewed the war with France to divert attention from home questions that might lead to revolt. The French were in civil strife at the time and Henry thought it a good time to seek three things he wanted, — a wife, a fortune and a crown. By the brilliant victory at Agincourt, 1415, and subse- quent movements he won all three of his desires. At Agincourt he had but seven or eight thousand troops against fifty thousand French but the ground was wet from rain and the heavily armed horsemen of the French sank in the mire at every step. Henry drove into the ground stakes sharpened at both ends which acted as bayonets against the advancing cavalry. 66. If Henry accomplished such great results by the battle of Agincourt how were those advantages lost? Ans. Henry V. married Katherine, daughter of the in- sane and feeble Charles VI, whom he was to succeed as king, meantime ruling as regent of France. All this, with large sums of money as Katherine 's dowry, was secured by the Treaty of Troyes in 1420. Two years later, Henry died in France while putting down a revolt. He left an infant son, Henry VI, who was crowned both in West- minster Abbey and in Paris. But though John, Duke of Bedford, brother of Henry V, fought valiantly and for a while successfully in France, the country was rescued by the inspired valor of Joan of Arc, and by the time Henry VI had grown up all the English possessions in France were lost except Calais, which remained in Eng- lish control for another century. 67. How did the War of the Roses get its picturesque name? Ans. From the emblems of the two houses, a red rose for Lancaster and a white rose for York. 38 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 68. How long did the War of the Roses last and how serious an affair was it? Ans. The War of the Roses lasted thirty years; there were fourteen pitched battles; eighty princes of the blood royal and more than half the nobility of England perished ; but the lower class did not suffer much, and common life went on more naturally, most of the time, than one would suppose. 69. When and how did the War of the Roses end? Ans. The Earl of Richmond, Henry Tudor, of Lan- castrian connections, defeated Richard III of York on Bosworth Field in 1485 and ascended the throne that year as Henry VII, the first of the forceful Tudor line. His grandfather, Owen Tudor, was a Welshman who had married Katherine, the French widow of Henry V of Eng- land; so the relationship with the house of Lancaster through his mother, Jane Beaufort, was not the most marked feature of his descent ; but by killing the last of the reigning House of York and marrying the most prominent princess of that house he secured the then undisputed throne. 70. What beautiful memorial in Westminster Abbey tells of the satisfactory ending of the War of the Roses? Ans. In the great rose window that looks toward the sunrise in Henry VII's gorgeous Chapel, which he built on the end of Westminster Abbey as a grand mausoleum for all his royal connections, the white and red roses are beautifully blended and show the happy issue of the war. 71. When did printing come into use in England? Ans. In 1477 William Caxton, a London merchant who had learned the art of printing with movable type in Bruges, Flanders (now Belgium), set up his press within the grounds of Westminster Abbey. He published over eighteen thousand volumes. Among the first books printed in England were the " Sayings of the Philosophers" and Chaucer's " Canterbury Tales." 72. What king of England was murdered in the Tower of London before his coronation? Ans. Richard, Duke of York, brother of Edward IV, first sovereign of the House of York, acted as guardian HISTORY OF ENGLAND 39 of the young son of Edward when that monarch died. He forced matters so boldly, by killing all opposers, that before three months had expired in preparation for the inaugural ceremonies of the twelve-year-old Edward V, king in name rather than in fact, Richard, the uncle, had secured those arrangements for himself. A younger brother of the three months' king suffered death with him and the childish bones of both were afterwards found behind a door in the Tower of London. The princes, placed by their uncle in the tower for safety, were probably suffocated in their sleep by his command. 73. What marked change does the accession of Henry VH in 1485 mark? Ans. The accession of Henry VII marks the change from mediaeval to modern history. Feudal baronage had been broken up by the War of the Roses. Estates of the nobles in many cases had fallen to the Crown for lack of heirs or had been seized by other officials. Henry VII introduced a new social and political period. Printing was in common use; also the mariners' compass. The Cape of Good Hope had been reached. Columbus was about to set sail to the far west and England was to follow him. 74. What share did England take in early discoveries in America? Ans. In 1497, immediately after Columbus' second voyage, which, like his first, had yielded only islands, John Cabot and his son Sebastian, Italians living in Bristol, the chief port on the west of England, sailed across the Atlantic to Labrador; and the next summer, 1498, extended exploration down the Atlantic coast as far as the Cape Fear River of North Carolina. This formed the basis of the English claim in North America. In the king's private account book, under date of August 10, 1497, is recorded the gift of " £10 to him that found the new isle " (probably Cape Breton). 75. How is the Absolutism of the Tudors to be ac- counted for? Ans. The old nobles were mostly dead; their estates largely confiscated; the country was tired of war. The new king was shrewd and crafty ; he avoided war, obtained 40 HISTORY OF ENGLAND money by exacting it under old laws rather than by summoning parliament and demanding large sums, and so built up a personal sovereignty which he transmitted to his son with the fullest treasury any English king had ever possessed. He was a calculating shopkeeper and by making politic marriages for his children, in Spain and Scotland, accomplished stronger alliances than others could by wasteful wars. 76. Why is the career of Henry VIII, son of Henry VII and second of the Tudor rulers, perhaps the most momentous in English history? Ans. Bluff King Hal, as the people of England, with whom he was rather popular, called him, was a despot; " he had a Pope within him", as Luther said. As a rule he stood by the common people but renounced the power of the pope and controlled parliament with the most unblushing effrontery. " Get that bill passed before night, my little man, or off goes your head " was his dictum to a leader of parliament, and the bill was passed. He turned England from the Church of Rome to the Eng- lish Church of today. 77. What was the cause of Henry's break with the pope? Ans. When Luther denounced the doctrines of Rome, Henry, who had been educated for the Church before his older brother died, wrote an answer which he sent bound in cloth of gold to the pope, and received in return the title, Defender of the Faith, from the pleased pontiff; a title still borne by English rulers. But when Henry sought divorce from his first wife, Catherine, and the pope would not grant it, Henry withdrew his allegiance, though he still accepted all Catholic doctrines save papal suprem- acy and therefore cannot be called a real Protestant. Parliament declared Henry sole head of the church and denial of such headship to be high treason. 78. Why did Henry wish a divorce which the pope would not grant? Ans. Henry had married his older brother's widow, Catherine of Spain, daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella. This union was contrary to Mosaic law and to that of the HISTORY OF ENGLAND 41 Church of Rome, and of England, but as they were quite young and there were no children from the previous marriage, the pope had granted a special dispensation on Henry VII's request. This preserved the alliance with Spain and the dowry of Catherine. Though several children were born to Henry, only a girl grew up, and Henry sighed for a son to rule a land no woman had ever ruled; finally, the sparkling eyes of Anne Boleyn attracted him. 79. How was the matter settled? Ans. Henry's great chancellor, Wolsey, at first favored the divorce, thinking Henry would marry a French princess; but when he saw that it was only an English maid-of-honor that the king was enamoured of he opposed it, which quickly caused his downfall and death. Thomas Cranmer, of Cambridge, suggested to the king that he refer the matter to the Universities of Europe. This the king did and by bribery and threats (in England) as well as by honest verdicts in some cases, Henry secured his desires. 80. What were the results of the divorce? Ans. Henry married Anne Boleyn, who bore him the great Elizabeth; the pope declared her illegitimate and excommunicated Henry, issuing a bull that delivered his soul to Satan and his kingdom to the first invader. Henry retaliated by suppressing the monasteries and confiscating their lands and treasures, claiming that they were corrupt. Some of the money went to found colleges, some to Henry's favorites. Some of the leading families of England owe their large estates to these changes. But the movement from the mediaeval monastery to the modern college was already on the way before this. 81. Who succeeded Henry the Eighth? Ans. His only son Edward, a lad of ten, by his third wife, Jane Seymour. Under him and his regents, England first became officially (1549) and distinctly Protestant. Edward Vl's reign lasted only six years (1547-1553) as he died at sixteen. The first Act of Uniformity, passed in his reign, obliged all churches to use the new English prayer book. 42 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 82. What most distinguished Edward VFs short reign? Ans. More Catholic church property was confiscated and part of the wealth so obtained was devoted, largely by the young king's influence, to the endowment of forty grammar (Latin and Greek) schools, such as Shakespeare attended and like the oldest English school in the United States, the Boston Latin School of 1635, once called gram- mar school as distinguished from a writing or commercial school. A number of hospitals also were established; among them was Christ's Hospital in London for the sup- port and education of fatherless boys. This is where Coleridge and Lamb studied, — ■ two of England's finest literary products. 83. Did Protestantism continue to flourish after Edward's death? Ans. Edward VI was succeeded by his half-sister Mary, the daughter of Henry's first wife. She had natu- rally accepted in full faith the religion of her Spanish mother. She was utterly conscientious in her efforts to restore Roman Catholicism, and married her cousin, Philip II of Spain, the most prominent Catholic ruler in Europe and a fanatical one. Many were burnt at the stake during Mary's short reign of five years (1553-1558), and she gained the unenviable title of Bloody Mary, but Mary is to be regarded with pity rather than hatred. She was narrow and bigoted, but had had a hard ex- perience and was true to what she considered right, in an age when little or no mercy was shown to those who differed in religion from those in authority, whether Catholic or Protestant. 84. Who was Lady Jane Grey? Ans. Lady Jane Grey was a charming, finely educated girl of seventeen who wore the crown as queen of England for nine days after Edward's death. She was a descendant of Henry VII and a relative of Edward, who left the crown to her by his will. She was a Protestant and married to Lord Guilford Dudley, son of the Duke of Northumber- land, who, as Edward's regent, had very likely influenced Edward's act. Mary had the better right to the throne, and Lady Jane with her husband was thrown into the Tower and afterwards beheaded; and so also her scheming father-in-law, who had persuaded her to take the throne. HISTORY OF ENGLAND 43 85. Why is the last half of the seventeenth century considered the most glorious age in English annals? Ans. Because it is nearly synchronous with the reign of the great Elizabeth (1558-1603) in whose reign England rose from a secondary rank in Europe to the first rank by the defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588; because it is the age of Spenser, Marlowe, Shakespeare, Benjonson, Sir Walter Raleigh, Lord Bacon, Admiral Drake and a host of other stars who together form a galaxy of genius unequaled before or since. 86. To what is the unprecedented glory of the Eliza- bethan Age due? Ans. Elizabeth was young, twenty-five, when she began to reign; a consummate flirt, but too wise to marry, she attracted and held unwonted admiration. Men were willing to do and dare to the uttermost for such a queen. Life was stimulated in every direction, — poetry, the drama, voyages of adventure, achievements of every kind. 87. Who was Mary, Queen of Scots? Ans. Mary, Queen of Scots, famed for her beauty, had a most remarkable career. Educated in France, she naturally became a Catholic, was married to the heir to the French throne, Francis II, reigned as queen for one short year and then suffered, as a young widow without chil- dren, at the hands of her Italian mother-in-law, Catherine de' Medici. All this before she was twenty. Then she returned to Scotland, where she was queen in her own right, and married her cousin, Lord Darnley. By him she had one son, James the Sixth. Scotland had become intensely Protestant and the people were very much displeased with their queen's religion and the priests she had brought from France. They obliged her to abdicate in favor of her infant son. 88. What were the relations of Mary Queen of Scots with Elizabeth of England? Ans. Mary and Elizabeth were cousins by the mar- riage of Margaret, Henry VIII's sister, with James IV of Scotland. When Elizabeth came to the throne, as her birth and ascendency were condemned by the pope, Mary, her cousin, had the right to the throne in the opinion of all 44 HISTORY OF ENGLAND Catholics. When Mary was forced to abdicate in favor of her infant son, James VI, she risked the battle of Lang- side with her subjects and was defeate'd. She then fled over the border to Elizabeth for protection, but she was confined, for protection to England, in Fotheringay Castle for twenty years. 89. What became of Mary Queen of Scots finally? Ans. There were such frequent plots to rescue Mary from confinement that at last Elizabeth was advised by her council to execute Mary, as the safest course for England. This she did, apparently with great reluctance. 90. Were there any marked consequences of so promi- nent an execution? Ans. Philip of Spain, most prominent Catholic ruler in Europe, with the Pope's sanction and approval, set sail for England with the great Armada of 132 ships to avenge Mary's death and gain the English throne. 91. What was the nature of the conflict of England with the Spanish Armada? Ans. Lord High Admiral Howard, commander-in-chief of England's navy, a prominent Catholic, was intrusted with the command. The smaller English vessels led by the British sea dogs, Howard, Drake, Hawkins and Raleigh attacked in the English Channel and by adroit and quicker handling forced the Spanish ships toward the coast of Flanders and there sent fireships among them, which did fearful damage and drove them to ignominious flight around the top of Scotland. Only 53 out of 132 ships reached home. 92. Name several authors who adorned the Elizabethan Age of Literature. Ans. For poets, Edmund Spenser, who wrote the " Faerie Queene," a large work in twelve books in praise of Elizabeth, and Sir Philip Sydney, killed in battle at thirty-two; for philosophy, Francis Bacon, generally con- sidered the strongest and most original thinker since Aristotle; for the drama, Christopher Marlowe, born the same year as Shakespeare, killed in a brawl at thirty, and yet from him Shakespeare most likely learned his " mighty line"; Shakespeare himself, the nonpareil, and HISTORY OF ENGLAND 45 Ben Jonson, then considered superior to Shakespeare; for history, Sir Walter Raleigh, who wrote the first History of the World. 93. Are there any marks of Elizabeth's reign in America? Ans. Virginia, oldest and for over a century and a half the leading English colony in America, was named for the virgin queen by Sir Walter Raleigh. The capital of North Carolina, which bears his name, recalls his attempts to settle on Roanoke Island in 1585, '86 and '87 The trouble with Spain interfered and put a stop to his efforts. 94. Why didn't Elizabeth marry? Ans. Because she was wise. If she married Philip of Spain, who proposed, or the French Duke of Anjou, she would offend her Protestant subjects. If she married her favorite, Lord Dudley, Earl of Leicester, she would offend the Catholics. Mary, her brilliant rival, said Elizabeth declined to marry as she preferred to be courted by many rather than yield submission to any one. Parliament, early in her reign, expressed a desire that she marry. 95. What was Elizabeth's religion? Ans. " Elizabeth was Protestant in her brain but Catholic in her nerves," i.e., she retained many of her sister Mary's advisers but added several Protestants, as Cecil, Walsingham and Bacon, and especially admonished Cecil always to tell her what to do regardless of her pref- erences. She sanctioned the Laws of Uniformity that required the use of the English prayer book, but she had her private chapel where she prayed before a crucifix with lighted candles beside it. In fact, Elizabeth strongly resembled her father in more ways than one. 96. What common signs were there of material progress in Elizabeth's "Golden Age"? Ans. People were no longer satisfied to live in cold, gloomy castles, surrounded by moats of stagnant water, but built spacious mansions and filled them with furni- ture and with carpets and tapestry to keep out the cold. Chimneys also carried off the smoke. Silver plate took the place of pewter and wooden dishes. Much of the silver came from the plunder of Spanish galleons captured 46 HISTORY OF ENGLAND on the Spanish Main and elsewhere, at which Drake and Raleigh were experts. Twenty tons of silver, eighty pounds of gold and thirteen chests of plate made one single treasure ship's load transferred by Drake to the " Golden Hind." 97. Who succeeded the Virgin Queen? Ans. As Elizabeth left no direct heirs the title reverted to her former rival, Mary, Queen of Scots, and as she was dead, James, her son, was not only named by Elizabeth but called by Parliament to rule over England, Ireland and Wales, as well as Scotland. Thus James VI of Scot- land became James I of England in 1603. 98. What kind of a man was the son of the beautiful Mary, Queen of Scots? Ans. James the First of England was very different from his fascinating mother. He was feeble of body and could not walk, straight. He could not bear the sight of a drawn sword; he wore padded clothing, usually of a green color. Mentally he was shrewd, crammed with undigested learn- ing, of small mind and large conceit. The French ambas- sador called him " the wisest fool in Christendom." He believed in witchcraft and ordered it punished with death. He wrote on theology and composed commonplace verse. 99. What was the prevailing policy of the Stuart kings? Ans. James believed in The Divine Right of Kings. " God makes the king, the king makes the law," was his favorite saying. The king was responsible to God for good government and the care of his people. Although chosen and called to his position by Parliament, he declared he was in no way under obligation to the people. "It is blasphemy to dispute with God; it is presumption to dis- pute with a king." Hence, naturally, he levied customs without authority and violated the privileges of the Com- mons, rejecting legally elected members and imprisoning those who criticised. 100. Where is or was James I's name made prominent in America? Ans. The first English settlement on the mainland of America was Jamestown, planted in 1607 by about a hun- dred settlers, half of whom were the younger sons of noble- HISTORY OF ENGLAND 47 men, who, barred from inheritance at home, hoped to find gold in the New World. They started the "F. F. V.'s of Virginia," or First Families. 101. What very different American colony dates from James' time? Ans. In 1620 the Pilgrims, a body of about a hundred Separatists from the Church of England, sought "freedom to worship God on the wild New England shore." James had said he " would make them conform or harry them out of the kingdom." 102. Were there any other interesting colonies planted during his reign? Ans. James granted much of the Crown Land in Ulster, Ireland, which had been seized during a rebellion, to Scotch and English settlers. The Dutch also settled New Amster- dam, now New York, and Fort Orange, now Albany. 103. With what great book is King James' name associated? Ans. The famous King James' version of the Bible, pub- lished in 1611 and written in the choicest English of the generation of Shakespeare, was made by the order of the king and is still in use in very many Protestant churches. 104. How did Charles I, son and successor of James, compare with his father? Ans. James was something of a glutton, and a dis- agreeable fellow generally. His son was a gentleman, a good husband, a devoted father, a zealous churchman, but a treacherous, dangerous liar, thief and rascal politi- cally. He believed in his father's doctrine of The Divine Right of Kings and carried it to the extreme until it brought on the Civil War of England, which ended in Charles' execution by his subjects. 105. What may be considered the most active element in bringing on the Civil War of England? Ans. Probably the growth of Puritanism was the most marked element in opposition to Charles' usurpations. 106. What was Puritanism? Ans. Puritanism was the name given to the large, active, reputable membership in the Church of England that was unsatisfied with the prevailing form and ceremonies of the 48 HISTORY OF ENGLAND Church of England. They felt that in breaking away from the Church of Rome the English Church had not gone far enough. They loved the church to which they belonged, but objected to some of its rites and requirements. This element had been steadily growing in number and force since the early days of Elizabeth, seventy or more years before the war. When James VI of Scotland crossed the border as James I of England, he was petitioned by a thousand signers asking that their ministers be permitted to preach without the white surplice, to baptize without making the sign of the cross on the child's forehead and to marry people without the use of the ring. Lord Bacon and Bishop Hooker, though prominent in the Church of England, asked for toleration, but the king had no patience, denied the request and imprisoned the ten ministers who had presented it. 107. What specific acts of Charles led up to war? Ans. Charles, who came to the throne in 1625 at twenty- five years of age, had trouble with his first Parliament in demanding money which they refused except on condi- tions to which the king would not agree. He had trouble with his second Parliament of 1626 and dissolved it speedily, as he had the first. The king then attempted to force loans from Sir John Eliot, Sir Edward Hampden and Thomas Went worth, which they refused. Much in need of money, Charles called a third Parliament in 1628, which forced him to sign their Petition of Rights, but he broke it soon after signing. 108. What very great influence had the reign of the young despot, Charles I, on the settlement of New England and on the future United States? Ans. When Charles I began to act arbitrarily and dis- solved one Parliament after another, when refused money, and then proceeded to raise it by illegal means, many of the more active Puritans began to look across the Atlantic for greater civil and religious freedom. The Massachusetts Bay Company was formed; Matthew Cradock was its first governor (Cradock House in Medford, Mass.), and the first shipload of settlers, sent over under John Endicott, deputy governor, settled Salem in 1628; a few more settled Charlestown, named for the king, in 1629. When Charles HISTORY OF ENGLAND 49 broke the Petition of Rights, which the Parliament of 1628 had forced him to sign, and dismissed the Parliament of 1629 in six weeks, the whole company, with Gov. John Winthrop at the head, came over in a fleet of a dozen vessels, bringing their charter with them, which gave them full power of electing their own rulers and a tract of land reaching from three miles north of the Merrimac to three miles south of the Charles. 109. What were the very peculiar conditions in English history during the decade 1630-1640? Ans. Charles I ruled without a Parliament from 1629 to 1640, and over 10,000 settlers, mostly Puritans, flocked to New England, beginning with the great settlement of Boston and the towns around it in 1630, and extending through Rhode Island and Connecticut, 1634-39. The Catholics of England in 1634 also made a settlement in Maryland, named so for Henrietta Maria, wife of Charles I. 110. What was the outcome of Charles Fs return to despotism while people were growing more democratic? Ans. In 1640 Charles I was forced to call a Parliament in order to raise money to enable him to impose the Church of England on Presbyterian Scotland, and this Parliament had the courage to take the bits in its teeth and lead Eng- land by a rough and bloody route out of the Slough of Despond into which it had fallen. 111. What were the leading acts of the famous Long Parliament? Ans. First the Long Parliament of 1640 voted not to dissolve till it got through with its work, despite the king. Next, it summoned to its bar Thomas Wentworth, now Lord Strafford, who had been an ardent co-worker with Eliot, Hampden and Pym, in earlier Parliaments, but who was now the king's chief adviser ; he was tried, convicted and executed for high treason and oppression. Next, it called before it Archbishop Laud, the tyrant of ecclesiastical forms, tried, convicted and executed this head of the church as it had the chief minister of state. By this time the great Civil War of 1642-1648 was on, which resulted in the trial, conviction and execution of Charles I, head of the nation. Next, the House of Lords was abolished and England declared a Commonwealth. In fact, England was experi- 50 HISTORY OF ENGLAND encing something like the later French Revolution but under the saner, safer, cooler temperament of its Teutonic people, who, through their representative body, worked out the solution of an intolerable condition in church and state. 112. Who were the most prominent leaders of the people against their king? Ans. In the earlier Parliamentary struggles Sir John Eliot, Sir Edmund Hampden and his cousin John, who refused to pay illegal ship money for national defense in time of peace, were prominent. Eliot died a martyr, im- prisoned by the king. When war broke out Lord Fairfax and Oliver Cromwell were leaders. Oliver Cromwell, a cousin of John Hampden, was a country squire who led a company in one of the first engagements, a regiment in a later fight, and finally the whole army, the irresistible Ironsides, which never suffered defeat in England, Scotland or Ireland. 113. How was England governed after the execution of the king? Ans.- In the decade 1630-1640, England was ruled by a despot without a Parliament. In the decade 1640-1649, Parliament, or the people, turned tables on the king and even abolished the monarchy. In the next decade, or from 1649 to 1660, England as a commonwealth was governed by a council appointed by Parliament. In this council Cromwell was naturally the dominant figure. He was asked to accept the crown, but refused. He was then made Lord Protector in 1654, retaining the position and ruling ably till his death in 1658. 114. How shall we regard Cromwell? Ans. Cromwell was one of England's greatest products. The times needed such a man; his acts were frequently as arbitrary and unconstitutional as Charles', but like Abra- ham Lincoln's unconstitutional acts in our Civil War, they were always for the good of the country. He viewed the corpse of the dead king at midnight and gazing at the features for a silent moment, said, " A sad necessity." He was tolerant for the times. He allowed Quakers their form of worship undisturbed ; he allowed Jews to return to Eng- HISTORY OF ENGLAND 51 land after an exile of 300 years. He was unduly harsh toward Catholics alone but deemed* them dangerous to the government. 115. What happened after Cromwell's death? Ans. After Cromwell's death in 1658, his son, Richard Cromwell, assumed his father's position for a few months. " Tumble-down Dick," as the people dubbed him, was a gentleman but no statesman or warrior. He resigned on a generous pension, and England, fearing a military des- potism, as the army was now all powerful, decided to restore the Stuart dynasty in the person of Charles II and trust that he would do better than his father. 116. Did Charles II prove to be better than Charles I? Ans. The royal tramp returned from a vagabond exist- ence of many years on the Continent determined to enjoy himself now that he had come into his own. He was called the Merry Monarch from his utter devotion to pleasure, to wine, women and gambling. He was too much absorbed in pleasure-seeking to pay much attention to governing, and so, in a way, the dissolute Charles II was a less danger- ous or troublesome ruler than his highly respectable father, Charles I. 117. What change in America during Charles IPs reign? Ans. In 1663 he gave his brother, the Duke of York, all the Dutch territory between New England and the Delaware, " to go in and possess the land," and so in 1664 New Amsterdam became New York and Fort Orange became Albany. 118. Were Charles IPs ways of raising money for his extravagant tastes any more reputable or constitutional than his father's? Ans. CharlesII's method of raising money was worse than his father's, and that is saying a good deal. In 1667 he made the infamous secret treaty of Dover with the Grand Monarch, Louis XIV of France, by which he was to receive £300,000 ($1,500,000) for aiding Louis to subdue Holland and establish Catholicism there, and Charles was to receive in addition £200,000, or a million dollars, annually as soon as he proclaimed himself a Catholic. 52 HISTORY OP ENGLAND 119. What was the Cabal? Ans. The name given a group of Charles' friends, like the Kitchen Cabinet of President Jackson, who advised their chief. The initials of their names, Clifford, Arlington, Buckingham, Ashley and Lauderdale spelt the word which means a secret political group. They were a corrupt pack. Two of them knew of the secret treaty of Dover. 120. Why did England, the home of strict Puritanism, submit to the great change introduced by Charles? Ans. The reaction from an over-severe regime swung, as is common, too far the other way. The Puritans had closed every theater, abolished Christmas as a holiday, and for- bidden even Maypole dances to innocent children. Now the gayer part of the community revelled in French plays and female roles, formerly taken by boys, were impersonated by women ; and, following the unhealthful influence and example of the court, licentious plays, poems, literature and living became very common . Charles debauched England and she developed a lower moral tone than at any time before or since. 121. Were there any other changes in America besides the taking over of the New Netherlands in Charles IPs reign (1660-1685)? Ans. In 1664 and 1670 Charles gave the southern por- tion of Virginia to favorites; first North Carolina and later South Carolina. Charleston, S. C, was first settled in 1670. Carolina, so named for a French king in an attempted settlement by the French Huguenots, retained its name with a new reference. In 1681 William Penn, the noted Quaker, received a large tract of desirable land in payment of a debt due his father, Admiral Penn, and hither led a worthy band of followers and treated all comers liberally. These gifts of the Merry Monarch doubled the original six settlements of his father's and grandfather's reigns and completed the original thirteen states with the ex- ception of the much later and most southern, Georgia. 122. Of what nature were Charles IPs last days? Ans. Charles died as he had lived. On Sunday he was disporting with his favorites of both sexes. Before the end of the week he was dead and buried and forgotten and James, his extremely Catholic brother, late Duke of York and Albany, ruled in his place. HISTORY OF ENGLAND 53 123. Did this change in the religion of the ruler make any serious change in the country? Ans. James II's intense Catholicism wrought serious changes but mainly for himself and family. James was an abler and much more decided man than his sportive brother. He made violent radical changes in governors, heads of colleges, and other administrators, which drove the people to action as it had in his father's time. Parlia- ment had no desire to make a martyr of him,, as many now regarded his father, but it grew " too hot " for him in England and he followed his family to France, whither he had sent them when the turmoil began. 124. Did James II's arbitrary acts affect America? Ans. James II sent Governor Andros of New York to Boston as headquarters, to add southern New England to his gubernatorial territory. Andros demanded the charters of Rhode Island, Connecticut and Massachusetts. He built the first Episcopal Church in Boston, King's Chapel, in whose graveyard Lady Andros was buried. When James I was expelled from England, the good people of Boston quickly drove his creature to seek shelter in the forts of the harbor. 125. What event is indicated by the " Glorious Revolu- tion of 1688"? Ans. When James II was expelled from England, after three short years of rule, his son-in-law, the able Protestant Prince of Orange and Stadtholder, or President, of the Dutch Republic, was asked in behalf of and with his wife Mary, oldest daughter of James, to accept the throne. This he assumed without bloodshed. 126. Why was the succession to the English throne changed in 1688? Ans. James' daughters, Mary and Anne, daughters of his first wife, Anne Hyde, daughter of one of England's prominent statesmen, were Protestant, grown up and married to Protestants; but by a second wife, from Italy, a boy was born in 1688 and this drove England to action, as not only must the rule of James be endured to his death but he would be succeeded by a Catholic in a strongly Protestant nation. 54 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 127. Was William Ill's reign a success? Ans. William III was a wise, industrious and conscien- tious ruler. His chief interests, however, were in his beloved Holland and his efforts to defend it from the rapacity of Louis XIV. To this end he diverted money and men from England but it was in a common cause, as Louis was supporting James II and after his death the young son or Pretender to the English throne. The Battle of the Boyne in the north of Ireland between William III and James II settled the question as to who should rule. The war with France placed England hope- lessly in debt for the first time and led to the establishment of the Bank of England, or " the little old lady of Thread- needle Street," reputed the leading banking institution of the world. 128. Who was "the little gentleman in black velvet " to whom the Jacobite Tories used to drink at suppers after William's death? Ans. William was frail and an invalid and overworked. His horse stepped in a mole hill and threw him in his heavy armor and he died. Hence the Tory toast to the underground slayer of a king. 129. Did William establish a Dutch dynasty in England? Ans. The House of Nassau-Stuart died with him as far as the Nassau factor was concerned, as he was child- less. Mary, joint sovereign with him — the only case of dual reign in English history — had died before him, and so Anne, the younger sister and the last Stuart ruler of England, succeeded William in 1702 and reigned till her death in 1714, when the present House of Hanover with all its Georges came in. 130. What was the character of the last Stuart ruler, Queen Anne? Ans. Anne, the younger daughter of James II, was goodnaturedly stupid. She had Stuart proclivities in that she believed in the Divine Right of Kings though she did not exercise it. She was a strong Tory, politically, and a High Church woman religiously. She also believed in the royal power of touching for " the king's evil," or scrofula. Dr. Samuel Johnson, at the age of two, was HISTORY OF ENGLAND 55 taken to court, examined by the court physician and stroked by the queen. Some say he improved in health, others say the royal touch was without avail. He told Boswell he remembered a large lady in black bending over him. 131. What were the most marked characteristics of Queen Anne's reign? Ans. Somewhat singularly Anne's rather short reign was distinguished very much as Elizabeth's was, by the unusual prominence of both war and literature in the same reign. Queen Anne's reign produced the most brilliant soldier, probably, in England's long roll of heroes and also the most distinguished group of writers between Elizabeth's death in 1603 and 1800. 132. Who was England's most distinguished warrior? Ans. John Churchill, afterwards made first Duke of Marlborough on account of his victories. Voltaire says 1 ' he never fought a battle he did not win or besieged a fortress he did not take." 133. What was Marlborough's character? Ans. Marlborough's character was stained by two serious vices — treachery and greed for money. He deserted James II for William III, yet maintained cor- respondence with James, and would have deserted William for James, if he could have seen personal gain thereby, and would have deserted Anne for the Pretender on the same terms. He stole the money intended for his soldiers' supplies and his moral character is beneath contempt. 134. What were Marlborough's greatest achievements? Ans. Marlborough's first important victory was that of Blenheim in Bavaria in 1704 against the French. Marlborough was the able successor of Louis XIV's greatest enemy, William III, who had died in 1702. For the victory of Blenheim, the English Government presented him with the royal demesne of Woodstock, where the trees were cut to represent the location of the contending forces. This is the present possession of the Dukes of Marlborough, the last of whom has been greatly stimulated to take part in his country's needs by his capable wife, Consuelo Vanderbilt, whose money has done much toward reno- vating the estate. 56 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 135. Who was the first Duchess of Marlborough? Ans. Sarah Jennings was waiting-maid to the Princess Anne, at the same time that John Churchill was Irish page to her father, Duke of York, afterwards James II. They made a match of it and were peculiarly fitted for each other. Churchill rose to be the most prominent man in England, while his wife was Mistress of the Robes to the Queen and dictated what particular hat, dress or ribbon her royal mistress should wear when both rode to St. Paul's to enjoy the Te Deum in praise of one of Marlborough's victories. Anne reigned but Sarah ruled. 136. Did the supremacy of the Churchills last through- out Anne's reign? Ans. The Whigs supported Marlborough and the war; the Tories decried both. A Mrs. Masham, as subtle, sly and suave as the Duchess was forceful, violent and presumptuous, gained the ear of the Queen whose sympa- thies were with the Tories, and succeeded in bringing her cousin, Harley, leader of the Tory Party, into the palace by the back stairs. He obtained authority from the Queen so that, with the growing dissatisfaction of England, he was able to have Marlborough called home on charge of malversation and afterwards to make the peace of Utrecht with Louis. Thus were the destinies of parties and of countries controlled and managed for a season by two waiting- women as the " powers behind the throne." 137. When and what was the Augustan Age of Litera- ture? Ans. The writers of Queen Anne's time were noted for accuracy and finish, as those of Elizabeth's time were noted for force and originality. They entertained an excellent opinion of their own merit. They have been likened to the polished school of Latin authors that adorned the reign of Augustus, the first Roman Emperor. They actually esteemed themselves superior to Jonson, Shakespeare, and other Elizabethans, and held that nothing better could follow them. They were classicists, following ancient models, rather than romanticists follow- ing natural inspiration and imagination. HISTORY OF ENGLAND 57 138. Who were the most noted writers of the Augustan Age of Literature? Ans. Joseph Addison and Richard Steele, who edited the famous Spectator in 1711-1712, were the most famous Whig writers and were prominent in Parliament and politics. Jonathan Swift, who wrote " A Tale of a Tub " and " Gulliver's Travels," was the most brilliant Tory writer and Pope was the only poet of merit. It was not a poetic age and Pope gloried in city scenes and " common sense " rather than in nature or romance. 139. How did the successor of English Anne happen to be an out-and-out German? Ans. By the Settlement Act of 1701 which decreed that after William and Mary and Anne, all of whom died childless, the throne should go to the nearest Protestant heir. This proved to be the elector of Hanover, George I of England, great-grandson of James I, whose daughter had married the elector of the Palatinate on the Rhine; and their daughter Sophia had married the elector of Hanover. 140. What sort of a man was George I? Ans. " Snuffy old drone from the German hive," Holmes calls George the Second in his "One-Horse Shay," and the expression was much more appropriate for his father. He was in his middle fifties, could not speak English and cared little for England, much preferring Hanover. He brought over a German retinue and enjoyed German caricatures of English ways and people. His reign lasted only from 1714 to 1727. 141. Did George I's inability to speak the language of the people he governed make any change in the ways of government? Ans. George I's reign marks the beginning of cabinet government and of prime ministers. Charles II had adopted the fashion of a greatly reduced council of ad- visers to suit his tastes but George I was obliged to leave the reins of government to the Whig Party that had made him king; and so he asked Robert Walpole to form a cabinet and carry on the government for him and Wal- pole did so, not only serving through George I's reign but also through the greater part of George IPs longer reign (1727-1760). 58 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 142. Was George II more of a king than his father? Ans. George II, who came to the throne in his forties and could speak only broken English, was every inch a soldier and preferred war to peace, but he left politics to Walpole, or, rather, George's wife controlled him and she was controlled by Walpole, whom the king disliked. George II was the last English sovereign who ever led an English force in war. 143. Was there much fighting in George IPs reign? Ans. England had four wars on her hands during George's thirty- three years; the War of Jenkins' Ear with Spain (1739); the War of the Austrian Succession when England defended Maria Theresa, the Empress, against the attacks of France, Prussia and Spain; the War in India where Clive, a clerk in the East India Company's employ, defeated the French at Arcot (1751) and the Surajah of Calcutta at Plassey (1757), winning an eastern empire which Britain has maintained ever since ; the French and Indian War in America by which all Canada and New France east of the Mississippi was acquired. 144. What was the War of Jenkins' Ear? Ans. Jenkins, an English sea captain, was sailing the Spanish Main, very likely seeking plunder, when his ship was held up by a Spanish man-of-war and searched, but nothing wrong was found. The insolent Spaniards then tore off an ear, and told him to present it to his king with their compliments. Jenkins pocketed his ear and his wrath and on return to England strode into the House of Commons, threw his ear on the Speaker's table and told his story. War immediately followed. 145. What were the moral conditions of England in George II' s time? Ans. The moral conditions of England were very lax. " Drunk for a penny; dead drunk for twopence; straw and hay free " was a sign frequently displayed in taverns and marks most vividly the low levels of living. Attempts at reform were met with cries of " No gin, no king." 146. Were there no reactions from this low state of morals? Ans. John and Charles Wesley, young Church of England clergymen, bewailed the sad plight of England HISTORY OF ENGLAND 59 and commenced preaching under the trees, in the fields and streets, and started the mighty wave'of Methodism, so-called at first in mockery of their new methods. This wholesome religious reform among the lower classes swept over both England and the colonies. The Wesleys and their able co-worker, George Whitefield, preached from New England to Georgia and twenty thousand people are said to have gathered on Boston Common to hear Whitefield. 147. How did George III differ from his predecessors of the House of Hanover? Ans. George III, grandson of George II, was born and reared in England and was proud of it. He was thoroughly patriotie, a good husband and father, a wholesome man, but stubborn and not tactful or long-sighted. His mother had urged him to " be a king, George ", and he grew up with the determination to be king in fact as well as name. By bribery and the efforts of his friends in Parliament he caused England to lose the brightest gem in her coronet of colonies, the United States. He was throughout his reign subject to mental derangement and during the last ten years of his long reign of sixty years, the longest in English history save Victoria's, he was hopelessly insane and his son, afterwards George IV, acted as regent. 148. What else besides the American Revolution distinguished George Ill's long reign? Axs. George Ill's long reign was not distinguished for literary excellence, especially during its first fifty years, but much advance was made in practical and industrial lines. The Age of Steam began with Watt's invention of the steam engine in 1769 and this was followed by spinning jennies and power looms until the whole Lan- cashire region blazed with the fires of new factories of every kind. 149. Were not the new economic conditions conducive to new social problems? Ans. Much social unrest and evil accompanied the rapid employment of machinery. Weavers could now obtain only a few shillings a week for their hand labor. Children were kept underground day and night to open and shut doors for coal cars to run through; operatives 60 HISTORY OF ENGLAND were housed in herds regardless of sex and sanitary con- ditions, and other materialistic views of life were so upper- most that finally the recruiting sergeants for the Napole- onic wars declared they could not find enough men of the standard army height, people were so stunted by the new ways of living. 150. Were there other important wars during George Ill's reign besides the American Revolution? Ans. The great war with Napoleon settled at Waterloo by the Duke of Wellington, aided by the Germans under Blucher, and the second war with the United States, both ending in the year 1814-1815. 151. Did George IV have any distinguishing traits? Ans. George IV was called the First Gentleman of Europe on account of his taste in dress and manners, but he was cold, heartless, and extravagant. He ill-treated his wife, who was his cousin Caroline, and caused her early death; his debts were enormous; the crown jewels were pawned to provide for the ceremony of coronation and his ten years of reign from 1820 to 1830 were not very distinguished. Scott's Waverley Novels were one re- deeming feature of the time. 152. Who succeeded the four Georges? Ans. William IV, brother of George the Fourth, reigned from 1830 to 1837. He was called the Sailor King as he had been brought up in the British navy and possessed the hearty, open ways of a sailor, very different from his fastidious, cynical brother. 153. What is the greatest event of William IV's short reign? Ans. The passage of the Reform Bill of 1832 is one of the greatest events of modern English history. Up to this time the representation in Parliament was anything but democratic. In some places only the Mayor and Aldermen were the constituted voters for parliamentary members; individuals controlled the vote in other towns that had become much depopulated. In old Sarum the owner of an old apple tree, on a bleak hillside from which all inhabitants had disappeared, held two seats in Parlia- ment, while many of the new towns and cities had no HISTORY OF ENGLAND 61 representatives. Manchester, Leeds, Birmingham, Shef- field, Liverpool and other products of the new industrial regime were entirely unknown in Parliament. At last a bill was put through the Commons taking away the representation from over thirty " rotten boroughs " and givipig it to as many or more new ones. This the Lords refused to sanction until Earl Grey obtained the king's authority to create enough new peers to overcome the opposition, beginning with the sons of present peers. This put a check on the Lords, who by absence or not voting allowed the bill to pass rather than to be humiliated by their more progressive sons. 154. When did Victoria come to the throne and whose daughter was she? Ans. In 1837 Victoria, eighteen years old and daughter of Edward, Duke of Kent, 'the brother of the two previous rulers, began her long reign of sixty-three years, the longest and one of the most conspicuous in English history. 155. What is the first event of mark in Victoria's reign? Ans. Her marriage in 1840 at the age of twenty-one to her cousin Albert of Saxe-Coburg, Germany, who had recently completed his studies. It proved a very happy marriage, the prince consort being a scholar and a gentle- man of refinement, much interested in educational, musical and artistic matters. 156. Were there many wars in Victoria's reign? Ans. Not many important wars marred the great material, commercial, literary and ethical progress of this distinguished reign. The Crimean War in 1854-1855, where England and France helped Turkey against Russia; the Sepoy Rebellion of the native troops in India; the war in Egypt where Chinese Gordon met death at Khartoum, and the Boer War, which quite possibly shortened the aged queen's last days, are the most prominent. 157. Of the innumerable steps of progress in Victoria's reign which are the most remarkable? Ans. The researches of Darwin and Wallace resulting in two independent statements of the laws of natural selection and evolution and the Age of Electricity, dating from the laying of the Atlantic cable in 1866, are as revo- lutionary in their results as any. 62 HISTORY OF ENGLAND 158. What are a few of the most conspicuous names that adorn this longest reign of England's rulers besides those of Wallace and Darwin? Ans. In poetry William Wordsworth, poet laureate, who died, in 1850 at eighty years of age, belongs more to the earlier reigns of the century, but his successors, Tenny- son and Robert Browning, are prominently Victorian. In statesmen, Gladstone, thrice Whig prime minister and dubbed England's Grand Old Man, and his Tory rival, Disraeli, Lord Beaconsfield, a Jew, twice prime minister, outshine all others. Lords Wolseley, Roberts and Kitch- ener are the leading warriors; Macaulay and Carlyle, historians and essayists; while Dickens, Thackeray and George Eliot were eminent novelists. 159. What crowning sign of England's power and progress marked the closing years of Victoria's reign? Ans. In 1897, The Queen's Diamond Jubilee marked the unprecedented growth of the empire in one reign. Representative statesmen and troops from all parts of the empire attended. Victoria's rank as Empress of India was emphasized by long lines of Indian troops and gayly comparisoned elephants. 160. What were the distinguishing features of Edward VII's brief reign? Ans. Edward VII, eldest son of Victoria, was about sixty years of age when he ascended the throne in 1901. He had been considered rather too much given to sport and high stakes at bridge while Prince of Wales, and it was somewhat common to predict that democratic Eng- land would support no more monarchs after Victoria; but Edward proved a very popular and effective ruler. By personal visits and tactful diplomacy he won a close alliance with France and Russia, long estranged, kept the peace with his forceful nephew, William II of Prussia, closed up the Boer War, and fully earned his title of the "Peacemaker." 161. Who is the present King of England? Ans. George V who came to the throne upon the death of his father Edward VII, May 6, 1910. 162. What were the causes of the present World's War? The causes were far reaching and complicated. The spark which started the conflagration was the assassina- HISTORY OF ENGLAND 63 tion on June 28, 1914, by a Servian student of the heir to the Austrian throne, Archduke Francis Ferdinand and his wife at Sarajevo, the capital of the Austrian province of Bosnia. Austria claimed that the act was the direct result of the hostile attitude of the Servian government, and made eleven demands on Servia, formulating means to be employed by Servia to prevent further propagation of anti- Austrian feeling, and to punish all persons, dismiss from public service any officers, and suppress any society or publication that in any way fostered such propaganda. Nine of the demands were accepted fully; one, condition- ally, and the remaining one, ' demanding that representa- tives of Austria-Hungary assist Servia in the execution of the punishments and take part in the judicial pro- ceedings, was refused. Servia claimed that this was a violation of her sovereignty and contrary to her consti- tution, but offered to arbitrate it. July 28, 1914, Austria declared war on Servia. 163. What was the next step? Russia, as the head of the Pan-Slavic movement (or close association of all Slavic nations), warned Austria that an attack on Servia would not be viewed with indif- ference, as she considered her interests as identical with those of Servia, that she would mobilize her troops the day Austria attacked Servia. July 29, 1914, Russia mobilized her troops. 164. What was Germany's attitude? As an ally of Austria-Hungary and Italy, a coalition known as the Triple Alliance, Germany gave notice to the world that she would not allow interference with Austria in her effort to chastise Servia. She demanded that Russian mobilization cease. Of France, she asked what would be her attitude in the event of a Russo-German war. Replies to these demands were not satisfactory. August 1, 1914, Germany declared war on Russia. August 2, 1914, Germany violated the neutrality of Luxem- burg in order to attack France the better. August 3, 1914, Germany invaded Belgium and declared war on Belgium and France. 165. What was England's attitude? England, which with France and Russia had formed a coalition known as the " Triple Entente," (" entente " 64 HISTORY OF ENGLAND meaning " agreement "), suggested a conference of nations interested, but Germany refused. Failing in this she called to Germany's attention the guarantee by Germany, England and France to respect the neutrality of Belgium and warned Germany that this treaty would oblige England to oppose Germany, if the latter persisted in crossing Belgium. It was this stand which caused von Bethmann-Hollweg, German Chancellor, to say: " Just for a word — ' neutrality ' — just for a scrap of paper, Great Britain is going to make war on a kindred nation." August 4, 1914, England declared war on Germany. 166. What were some of the underlying causes which the Servian assassination simply brought to a crisis? Racial antipathies and aspirations between Slav ar.d Teuton; commercial and naval rivalries between Germany and England. England, because of her dependence upon her colonies and the outside world for both food and a market for her manufactures, felt called upon to build two war vessels for every one that Germany built. In Germany's treaty "with Turkey and her attempt to build a Berlin-Bagdad railway, England feared a move to attack her East Indian possessions heretofore protected by her control of the Suez Canal. The question of Alsace-Lorraine between Germany and France. This territory had been taken from Germany by France in 1675 and recovered by Germany in 1871. Expecting attempts by France to recover it Germany maintained an army and navy equal to cope with any with which France might attack. Germany claimed 1 .her " Place in the Sun," meaning that she was overshadowed by France and England and that her opportunities for colonial expansion and commercial advance had been hampered. This contention seemed to be sustained by the barring of Germany from Morocco by France, and England's open support of France in the matter. The enormous territorial expansion of Russia in all directions (as shown in the History of Russia in this series) and her almost inexhaustible resources in the way of soldiers, Germany also felt to be a menace; and by the alliance between Russia, England, and France she believed tha her existence was threatened.