^°* e <0 vv # w ^ ^rf° .v^Sto. V^ •*)«&*. V « c .«!4 "•OTF .# V '.MS: J%> '-MW: J ?°*«. • * *o ^^ lP ev * 4 <2. s% * • V % V> H H o V4 V The Lake History Stones The Lake History Stories THE HARDING BOOKS Greek Gods, Heroes, and Men $0-50 BY PROFESSOR SAMUEL B. HARDING AND CAROLINE H. HARDING 202 pages, 12 full page illustrations. The City of the Seven Hills . .50 BY PROFESSOR SAMUEL B. HARDING 274 pages, 38 illustrations and maps. The Story of the Middle Ages . .50 BY PROFESSOR SAMUEL B. HARDING 224 pages, 55 illustrations. The Story of England 60 BY PROFESSOR SAMUEL B. HARDING AND WILLIAM FLETCHER HARDING 384 pages, 7 maps, and 138 illustrations. The Expansion of the American People 60 EDWIN E. SPARKS, M.A., PH.D., STATE COLLEGE, PENNSYLVANIA 472 pages, 184 illustrations and maps. SCOTT, FORESMAN AND COMPANY Publishers 378-388 Wabash Ave., Chicago -1 .2 THE STORY OF ENGLAND AN ELEMENTARY HISTORY FOR SIXTH AND SEVENTH GRADES BY SAMUEL BANNISTER HARDING, Ph.D. Professor of European History in Indiana University WILLIAM FLETCHER HARDING, M.S. CHICAGO SCOTT, FORESMAN AND COMPANY COPYRIGHT, 1909 BY SCOTT, FORESMAN AND COMPANY 248568 CONTENTS Tage I. Introduction 1 II. Britain and the Britons 3 III. The Romans in Britain 11 IV. The Coming of the English 20 V. The English Accept Christianity 29 VI. King Alfred and the Danes 39 VII. The Normans Conquer England 50 VIII. The Rule of the Normans 59 IX. Henry II., the First Plantagenet King 70 X. Richard the Lion-Hearted and the Crusades 80 XI. King John and the Great Charter 91 XII. The Barons' Wars against Henry III 100 XIII. The First Two Edwards 106 XIV. The Rise of Parliament 115 XV. Edward III. and the Hundred Years* War 120 XVI. Richard II., the Last Plantagenet King 130 XVII. The Lancastrian Kings, and the Close of the Hun- dred Years' War 142 The Wars of the Roses (1455-1485) 154 Henry VII. and the Beginning of Modern Times. . . 165 Henry VIII. and the Separation from Rome 172 The Reformation Established (1547-1559) 182 England under Elizareth 192 James I., the First Stuart King 204 Charles I. and Parliament 210 The Civil War between King and Parliament 219 Commonwealth and Protectorate (1649-1660) 227 Charles II. and the Stuart Restoration (1660-1685). 234 vii riii CONTENTS Page XXVIII. James II. and the "Glorious Revolution" 244 \ \ I X. The Reign of William and Mary 252 XXX. ( x )i lis Anne, the Last or the Stuarts 260 XXXI. The First Hanovebian Kings 268 XXXII. Winning the British Empire 274 XXXIII. George III. and the Ajierican Revolution 284 \ X X I V. Industrial and Social Changes 296 XXXV. England and the French Revolution 309 XXXVI. A Period of Reform (1815-1837) 325 XXXVII. The Early Reign of Queen Victoria 337 X X XVIII. Gladstone and Disraeli 348 XXXIX. England and Ireland 357 XL. The British Empire under Edward VII 366 Index 377 LIST OF MAPS AND ILLUSTRATIONS MAPS Roman Britain 12 Saxon Kingdoms 28 Possessions of Henry II 69 England U55-1660 155 Page . . 275 New England and New France India (illustrating growth of Brit- ish Territory) 282 British Empire 370 ILLUSTRATIONS The New Houses of Parliament . . Frontispiece Mount Snowdon in Wales Stone Implements Found in Br i ta i n Pottery Found in Britain Bronze Swords from Britain Stonehenge Caesar Landing in Britain Part of the Roman Wall Remains of a Roman Villa 17 Old English Ships 21 Old English Warriors 22 Old English Farming Scenes 25 An Early English Church 30 A Celtic Cross 31 Head of a Bishop's Staff 32 Ruined Cathedral, Island of Iona . 33 Canterbury Cathedral 35 An English King (10th Century). . . 40 Woman's Costume (10th Century) 40 A Viking Ship 41 Remains of a Viking Ship Found in Sweden 42 Gold Jewel of Alfred 46 Old English Horn Lantern 47 House of an English Thegn 48 King Canute 51 Canute's English Queen Emma .... 52 Seal of Edward the Confessor 53 A Norman Ship 54 Death of Harold 56 William the Conqueror 60 Hunting the Stag 63 A Portion of Domesday Book 64 The Norman Castle of Rochester. . 66 "Planta Genesta" 70 Seal of Henry II 71 Trial by Battle 74 Becket as Archbishop of Canter- bury 76 Richard the Lion- Hearted 81 Shield of Richard 1 84 Armor of the time of Richard I. . . . 86 Richard I.'s "Saucy Castle" 88 Money of King John's Reign 93 John Granting the Charter 96 Portion of the Great Charter 97 King and Soldiers Met by a Mes- senger 101 Banner of Simon de Montfort 102 Fight between Knights, time of Henry III 103 Seal of Edward II 107 Cross Erected by Edward 1 109 Battle of Crecy 123 Battle of Poitiers 125 The Black Prince 127 John Wyclif 131 Peasants Plowing 132 Peasants Breaking Clods 132 Harrowing 133 Men and Women Reaping 133 John Ball at the Head of Rebels. . . 135 London Bridge 137 Battle of Shrewsbury 144 City of Rouen 147 A ttack on a Castle 148 Marriage of Henry V. and Kather- ine 150 Joan of Arc 151 Henry VI 156 Tower of London 157 Edward IV 159 Plate Armor of the 15th Century. . 160 Warwick Castle 161 Richard III 163 LIST OF MAPS AND ILLUSTRATIONS ["he Tudor Rose 1(ifi Barlj Printing Office 167 Henry VII 169 Elisabeth of York 1™ Henry VIII W8 Wolsej 174 w.u of Henry VIII. against France 176 Edward VI 184 Lads Jane Grey i* 6 Queen Mary > 8 « Queen Elizabeth 193 Gold Coin <>f Elizabeth 195 Drake's Ship, the Golden Hind ... 198 State Carriages of Elizabeth's Time 201 James l 205 Guy Pawkes's Cellar 207 Charles I 211 Parliament House, and Westmin- ster Abbey 213 Trial of Strafford 216 Oliver Cromwell 220 Pari of Cromwell's Letter after Naseby 222 Boscobel House 230 Cromwell Dissolving Parliament. . 231 Ladies of the Court of Charles II.. 235 Maypole Dance 236 Gentlemen's Costumes 237 New St. Paul's Cathedral 241 James II 245 Bishop of the time of James II 247 William of Orange Setting out for England 249 William III 253 Queen Mary II 253 Queen Anne 261 Page Blenheim Medal 263 View of Gibraltar 265 The Union Jack 266 Sir Robert Walpole 269 A Street in London about 1740 270 The Young Pretender 272 William Pitt, Earl of Chatham .... 278 General James Wolfe 279 George III 285 Hand Spinning Wheel 297 Spinning Jenny 298 Early Steam Engine 300 Stage Coach 303 Scene in a Farmhouse Kitchen 305 Guillotine 310 Napoleon Bonaparte 312 British Soldier 315 William Pitt, the Younger 317 Duke of Wellington 320 William IV 326 A Spinning Factory 332 Children Working in a Mine 334 Windsor Castle 338 Princess Victoria Notified that She Is Queen 339 "Puffing Billy" 340 Sir Robert Peel 343 Sepoys 346 Eton College 349 William Ewart Gladstone 351 View of the House of Commons. . . 354 An Irish Cabin 358 Charles Stewart Parnell 361 A Street in Dublin 363 Queen Victoria, in Old Age 367 Edward VII 368 INTRODUCTION The story of the English is the story of our forefathers. Most of us in America, if we try to learn something of our grandfathers, and of their grandfathers 0ur before them, find that the story takes us back JU^! 5 * to some town or county in England. We find En - hsh - ourselves descended from some smith, or weaver, or tailor, or some other honest man of that "tight little isle." And when, in addition, we ask where we got our government, our church organization, and our ways of living, we are again led back by many a path to the island of Great Britain. So, if we wish truly to know how we came to be what we are, we must first ask who the English are, — where they came from, what their country is like, n .. J ' J ' Outline and what their history has been. We must of their ^ m m history. see how they began with a very simple life. How, little by little, through many long years, they changed from heathens to Christians, and built great and beautiful churches. How they have become indus- trious and energetic, building great ships and railways, warehouses and factories, helping to make the powers of nature bow to the will of man. And how, from living in wild and scattered tribes, they came to have one strong and free government; and how its area spread until now their power is felt in many lands, and millions of men are proud to say that they are of English or British race. The English began their story at a time when the story of the Romans was coming to a close. THE STORY OF ENGLAND The Romans were greal conquerors for some time before the birth of Christ, and they ruled the lands about the Mediterranean Sea, and beyond, for hundreds of years. Bui al last they were obliged to give up that task. Their empire was broken into many parts, which were taken l>\ barbarous but stronger peoples. That part of il which the Romans knew as the island of Britain was given up when Rome's troubles came thick upon her. The English then came over from the Conti- nent of Europe and took possession. And it is from them thai we now give the name "England" to the greater part of that island. We begin our story first with an account of the island itself, and then of the different peoples who lived there before the English came. Afterward we will trace the story of the English, as they grow from small beginnings to their present great strength. II BRITAIN AND THE BRITONS POINTS TO BE NOTICED The things which fitted the British Isles to be the home of civilized men. What kind of people the early inhabitants were; why they were overcome. Who the Britons were; whence they came; how they lived; their chief weakness in government. From the city of Calais, on the northern coast of France, one may look over the water on a clear day and see the white cliffs of Dover, in England. At „ _ . . . o The British this point the English Channel is onlv twenty- l ? les and in J the sea. one miles wide. But this narrow water has dangerous currents, and often fierce winds sweep over it, so that small ships find it hard to cross. This rough Channel has more than once spoiled the plans of Eng- land's enemies, and the English people have many times thanked God for their protecting seas. Indeed, the British Isles belong more to the sea than to the land. They once formed a peninsula, jutting out from Europe, far into the Atlantic Ocean; and thus they remained for countless ages. But a long struggle for mastery went on between sea and land. It ended at last, ages before our story begins, by the sinking of the land between England and France, and between Scot- land and Norway. The rolling, tireless sea poured over these low places, to form the North Sea and the English Channel. The Irish Sea and St. George's Channel were formed in the same manner. The result is that Ave now have the two islands of Great Britain and Ireland, with I THE STORY OF ENGLAND a Dumber of smaller ones belonging to the same group, instead of that long-ago peninsula of the Continent of Europe. The sea took the people of these islands for its own. It shut them off from their enemies in the early days of their weakness. It gave them plenty of warm rains, which make grass and grain grow green and tall. It gave them abundance of fish for food: and when they became stronger as a people, it furnished them broad highways by which they might trade with other nations. So the people of ( Treat Britain have put their trust in the sea, looking to it for their wealth and their strength. The ' poet Shakespeare speaks of their land as — " This fortress built by Nature for herself, Against infection and the hand of war; This happy breed of men, this little world. This precious stone set in the silver sea, Which serves it in the office of a wall Or as a moat defensive to a house, Against the envy of less happy lands." But Great Britain has many advantages besides the sea, else it would be no better off than many other Islands. First, its climate is excellent, neither very cold in winter n<,r very warm in summer. The British Isles are other as far nortn as tlle bleak peninsula of Labra- Je'a'tu'res. dor m Xorth America, yet the summers in England are about as warm as in northern Minnesota, and their winters only as cold as in Virginia. The reason is that along the western coasts of Ireland and Scotland runs the warm Gulf Stream. There are many rivers, some of them broad and deep, up which ship, may go for a considerable distance into the land. The chief of these are the Thames, the BRITAIN AND THE BRITONS 5 Severn, the Mersey, and the Clyde. Besides the river mouths, the country has an irregular coast on all sides, forming many sheltered harbors for ships. Again, there is a goodly amount of very fertile soil, capable of raising nearly every crop that can be grown in any part of the temperate zone. Then, too, there is MT. SXOWDON IN WALES great wealth of minerals in the depths of the earth — tin in the southwest of England, and coal and iron in the north and west. Where there are mines there are usually mountains. So it is in Great Britain. Along the western side of the island the country is mountainous, especially in the extreme west, which is called Wales. The loftiest moun- tain here is Mount Snowdon, which is about 3500 feet 6 THE STORY OF ENGLAND high. In the northern part is Scotland, where the mountains are quite rugged. Wales and northern Scotland are the wilder parts of the island, and were the parts which the English were longest in getting into their pos- session. Great Britain is aeroodly coun- try — good for man and beast. It was good for savage men ; it was good for £l% men who were beginning to advance beyond savages; and it is good now for a great and stone implements found in Britain powerful nation. The earliest people of Great Britain, like those of other parts of the world, were savages, who lived in caves or flimsy huts, and had only the rudest weapons. They are called "stone men," because they chipped stones into shape so as to make rough axes and knives. The later stone men made smooth and polished weapons, similar to the Indian knives and axes which you may see in museums. They had tamed the dog to serve them, and also had oxen, pigs, sheep, and goats. But, after all, we know very little of these stone men. They disappeared long before civilized men visited these islands, and their place was taken by a people who used • • I > ronze " weapons, made from a mixture of tin and copper. Earliest inhabi- tants. -*N BRITAIN AND THE BRITONS 7 These men of the "bronze age" were the Britons, and from them the island is still called Britain. Like most Europeans, the Britons were men of "Aryan" speech. The European languages have so of the 1 r & B "Britons." many likenesses to one another that scholars think they must all have come from some one original tongue. It is supposed that this language was spoken — long before men began to make records of their deeds — by some one original nation, living somewhere in POTTERY FOUND IN BRITAIN western Asia or eastern Europe; and from it the present European nations are all descended. This supposed original people is called Aryan, and those peoples who speak any language descended from theirs are said to be peoples of Aryan speech. The Celts — that is, the Irish, Welsh, Scots, and ancient Gauls — are one branch of the Aryan peoples. Other branches are: the ancient Greeks and Romans; the Teutons (including the Ger- mans and the Dutch) ; and the Slavs (Russians, Poles, s THE STORY OF ENGLAND step, the Celts some time before settled history and Servians). In Asia, the Persians and the ancient Hindus also spoke Aryan tongues Moving forward, step 1»\ in western Europe, at began. The Gauls re- mained in the country we call France. Others of the Celts, chief among whom were the Briton-;. moved across the Chan- nel and gave their name to the British Isles. The Britons were tall and slender, with light ... , ._ complexions Life of the r ancient andblueeves. Britons. Many of them had red hair. When they went to war they stained their faces and bodies with a bluish dye taken from one of their native herbs. They fought mostly on foot, using swords and spears. They were fierce and bold and ready to resist any invader ; but they were not systematic in their fighting, and when steadily attacked would give way. Their bronze weapons and tools were harder and sharper than the stone implements of the earlier peoples. They made small round boats, of basket-work BRONZE SWORDS FROM BRITAIN The holes in the handles were for attaching wooden hilts BRITAIN AND THE BRITONS 9 covered with skins. They plowed the land and raised wheat. They could spin and weave; they knew some- thing of mining and metal-working; they could quarry great stones from the hills; and they exchanged their tin for the goods of Gaul and other countries. Yet the Britons had no cities or towns, but lived in rude villages. Their huts were round, somewhat like Indian wigwams; they were built of sticks and reeds, though sometimes they had stone foundations. . -^"' la, \ \ STOXEHEXGE It is not certainly known by what people or for what purpose these great stones were erected The Britons believed in many gods. These included one who was supreme over all, besides a sun god, a god of thunder, and others. The worship of the Britons included bloody sacrifices of both animals and men. The human sacrifices were usually of criminals, or of captives taken in war; but sometimes innocent persons were sacrificed to their gods. The priests were called Druids, and they were the most learned men among the Britons. They were respected almost as much as the chiefs and kings, and were consulted on all questions of law and religion. 10 THE STORY OF ENGLAND At several places in England there are still standing some peculiar stone structures, erected in these early days. The most famous of these is Stonehenge, near Salisbury. It is a circle of huge stones set on end, with great stones laid crosswise upon them. Smaller circles and ovals are arranged within the great circle. One of the stones at Stonehenge weighs seventy tons. The whole circle stands in the midst of burial places, and it probably had something to do with the worship of these early peoples. No one knows how long the Britons were the ruling race in these islands. But whether it was many centuries, or only a few, they did not learn to unite under a single government. They had many chiefs, but none who was recognized throughout the country as supreme. So, when the Romans made an invasion into their land, no united resistance was possible. The stricter discipline and firmer organization of the Romans won the victory, and Britain was added to the great Empire of Rome. TOPICS FOR THOUGHT AND SEARCH 1. Describe the position of the British Isles on the map. 2. Locate Calais, Dover, St. George's Channel; the rivers Thames, Seine, Mersey and Clyde; Wales, Scotland, Mt. Snowdon. 3. What advantages result from the fact that Great Britain is an island? What disadvantages? 4. What differences in race, customs, etc., were there between the "stone men" and the Britons? 5. Which were further advanced in civilization, the early Britons or the North American Indians? Why? Ill THE ROMANS IN BRITAIN POINTS TO BE NOTICED When and why Caesar first went to Britain. Kesults of his two expeditions. When the Roman Conquest was made. Boadicea; Agvicola; Hadrian. Improvements made by the Romans in Britain. The Roman wall. How the Christian religion was introduced into Britain; into Ireland. How long the Romans ruled in Britain; when and why they abandoned it. When Christ was born, about nineteen hundred years ago, the Roman Empire was the greatest government in the world. Through seven centuries of struggle the Romans had slowly increased their strength. In the early days, when Rome stood alone as a small city on the The seven hills by the river Tiber, it had more than {^"fiS. once been in danger of destruction, from civil war within or from enemies without. But gradually it extended its power, until all Italy was under Rome's rule. Then Sicily was gained; then Spain, Macedonia, Greece, and many other countries — until Roman governors and Roman armies were found in all the lands bordering on the Mediterranean Sea, and Rome was mistress of the civilized world. Wherever the Roman power went, peace and good order went also, and for many years the Roman Empire remained a blessing to the world. But Rome was not able to stop her conquests. The barbarians of the I J THE STORY OF ENGLAND ROMAN BRITAIN Roads shown thus Forests && Marshes -»■<•-- MAP OF ROMAN BRITAIN THE ROMANS IN BRITAIN 13 north — the Germans and the Gauls — threatened her borders, and she defended herself by sending armies into their countries also. The commander of one of these armies was Julius Caesar — the greatest of Roman generals and also a ere at statesman. He was in charge of the „ to , ° Caesar war against the Gauls. In three years he conquers to , -/ Gaul. conquered their whole country, from the Pyrenees Mountains to the English Channel. In the next seven years he succeeded in bringing Gaul so CAESAR LANDING IN BRITAIN thoroughly under Roman control, and making the Gallic people so well satisfied with their condition, that his province became in later days one of the most civilized and peaceful parts of the Empire. During his work in Gaul, Caesar twice led an army into Britain. His object was to show to the Britons the Roman power, and to warn them not to help their kinsmen across the Channel. 14 THE STORY OF ENGLAND Caesar's first visit was in the year 55 before Christ. On this occasion the Britons met the Romans at the shore, and tried to prevent their landing. He twice Here a Roman soldier showed the value of sntain the Roman training. While the Romans were (55 " 54 BG) * hesitating to leap into the sea, a standard bearer, who carried the brazen eagle, cried out: "Follow me, fellow soldiers, unless you will betray the Roman eagle into the hands of the enemy. For my part, I am resolved to do my duty to Caesar and to the commonwealth. " He then leaped from the ship, and the other soldiers followed. The Britons were driven back, after a fierce conflict. That year Caesar remained only a short time in Britain. Next summer he came again, remained a little longer, and made the Britons promise to pay tribute. He did not conquer any part of Britain, and the tribute was never paid. But he showed the Britons the power of Rome, and they did not afterward interfere with his work in Gaul. When Caesar wrote a history of his wars, a few years later, he gave the Romans their first real knowledge of Britain. From that time on, they looked upon it as a land worth having. About a hundred years afterward, the Romans Roman began their first conquest of the island. Large conquest of armies were sent over, and the conquest was Britain. 1 made, little by little, from the south toward the north and west. In about forty years, all that we now know as England was conquered. At one time Boadicea, the queen of a tribe in eastern Britain, led the people in a great revolt against the unjust and cruel acts of a Roman governor. For a time the British swept victoriously over the country. They THE ROMANS IN BRITAIN captured and burned the Roman settlement where London now is and killed thousands of the Romans. But the Romans were better organized, and in the end thev defeated the queen's army. Boadieea then took poison, and the revolt was over. Some years later, the Roman governor Agricola came to Britain to finish the conquest. He was a man of energy and courage, and he extended the Roman power from the Humber river north- ^ OI ?J an ward to the river Clyde. He built a line of forts across the country, to hold back the wild tribes of Picts, in the north. He was a just gov- ernor, and his fair 3 treatment caused many of the Britons to like the Roman rule. Later, the Emperor Hadrian came in person to Britain. While there, he ordered that a continuous earthen wall and ditch should be built about eighty miles south of Asrricola's forts. These defences extended right across the island, over hills and valleys, from the river Tyne on the east to the Solway Firth on the west. At the same time, or later, a stone wall was added, which was seventeen feet high, and from six to eight feet thick. A well-paved road ran along the south side, from sea to sea, a distance of seventy-three miles. Seventeen stone forts guarded the wall, with a watch tower every mile. Some parts of the wall and of these forts still remain. For many years, this wall was the northern PART OF THE ROMAN WALL n; rur STOR\ OF ENGLAND boundan of the Roman province, and it proved a strong harrier against the warlike Puis. South of the wall the Romans proceeded, as was their custom, to civilize the country. They gave the _ Britons peace, but the Roman peace was op- Romans nressive. Taxes wore very heavy. Roman Britain. officers were often greedy and cruel. The common people were reduced almost to slaverv. The Britons lost their skill in the use of weapons. What was worse, they lost their spirit of independence. In Britain, as in the other provinces oi the Roman Empire, the Romans built well-paved roads, in order that they might march their troops rapidly from place to plaee. There were four principal roads, reaching out from London to all parts oi the country. The one best known i> called Watling Street, and ran from Dover to London, and then northwest to Chester, These roads were built on a foundation oi broken stone, a foot or more deep, with a pavement oi hard blocks oi stone. fitted together. Some portions oi these roads remained in use for more than a thousand years. The Romans also introduced hotter methods oi agriculture. They brought in new kinds oi trees, such as the chestnut, the walnut, and the elm. They introduced new vegetables, such as the radish and the pea. and new animals, among them the rabbit. All oi these are now familiar in English country life. Some towns sprang up in Britain, during the three and a half centuries that Rome ruled that land ; and remains are found of handsome country residences railed "villas. " In the towns and villas. Latin was the recognized language. Bui in the country districts, away from the roads, the Britons retained their own language and their own customs. THE ROMANS IN BRITAIN 17 One thing which the Romans broughl to the Britons was the Christian religion. In some unknown Christian way, bul probably through the influence of wiigioa ,1 |i. ^ ... . . introduced. humble soldiers, the Christian religion introduced into Britain. From there it was carried into the still free and barbarous island of Ireland. The man who carried Christianity to Ireland was Saint Patrick. While still a young man. in Britain, he was taken captive by a roving band and carried into ./ ~ ;T L REMAINS OF A I Ireland. There he was kept, for a number of years, as a slave. He was encouraged to escape to Gaul bya dream, in which a voice said: "Thy ship is ready." Later he returned to Ireland, and preached the Gospel there. For more than thirty years be traveled up and flown the island, baptizing eon verts, and establishing ehurehes and monasteries. The Christian church has continued in Ireland without interruption ever since. Once every year, on Saint Patrick's day, even we Americans are reminded of the unselfish life of Ireland's most famous saint. 18 THE STORY OF ENGLAND Britain remained a part of the Roman Empire until about the year 410 after Christ. In the latter part of this time, the power of Rome was steadily Fall of the . r Roman growing weaker. Great pestilences came. The population of Italy decreased. The armies were composed of barbarians from outside the Empire. Farmers became "serfs/' who were obliged to give part of their produce to some one above them. A few great men were rich, but all the rest were poor. Civil wars arose, and the Empire was ready to go to pieces. Then the German barbarians crossed the Danube and the Rhine rivers, which formed the frontiers of the Empire, and began to roam about at pleasure. They came with their families and their goods, and province after province was overrun by them. Even Italy was not free from attack. Twice during the fifth century Rome itself was captured and given up to fire and pillage. Britain, meanwhile, passed out of Roman hands. Romans About the time that the first attack was abandon made on . Italy (410 A. D.) the Roman troops (4io a.d.i. were withdrawn from Britain for use else- where, and the inhabitants were notified that they must protect themselves. The Britons were in despair. They had almost forgotten how to fight, and they were unwilling to unite under one leader. Their old enemies, the Picts and Scots (wild tribes from Scotland and Ireland), began to attack them. The Britons resisted, but at first with little spirit. A last despairing letter, called "The Groans of the Britons," was sent to the chief general of Rome, in which they said: "The barbarians drive us to the sea; the sea throws us back on the barbarians. Thus two modes of death await us: we are either slain, or drowned." THE ROMANS IN BRITAIN 19 Britain lay as a rich prize, ready to he taken by the strongest. And soon there came, from over the eastern sea, conquering bands of wandering Germans who settled in Britain and made it their own. TOPICS FOR THOUGHT AND SEARCH 1. Locate on the map the countries included in the Roman Empire. Locate London. Chester. 2. What kind of people were the Romans' What did they do for the world .' 3. Find out what you can about Julius Caesar. 4. Was the Roman Conquest a good or a bad thing for Britain? Why? 5. Find out what you can about St. Patrick. IV THE COMING OF THE ENGLISH POINTS TO BE NOTICED Where the English came from; what sort of life they led in their old home; why they came to Britain; when. How long it took them to conquer Britain; the seven kingdoms which they founded; where they were; what became of the Britons. What their villages were like; how they used the land. What a township was; a "hundred"; a "shire." How the English were governed; the " Witenagemot"; the ' ' thegns. ' ' Disappearance of Christianity and the Roman civilization from the conquered lands. The German tribes that invaded Britain were the Angles, Saxons, and Jutes. They were the ancestors of the English people of today. For many generations these tribes had dwelt in northern Germany, by the shores of the North Sea and the Baltic. Their ways of living were like The Old J & English in those of the other Germans of that time. Germany. . j They cleared little tracts of land in the gloomy forests, on which they raised a few bushels of grain and pastured their scrubby cattle. The men left most of the work to the women, while they engaged in hunting or went to war. These tribes had never been governed by the Romans, so they knew nothing of Roman civilization or of the Christian religion. More than any other Germans, perhaps, they loved the sea, a liking which their situation made it easy for them to gratify. They delighted to swoop down on unsuspecting coasts, gather what booty they could, and then take to 20 COMING OF THE ENGLISH 21 their ships again before resistance could be formed. A Roman poet sings of the Old English in these words: " Foes are they, fierce beyond other foes, and cunning as they are fierce. The sea is their school of war, and the storm is their friend. They are sea-wolves that prey on the pillage of the world!" So long as the Romans ruled Britain, the English made only pirate raids on that land. But when the Roman troops were withdrawn, an opportunity soon came for them to settle there, and to begin the conquest of the island. This opportunity arose out of the weakness of the Britons, and the attacks which the barbarous Picts and Scots were making upon them from the north ! . i • They come and west. A ruler of the Britons named to Britain (449? A.D.). Vortigern, about the year 449, invited a band of the Old English sea - rovers to assist the Britons against the Picts and Scots. He promised to sup- ply them with provi- sions during the war, and to give them for their own an island near the mouth of the Thames river. The bargain was agreed to, and the English came, under the lead, it is said, of two brothers, named Hengist and Horsa — names which mean "the horse" and "the mare." They soon defeated the Picts, and freed the Britons from that danger. Then they quarreled with their employers, on the ground that the provisions furnished them were not sufficient. OLD ENGLISH SHIPS 22 THE STORY OF ENGLAND They conquer the Britons. "Unless more plentiful supplies are brought us," they said, "we will break our agreement with you, and ravage the whole country." The English were strengthened by the arrival of many new shiploads from their home lands, and war with the Britons followed. It lasted for nearly two centuries, and ended in the conquest by the newcomers of all that part of the island (' 'England, " or " Angle-land ") which we still call by their name. We know very little of the details of this struggle. It was a long and bitter contest, with much fierce and cruel fighting. Little by little, the Britons were driven back towards the west and north. When captured, they were either killed or enslaved. The Roman cities were either destroyed by fire, or were left unoccupied, and fell into ruins. Fresh bands of the English kept coming in, bringing their families, their cattle, and their goods. The Christian religion disappeared from all the eastern and southern parts of the island. "The priests were everywhere slain before the altars," says Bede, the oldest English historian. "The people were destroyed with fire and sword. Some of the miserable remainder, being taken in the mountains, were butchered in heaps. Some fled beyond the seas. Others led a miserable life among the woods, rocks, and mountains, with scarcely enough food to support life, and expecting every moment to be their last. '** OLD ENGLISH WARRIORS (From an old manuscript) COMING OF THE ENGLISH 23 After one hundred and fifty years of fighting, the invaders did not hold quite all that the Romans had held. The western coast, from Cornwall in the south to the river Clyde in the north, was still British. All the north was still in the hands of the wild Celtic tribes. But from the Firth of Forth southward, all the eastern, central, and southeastern parts of the island passed from the old owners to the new. The Britons had been replaced by the English. The Jutes settled in the southeastern district, which formed the kingdom of Kent. The southern coast was occupied by the Saxons. Those nearest the Jutes formed the kingdom „ ° The seven of the South Saxons or " Sussex. " Farther English kingdoms. west were the West Saxons, with their kingdom of "Wessex. " Just north of the Jutes were the East Saxons, in what is called "Essex." The greater part of the eastern coast, as well as the interior of the country, was in the hands of the Angles, who formed the kingdoms of " East Anglia, " "Mercia, "and "Northumberland" (the land north of the Humber river). These seven kingdoms are sometimes spoken of as the " Heptarchy, " which means " seven governments. " We may be very sure that the Britons resisted bravely, otherwise the conquest would not have taken so long. In later days, their descendants loved to tell stories of a great King, called Arthur, who led his people to many victories against the English. As the stories have it, King Arthur was pure in thought and deed, and was without fear. It was said that he was mysteriously cast up by the sea, . • " . l * Legend a new-born babe, to be heir to the kingdom, of King & Arthur. W T hen he became King he gathered warriors like himself in council, about the famous Round Table, 24 THE STORY OF ENGLAND and led them to war. He bore an enchanted sword of victory, which had come to him in a wonderful way. The poet Tennyson makes Arthur say: "Thou rememberest how In those old days, one summer noon, an arm Rose up from out the bosom of the lake, Clothed in white samite, mystic, wonderful, Holding the sword — and how I rowed across And took it, and have worn it, like a King." The stories say that King Arthur protected his people from their enemies for many years, and at last was miraculously carried away to a happy island, there to live until he should come again, and again rule Britain. A great number of stories have gathered about the name of Arthur, until the tales of the " Knights of the Round Table " have become as numerous and as famous as the thousand and one tales of the " Arabian Nights. " But in spite of King Arthur — if there really was such a person — the Britons were pushed back into the The mountains of the West. There, under the comelhe 6 ' name of the "Welsh" (which was a German "Welsh." worc ] f or "strangers"), they maintain them- selves to this day. The two races settled down, each in its own region. Sometimes there was war between them, sometimes peace. The English could no longer turn their whole strength against the Welsh, because there was much fighting among the different English kingdoms. The life of the English, in their new home, was much like what it had been in Germany. They lived _ ._ . . in small villages of rude and comfortless huts. Life in the to # English About each village lay the land belonging to villages. .... . it, divided into woodland, pasture, and tillable ground. The woodland and pasture were used by all COMING OF THE ENGLISH 25 the people in common. The tillable ground was divided into three fields. One-third was used for winter grain, one-third grew spring grain, and the remainder lay fallow — that is, was allowed to rest. Every year a change was made, so that each field lay fallow one year THRESHING Old English Farming Scenes out of every three. The fields were divided into long, narrow strips, and each man held a number of these strips, scattered over the field. No man had all his land in one piece. This system of landholding continued among the English for a thousand years — long after their other customs had seen great changes. 26 THE STORY OF ENGLAND The village and its lands usually formed a single " township. " The townships, in turn, were grouped into districts called " hundreds. " Each hundred dreds" and had its own public meeting, called the " moot, " which decided the affairs of the hundred. The warriors from all the hundreds of each kingdom met in a "folk-moot," or meeting of all the people. When the small kingdoms were combined, in later days, into larger kingdoms, these folk-moots became " shire -moots," or county courts, and the original kingdoms became "shires," or counties of the larger kingdom. For the whole kingdom there was then a meeting of the wise men called the "Witan," or the " Witenagemot. " In Germany, few of the tribes had kings. But when the English entered Britain the constant fighting obliged them to choose permanent leaders. It was easy for a successful military leader to increase his power. So, by the time the conquest of the Britons was ended, each of the English tribes had its King. Below the king, there were two classes of freemen — the old nobles who claimed descent from the gods, and the common people. But a new class of Classes x L of the nobles was arising, composed of those war- riors who followed the King most closely, and lived in his house. These were the King's "thegns," and they were destined to become more powerful than the old nobles. Below the freemen were the "slaves," who could be bought and sold like cattle, and had no rights at all. Then there was a class of "unfree" people, who could not be bought and sold, yet in some ways had not the rights of freemen, and could not go and come as they pleased. COMING OF THE ENGLISH 27 The life of these Old English was very rude and simple. They had no great cities; they made no roads or bridges; they had no statues, no paintings, civilization no books. Where they found these things in Christianity the land, they destroyed them or neglected disa PP ear - them. When they drove out the Britons, they drove out with them all that made life easier and more refined. The Roman culture was all gone. The Britons long refused to send Christian missionaries among these English; so they continued their pagan worship in their new home. Heathen altars were set up, and sacrifices were offered to the Germanic gods. But the time was close at hand when the English, too, should be won to the faith of Christ. TOPICS FOR THOUGHT AND SEARCH 1. Find out what you can about the way the old Germans lived. 2. How did the English Conquest of Britain differ from the Roman ? 3. Find out what you can of the stories of King Arthur. (See Tennyson's "Idylls of the King.") 4. Did the English Conquest of Britain produce more good or harm? Why? 28 THE STORY OF ENGLAND — Pic: s BRITAIN after the Erg'.ish Conquest about 607 □ - s * Ang.-:: Saxons | ^ Jutes pj Scots □ Britons or Welsh^ A ! Picts .c MAP OF SAXON KIN' THE ENGLISH ACCEPT CHRISTIANITY POINTS TO BE NOTICED By whom missionaries were sent to England: bow he became interested in the people there. The leader of the missionaries; where they landed: when: how they were received: the success which "they had: bow long it was before all England was Christian. What other missionaries came besides those from Rome: the dif- ference between Celtic and Eoman Christianity; which triumphed in England, and when. How the Church in England was organized. What English missionary preached on the continent. The vows taken by the monks: what a monastery was like: who Bede was. At Rome, one day. a monk named Gregory saw some white boys offered for sale as slaves. Their bodies were fair, their faces beautiful, and • o Gregory and their hair soft and hue. Gregorv asked the English slaves. whence they came. " From Britain." was the answer. " There the people are all fair, like these boys." Then he asked whether they were Christians, and was told that they were still pagans. "Alas." said he. "what a pity that lads of such fair faces should lack inward grace. " He wished next to know the name of their nation. "They are called Angles." was the reply. "They should be called angels, not Angles." said Gre^orv: "for thev have angelic faces. What is the name oi their king?" 20 30 THE STORY OF ENGLAND "iElla, " was the answer. "Alleluia," said Gregory, making another pun, "the praise of God the Creator must be sung in those parts. " Gregory was so deeply impressed by the sight of these boys that he wished to go as a missionary to the English. Gregory But he had no opportunity then to do so. !f -outh of the Thames, besides which Alfred, the Ki: _ brother, and single rulers of shires and king's the_ oftentimes made attacks on thtr Danes which are not counted. " In one of these battles. King Ethelred was wounded • adlv that he died, and Alfred became „ M w king in his place. Alfred ruled for thirtv <»■»« kiag years, from 871 to During the first seven years that he Alfreds attention 5 g en chiefly to the Da: Again and again they made peace, and soon broke it. 1 he Danish army spent the winter in fortified camps in the land, but the English, when the sumnir: s _ :ing :ered to their homes, to protect their families and prepare their crops. During one such winter. Alfrc Is _ ;e in -mall fortified island called Athelney. amid the : Wess A::erwards the people told - ies f how he. wandering alone in »■£ **■« these _ s .eltered in a herdsman s hut. and scolded by the herdsman's wife for allov U THE STORY OF KM; LAM) some coarse cakes to burn, which she had told him to watch. An old song represents the woman as saying to the King, whom she did not know: "Can't you mind the cakes man ? And don't you see them burn? I'm hound you'll eat them fast enough, As soon as 'tis the turn." Another story tells how he went into the Danish camp, in disguise as a minstrel, or wandering singer, in order to get news of their plans; and how the Danes were so pleased with his singing that he had difficulty in getting away again. These stories the people told out of love for Alfred's memory, but we are not sure that the tales are really true. When the hardships of that winter were over. Alfred gathered his army together and attacked the Danes. He defeated them badly, and drove them into His vie- m tory and their fortified camp. There he besieged treaty. r <° them for fourteen days, and as they were now separated from their ships, and could get no sup- plies, their King. Guthrum, agreed to make peace. " And then," says the old chronicle. " the army delivered hostages to King Alfred, with many oaths that they would leave his kingdom, and also promised him that their king should receive baptism. And this they accord- ingly fulfilled. About three weeks after this, King Guthrum came to him. with some thirty of the most distinguished men of their army, and the king was his godfather at baptism. And he was twelve days with the King; and he greatly honored him and his companions with gifts." By a revision of this treaty made a few years later, the Danes were to have all the country of England north and KING ALFRED AND THE DANES 45 west of the Thames river, and of the old Roman road called Watling Street. Only the country south of that line, including London, remained to the English, under the rule of the West-Saxon king, Alfred. The country which the Danes ruled was known as the " Danelaw." There they settled down and became tillers of the soil, just as the English had done four centuries before this. The Danes were of law" given " near kin to the English, both in language and in ways of living. Before many generations had passed, they all became Christians and blended with their Eng- lish neighbors. But, to this dav, northern England shows some features which remind us that once it was ruled by these rude, freedom-loving Danes. For example, we find many hundreds of names of villages and towns there which end in the syllable "-by," as in "Derby." This was the Danish word for "town," and corresponds to the old English "-ton" or "-ham," which we find so frequently on the map of southern England. After the treaty with Guthrum, Wessex for some time enjoyed peace, and Alfred had opportunity to repair the damages done by war. Among other things, Alfred fortified and partly re- built the city of London. For some time it had been in the hands of the Danes, but it was now freed, and its old inhabitants restored. London was rebuilds London. located at the lowest point on the Thames river at which a bridge could be built, or at which mer- chants could find solid ground for landing goods from their ships. It was already an important place in Roman days, and it was to become the greatest city of England. Long afterward, when ocean commerce developed, its splendid harbor helped to make it the greatest city in the world. But for several centuries after 46 THE STORY OF ENGLAND Alfred, its citizens were as much interested in agriculture as in carrying on their small trades, and commerce on a large scale was unknown. The great trouble with the English army was that it was not a regular army, and the king could not keep it in the field all the year round because the men He improves J . the army had to go home to attend to their farming. and navy. ° # ° To remedy this, Alfred divided all the able- bodied men of his kingdom into three groups, one of which was to be always ready for war. After a short time, these would go to their homes, and others would take their places. Front view- Side view GOLD JEWEL OF ALFRED Found at Athelney Alfred saw also that the English must put their trust in the sea. He had a large number of ships built, after his own pattern, twice as large as those of the Danes. These proved very useful when the Danes renewed their attacks. Alfred also improved the government. To make it easier to find out what the law was, Alfred collected and revised the old laws of the kingdom. law- But he did this work modestly, and without making. J 9 reckless change. "I, Alfred," he wrote, "gathered these laws together, and commanded many of them to be written which our forefathers held, those which seemed to me good. And KING ALFRED AND THE DANES 47 many of those which seemed to me not good, I rejected, and in otherwise commanded them to be held. For I durst not venture to set down in writing much of my own, for it was unknown to me what of it would please those who should come after us." Alfred encouraged industry of all kinds. He brought many skilful men to England from foreign countries. He himself could show his gold workers, and tt n m He aids in- other artisans, how to do their work. He dustry and learning. invented a method of counting the hours by means of candles, carefully made so that six of them would burn just twenty-four hours. He also invented a lantern, with transparent sides made of horn (for glass was scarce or unknown) to keep fe drafts away from the candle and jt&w?% make it burn better. His mind was JK^^^m constantly at work, seeking to better I t the condition of his country. ^f'^lpT But Alfred thought none of these '^»'^''^> : things could help his people much ■r*-** unless they improved in mind and OLD ENGLISH . .. tt l J *U ■ horn lantern spirit. He lamented their growing ignorance, through the destruction of the monasteries, with their schools and libraries. "Formerly," said he, "foreigners came to this land in search of wisdom and instruction, but we should now have to get teachers from abroad, if we would have them." So he invited many learned men to come to his king- dom and help instruct his people. Alfred thought the greatest need of all was books which his people could read — books in English, and not Latin. "I wondered extremely," he said, "that the good and 48 THE STORY OF ENGLAND wise men who were formerly all over England, and had perfectly learned all the books, did not wish to translate them into their own tongue." He set himself to put into English some of the best books. First came a history of the world, and to this he He trans- added his own account of two voyages into !nto S b °° kS tne northern seas, made by Danes whom English. j le j m( ] mv it e d to England. Then came Bede's History of England, besides a book of religious instruction, and one of stories, by Pope Gregory the HOUSE OF AN ENGLISH THEGN (Eleventh century) The lord and his lady are giving alms to the poor Great; and also a book on philosophy, in which Alfred gave many of his own most serious thoughts. All these works are still preserved, but our language has changed so much since Alfred's day that they are now like books in a foreign tongue. Another great work, prepared under Alfred's direction, was the Old English Chronicle. This is a record of events, year by year, kept by the monks. For the years KING ALFRED AND THE DANES 49 of Alfred's reign, it gives us most of the knowledge that we have, and it may be that the king himself wrote portions of it. No other European nation has so good a record of its early years, written in its own language. Alfred died after a reign of nearly thirty years. The English people cherished his memory as "England's Darling," and we now call him ""Alfred the Great." He was a brave warrior, a wise lawmaker, a patient teacher, and a watchful guardian of his people. Above all, he was a true and pure man, loving his family and training his children with great care. The secret of his success is told in his own words: "To sum up all," he said, "it has ever been my desire to live worthily while I was alive, and after my death to leave to those that should come after me my memory in good works." Alfred's work was indeed good, for he saved England from being completely conquered by the Danes. Be- cause he kept his courage at the trying time, „„ y » <■' & What he his own kingdom was preserved, and the did for & L England. Danes were settled beyond the Thames, there to become almost Englishmen. Because he was wise and patient, he made his kingdom strong, so that his descendants were able, little by little, to regain all that the Danes had taken, and to become again, in later years, kings of all England. TOPICS FOR THOUGHT AND SEARCH 1. What things helped to unite all England into a single kingdom? 2. Describe the life of the "Vikings," and tell the great things which they did. 3. Tell some of the stories about Alfred. 4. Find out what you can about the early history of London. 5. Write a brief account, in your own words, of Alfred 's life and character. VII THE NORMANS CONQUER ENGLAND POINTS TO BE NOTICED When the Danes began again to come into England; how King Ethelred sought to get rid of them; how he angered the Danish King, Sweyn. How Canute became King of England; what other kingdoms he ruled; how he treated England; when he was King. When and how the Danes ceased to rule England; who then became King; his character; whom the English then chose as King; date of his death. William of Normandy; his claim to the English throne; the aid which he received from the Church; what other attack on England aided his invasion. Where and when the decisive battle was fought; how William overcame the English; how he became King. The way in which the Norman Conquest was a turning point in English history. The descendants of Alfred, for three generations, were wise and strong men, and they succeeded in reuniting all England under one rule. But after three generations a reckless and foolish King- ruled England, called Ethelred the "Rede-less," or New " Despiser of Counsel." In his time new bands the^nel °^ Danes invaded the country, in great nuni- (980) bers, intending to conquer the kingdom. Yet the land was so divided, by the jealousies of the great men and the weakness of the King, that Ethelred did not fight them, but paid them money to go elsewhere. This only stirred up the Danes to renewed attacks, and each time they came the King paid them a still larger sum of money, which he obtained by laying upon 50 THE NORMANS CONQUER ENGLAND 51 the people a tax called "Danegeld." The Danegeld and the ravages of war together brought great poverty upon the land. The people became discontented, and the great men rebellious. Then King Ethelred did a foolish and wicked thing: he treacherously put to death, on a certain day, the Danes who were settled in England, for fear lest they might aid their invading brothers. This deed caused Sweyn, King of Denmark, to swear a great oath that he would conquer the land and avenge his people. He came to England with a Ethelred great fleet and a driven out. After a long war, in which the English never fought unitedly under a capable leader, Ethelred fled to Normandy, and his subjects acknowledged Sweyn as King of England (1014). One month later, Sweyn died, and the Danish army chose his son Canute to succeed him. Then the English restored their old ruler, Ethelred; but he soon died, and after a short war Canute (in 1016) was accepted as King by the whole land. At first Canute was very harsh, banishing or putting to death all the English leaders whom he feared. But when once he was firmly settled in power, he ruled with justice and wisdom, treating the Dane Danes and English alike. He sent his army England back to Denmark, except a few thousand warriors called the "House-carls," whom he kept as a standing army. He placed Englishmen in the highest KING CANUTE 52 THE STORY OF ENGLAND places, both in the church and in the state. He restored the good laws of the English, and ruled as if he were himself an Englishman. And though ho ruled over Denmark and Norway as well as over England, he usually made his home among his English subjects. At one time Canute, like thousands of other Christians, went on a pilgrimage to Rome, to see the Pope and to worship in Saint Peter's church. While he was there he wrote to his subjects in England a friendly letter, in which he said: " Be it know i. to all of you, thai I have humbly vowed !<> Almighty „. , God henceforth to rule His letter homefromthe kingdoms and the Rome. peoples subject t<> me with justice and mercy, giving jusi judgments in all matters. I there- fore command all sheriffs and magistrates, throughout my whole kingdom, that they use n<> unjust violence to any man. rich or poor. but that all, high and low. rich or poor, shall enjoy alike impartial law." CANUTE'S ENGLISH QUEEN, EMMA Canute was King of England for nearly twenty years (1016-1035), giving to the land peace and good govern- ment. After his death his two sons, one after the other. ruled in England, each dying a few years after becom- ing King. Then (1042) the English chose as King a prince from the old English line, son of Ethelred the Red el ess. THE NORMANS CONQUER ENGLAND 53 This King was so religious thai he gained the name Edward '"the Confessor." He would have been a good monk, but he made a poor King. He had Weak rule lived most of his life in Normandy, and did ^ e t:dward not understand the English people. He loved Confessor the Normans, who had improved rapidly since their Viking ancestors settled in France, ;m L L • i i tion of or had resisted the Normans, he punished by. seizing their lands on the ground that they were forfeited. To many of the English he restored their lands, after they had taken an oath to support and serve him. Other forfeited lands were used to reward his followers. Norman lords thus took the place which English thegns and earls had held as landlords, and the common people became subject to the Normans, as they had formerly been to their English masters. The method of landholding which William estab- lished was already well known i n Normandy, and other countries of western Europe, and is what we know as"fedual tenure." Under this system, all the land belonged in theory to the King; but most of it was occupied by great lords, who held it on condition that they assist the King Feudal in war. Each lord was bound to furnish a system. certain number of armed and mounted warriors, in proportion to the size of his estate. To get men with whom to fulfill this obligation, these " tenants- in-chief," as they were called, granted portions of their lands to "sub-tenants," on similar conditions. These in turn sub-let to others; and so it went on, down to the simple peasants (called "villains"), who actually tilled WTLLTAM I., THE CONQUEROR THE RULE OF THE NORMANS 61 the soil. The name given to an estate which was held on condition of military service was "benefice" or "fief." The fiefholder became the "vassal" or personal dependent of his lord. When he was put in possession of his land, the "vassal" knelt unarmed before his lord, placed both hands in his, and swore to be "his man" (homo, in Latin), and to serve him as a vassal ought to serve his lord. This was called "doing homage." Then the vassal arose, and the lord gave him the kiss of peace, and the vassal swore "fealty," — that is, fidelity, — to him. Fiefs were generally hereditary, the son of a deceased vassal being permitted to succeed to his father's estates, on condition that he paid a sum of money, did homage, and swore fealty to the lord of the fief. The lords owed their vassals "protection," while the vassals owed "service" to their lords. This service was partly military service, as mounted knights, for forty days each year. The lord could also call upon his vassals to come to his court, at certain times, and assist him with their counsel and advice. In addition, he might call upon them to serve him on certain occasions by giving him money which they in turn collected from their villains. These payments were called "aids," and could be collected on three occasions, — when the lord's eldest son was made a knight, when his eldest daughter was married, and to ransom the lord himself, if he should be taken captive. On the Continent, the feudal system weakened the power of the King because it created a tie between the lords and their tenants which was stronger . & William's than the tie which bound them to the King, checks on . t nis Barons. Thus, if a great lord in France rebelled, his tenants supported him rather than the King, and the whole land was filled with confusion. In England, 62 THE STORY OF ENGLAND William took pains to prevent his lords from becoming too powerful. The estates of the great landholders were scattered in different parts of the country, so that no man might be able to collect a great army in one place. He also kept up the old hundred and shire courts, and refused* to allow the lords such judicial independence as they enjoyed on the Continent. Above all, he re- quired every landholder to take an oath of allegiance to support the King, before and above his immediate lord. With these changes, William made the feudal system a means by which he could control not only the conquered English, but his Norman barons as well. Against such control the haughty Normans protested. The result was that no sooner were the English con- quered than the Norman barons rebelled. Their n -pi revolts put This was the first of a series of revolts down. which lasted for a hundred years, in which the barons of England sought to win for themselves the powers possessed by the feudal nobles of other lands. In putting down such rebellions, William and his suc- cessors could count upon the support of the English people and of the great churchmen; for these saw that the rule of the King, harsh though it might be, was better than the tyranny of the feudal barons. Thus these feudal revolts failed, equally with those of the conquered English. Under William's stern rule, certain and terrible pun- ishment was the lot of all evil-doers. "The good order which William established was such," says the Chronicle, "that any man might travel all over the kingdom, with a bosom full of William's it stem gold, unmolested; and no man durst kill rule. \ , i . . another, no matter how great was the injury which he might have received from him." THE RULE OF THE NORMANS 63 Like all the Normans, William was very fond of hunting, and reserved the forests of England for his own enjoyment. " He made large forests for the deer, and enacted laws that whoever killed a hart or a hind should be blinded. He forbade also the killing of wild boars; and he loved the tall stags as if he were their father." He even drove whole villages from their homes, and destroyed houses and churches, in order to make a great New Forest for his hunting. HUNTING THE STAG One deed of William's, which seemed to his subjects an act of oppression, we now see was a wise and states- manlike act. This was making the " Domes- day Survey. ' ' He caused commissioners to Domesday ^ " Survey. go throughout the land, and prepare a census of all the lands, with the names of their owners, and their value. " So very narrowly did he cause the survey to be made," says the writer of the Chronicle, " that there was not a single rood of land, nor — it is shameful to relate that which he thought it no shame to do — was there an ox, or a cow, or a pig passed by, and not set down in the accounts," 64 THE STORY OF ENGLAND When the inquiry was finished, the results were set down in a great book, which still exists, and is called "Domesday Book," — perhaps because its entries were like those of the Last Judgment, which spare no man. William's object in taking this survey was to find out what taxes he could levy, and what men he could raise for England's defence in time of war. But the chief value of Domesday Book now is that it gives us so much information concerning the condition of England in that far off time. Even after his conquest of England, William continued to be Duke of Normandy, and ruled that land as a ^^f $bb %t hraxote Wis pas S < **<» it . fc flcamyff -tpmttrieren^ £ lc(c AdttCjou. but. n\o%oj»wnxhi^x. A PORTION OF DOMESDAY BOOK Written in Latin, with abbreviations vassal of the King of France. Quarrels between the French king and his too powerful vassal were frequent, and whenever a rebellion broke out against the Norman power the French King was sure to aid it. Towards the close of William's life, his eldest son Robert asked to have Normandy as a fief of his own; _ . . and when William refused this, Robert Death of W Q87? m1, joined the French King in making war. This war caused William's death, in 1087. William had captured and burned the city of Mantes, in France, and while lie was riding about in the ruined THE RULE OF THE NORMANS 65 city his horse stumbled in the hot ashes. The King was thrown violently against the pommel of his saddle. He was very fat and was already ill, and this injury was such that he never recovered from it. Before his death, it is said that he bequeathed Nor- mandy to Robert, and England to his second son, William. "And what do you give me, father?" cried Henry, the youngest of his sons. " Five thousand pounds weight of silver out of my treasury." "But what can I do with silver, if I have no lands?" cried the boy. "Be patient, my son," said the dying King, " and have trust in the Lord; let thine elders go before thee, and thy time will come." And so it proved, for although William II. ruled Eng- land after his father's death, and Robert ruled Nor- mandy, in the end both England and Normandy came into the hands of their younger brother Henry. William II. (1087-1100) was called William "Rufus," or "the Red," because of his complexion. He had the bad qualities of his father, without his good , , 1 . & Wicked traits. He was selfish, cruel, and wicked, and rule of William II. broke all his promises of good government. Even the good Anselm, Archbishop of Canterbury, was so persecuted that he fled from the kingdom, and he did not return until this reign was finished. The Red Kind's death was as violent as his life was wicked. He was slain while hunting alone in the New Forest, which his father had made; and his dead body was found by a charcoal burner, with an arrow piercing the heart. Who shot that fatal arrow, and why, no man can tell. THE STORY OF ENGLAND William Rufus left no children, so his younger brother Henry I. (1100-1135) now secured the English crown, and kept it in spite of the claims of his older Henry I. was born in Eng- (noo-1135). i an( |^ spoke English, and had an English Avife; moreover, he issued a "charter" in which he Henry of Justice" brother Robert - THE NORMAN CASTLE OF ROCHESTER Finished in Stephen's reign promised the people good government. The English, therefore, came to his help when Robert attempted to secure the crown. With an English army, Henry later invaded Normandy, where he defeated Robert and his THE RULE OF THE NORMANS 67 knights in a great battle. Robert was captured, and spent the rest of his life as a prisoner in an English castle, while Normandy was again united with the English crown. With the exception of this war, Henry's reign was a peaceful one. He ruled for thirty-five years, with such strictness and order that he was called "the Lion of Justice." King Henry's only son was drowned while returning from Normandy. Henry then planned to leave his crown to his daughter, Matilda. Although England had never had a woman as ruler, he persuaded the barons to swear allegiance to Matilda as their future Queen, and he married her to Geoffrey, Count of Anjou, in France. After Henry's death, however, Matilda's cousin, Stephen of Blois, seized the crown. The London citizens and a majority of the barons sup- Civii war ported him, but the others supported Matilda. Matilda and The result was a civil war which continued Ste P hen - throughout Stephen's reign. The suffering caused by this war was increased by the cruelty of the barons, whom neither party could control. "The rich men," says the English Chronicle, "filled the land full of castles. They greatly oppressed the wretched people by making them work on these castles, and when the castles were finished they filled them with devils and evil men. Then they took those whom they suspected to have any goods, by night and by day, seizing both men and women, and they put them in prison for their gold and silver, and tortured them with pains unspeakable, for never were any martyrs tormented as these were. I can not, and I may not, tell of all the tortures that they inflicted upon the wretched men of this 68 THE STORY OF ENGLAND land; and this state of things lasted the nineteen years that Stephen was King, and ever grew worse and worse." This anarchy was ended by Henry II., the son of Matilda and Geoffrey. His father took Normandy for him, from Stephen. Then, upon his father's death, young Henry became Count of Anjou, as well as Duke of Normandy. By marriage with the heiress of the duchy of Aquitaine, he gained another vast territory in France. Then, as a youth of nineteen, he turned to England to conquer the remainder of his mother's inheritance. Henry of Anjou was more vigorous and skilful than Stephen, so he won from him fortress after fortress. When Stephen's son died, Stephen gave up ttfsucceed the struggle. In a treaty made at Walling- tep en. f orc ^ jj. was a g ree( j that Stephen should be King for the remainder of his life, but that upon his death the crown should go to Henry of Anjou. The civil war thus came to an end; and Stephen and Henry joined forces against the barons, and destroyed the castles which had sprung up all over the land. About a year later, in 1154, Stephen died, and the crown of England passed to Matilda's son, Henry II., the first of the "Angevin" or " Plantagenet " line of Kings. TOPICS FOR THOUGHT AND SEARCH 1. Was the Norman Conquest a good or a bad thing for England? Why? 2. In what ways were William I. and Henry I. better Kings than Ethelred and Edward the Confessor? 3. Find out what you can about the origin and development of the feudal system. 4. Was William I. lawfully King of England? Was Henry I.? Was Stephen? Give your reasons. 5. What "is the lesson taught by the anarchy during Stephen 's reign ? MAP OF POSSESSIONS OF HENRY II. IX HENRY II. THE FIRST PLANTAGENET KING POINTS TO BE NOTICED How the name ' ' Plantagenet ' ' arose; to whom it was first applied. The territories which Henry II. ruled; how each came to him; dates when he was King; his character. The changes which he made in the military system; in the law courts. What "trial by battle" was; what an "ordeal" was; the form of trial which Henry II. substituted for these. Who Eecket was; why he and the King quarreled; how it ended; Henry's penance. The rebellions in Henry II. 's reign; whence the rebels received aid; how Henry II. died. The Plantagenet Kings of England begin with Henry II., who became King in the year 1154, and end with Richard II. two hundred and forty- five years later. The father of Henry II. was the first to bear this name, and he received it because of his habit of wearing a sprig of the "broom" plant (planta genestd) in his cap. Henry II. was already a brilliant and powerful ruler when he became King of England. Later he gained lordship Knry n. over Scotland, Wales, and Ireland. At their (H54-1189). j? u u est ex t en t 9 n i s dominions included most of the British Isles, and about half of France. This made him the most powerful monarch in all Europe. 'PLANTA GENESTA" 70 THE FIRST PLANTAGENET KING 71 Henry's personal appearance was striking. He had broad shoulders, a thick neck, a large round head, and a ruddy complexion. He had great physical strength, and was accustomed to riding long and hard. In one day he could make a journey for which others took twice or thrice as long. He surprised both friends and enemies with his rapid movements. No one worked harder than did King Henry, and throughout his reign of thirty-five years his energy never failed. In addition, he had an orderly mind, which enabled him to make a plan, and follow it out His against all ob- charac * er - stacles. He was masterful, and forced men to follow his will. Like all of his family, Henry II. was sub- ject to terrible fits of anger, and dark stories were told of a witch ancestress from whom came the taint of blood which twisted into evil the strong passions and One who knew Henry II. said: "He is a lamb when in good humor; but he is a lion, or worse than a lion, when he is seriously angry. But no one is more gentle to the distressed, more affable to the poor, more overbearing to the proud." Henry II. began at once to restore order and to reform the government. He systematized the collection of taxes, and he replaced the bad money then in circulation with new silver coins. SEAL OF HENRY II. high courage of his race. 72 THE STORY OF ENGLAND He improved the military system in two ways. First, those English barons who did not wish to follow him in his wars in France were permitted to remain He changes , , , ... the miii- at home. Inn were required to pay a tax called "scutage," or shield money. With tary system. this money Henry hired foreign soldiers, who would go where he wished and remain with him as long as neces- sary. Thus the barons themselves placed in the king's hands a means of keeping them in order. In the second place, King Henry proclaimed a law which required every free man to provide himself with weapons and armor according to his means, and to he ready to serve in the army when needed. The highest class of common freemen were to have each a helmet, a coat of mail, a shield, and a lance. These improvements gave the King a stronger army, and made him independent of the barons. Henry's greatest work was in reforming the system of law courts. He wished to establish one law for all parts of England, and for all classes of people. Improves rp,, , , , , . law and 1 here were many courts, some held by the lords on their estates, or manors, and some held by the sheriffs in the shires; but there was no con- nection among them, and the same kind of offence might be punished more severely in one place than in another. To remedy this evil, the King appointed learned justices, whose duty it was to travel about the country and preside over each shire court, at least once a year. All people then had an opportunity to get justice from the King's own officers; and because the King's justice was good, it was preferred by the people. A greater reform was that which he made in the methods bv which trials were conducted. THE FIRST PLANTAGENET KING 73 The older modes of trial depended largely upon superstition, accident, or force. Since the coming of the Normans, the most important form of trial was "trial by battle," or the duel. The forms of accuser threw down his gauntlet, which was taken up by the person accused; then the judge set a time and place for them to fight the combat. This was really an appeal to the judgment of God, for it was sup- posed that God would interfere to proteel the innocent and reveal the guilty. Other forms of trial were the "ordeals." In the "ordeal by fire" the accused person was required to carry a piece of red-hot iron in his bare hand for a distance of nine feet. His hand was then bandaged by the priest, and if at the end of three days the wound was "clean," he was declared innocent. In the "ordeal by hot water" the hand was plunged into a kettle of boiling water, and then bandaged. In the "ordeal by cold water" the person accused was thrown into running water, with hands and feet tied together. If he floated •he was miiltv; if he sank he was innocent, and must be hauled out. In none of these modes of trial was there any attempt to find out the facts of the case, by hearing testimony and weighing evidence. It was one of the _ , . .. & & Trial by great merits of Henry II. that he brought Jury in- & J ° troduced. into general use a reasonable form of trial — that which developed into our "trial by jury." This was first applied to cases concerning land; but later (after 1217), when the Church saw the folly and impiety of the ordeal, trial by jury was used in criminal cases as well. Another reform made by Henry II. grew into the "grand jury," by which today a body of citizens inquires 74 THE STORY OF ENGLAND into crimes and makes "indictments" or accusations ao-ainst the criminals, so that thev mav be brought to trial. In the olden days, when powerful protectors TRIAL BY BATTLE sometimes shielded guilty persons, and no individual dared come forward to accuse them, such an accusation, in the name of the community, was very necessary. THE FIRST PLANTAGENET KING 75 By these judicial reforms, the administration of justice was made surer, speedier, and more certain. Jury trial also trained the people to take part in the administration of the law, and so fitted them for those larger privileges in the making of the law which were to come to them later on. In the early part of his reign, Henry's chief counselor was Thomas Becket, his Chancellor, or chief secretary. Becket had received the highest education of „ , , Henry s the time, by study in the newly founded schools friendship * » * m for Becket. of Oxford, by travel in Italy, and by service in the church. He was also known as a man of ability in public affairs. Henry showered riches and favors upon his new Chancellor; and Becket adopted a magnificent style of life, and rivaled the King himself in the splendor of his robes and the number of his servants. This did not displease Henry, so long as Thomas in return rendered him good service. All went well until the King wished to carry his reforms into the church also. He wished especially to place the members of the clergy under the control of the state courts, so that a churchman who committed a crime might be tried by the same law and suffer the same penalties as other persons. As it was, a churchman was tried in a Church court, and often escaped with very light punishment. Henry saw the evils of this system, and sought to secure a reform by appointing his friend Becket to the highest position in the English church. Thomas protested, saying: " I warn you that, if such a thing should be, our friendship would soon turn to bitter hate." But, in spite of this warning, Henry carried out his plan, and made Becket Archbishop of Canterbury. Becket seemed to change his nature at once. He 76 THE STORY OF ENGLAND resigned his office of Chancellor, saying that he must now give all his time to the Church. He continued to wear splendid robes, but under them he wore horsehair garments, and his great banquets to the nobles now became feasts for the poor. The King was de- termined to make his law s u - His quarrel with preme over Becket. r all persons in the kingdom, while the archbishop was equally determined to keep the independ- ence of the Church. Thus a quarrel arose. Becket soon fled to France, and there for seven years he kept appealing to the Pope and to the King of France for help against King Henry. At last a reconcilia- tion was agreed to, and Becket returned to England. But he soon showed that he had forgotten and for- given nothing. He punished with the power of the Church all those who had sided against him; even the Archbishop of York, the second great churchman of BECKET AS ARCHBISHOP OF CANTERBURY THE FIRST PLANTAGENET KING 77 England, was "excommunicated" — that is, cut off from the fellowship of the Church — because he had, in Becket's absence, performed some acts which, as Becket claimed, only the Archbishop of Canterbury could perform. When news of these events reached Henry, in Nor- mandy, he was beside himself with rage. "What a pack of cowards have I kept about me," he cried, "that not one of them will avenge me against this upstart priest." Four knights who heard the King took him at his word. They slipped across to England, where they found Becket in his cathedral church at Becket Canterbury. »s mur- dered. "Where is the traitor? Where is the archbishop?" they cried. "Here am I," replied Thomas, "no traitor, but a priest of God." Angry words followed. The knights demanded that he withdraw his excommunication, and Becket refused, with bitter revilings. Thereupon, they struck him to the ground, and slew him as he lay. King Henry owed no thanks to his brutal knights for their foul murder. Their deed shocked the whole of Christendom, and did great injury to the King's cause. The people looked upon Becket as a martyr, and for centuries pilgrims streamed to Canterbury to visit Becket's tomb. For a time Henry was glad to leave his kingdom. He crossed over to Ireland, to receive the submission of its warlike chiefs, and to avoid the Pope's H enry's legates. When the first burst of indignation P enance - was over, Henry made his peace with the Church. He swore that he was innocent of any part in Becket's 78 THE STORY OF ENGLAND murder, and promised to recall his reforms concern- ing the Church. Later he paid a visit to Canterbury, to do penance for his sin. After walking barefoot, from the city walls to the cathedral, he knelt at the tomb of Saint Thomas, and prayed all night for forgiveness, while the monks of the place passed by and smote with rods his bared back. Henry's need to be reconciled with the Church was pressing. A great rebellion had broken out at this time Rebellion among his barons, both in England and in Barons France, because of the overthrow of their put down. f eu( j a i privileges. The Kings of France and Scotland, as well as Henry's eldest son, joined in the attack ; and even his Queen, Eleanor of Aquitaine, tried to escape in man's clothing to join the rebels. In spite of this formidable array, the energy of the king, the loyalty of his officials, and the favor of the people enabled him to triumph. On the very day that Henry left Canterbury, after performing his penance at the tomb of Saint Thomas, the king of the Scots was surprised and captured in the north of England. The rebellion ended almost at once. During the remaining fifteen years of his reign Henry was master of his realm, and was able to carry through, without further hind- rance, his far-reaching reforms. These fifteen years were the time of Henry's greatest power, yet they brought him only bitterness of spirit, for his wife and sons were turned against him. of his For ten years his eldest son, Henry, seized every opportunity to attack his father. Then, when this prince died, his next son, Richard, acted in like manner. Warfare with his sons, and constant watching for conspiracies, changed the King's own character, and he became gloomy and harsh. THE FIRST PLANTAGENET KING 79 At last, in 1189, Richard formed a widespread con- spiracy, and with the aid of the Kino- of France suddenly seized some of his father's French territories. Henry II. was now old and ill; he was surrounded by enemies, and was taken by surprise. He was forced to accept a humiliating treaty, and to agree that Richard's allies might transfer their allegiance from himself to Richard. A list was given to him of those who were in the secret league with Richard, and at its head he saw the name of his youngesl and favorite son, John. "He cursed the day on which he was horn," says a chronicler, "and pronounced upon his sons the curse of God and of himself, which he would never withdraw." Sick at heart he took to his bed, and a few days later died, muttering at the last these words: "Shame, shame, on a conquered Kino-." Though Henry II. died in despair, his life was not unsuccessful. He was indeed selfish, and harsh, and often he was violent in his deeds. Yet his reign was a great benefit to England, and he Henry n. deserves to rank among the greatest of her kings. He kept down the rebellious nobles, restored order in the government, and introduced reforms into the administration of justice; and the benefits of his rule have continued to the present day. TOPICS FOR THOUGHT AND SEARCH 1. Show on a map the possessions of Henry II. 2. What are the advantages of jury trial over the older forms of trial ? 3. What does a grand jury do? 4. Find out what you can about the life and character of Becket. Where was he buried? How did the people show respect for his memory! 5. Make a list of the things which show that Henry II. was a great King. X RICHARD THE LION-HEARTED AND THE CRUSADES POINTS TO BE NOTICED Dates when Richard I. was King; his character. How a boy was trained to be a knight; how a squire was made a knight; what the "accolade" was; the ideals of a true knight. How the Crusades arose; dates of the First Crusade; dates of the Second; what called forth the Third Crusade; its dates. How Eichard raised money for the Third Crusade; with whom he went; where he stopped on the way; what city he captured; why the Crusaders failed to recover Jerusalem; Eichard 's return. The troubles in England during his absence; his "Saucy Castle"; circumstances of his death. The next reign— that of Richard I. (1189-1199)— was for England a quiet one. During most of the ten years of his reign Richard was absent from the land Richard i. and his officers governed in his name. But ' the good order which his father had estab- lished was such, and the officers trained by him were so able, that King Richard could safely leave England to itself for years at a time. Richard cared little for his English dominion. Though he was born there, his youth was spent in Aquitaine. He spoke French and did not speak English. knightly His customs and ideas were those of southern character. France. In spite of his ambition to rule, he was a warrior and a knight rather than a wise King. As a knight he excelled. A chronicler tells us that he was " tall, well built, and with hair mid-way between red and yellow." He loved to hunt, to sing, to make verses, 80 RICHARD THE LION-HEARTED 81 and to conquer other knights in "tournaments," or friendly battles. His strength and skill in these com- bats were known and praised throughout France. But he loved also to engage in real war- fare, as he showed more than once. Richard's life and character were in keeping with the ideals of his time, and his training must have been similar to that fol- lowed by all noble youths who wished to become knights. At about seven years of age, a boy of high birth was usually sent away from home to be trained in the castle of some noble lord. There he spent some years in attend- the castle, and was When older, he Usual training for knighthood. RICHARD THE LION-HEARTED From the figure on his tomb ance upon the lord and lady of taught how to bear himself politely. attended his lord, learning to ride, to hunt, and to use the arms of nobility — the shield, the sword, and the lance. When skilled in these things, he became a 82 THE STORY OF ENGLAND "squire"; his duty thenceforth was to accompany his lord to the tournament or to battle, to help him put on his armor, to provide him with a fresh lance or a fresh horse in the combat, and in case of need to give him aid. After several years of such service, having proved his skill and his courage, the young squire was ready to become a " knight." Often the ceremony of conferring " knighthood " was not performed until the squire had "won his spurs" by some heroic deed. The highest ambition of conferring the young man was to be knighted on the mg t oo -g^j Q f battle, as a reward for bravery. When that was done the ceremony was simple. Some famous knight would strike the kneeling youth upon the shoulder and say, "I dub thee knight." The ordinary ceremony was much more elaborate. The first step in this was a bath, signifying purification. Then the squire put on garments of red, white, and black — red, for the blood he must shed in defence of the church; white, for purity of mind; black, in memory of death, which comes to all. Then came "the vigil of arms" in the church, where he watched and prayed all night, either standing or kneeling before the altar, on which lay his sword. At daybreak the priest came, the squire confessed his sins, heard mass, and partook of the holy sacrament. Then perhaps he listened, with the other candidates for knighthood, to a sermon on the proud duties of a knight. Later in the morning he appeared before his lord, or some other well-known knight, and his spurs were fastened on his feet and his sword was girt about him. Then he knelt before his lord, and the latter gave him the " accolade " ; that is, he struck the squire a blow upon the neck with his fist, or with the flat of his sword, and said: RICHARD THE LION-HEARTED 83 "In the name of God, and Saint Michael, and Saint George, I dub thee knight. Be brave and loyal." After this, the new knight gave an exhibition of his skill in riding and in the use of weapons, and the day ended with feasting and merry-making. As a true knight, he was expected to be loyal to of the his lord and to the Church, to be just and pure in his life, and to be kind to all in need of his help, especially to defenceless women. The church sought to ennoble warfare by giving religious aims and ceremonies to knighthood. But often the practice of chivalry, or knighthood, fell far below these ideals, and was marked by a narrow caste spirit and a brutal indifference to human suffering. Richard I. did not have the gentler virtues of a knight, because of the fierce, wild temper of his family. But in courage he was so famed that men called him Richard "the Lion-Hearted" (Coeur de Lion). His love of war- fare, his fondness for adventure, and his devotion to the Church were all appealed to by a great movement which occurred in his reign, known as the Third Crusade. The Crusades were a series of wars between the Christian peoples of western Europe and the Moham- medan peoples of Asia Minor and Svria. The n . . * . *■ •> Origin name comes from the Latin word crux o fthe J Crusades. (cross), because of the "cross" of white or red cloth which the Christian soldiers in these wars wore on their mantles. The purpose of the Crusades was to recover Jerusalem and Palestine from the Mohammedans. A century before Richard's time these people, who then possessed the lands where Christ had lived and died, began oppressing the Christian pilgrims who came to visit Jerusalem. At the same time, the Greek Emperor of Constantinople appealed to the Christian knights of 84 THE STORY OF ENGLAND the West for aid against the Mohammedan Turks, who were conquering his territories. The Pope took up the cause, and at a great meeting held in France, in the year 1095, he preached a sermon urging the knights to make war upon the Mohammedans, and recover the Holy Land. His plea moved his hearers so greatly that they cried out with one accord, — "It is the will of God !" In this way began the movement toward Asia ~^ „ which we call The First c/usade the First Cru- (1096-1099). s a d e. The common people would not wait to gather sup- plies or to form an army, but marched at once — men, women, and child- ren — in vast throngs under the lead of a monk called "Peter the Her- mit," and other rash leaders. They knew nothing of the country to which they were going, and but little of the road by which it should be reached. They made no provision for fighting the Turks, or to sustain themselves on the way, but trusted to the power of God to overcome the "infidels." The result was that they were destroyed on the way, by Turkish horsemen, or by starvation, and failed even to reach Palestine. Religious enthusiasm, and a desire for conquest and worldly gain, led many thousand trained and equipped knights to set out in their turn. They were under cap- SHIELD OF RICHARD I. During the Crusades knights began the practice of painting emblems on their shields, banners, etc., to distinguish one from another. The "lions" which Rich- ard used became the "arms" of England RICHARD THE LION-HEARTED 85 able leaders, and their armies were well supplied. They reached Asia, and they fought the Turks with such success that they captured Jerusalem and a portion of Palestine, where they set up a Christian kingdom in the year 1099. Thus the object of the First Crusade was partly accomplished, and the Holy Land was freed from the rule of Mohammedans. Forty-eight years later occurred the Second Crusade (1147-1149), which was caused by the news that the Turks had conquered part of the kingdom of Jerusalem. Two Kings — Conrad III. of fYjsade Germany and Louis VII. of France — took part in this Crusade, but very little was accomplished by it. Two years before Richard became King of England, the Turkish leader Saladin recaptured Jerusalem. This again stirred up the religious zeal of Europe, and many of the great nobles "took the cross" — that is, vowed to engage in a new war against the Turks. Among the first to do this was Richard the Lion-Hearted, and his part in the Third Crusade is the chief interest which we have in his reign. As soon as Richard was crowned he began prepara- tions for the Crusade. He took: the money which his father had left, and in addition sold estates Richard joins the and offices. He even sold the office of Arch- Third Crusade bishop of York, with the estates belonging to (H89-ii92). it; and for a large sum of money he released the King of Scotland from the "homage" which Henry II. had com- pelled him to give. By these means, Richard gathered a great fleet, with which he set out for the Holy Land, in company with Philip Augustus, the King of France. The two Kings stopped at Messina, where they spent many months, 86 THE STORY OF ENGLAND His deeds in Palestine. reached quarrelling with each other, and with the ruler of Sicily. When at last they re-embarked, Richard again turned aside— this time to punish the King of Cyprus for abusing shipwrecked pilgrims. Meanwhile, in Palestine, the Christians were besieging the city of Acre, and were sorely in need. When Richard at last Acre, his fame as a warrior revived the spirit of the Christians. He would ride along before the walls of the city, and defy the Mohammedans. He set up great machines to batter down the walls, and in a short time Acre surrendered. Thus was recovered one of the impor- tant cities which the Moham- medans had conquered, but Jerusalem itself was yet to be taken. Soon after this, King Philip returned to France, leav- ing Richard to carry on the war without his aid. But the quarrels among the leaders continued, and they could not agree on any- thing. It is said that Richard one day rode up a hill within sight of Jerusalem, but held his shield before his face that he might not look upon the sacred city which he could not rescue. The army was obliged to retreat, and the Holv City was left in the hands of the "infidels." ARMOR OF THE TIME OF RICHARD I. Made of scales of iron over- lapping one another RICHARD THE LION-HEARTED 87 Richard was now obliged to return to England: so he made a truce with Saladin for three years, during which time Christians might freely visit Jerusalem. Richard intended to return after the three years had passed, but was never able to do so. WhenJie departed from Syria, he left behind him a great reputation for his bravery. While lie was returning to his kingdom, Richard was compelled by storms to land in the territory of the Duke of Austria. He was almost alone, and the He is ship- Duke was his personal enemy because of ^ c !^ d great injuries which Richard had done to P risoned - him on the Crusade. Richard attempted to pass un- known through his enemy's country; but he was dis- covered, arrested, and afterward surrendered by the Duke to the German Emperor. The Emperor was also unfriendly, because Richard was allied with the Emperor's enemies in Germany; so he kept the English King- a prisoner. For a time, the place of Richard's confinement was not known to his own people. In after years, men told a story of how his favorite "minstrel," Blondel, wan- dered through Germany, singing beneath the walls of every castle a song known only to the King and to Blondel himself. At last he was rewarded by hearing the answer- ing verse in Richard's clear voice, and he knew that he had found his master's prison. The Emperor drove a hard bargain with his prisoner. If he had listened to King Philip of France, and to Richard's brother John, he would never Richard have released the King at all. As it was, he from°™p^ compelled Richard to pay a. great ransom, tivit y- which the English people willingly raised. After four- teen months of captivity, Richard was released. He landed in England after more than four years' absence. Ififekij; " [ .-■r/*' V - *5r* - J - ^ !j^^?4 s? g /A ;-;'■" : - > ■- ■ E2AJp JY The picture shows hurling engines and a movable towe/being "brought up to attack the castle. To the left is the river Seine RICHARD I.'S "SAUCY CASTLE" (Chateau Gaillard) RICHARD THE LION-HEARTED 89 While Richard was absent his brother John had attempted to usurp his crown, and had seized a number of castles. Richard's officers and the people were loyal and the castles had nearly all been recaptured before he arrived. Those that John still held were easily recovered, and the conspiracy ended. After two months in England, Richard crossed to France to make war on Kino; Philip, who was attacking his territories. The remainder of Richard's wi . His "Saucy life was spent in this petty warfare. The Castie"in struggle centered about a great castle which Richard built on the border of Normandy, and which he called "Saucy Castle" (Chateau Gaillard). "I would take that castle.'* cried Philip, "though its walls were of iron ! " -> I would hold il, though its walls were of butler." was Richard's defiant answer. Richard was now so much in need of money that, when he heard that one of his vassals in southern France had discovered a buried treasure of gold, he demanded it. in accordance 4 with his right as lord. The report was that the treasure was "a great table of gold, sur- rounded by golden knights," but really it was only a set of golden chessmen. The vassal refused to surrender the treasure, and Richard laid siege to his castle. As Richard was riding carelessly before the walls one day, he was struck by an arrow shot from the castle by a man who had long waited for that Richard is chance. Soon after that, the castle was taken, slain by an arrow. and the soldier who had shot Richard was brought captive before him. "What have I done to you," asked the dying King, "that you should slay me?" "You have slain my father and two of my brothers," 90 THE STORY OF ENGLAND was the answer. "Torture me as you will, I shall die gladly, since I have slain you." On hearing this answer, Richard pardoned the man, and with his last breath ordered that he should be set free. In spite of his great courage, and his skill and energy as a warrior, Richard I. accomplished very little. He is to be remembered chiefly as being the only English King who left his throne in order to go upon a Crusade. For nearly a hundred years after Richard's death, western knights and princes, and some Kings, continued to go to the East, seeking honor, riches, and salvation for their souls, in the Crusades. Then, gradually, they awoke to the greater needs and opportunities which lay close at hand, in their own countries, and the crusading movement came to an end. TOPICS FOR THOUGHT AND SEARCH 1. Imagine yourself a page and write a letter describing your training to be a knight. 2. Find out what you can about the First Crusade. 3. Read some account of Saladin, and tell about his relations with Eichard. (Scott's novel, "The Talisman" deals with this subject.) 4. Show on the map the route which Richard took to the Holy Land. (He went by land through France, and sailed from Marseilles.) 5. What effect did the Crusades have on the commerce of Europe? On its learning? What new things are introduced during the Crusades? 6. Write a story of Blondel searching for Richard. XI KING JOHN AND THE GREAT CHARTER POINTS TO BE NOTICED Why John was made King instead of Arthur; his character; how his tyranny was a good thing for England. On what charge John was condemned to lose his French terri- tories; what crime committed by John aided Philip; why the French could not take Aquitaine; how the loss of Normandy was a good thing. The quarrel between John and the Pope; how the Pope sought to punish John; the terms on which John made peace with the Church. Why the Barons rebelled against John; what caused the rebellion to succeed; where and when the Great Charter was signed; its chief provisions. Why the barons rebelled a second time; the aid which they have; the circumstances of John's death; why the Barons abandoned the French Prince. Richard's younger brother John, who had caused him so much trouble during his absence on the Crusade, succeeded him as King of England and ruler John of the English possessions in France. An- asking other brother, named Geoffrey, who was < 1199 - 1216 )- older than John, had died, leaving a son, Arthur, who was now ten years old. According to the rules which today govern the succession to crowns, Arthur had a better right to the throne than John had; but the nobles of England, acting on Richard's recommendation, chose John, who was a man of full age, in preference to Arthur, who was but a boy. 91 92 THE STORY OF ENGLAND Long before John's reign was over, every class in the kingdom had cause to repent that choice. King John His bad proved to be one of the worst rulers that character. England ever had, — cruel, faithless, lazy, and reckless of everything save his own pleasure. Yet his very wickedness and tyranny, by spurring all classes to resist- ance, helped much to bring about political liberty, and to make such tyranny impossible for the future. First, you must know, within five years John lost the greater part of the English possessions in France, includ- ing Normandy, the home-land of William the Conqueror. Ever since the Norman dukes had ruled England, the kings of France had seized every opportunity of stirring up trouble in the English royal family, in order to weaken these powerful vassals of theirs. Philip Augustus now aided young Arthur in attacking the French possessions of his uncle John. Also, John had injured one of his own vassals in Aquitaine, by seizing and carrying off his promised bride, whom John married; and this vassal carried his grievance to King Philip, who was John's overlord for Aquitaine. Philip summoned John to appear before his court, and defend himself; and when John refused, judgment was given against him and he was condemned to lose his possessions in France. The judgment was strictly according to feudal law; and with the law now on his side, King Philip set about con- quering John's fiefs. In the course of this war, Arthur was captured and imprisoned by John, and soon mysteriously disappeared. Puts to There can be no doubt that he was put to nephewj s death, and ugly rumors whispered that John Arthur. j iaf j c \ one the wicked deed with his own hands. On every side John's vassals and followers deserted him, and Philip made rapid gains. THE GREAT CHARTER 93 " Let him go on," boasted John, while doing nothing to prevent this. " Whatever he takes, I shall retake it in a single day." This was easier said than done. At last the "Saucy Castle," built by Richard with so much pains and ex- pense, was taken, and all Normandy passed into the hands of the French. Most of Aquitaine, which lay south of the river Loire, remained i^nioses Mormandy. true to English rule — not because of any love for John, but because the nobles dreaded to lose their independent position if their lands were annexed to the French crown, and because of loyalty to John's mother, Eleanor, their old mistress. The loss of Normandy seemed to the English people of that d. Good ay a great effects of ]• i . this loss. disaster; but we can see now that it was a good thimj for England, as well as for France The descendants of the conquering Normans and of the conquered English had for many years been growing more and more alike, and more and more ready to act together in all that concerned the king- dom. The people in the reign of Henry II. and of Richard had been allowed to carry on their local governments according to ancient usage. London, and many other towns also, had received charters from the king which permitted them to manage their own affairs, and as a result the townsmen had become self- reliant, and interested in public matters. Now that the Norman barons were obliged to give up their lands in France, they looked upon themselves as Englishmen. MONEY OF KING .JOHN'S REIGN 94 THE STORY OF ENGLAND Thus, when the loss of his Norman possessions compelled the King to give his attention solely to England, he found the nobles and the common people ready to act together for the interests of the whole country. Soon after John's return to England, the Archbishop of Canterbury died, and for nearly eight years afterward John engaged in a great quarrel with the Pope over the filling of the vacancy. The monks of Canterbury had the right to choose the archbishop, but it had been the custom for the King to John's name the man whom the monks should elect. wYthTne On this occasion the monks, without con- churcn. suiting John, elected one of their own number and sent him to Rome to be confirmed by the Pope. When John learned what had been done, he compelled the monks to elect another man, a favorite of his own, who also went to Rome and appealed to the Pope. After considering the matter for a year, the Pope declared that neither candidate had been properly elected; and he then consecrated as archbishop a clergyman at Rome named Stephen Langton, who was learned, able, and of English birth. No better choice could have been made, but King John was furious at the Pope's action. He refused to The Pope allow Langton to enter England, and he munkTates se i ze( J the lands and revenues of the arch- him - bishopric. To punish the King, the Pope placed an "interdict" upon the whole kingdom, — that is, he forbade all church services except the baptism of infants and the "last unction" or anointing of the dying. The church doors remained closed; the bells were silent; even the dead were buried without ceremony, in unhal- lowed ground. John took no heed, save lo drive from the land the THE GREAT CHARTER 95 bishops who proclaimed the interdict and to seize their lands. Then the Pope " excommunicated " the King — that is, declared him to be cut off from all connection with the Church, and all hope of heaven. Still John refused to submit. At last the Pope declared John deposed from his throne, released his English subjects from all duty to him, and gave Philip of France authority to take possession of the English kingdom. Philip prepared to invade England, and John also collected troops. But John distrusted his barons, and when the war was about to begin he suddenly John be _ yielded to the Pope's demands. Stephen ~™«J the Langton was permitted to take up his duties vassal - as archbishop, and John promised to restore the lands and moneys which he had taken from the Church. In addition, he surrendered his kingdom to the Pope and received it again as a fief, agreeing to pay a yearly tribute. Thus, the second great struggle was ended by the King of England becoming the Pope's vassal. The interdict and the excommunication were removed, and Philip was forbidden to proceed with his expedition. When the quarrel with the Pope was settled, John was in the midst of a third great struggle, — this time with his own barons, who wished a remedy for the evils of his rule. The King was constantly making new demands upon both the nobles and the people. He had called upon them for services which they did not think they ought to render, and he had levied taxes w fth U his re unknown in earlier times. In some cases he cast men into prison without law, and in others he un- justly seized their lands and goods. In many ways, King John outraged the rights of his people, so that all classes were ready to rebel. 96 THE STORY OF ENGLAND The barons found a shrewd adviser in Stephen Lang- ton, the new archbishop. He reminded them of the charter in which Henry I. had promised reforms of government to the nation, and told the barons to demand a similar charter from King John. JOHN GRANTING THE CHARTER While John was waging war on the Continent, seeking vainly to recover his lost dominions, the leading barons secretly met together, under pretext of a TheBarons ., , , ,1 T ~. , demand a pilgrimage, and swore to compel the -King to restore the liberties of the realm, and to con- firm them by a charter. Their demands were presented THE GREAT CHARTER 97 to John, upon his return; but the King cried out in wrath: " Why do they not ask for my kingdom ? I will never grant such liberties as will make me a slave." In various ways, John sought to break up the forces that confronted him; but all in vain. "The army of God and of Holy Church," as the rebels called themselves, marched upon London, and the citizens joyously opened the city gates to them. PORTION OF THE GREAT CHARTER Written in Latin, with abbreviations. The first line, if written out, would be: "Johannes, Dei Gratia Rex Angliae, Dominus Hyberniae," etc.; which, translated, is: "John, by the grace of God King of England, Lord of Ireland," etc. On June 15, in the year 1215, John met the repre- sentatives of the barons " in the meadow which is called Runnymede, between Windsor and Staines," TheGreat on the river Thames. Here he was forced to g^iSed sign the Great Charter, — called Magna Charta < 1215) - in Latin, the language in which it was written. It set forth the rights of all the people, including church- men, nobles, and townsmen. Since that day, the Charter has been repeatedly confirmed, and now stands as part of the foundation of English law. Its principles are part 98 THE STORY OF ENGLAND of the constitution of every English-speaking nation. Among many important provisions these two are chief: "No free man shall be taken, or imprisoned, or dis- possessed, or outlawed, or banished, or in any way destroyed, nor will we go upon him, nor will we send upon him, except by the lawful judgment of his peers, and by the law of the land." "To no one will we sell — to no one will we deny — right or justice." In these provisions the King admitted that he had no right to imprison or punish any man except according to law; he agreed that he would no longer take a man's liberty or goods merely by his own will. It is said that when King John signed the Charter he wore a smiling countenance, and spoke pleasantly to the lords about him; but that when he reached his own chamber he threw himself down in a mad rage upon the ground, gnashing his teeth and biting the rushes with which it was strewn. John had no intention of keeping his promises, and war soon began again. The King had the support of hired troops, chiefly from France; and the John re- r J ■ news the Pope, who was now his overlord, gave him quarrel. r . such help as he could. The barons, for their part, called upon Louis, son of King Philip of France, to come to their aid, and offered him the English crown. Louis came with a large army, and for a time the barons were successful. Then John's fortunes began to brighten, and it seemed as if he might overcome his enemies after all, and again set up his will as law. But, in crossing an arm of the sea, his army was surprised by the tide, and his baggage, with the royal treasure, was washed away. A fever then seized John, and he died in a few days. THE GREAT CHARTER 99 Men said that his illness would not have been fatal had he not made it worse by eating heartily of unripe peaches. His death occurred in the fall of the year 1216. John's son, Henry III., a nine year old boy, J^* 11 of succeeded him on the throne, and Prince Louis soon withdrew his forces to France. The barons had fought only against the tyranny of King John, and they would not support the French Prince against their own young Kino-. TOPICS FOR THOUGHT AND SEARCH 1. Review the history of the connection of Normandy with England. 2. Find out what other kingdoms besides England were held as fiefs from the Pope. What does this show concerning the power of the Pope. 3. Read further on events leading up to the granting of the Great Charter. 4. Write a brief account of the importance of the Great Charter. XII THE BARONS' WARS AGAINST HENRY III. POINTS TO BE NOTICED Dates of the reign of Henry III.; his character as King; what gave the Barons the opportunity to interfere with his mis- government. "Who was Simon Simon de Leicester Montfort j^ticesLci, opposes in Eng- the kin ^- land. Though Simon had married the King's sister, he was not always in favor with Henry; on the other hand, the Eno-- lish barons at first regarded him with distrust, because he was of foreign birth. When Henrv sent him to govern Gasconv, or Aquitaine, his rule was severe and violent, and many complaints reached the King from the rebellious lords whom Simon had compelled to obey. Henry was always ready to blame Simon, who therefore gave up his task at last, and returned to England, where he soon became the leader of those who wished to end the King's mis- government. With Simon de Montfort at their head, the barons compelled the King to promise reforms. In 1258 they provided a council of fifteen barons to take entire charge KING AND SOLDIERS MET BY A MESSENGER From an old manuscript 102 THE STORY OF ENGLAND I of the government, — not to remove the King, but to see that he ruled rightly. For some time the King observed this agreement; but, after five years, he declared that lie would no longer be bound by it. Then, at last, the barons understood that nothing but force would compel Henry to rule justly. "Though all men quit me," said Simon de Montfort, " I, with my four sons, will remain and fight for the good T . D cause which I have sworn to defend, for the The Bar- ons' wars honor of Holv Church, and the welfare of the begin. J < 12 <»4) kingdom." On the other side, the King's chief aid was his twenty- five year old son, Edward. He was friendly to Simon, and wished to see reforms in the government, but he could not stand with the barons against his father. An important battle was fought at Lewes, in the southern part of England. Partly because of Simon's wise plans and partly because of Prince Edward's rashness, the battle was won by the barons, and the king and prince were forced to surrender. With Henry in his hands, Simon de Mont- fort for a time exercised the power of the King. He ruled wisely and secured the favor of the people. But the fortunes of his party soon changed, through the escape of the Prince from captivity. One day, while riding with his captors. Prince Edward suggested that they race their horses, to see which was the fastest. This was done, until the horses were all tired out. Then the Prince suddenly mounted a fresh horse, which he had close at hand, and easily escaped from their pursuit. i BANNER OF SIMON DE MONTFORT Escape of Prince Edward. BARONS' WARS AGAINST HENRY III. 103 By this time, many of the nobles were dissatisfied with Earl Simon's harshness; and Edward soon gathered a large army about him, to reseue and restore the King. The battle was fought in 1265, at Evesham, in the west of England. Prinee Edward showed much skill in FIGHT BETWEEN KNIGHTS, IN THE TIME OF HENRY III. Note the close helmets on two of the knights forcing Simon to fight in an unfavorable position. When the earl saw Edward's army approaching, in great numbers and excellent order, he said: "They come on skilfully, yet it is from me that they have learned this order of battle. God have mercy on our souls, for our bodies are Prince Edward's!" Simon and his barons fought bravely, but they were overpowered. The Earl himself held out, dealing terrible blows, until he was slain by an attack „, J , Simon de- from behind. The people lamented his fall, feated and , i • i i i slain ( 1265h and a song is preserved, which they made soon after his death: 104 THE STORY OF ENGLAND "In song my grief shall find relief, Sad is my verse and rude ; I sing in tears our gentle peers Who fell for England's good. "Our peace they sought, for us they fought, For us they dared to die ; And where they sleep a mangled heap Their wounds for vengeance cry. "On Evesham's plain is Montfort slain, Well skilled our war to guide; Where streams his gore, shall all deplore Fair England's flower and pride."' Above all his other deeds, the great Earl is remembered for a change which he made in the Great Council, or Parliament. In calling a meeting in 156,5, after Importance ° of Simon's the battle of Lewes, he summoned not only the barons and rulers in the church (who had always attended), but also two knights from each shire, together with two men from each of those cities and "boroughs" (or towns) which could be depended upon to support his reforms. Thus was taken an important step, for we shall see that in the next reign the practice of including the representatives of the towns becomes firmly fixed in the parliamentary system. Men have always honored the memory of Simon de Montfort; for, though he was stern and haughty, he was just and true, and was an enemy to all misgovernment. Perhaps, as some say, he was becoming too ambitious; but, even so, his defeat would have been a calamity for England, had there not been a wise Prince, of the royal house, ready to take up the government, and to con- tinue the reforms which Earl Simon had begun. BARONS' WARS AGAINST HENRY III. 105 TOPICS FOR THOUGHT AND SEARCH 1. Compare the characters of Henry I., Henry II., and Henry III. What was the relationship in blood of each of these to the others? 2. Find out what you can about the men who carried on the gov- ernment before Henry III. came of age. 3. The ways in which Henry III. misgoverned. 4. In the Great Charter the King was obliged to make promises of good government, and agree to rule according to the law. How did the Barons of Henry II. go beyond this in weaken- ing the King's power? 5. Write a brief sketch, in your own words, of the life and char- acter of Simon de Montfort. XIII THE FIRST TWO EDWARDS POINTS TO BE NOTICED The part played by Prince Edward in the latter part of his father's reign; his crusade; the danger to which he was exposed in Syria; in France. Character of Edward L; his chief title to fame as a King; the laws which he made; meaning of "Mortmain." Conquests attempted by Edward I.; Llewelyn; date of Edward's Conquest of Wales; the title of "Prince of Wales" since then. Ancient claims of the English Kings over Scotland; Bajliol; what led to war; William Wallace; his victory; his defeat at Falkirk; cause of the English success at Stirling; what became of Wallace. Leader of the Scots after Wallace's death; how Bruce was led to persevere; his success after the death of Edward I.; Battle of Bannockburn. The faults of Edward II.; his favorite; how Edward was over- thrown; who then became King. It was to Prince Edward that the people looked for good government after the death of Simon de Montfort. He was a youno; man, sober in -judgment, Closing °. . Jo ' years of and known to be in favor of iust and orderly Henry IIL J . J rule. Thenceforth, Henry III. was guided by his son Edward, and other good counselors; and, for the remaining seven years of his life, the country was quiet and prosperous. Meanwhile, Prince Edward found stirring work to do in the last of the Crusades. He had always loved warlike exercises, and by his success in tour- Prince pi Edward on naments had become one of the most famous a crusade. , . knights in Europe. He was religious by nature, and so, when he found a time in which he was not needed at home, he was glad to take a share in the Crusades. In spite of several Crusades which had been under- THE FIRST TWO EDWARDS 107 taken since the time of Richard I., the Turks still held Palestine and the Holy City of Jerusalem. In 1270 Prince Edward set out with a small company of fol- lowers, and remained about a year in Syria, fighting with great skill and courage. But he could do little toward driving out the Turks. At one time he nearly lost his life, as the result of a Mohammedan plot. While he was resting in his tent, without his armor, one day, a messen- ger entered on the pretext of bringing a letter from the "Old Man of the Moun- tain." the ruler of a Mo- hammedan sect, whose capital was on Mount Lebanon. These people were called "Assassins," a name meaning " drunk with haschisch" (a drink made from hemp) ; and they were ready for any desperate errand of mur- der upon which their master sent them. As the Prince was read- assassin" drew a poisoned dagger, and struck him, but fortunately only wounded him in the arm. The "assassin" was at once slain. As a result of prompt measures, Edward's wound soon healed, and not long afterward he departed for England. When Sicily was reached, news came that Henry III. was dead, and that Edward I. had been proclaimed King. Edward did not hurry home to be crowned, He be _ but instead remained in his territory of as™dwardf. Gascony for a time, to settle affairs there. < 1272 - 1307 )- At Chalons, his life was again placed in danger, in a SEAL OF EDWARD I. ing the letter, the 108 THE STORY OF ENGLAND tournament, which was entered upon as a friendly trial of skill, but which was turned into deadly bat- tle. Many knights were slain, and Edward himself was in great danger, before he and his Englishmen won the day. Edward's life was always full of activity. He was strong and brave, very tall and straight, with broad, deep chest, dark eves, and brown flowing hair. Character ; ? ^ of Because or his long legs and arms he was called " Longshanks." He was a. good swordsman, a good rider, and a good speaker. He bore an English name, and Avas the first King since the Nor- man Conquest who used English as his ordinary speech. As Prince he had been loved by the people, and as King he proved himself a wise guardian of the people's welfare. He reigned from 1272 to 1307, and he was guided always by the motto which at last was placed on his tomb — " Keep Faith." Though he sometimes had disputes with his people, yet he always "kept faith" with them. Edward's greatest title to fame rests on the improve- ments which he made in the English laws. In Europe, as a whole, the wanderings of the nations were now over. The Crusades had come to an end, and strong governments were beginning to arise. Every- where there was need that old laws should be revised and new ones made to suit the new time. This was the work which Edward I. did in England. He revised and put in order the old laws, and he made many new laws, so that he was regarded as His work «i . ,, „ T , & . as a law- a great law-giver. We may truly say that giver. ^ & J J J the roots of the English law, as we have it today, go back to the time of Edward I. First, Edward punished his own officers and judges for abusing their powers. THE FIRST TWO EDWARDS 109 Then he made laws to check the power of the great feudal lords. Still another law, called the "Statute of Mortmain," forbade that any more land should be given or sold to the Church, especially the monasteries, without the King's consent. Monasteries were " corporations, " which " never died," no matter how often the individual members of the body might change; so land held by them was called land in " mortmain," — that is, in a "dead hand" which never re- laxed. A great part of the land of England — perhaps one-third — was already in the hands of the Church; and since, the King's rights of tax- ation, and the like, were less over the Church lands than over other lands, it was important that the amount of land so held should not be increased. Another great statute required that every free man should have arms and armor according to his means, and should appear for review twice a year. Those who were too poor to have armor and swords were required to have bows and arrows, and soon the English people became famed for their skill as archers. Other provisions of this law required that "watch and ward" should be kept in A CROSS ERECTED BY EDWARD I. TO THE MEMORY OF HIS QUEEN 110 THE STORY OF ENGLAND the towns at night, to guard against crimes; and that when an offence was committed, all the people should join in "hue and cry" after the offender, until he was caught . A great part of Edward's reign was taken up with the wars which he waged with the Welsh and the Scots, in the endeavor to bring all parts of Great Britain under the rule of the English King. The trouble first arose with the Welsh, who inhabited the mountainous region in the western part of Great He Britain. They were descendants of those «? n i quers Britons who were driven westward by the Wales (1283). invading Anglo-Saxons, until the Severn river formed their eastern boundary. In the time of the Normans, powerful Norman lords established them- selves along the borders of the Welsh territory, as "Lords of the Marches." The Welsh were a high- spirited and courageous people, and they made constant, though usually unsuccessful, attacks upon these " lords marcher." When Edward became King, Prince Llewelyn of Wales refused to do homage. Edward invaded Wales, and besieged the Welsh so closely, in the mountainous country, that they were forced by cold and hunger to surrender. In a second war, a few years later, Prince Llewelyn was killed. This ended the independence of Wales. The country has ever since remained under the rule of England, and the title "Prince of Wales" has usually been borne by the eldest son of the English Sovereign. Edward gave Wales a system of govern- ment like that of the English shires, and ruled it wisely and justly. THE FIRST TWO EDWARDS 111 Edward I. also fought a long war with Scotland. He wished to unite the English and the Scots under one rule, but he managed the matter so badly that, ° " His wars when he died, the Scots hated the English, with ° Scotland. and the union was farther off than ever. The story of Scotland, is a long one, and we can tell only a small part of it here. In the old days, one of its rulers had become the vassal of an Anglo-Saxon King, and two centuries later another had yielded to Henry II. Thus the Kings of England claimed the overlordship of Scotland. In Edward I.'s time a dispute arose for the crown, and the Scottish lords appealed to King Edward to decide who had the best right. Edward decided in favor of John Balliol, who had the best claim, and he was thereupon crowned King of Scotland. When Edward began to exercise certain rights as overlord of Scotland, Balliol resisted. Thus began the Scottish war. which, except for some short interruptions, lasted during the rest of Edward's life. Balliol was driven from his throne, and an English guardian was placed over the country. A fiery leader of the Scots then appeared, named William W r allace, who won a great victory over the English at Stirling. But soon King Edward won a greater victory over Wallace, at Falkirk. The Scots, armed with _ a Defeat and long spears or pikes, were drawn up in four d«ath of great circles, and waited to be attacked. "I have brought you to the ring," cried Wallace to the English, "now dance if you can." The Scottish spearmen were able to turn back the charges of the English horsemen. But when Edward brought up his archers, their deadly arrows broke up the Scottish circles, and gave the victory to the English, 112 THE STORY OF ENGLAND A few years later, Wallace was taken prisoner, and was cruelly put to death. Soon the Scots rebelled again, Bruce under Robert Bruce, whom they crowned ] S and S from King. Bruce suffered many defeats, and at conquest. one fj me was almost ready to give up the fight. A story is told how, one day as he lay hid, he watched a spider repair her web over and over again, until at last it held fast; and thus he, too, took cour- age and persevered. After Edward's death (in 1207) Bruce conquered nearly all Scotland, until only the castle of Stirling held out against him. To save Stirling, Edward II., the unworthy son of Edward I., led a great army into Scot- land, and fought a battle at Bannockburn. The English were poorly led, while Bruce showed himself a good general. The Scottish poet, Robert Burns, makes Bruce address his soldiers in these words: "Scots wha ha'e wi' 1 Wallace bled, Scots, wham 3 Bruce has aften 3 led! Welcome to your gory bed, Or to glorious victorie! "Wha will be a traitor knave? Wha can fill a coward's grave ? Wha sae 4 base as be a slave ? Traitor! coward! turn and flee! "Wha for Scotland's King and law Freedom's sword will strongly draw, Free-man stand or free-man fa' 5 , Caledonian! on wi' me!" The result of the battle was a great victory for the Scots. The plans of Edward I. to conquer Scotland 1 ii-ha ha'e ivV = who have with. 3 aften — often. 2 wham — whom. 4 sae — so. 5 fa" = fall. THE FIRST TWO EDWARDS 113 thus came to nothing, and the Scots kept their inde- pendence. The reign of Edward II. lasted twenty years (1307 to 1327), and in every way was a failure. His great father had trained him carefully to war and J Reign of to business; but Edward II. proved utterly Edward n. 1 , J (1307-1327). worthless, and thought only of his pleasures. His chief companion was a reckless favorite, named Piers Gaveston, who was as light-headed as the King himself. Gaveston called the greatest noblemen of the kingdom by such names as " the Actor," " the Hog," " the Black Dog." Three times he was sent out of England into exile, but each time he came back. The third time that Gaveston returned, the barons besieged the castle in which he took refuge; and, when it was captured, the baron whom he called "the Black Dog" had him put to death. Again we find the barons making war upon the King, as in the time of Henry III., but their aims were now more selfish than they were when Simon de Montfort was at their head. It was partly because of this that Edward II. was able to rule as long as he did, in spite of his misgovernment and failures. But at last a great conspiracy was formed against him, in which his Queen, Isabella, herself joined. The King's fourteen year old son (later Edward III.) was with the Queen. Bishops and nobles aided deposed."* them, and the Londoners murdered the King's ministers. When the King's new favorites were captured, they were put to death. Edward II. stood practically alone, and after trying unsuccessfully to escape to Ireland he fell into the hands of his enemies. Then, in a Parliament held in 1327, the question was put — 114 THE STORY OF ENGLAND "Whether they would have father or son for King?" The answer was overwhelmingly against Edward II. He was declared incapable of ruling, and was deposed. To show that Edward's reign was really over, the High Steward stepped forward and broke across his knee the white staff which was the sign of the Steward's office. But, so long as Edward II. lived, his enemies feared lest he might recover his power, and undo the work which they had done. So, a few months death later, the unhappy man was murdered bv (1327) . " those who had him in charge. This was the first time since the Norman Conquest, that the Great Council, which we now call Parliament, had exercised the right to depose a King. Before we go further, we must see what this body was, and how its powers had grown; for the growth of Parliament is the most important fact in all the history of this period. TOPICS FOR THOUGHT AND SEARCH 1. Tell in your own words what Edward I. did for the laws of England. Compare his work with that of Henry II. 2. Did England gain more by the reforms of good Kings like Henry II. and Edward 1., or from resistance to bad Kings like John, Henry III., and Edward II. ? 3. Tell the story of the Conquest of Wales from the point of view of a Welsh boy or girl. 4. Find out what you can of Wallace. 5. Look up the story of Bruce and the spider, and tell it in your own words. C>. Would it have been a good or a bad thing for Scotland to have been brought under the rule of England? Why? 7. Find other instances since the Norman Conquest in which Parliament (or the Great Council) decided who should have the Crown. XIV THE RISE OF PARLIAMENT POINTS TO BE NOTICED The name of the Central Assembly in Anglo-Saxon days; under the Normans; how these Assemblies differed from Parliament. When and in what part of the government "representatives" first arose; how Henry IT. increased their use; why they were added to the Great Council. The two sorts of representatives in Parliament; when each was first introduced; the Model Parliament. Separation of Parliament into two Houses; of what each was composed; change in the House of Lords at the time of the Reformation; the Commons given equal powers in lawmaking with the Lords; powers of Parliament not so great as they later became. There never has been a period, since England lias been united into a single kingdom, when some sort of council or assembly was not called, from time to time, to aid the King in governing. In the days of the Anglo-Saxons, this body was called the " Witenagemot " (wit'en-a-ge-mot) , or assembly of the wise men, and was made up of the bishops, The as- abbots, king's theo-ns, and chief officers of Angio- i x • i x i-ii i-i -11 Saxon the kingdom. It was this body winch aided times. Alfred in making his laws, and which elected Harold — and after him William — to be King of England. After the Norman Conquest, the Kings from time to time called about them, to aid them with counsel and advice, all the lords who held land directly of ,_ „ ' " The Nor- thern bv feudal tenure. Except for the fact man Great 1 m Council. that the feudal lords were at first mainly Normans, this body did not differ very much from the one which preceded it; for the great officers of the land 115 116 THE STORY OF ENGLAND were the King's vassals, and the bishops and abbots also held their lands by feudal tenure from the King. It was this Great Council of the barons which settled who should have the crown when there was a dispute; it was also this body which helped Henry II. carry through his great reforms. But the Great Council only aided and advised the King; it did not control him. What is it that makes the difference between these earlier assemblies and the later one which we call Parliament ? First, Parliament is a "representative" body — that is, it is composed in part of persons who do not sit in right How these °f their offices or lands, but who are elected from Par- *° re P resen t the people. Second, it is divided liament. m { j wo « houses " — a House of Lords, and a House of Commons. And third, it has more power than the older assemblies had. The addition of "representatives," along with the great churchmen and barons, was the first step in trans- forming the old Great Council into the Parliament. The practice of having "representatives," to act in the name of the community, was first used in local govern- "Repre- ment. In the Anglo-Saxon time, each town- first used ship sent four representatives to take part in affairs. the "hundred" and "shire" meetings. When Henry II. introduced jury trial, he was really using the "representative" principle; for every jury gives its verdict, not from any right which its members have, but in the name of the community which it represents. Thus, in many ways, the people became used to the idea of having representatives chosen to help carry on the local governments, in the name of the people of the community. Why were representatives added to the Great Council ? THE RISE OF PARLIAMENT 117 The reason was that a time came when the Kings needed more money to carry on the enlarged work of government; and, as this money must come Represen- t3tl\CS chiefly from the people of the towns and added to iiii j the Great country, it seemed best to ask them to send Council. representatives to meet with the Great Council, and give the consent of their communities to the new taxes. These representatives were of two sorts: first, the " knights of the shire," who represented the lesser nobles and country gentlemen who were not members of the Great Council; and, second, the "borough repre- sentatives," who came from the cities and towns (boroughs) and represented the trading classes. The knights of the shire were the first to be added to the assembly. In 1213, for the first time, the King called them to meet with the Great Council, (1) " to speak with us concerning the business of J^ih^e^ our kingdom." From time to time after that < 1213 )- " knights of the shire" were summoned to the assemblies, until the practice became permanent They were elected by the landholders, in the county assemblies, and every county sent two, no matter what its size. We have already seen that it was Simon de Montfort who, in 1265, first called representatives of the towns, or " boroughs," to the central assembly. In (2) Bor- 1295, Edward I. called a meeting which represen- established it as a rule that, in a Parliament, (1265). there ought to be representatives both of the counties and of the towns. This was called the " Model Parlia- ment, " because it became a model for succeeding ones. The number of boroughs which sent representatives was greater than in 1265, and from time to time changes were made in the list in after days. Each town which sent representatives at all elected two. 118 THE STORY OF ENGLAND At first, the representatives of the counties and towns sat in the same body with the barons and great church- men; but, by the year 1340, the Parliament i S nto a (i) tion nad separated into two "houses." The ofi.ords Se Upper House became the House of Lords, and included the great barons (who bore the titles of "Duke," "Marquis," " Earl," " Viscount," and "Baron"), and also the archbishops and bishops, and the abbots or heads of monasteries. The Lower House became the House of Commons, and in course of time it became the most important part of Parliament. This was because it was and (2) the House of called upon, especially, to vote the taxes Commons. . x 1 1 p which the King needed for carrying on the government. For a time the towns and counties looked upon representation in Parliament as a burden. But, gradually, their representatives began to hold back the voting of taxes, until the King and his ministers promised to correct any grievances of which they complained. Then it was seen that the right of voting taxes was a great and valuable power, and the people no longer complained of the burden of being represented in Parliament. At first, it was not certain whether the Commons should be admitted to a share in the law-making power, The Com- or wne t ner t nev should be only allowed to gJv^n equal vo * e t axes - But in his summons to the " Model powers. Parliament" Edward I. laid down the prin- ciple that "what concerns all should be approved by all." And, twenty-seven years later, the rule was laid down that all matters which concerned the kingdom and the people " shall be established in Parliament, by the King, and by the consent of the Lords and the Commons of the realm." From this time on the powers of the THE RISE OF PARLIAMENT 119 Commons grew, until they are now much greater than those of the House of Lords. But we must not think of these early Parliaments as having the great powers which Parliaments have today. The King was still much more powerful than the Parliament, though since the granting of not yet the Great Charter it was recognized that the supreme * King was below the law, and not above it. In making new laws, and in laying new taxes, he needed the consent of Parliament; but in carrying on the general business of the government — in making war, and in concluding peace — he could act without Parliament. Often he consulted Parliament about such matters, but he could act as he 'pleased. The ministers who carried on the government were still the King's ministers, and respon- sible to him only. It was to be several centuries yet — and a great civil war must be fought, and one King be- headed and another deposed — before Parliament was recognized as the chief power in the government. Nevertheless, by the time that Edward III. came to the throne, the framework of Parliament — though not its po wers — was complete. TOPICS FOR THOUGHT AND SEARCH 1. Rule three columns on the blackboard, head one ' ' Witenage- niot,'' the next "Great Council," and the third "Parlia- ment, ' ' and write down the chief facts concerning each body. 2. Show how the "representative principle" enables free gov- ernments in modern times to rule much greater territories than was possible for the little republics of Greece, when the representative principle was not yet developed. 3. Show how the representative principle enabled the people to use the rights of self-government which they forced the Kings to grant. 4. Find out what you can about the Parliament called by Simon de Montfort in 1265. 5. Do the same for the Model Parliament of 1295. XV EDWARD III. AND THE HUNDRED YEARS' WAR POINTS TO BE NOTICED When Edward III. was King; his character; the most important thing in his reign. Causes of the Hundred Years' War; dates when it began and ended; grounds on which Edward III. claimed the French throne. The Battle of Crecy; to what the English victory was due; English gain from the victory; the Scots defeated by Edward; Neville's Cross. The Battle of Poitiers; mistakes made by the French; gains of the English. Date and terms of the Peace of Bretigny; renewal of the war; why the English successes were then checked. The Black Death; its origin; how it came to Europe; date when it broke out in France; other European countries which suf- fered from it; its effects on the number of the people in Europe as a whole; in England; its effect on agriculture and the organization of society. Edward III. reigned for fifty years — from 1327 to 1377. During the first four years, the government was in the hands of those who had deposed Edw^rdni. Edward II.; but when Edward III. was (1327-1377). e igk|- een y ears oIq^ ne took the power into his own hands. He was handsome, brave, and ener- getic. In the greater part of his reign, the people gladly supported him, for the wars which he carried on were popular, and he let Parliament have much power. But, in his old age, he grew selfish and extravagant, and troubles arose. 120 THE HUNDRED YEARS' WAR 121 The most important thing in the reign of Edward III. was the beginning of a long war — or rather a series of wars— with France. We call this the Hun- Hundred Ycsirs Wur dred Years' War, because it lasted for more with France than a century, from 1337 to 1453. (1337). Many causes combined to produce this long war. The English Kings could not forget that they had once held Normandy, and no King of France could be content so long as another King was his vassal for so large a part of the kingdom as the English King still held in Gascony. When Edward III. renewed the English war with Scotland, the French King aided the Scots; and when troubles broke out in Flanders, in northern France, Edward III. supported the Flemish people against their count, who was supported by his overlord, the King of France. In this last quarrel, the English people were strongly on the side of their King; for the industrious cloth manufacturers of the Flemish cities were the chief customers for England's wool. When war had been decided upon, Edward III. made matters worse by claiming that he was the rightful King of France. His mother was the sister Edward of the last preceding French King; and when pre'™^ 1 * 16 this King died without sons, Edward said throne - that the French crown should have gone to him, as that King's nephew. But the French had a rule that no woman could reign over France, and they had decided (as they had a perfect right to do) that this also shut out those who claimed through a woman, as Edward did. They therefore had given the crown to the nearest male member of their royal house, whose right came entirely through males. Even when the Hundred Years' War finally ended, the English Kings did not cease styling themselves "Kings of France"; and it was not until 122 THE STORY OF ENGLAND the beginning of the nineteenth century that this claim was finally abandoned. Two very famous battles — the battles of Crecy and Poitiers — were fought in this war, while Edward III. was King; and later, as we shall see, a third great battle — that of Agincourt — was fought by Henry V. In all three of these battles, the victory was chiefly due to the strength and skill of the English archers, with their "long bows" and "cloth-yard shafts," which could shoot true for two hundred yards, and pierce through coats of mail. The battle of Crecy was fought in northern France, in 1346. Edward III. had landed in Normandy, and marched up the valley of the river Seine, crecy 6 ° until the flames of the villages burned by the English could be seen from the walls of Paris. Then he turned northward, with the French in hot pursuit. He awaited their attack on a little hill at Crecy. The French force was five times as great as that of the English, and included a body of hired crossbow- men from Italy. The crossbowmen were no match for the English longbowmen. The English arrows fell among them "so thick that it seemed as if it snowed," and they broke ranks and fled. "Slay these rascals," angrily cried the French King, pointing to the crossbowmen, "for they trouble us without reason." " But ever still," says the chronicler Froissart, who wrote about these wars, " the Englishmen shot wherever the crowd was thickest. The sharp arrows pierced the knights, and their horses, and many fell, both horse and men; and when they were down they could not rise again, for the press was so thick that one overthrew another." THE HUNDRED YEARS' AVAR 123 Edward III. had given the command of one division of his knights (who fought on foot in this battle) to his sixteen year old son, Edward the Black Prince. The King himself guided the whole battle from the tower of a little windmill on the battlefield. Presently a mes- senger came to him in haste, and said: BATTLE OF CRECY From an old manuscript. To the left are the French forces, to the right the English. The armies were not so near together as the picture shows '* Sire, those about the Prince are fiercely fought and sore handled, wherefore they desire that you and your division come and aid them." " Is my son dead, or hurt, or felled to earth ?" inquired the King. "No, sire," replied the messenger, "but he is over- matched, and has need of vour aid. 124 THE STORY OF ENGLAND "Well," said the King, "return to them that sent you, and say to them that they need send no more to me, no matter what happens, as long as my son is alive. And also say to them that I wish that they let him this day win his spurs. For if God be pleased, I will that this day be his, and the honor thereof." Night came, with the English lines still unbroken, while the French were in hopeless confusion. The French King fled wounded from the field, leaving behind him eleven princes of France among the slain, and thousands of lesser rank. It was one of the greatest victories in English history, and it was won by despised foot-soldiers, of low rank, against the nobly born knights of France. The only profit which the English took from their victory was to capture the city of Calais, just across the Calais Straits from Dover. The French inhabitants jmEngush were driven out, and English settlers took city. their places. The possession of this city gave England a convenient entrance into France, and for more than two hundred years it remained in their hands. While Edward was fighting in France, the Scots sought to aid the French by invading England. Edward's The scot- Queen, Philippa, gathered an army which tish King defeated and captured the Scottish King, at Neville's Cross. A song-writer of that time tells how the Scottish King — "Brought many bagmen, Ready bent was their bow, They robbed and they ravaged And naught they let go. 4 But shamed were the knaves And sad must they feel, For at Neville's Cross Needs must they kneel." THE HUNDRED YEARS' WAR 125 The battle of Poitiers was fought ten years later (1356) , in southern France. The Black Prince had started to march northward into Normandy, but was met by an army many times larger than his Poitiers own. He offered to surrender the booty he had taken, and his prisoners, and to bind himself not to fight again for seven years, if the French would let him retreat; but they refused. The English force was made BATTLE OF POITIERS From an old manuscript up chiefly of archers, as at Crecy. The French, who were mostly armored knights, fought on foot, thinking it was the dismounted knights of the English who had won the day at Crecy. The English were stationed on a little plateau, protected by a hedge and by some rough and marshy ground. The English archers did their work so well, that the first and second divisions of the French broke ranks and fled, before thev came within striking distance of the 126 THE STORY OF ENGLAND English. Then the third division advanced, under the command of the French King himself. "Then was there a sore fight," says the chronicler Froissart, " and many a great stroke was given and received. The French King, with his own hands, did marvels in arms; he had a battle-ax in his hands, wherewith he defended himself, and fought in the thickest of the press." But it was in vain. The third division of the French at last fled; and the King and his youngest son. refusing to flee, were taken captives by the English Prince. The whole English army was made rich by the gold, silver, and jewels which they took. "That day," says Froissart, "whoever took any prisoner, he was clear his, and he might let him go or ransom him as he chose." The French King was kept captive for four years, though he was entertained with great festivities. In The French 1360 he signed a peace (called the Peace of tured C and Bretigny) by which he agreed to pay an ransomed. enormous ransom, and to give up his rights as King over Gascony. In return, Edward III. agreed to give up his claim to the French throne. This treaty was never fully carried out, and war began again nine years later. Edward III. was now feeble The and worn-out, and the Black Prince was successes suffering from a disease which carried him checked. Q ff a y ear De f ore hi s father finally died. On the other hand, an able and energetic King now sat on the French throne, who fought no useless battles, but bit by bit conquered the lands of the English. When Edward III. died, in 1377, Calais, and a very small part of Gascony, were all that remained of his once extensive possessions in France. THE HUNDRED YEARS' WAR 127 The Black Death appears in Europe. For a time, the English people had profited from the French war. Almost every household could show some spoil — a featherbed, rich clothes, fine weapons— won by the bravery of husband, brothers, or sons. But soon heavy taxes had to be laid to provide for the expenses of the war. Worst of all, in the midst of this prosperity came a great pestilence, called the Black Death — the worst sickness that England ever knew. The Black Death was a form of that disease called the " bubonic plague," which is still common in Asia. This attack started in China, and made its way slowly along the caravan routes of Asia, until it reached the Black Sea. It was carried by ships of Italian traders to the cities of Italy, and thence to France. It appeared in France two years after the battle of Crecy, and soon passed over into England. Germany, Norway, and Russia all suffered from it. It was the scourge of the whole civilized world. We now know that the "plague" is carried by a certain kind of fleas, which live on rats; and it is probable that the fleas and rats came in the bundles of merchandise which caravans and ships brought and THE BLACK PRINCE (From his tomb) Shows chain "mail" about the body over which is worn an embroidered cloth tunic; on the legs and feet is "plate" 128 THE STORY OF ENGLAND spread throughout Europe. The disease spread from country to country, from city to city, from village to village, from house to house. When it once appeared in a house, all of the inhab- itants were almost sure to be attacked by it. Even pigs, sheep, and other animals died from its effects. It showed itself by the appearance of dark blotches and boils on the body, from which we give it its name — " the Black Death." Persons seized by it in the morning were often dead by night. Few recovered who were once attacked by it. The number of persons who died is difficult to esti- mate. In some places almost all of the people perished; in England as a whole fully one-half were o?it" swept away. Probably one-third of the popu- lation of all Europe died from it. A monk described its ravages in France in these words: " It is impossible to believe the number who have died throughout the whole country. Travelers, merchants, pilgrims, declare that they have found cattle wandering without herdsmen in fields, towns, and waste lands. They have seen barns and wine-cellars standing wide open, houses empty, and few people to be found any- where. In many towns where there were before 20,000 people, scarcely 2,000 are left. In many places the fields lie uncultivated." Often there were left no priests to console the dying. The dead were buried hastily, great numbers at a time, in long ditches dug in the fields — for the cemeteries were filled to overflowing. Try to think, for a moment, what all this meant to the countries concerned. The disease soon passed away, except for a few milder reappearances. But the effects of its ravages remained for centuries. THE HUNDRED YEARS' WAR 129 In England, before the Black Death, there were about four or five millions of people. When it had passed away, there were about half this number, It produces and it was long before the number of inhab- %™n iea ia itants again rose as high as three million. En ^ land - Field laborers became scarce, and those who were left demanded increased wages. Many "villains" left the estates of their masters, and fled to the towns, or found places elsewhere where their lot was easier. Parliament passed laws to keep wages and prices at their old level, but these could not be enforced. The old system of labor and agriculture broke down, and a new one gradually took its place. In part the change was a benefit to the laborers, by enabling them in the end to better their condition; but at all events it was a revolution in the organization of society. TOPICS FOR THOUGHT AND SEARCH 1. What was it which bound the English and Flemish together? Why did the Scots aid the French? Is it likely that the Hundred Years' War would have arisen if the English Kings had not held lands in France? 2. Find out what you can about the English archers and their long-bows. What advantages did the long-bow have over the cross-bow? 3. Write an account in your own words of the life and deeds of the Black Prince. 4. Locate on the map the places connected with the Hundred Years' War. 5. Describe the Battle of Crecy; of Poitiers. 6. Write a brief account of the Black Death. Why do such diseases cause fewer deaths now? XVI RICHARD II. , THE LAST PLANTAGENET KING POINTS TO BE NOTICED Dates of Eichard II. 's reign; causes of the troubles of his reign. John Wyclif ; name given to his followers; what became of them; importance of this movement. Grievances of the peasants; who stirred them up to rebellion; date of the rebellion; their chief leader; his fate; behavior of the young King; results of the revolt. Political struggles under Eichard; Henry of Bolingbroke; how Eichard injured him; return of Bolingbroke and overthrow of Eichard; Bolingbroke claims the throne. When Edward III. died, in 1377, he was succeeded by his grandson, Richard II. He was the son of the Black Troubled Prince, and was only ten years old when he Richard ii became King. His reign of twenty-two years (1377-1399). was fi\\ e( \ with many troubles. These were due to the quarrels of parties while he was under age; to the religious and social changes of the time; and to a combination of weakness and violence in his own character. A religious movement, started by John Wyclif, a great preacher and university professor at Oxford, was respon- Reiigious sihle for part of the troubles of his reign. jo f hi msof Wyclif complained bitterly of many evils in wyciif. t| ie Church, and said that they were due to the fact that the Pope, bishops, and abbots were no longer poor men like Christ and the Apostles, but lived in luxury, and were rulers of great estates. He gathered together a body of "poor priests," whom he sent forth to 130 THE LAST PLANT AG ENET KING 131 teachings. live among the people and preach his doctrines. And to aid their work, he translated the Bible, for the first time, from the Latin, which was then vised in the churches, into the English tongue spoken by the common people. If Wyclif had stopped here, all might have been well; but he went further, and attacked the teaching of the church concerning the Lord's Supper. This was too much for many who had supported him, and he began to lose followers. A rebellion, which broke out among the peas- ants, was also charged to his His opinions were therefore con- demned, and he was obliged to stop teaching at Oxford. But, as yet, there was no law in Eng- land, as there was on the Con- tinent, for burn- er teachers of wrong religion; so Wyclif was allowed to retire into the country, where he died a few years afterward. Later a law was passed " for the burning of heretics," and then all the " Lollards " (as those were called who held Wyclif 's opinions), were obliged either to give up their opinions, or to suffer death at the stake. More than a century later, when Luther, in Germany, had begun the Reformation of the Church, IIII1I//F JOHN WYCLIF ing "heretics 132 THE STORY OF ENGLAND and England had broken away from obedience to the Pope, the reformers looked back to Wyclif, and called him "the Morning Star of the Reformation." The rebellion of the peasants, for which Wyclif was held partly responsible, came in the year 1381. Several things beside his teachings helped to pro- of r the am duce it. Since the time of the Black Death, the peasants. j anc ilords na( ] tried to keep fast hold on the villains (or "serfs") who were left to them, and would no longer permit them to escape the burdensome duties PEASANTS PLOWING PEASANTS BREAKING CLODS WITH MALLETS which they owed by paying small sums of money. The free peasants also complained bitterly of the laws which Parliament passed to keep down wages, and to prevent THE I AST PLANT AGENET KING 133 their going where they pleased. And the discontent was brought to a head by a law imposing a new sort of tax — a " poll tax," or head tax — upon all the people above fourteen years of age, at a uniform rate for both rich and poor. The troubles which followed occurred, more or less, all over England. But it was chiefly in the southeastern parts — in the counties of Kent and Essex — that the movement was dangerous. HARROWING The boy with a sling is driving away the birds from the grain MEN AND WOMEN REAPING There a priest named John Ball had, for some time, been preaching against the oppression of the poor by the rich. 134 THE STORY OF ENGLAND "Ah, ye good people, " he would say, " matters will not go well in England until everything is owned in common, and there are no longer villains nor gentle- preaches men, but all are united together. Now, the lords are clothed in velvets and furs, while we are clothed with poor cloth. They have wines, spices, and good bread, while we live upon chaff and drink water. They dwell in fine houses, while we have pain and labor, wind and rain, in the fields. And when the produce is raised by our labors, they take it, and con- sume it; and we are called their bondmen, and, unless we serve them readily, we are beaten." He summed up his teaching in this verse, which was everywhere repeated : 'When Adam delved and Eve span, Who was then the gentleman ? ' ' But John Ball was not the chief leader of the move- ment when the peasants actually broke out into revolt. The peas- That position was held by a peasant named unde^wat Wat ( or Walter) Tyler, who had great Tyler (1381). coura g ej was a good speaker, and knew how to get and to keep the support of his followers. First, the peasants attacked their own landlords, burned the records which showed the services they owed, destroyed the deer-parks, and emptied the fish ponds. Lawyers were put to death wherever met with, for it was by their aid that the peasants were oppressed. Then the peasants made their way to London — perhaps 100,000 of them — and were secretly aided and encour- aged by the apprentices and poor citizens of the capital. London bridge fell into their hands, and they entered the city, burning the houses of those great lords whom they held responsible for misgovernment, freeing prisoners, THE LAST PLANTAGENET KING 135 and rioting and plundering everywhere. It was no wonder that the chief officers of the government, in their refuge in the Tower, with their fifteen vear old King, trembled for their lives. The next day, Richard II. met the rebels in a large open place called Mile End. He heard their grievances, and granted them a charter by which they The young were no longer to be serfs, and were to have J^f grants their lands at a low rent. Many of the rebels demands - then returned home. The dav after this, Richard met JOHN BALL AT THE HEAD OF REBELS those who remained, under Wat Tyler, at a place called Smithfield, where they demanded further reforms — free hunting and fishing, and the right to take fuel and timber for building from the woods, and the division of 136 THE STORY OF ENGLAND the church property. The King pretended to accept these demands, also. This meeting took place at some little distance from the peasant forces, and the peasants could not see what Tyler slain was &* om & on between their leader and the revolt 16 King. One of the courtiers took this oppor- crushed. tunity to pick a quarrel with Tyler, and slew him. His followers were told that their leader would meet them elsewhere. When they discovered how they had been tricked, they were panic-stricken, and soon scattered to their homes. According; to one account, young Richard showed great courage when the peasants discovered how they had been deprived of their leader. As the story goes, they began to place arrows on their bow-strings to avenge his death; but Richard rode boldly forward, and said: " What need you, my masters ? Would you shoot your King? I will be your captain." When the revolt was over, the government declared that the promises which had been made to the peasants were not binding, and that everything should be as it had been before. The leaders of the rebellion, including John Ball, were brought to trial and put to death. In spite of the withdrawal of the promises made to the peasants, villainage gradually came to an end. Land- lords found that unwilling service was unprofitable, and within a hundred years after the great Peasants' Revolt, villains had practically ceased to exist in England. Besides the religious troubles connected with Wyclif's teachings, and the social troubles connected with the Political Peasant Revolt, the reign of Richard II. was undif les filled with political troubles, which ended in Richard. j^ } )em g deposed and another King chosen in his place. THE LAST PLANTAGENET KING 137 It would take too long to tell the story of all these troubles — how Parliament appointed a commission to guide the King's rule; how the King's judges declared LONDON BRIDGE Notice the houses built on the bridge, also the heads over the bridge gate that the leaders of Parliament had committed treason; how those leaders collected an army and defeated the King's forces; how the King's friends were hanged or exiled by order of "the Merciless Parliament"; how the 138 THE STORY OF ENGLAND King declared himself of age, and ruled wisely for eight years; how he suddenly changed, and put to death or banished his worst enemies; how he surrounded Parlia- ment with his archers, and compelled it to give him a tax for life, and to grant him greater powers than any other English King had ever had. His triumph helped him little, for he did not know how to use power when once it was in his hands. One of the most powerful men of the kingdom was Henry of Bolingbroke, son of the Duke of Lancaster. Henry of His father, who was called John of Gaunt, bodice 6 " was ^ ne third son of Edward III., and Henry exiled. himself was Duke of Hereford. He had shown himself a good knight, by fighting for a time in eastern Germany against the heathen Slavs, and by going on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem. He first sided against Richard II., and then for him; but Richard took the opportunity, offered by Henry's quarrel with another nobleman, to banish both from the kingdom. Then, while Henry of Bolingbroke was absent, his father died (in 1390), and Richard seized the lands of the Duke of Lancaster for himself. To recover this inheritance, Henry of Bolingbroke landed in England with sixty folloAvers. The sixty soon He returns became sixty thousand, for all classes of throws"" people were offended by Richard's rule. At Richard. this time, Richard was in Ireland, carrying on war; so his enemies were free to gather their forces. When Richard hastily returned, he found himself deserted by everyone, and soon fell into Henry's hands. " Your people, my lord," said Henry, " complain that for twenty years you have ruled them harshly. How- ever, if it please God, I will help you to rule them better." Soon this pretense was thrown off, and Richard was THE LAST PLANTAGENET KING 139 given to understand that lie must resign his crown; and to this he weakly consented. The poet, Shakespeare, makes Richard speak these words: "What must the King do now? Must he submit? The King shall do it: must he be depos'd? The King shall be contented: must he lose The name of King? God's name, let it go: I'll give my jewels for a set of beads, My gorgeous palace for a hermitage, My gay apparel for an alms-man's gown, My figured goblets for a dish of wood, My scepter for a palmer's walking-staff, My subjects for a pair of carved saints, And my large kingdom, for a little grave! " A Parliament was called, and the King's abdication was read to it. Then Henry of Bolingbroke stepped forward, by the vacant throne, and said: " I, Henry of Lancaster, claim this realm and the crown, since I am descended by right line of blood from the good King Henry III., and since God has Boling . sent me with help of my kin and my friends to {£° g! ™ ade receive it, when the realm was on the point of Henr y IV - being undone by lack of government and the undoing of good laws." The whole Parliament accepted this claim, and he was seated upon the throne, as Henry IV. — the first of the Lancastrian Kings. By right of descent, he was not the nearest heir to the throne after Richard II., for he was descended from the third son of Edward III., and a descendant from the second son existed in the person of the young Earl of March. But the Earl of March was only six years old, and Parliament passed over his claims in favor of those of the house of Lancaster. 140 THE STORY OF ENGLAND Later, as we shall see, the claim through the Earl of March became one factor in the great Wars of the Roses, which in turn brought the rule of the Lancastrians to an end, just as the revolution of 1399 brought to an end the rule of the direct line of the Plantagenet Kings. TOPICS FOR THOUGHT AND SEARCH 1. Find out what you can about Wyclif and his teachings. 2. Imagine yourself a r>easant boy or girl, and tell the story of the Peasants' Eevolt. 3. What was the nature of the rebellions in England before this time? What does the Peasants' Revolt show with reference to the power of the people? 4. Find out what you can about Henry of Bolingbroke, and tell the story of his rise to be King. 5. Why did Richard II. lose his throne? Compare him with King John, Henry III., and Edward II. - O 1 k LO Q 5 J GO 13 c a be — ^ W -3 XJ * h U J3 — 03 C o +j — — u - S3 85 4» = r. j: '■d V u B "jt< d c 83 5 t - U V ? g CO B X x> II u ft H ~ *M 1> XVII THE LANCASTRIAN KINGS, AND THE CLOSE OF THE HUNDRED YEARS' WAR POINTS TO BE NOTICED Names of the Lancastrian Kings; dates of their reigns; revolts against Henry IV.; "Hotspur"; why Henry was unwilling to ransom Mortimer; the Percies overcome; three reasons for the successes of Henry IV. Advice given by Henry IV. to his son; how Henry V. followed this; change in warfare shown by the siege of Harfleur. The Battle of Agincourt; cause of the English victory; conquests following this battle. Divisions among the French; the treaty of Troyes; the part of France in Henry's possession at the time of his death; rule of the Duke of Bedford. Joan of Arc; how she came to take part in the war; her suc- cesses; her fate; the work which she accomplished. Causes of the English loss of France; the end of the war; the English still held Calais. Henry IV., Henry V., and Henry VI. — father, son, and grandson — were the Kings of the House of Lan- TheLan- caster. The first reigned fourteen years, the Kufgs 3 " second nine, and the last thirty-nine; the first (1399-1461). j ia( j c liffi c . u ity J n keeping the kingdom he had won, the second added to it by conquering the kingdom of France, and the third lost all through weakness and insanity. It was only in the last five years of his reign that Henry IV. was free from rebellions against his rule. CLOSE OF HUNDRED YEARS' AVAR 143 In the first year there was a revolt which was intended to restore Richard II. to the throne. This was easily put down, and a few months later Richard died suddenly in his prison — put to death by a ga/nst order of the new King. enry A more serious rebellion was the one led bv Owen Glendower, a Welshman, under whom the Welsh people made an effort to recover their independence. Again and again the Welsh came down from their mountain valleys, attacked the border counties of England, and then returned to their mountain retreats, whither the English army could hardly follow them. The most serious rebellion of all followed, in England, as a result of one of these raids in which the Welsh took prisoner an English lord, named Mortimer. King Henry feared Mortimer because he was the uncle of the young Earl of March, the rightful heir to the throne; and so he took no steps to ransom him. This conduct of the King angered the powerful family of the Percies, who had aided Henry to gain the throne, and had just won a great victory over the Scots; for Mortimer was related to them also. Accordingly, Sir Harry Percy, who was called "Hotspur" because of his quick temper, went to the King and said: " Shall a man spend his goods, and put himself in peril for you and your realm, and you will not help him in his need?" At this the King, in turn, grew angry, and said: "Thou art a traitor! Wilt thou that I should aid mine enemies and the enemies of the realm ?" "Traitor am I none," Hotspur replied, "but as a true man I speak." And when the King drew his dagger upon him, and would have attacked him, Hotspur cried : H4 THE STORY OF ENGLAND "Not here, but in the field!" And with this, lie left the King, and hurried home to raise his forces. The Percies, with the Scots whom they had taken BATTLE OF SHREWSBURY Notice the various weapons and manners of fighting. In the upper left corner arc the King and the royal banner prisoners, then marched southward to join Glendower. At Shrewsbury, on the borders of Wales, they met King Henry, with his army. CLOSE OF HUNDRED YEARS' WAR 145 "Then there was a strong and hard battle," says a chronicler, " and many were slain on both sides. And when Harry Percy saw his men fast slain, he pressed into battle, with thirty men, and percies made a lane in the middle of the King's host, till he came to the King's banner. And at last he was beset about and slain, and soon his host was scattered and fled. And Sir Harry Percy's head was smitten off, and set up at York, lest his men would have said that he had been alive." Percy's uncle was taken prisoner and beheaded. His father was pardoned for a time; but next year he rebelled again, and when at last he was captured, after three years of wandering, he, too, was put to death. Glendower was never captured, but was no longer dangerous to England. One reason for the King's success, in putting down rebellions, was that the people were prosperous during his reign; and another was, that he kept on Henry sup- i • i t» i* T7-* tt •> ported by good terms with Parliament. King Henry s Parliament title to the throne came from Parliament, and church, his need of money made it necessary to please them. The result was, that he appointed officers whom he knew to be satisfactory to the members of Parliament; he per- mitted them to examine into the uses made of the money raised by taxes; he chose his Council from among them; and he acknowledged that grants of money should always be made first by the House of Commons. In the year 1413, Henry IV. died — of leprosy, it is said. Many people believed that his disease was a punishment sent upon him because he had executed an _ ,_ M r , Death of archbishop who rebelled with the Percies. Henry iv. . , (1413). The poet, Shakespeare, makes him speak these words, on his death-bed, to his son and successor, Henrv V.: 146 THE STORY OF ENGLAND "Heaven knows, my son, By what by-paths, and indirect crook'd ways, I met this crown; and I myself know well, How troublesome it sat upon my head : To thee it shall descend with better quiet, Better opinion, better confirmation; For all the soil of the achievement goes With me into the earth Therefore, my Harry, Be it thy course, to busy giddy minds With foreign quarrels; that action, hence borne out, May waste the memory of the former days." Henry V. proved to be a conquering general, and became the idol of his people. He is represented by Shakespeare as having been a wild and Henry v. reckless youth, who was so changed by the ' responsibilities of power that he became an ideal King. There is no proof of his wildness as a Prince, but as a King he certainly was sober, clear- headed, and vigorous. He followed his father's advice to " busy giddy minds with foreign quarrels" by putting forth again the claim to the French crown. He invaded France He renews . . . , „ , the French with an army, made up mostly ot archers. While he was making his way to Calais, the French met him with an army which outnumbered his own probably five to one. The battle was fought, at Agincourt (October 25, 1415), and proved as great a victory as those which Edward III. and the Black Prince had won in the beginning of the Hundred Years' War. "The ground," says an old chronicler, "was narrow, and very advantageous for the English, and the contrary Battle of for the French; for the latter had been all (1415). night on horseback in the rain, and pages and valets and others, in walking their horses, had broken up the ground, which was soft, and in which the CLOSE OF HUNDRED YEARS' WAR 147 horses sunk in such a manner that it was with great difficulty they could get up again. Besides, the French were so loaded with armor that they could not move. First, they were armed in long coats of steel, reaching to their knees and very heavy, below which was armor for their legs, and above, armor for the head and neck; and so heavy was their armor that, together with the softness of the ground, they could with difficulty CITY OF ROUEN Above are printed old forms of the city's name lift their weapons. The greater part of the English archers were without armor, wearing doublets, and having hatchets and axes, or long swords hanging from their girdles; some wore caps of boiled leather, or of wicker work, crossed with iron." The French army was completely broken up. Their slain numbered as many as the whole of the English army, while the English lost little more than a hundred, 148 THE STORY OF ENGLAND all told. The victory was won almost entirely by the bowmen. After the battle, the English marched to Calais, and thence took ship for England, where they were received with great rejoicing. Two years later, Henry invaded France a second time, and the remainder of his reign was occupied with his conquests there. The French had grown S, n r q m uered y CRUtioUS s i n c e the battle of Agincourt, and would not fight another great battle. The advance of the English, therefore, was slow. They first captured many castles i n Normandy, and laid siege to Rouen, the capital of that province. The rulers of the city, in order to reduce the number of mouths to be fed, drove out a large number of the poorer, unarmed inhabitants. King Henry would not permit them to pass through his lines, so for several weeks these poor creatures wandered between the English lines and the walls of Rouen, starving and shelterless. "War," said the English King, in justifying this cruel policy, "has three hand-maidens ever waiting on her — fire, blood, and famine — and I have chosen the meekest maid of the three." AN ATTACK ON A CASTLE Note the cannon to the left. Hand guns were not yet used CLOSE OF HUNDRED YEARS' WAR 149 The French, meanwhile, were divided into two great parties, at war with one another. Their King, Charles VI., was insane, and the control of the govern- _. . . ° Divisions ment was disputed between his son, the among the 1 French. Dauphin, and the King's uncle, the Duke of Burgundy. At last, in 1419, the Duke of Burgundy was murdered by one of the Dauphin's followers, in revenge for a murder which Burgundy had himself caused. This made the breach between the two French parties too wide to be healed for many years. The new Duke of Burgundy went over to the side of the English, and with him went the French Queen, and the city of Paris. Soon a treaty was signed, in 1420, by which Henry married the French Princess, Katherine. The contest for the throne of France was settled by Henry acknowledging Henry as regent of France Katrine during the lifetime of the insane King, ofFrance - Charles VI., and agreeing that he was to become King in his own right after Charles's death. The Dauphin and his followers refused to recognize this treaty as binding. For the present this did not much matter, for the English speedily drove the Dauphin's followers south of the death of r . Henry V. river Loire, leaving all the northern half of France in possession of the English King. But, in the midst of his victories, Henry V. died of camp fever, in 1422, and the upholder of the English rights was then his infant son by Queen Katherine — a babe nine months' old. A short time after the death of Henry V., Charles VI. of France died. This left the crowns of both Eng- land and France to the baby King, Henry VI. Henry V i., The government was placed in the hands of j£„g aby Henry V.'s brother, the Duke of Bedford, who ("»-*««>■ was a man of noble character and an excellent soldier. 150 • THE STORY OF ENGLAND For several years, Bedford carried on the war in France with great success. At last, the only place of importance MARRIAGE OF HENRY V. AND KATHERINE OF FRANCE The Eng- ne ^ D y the dispossessed Dauphin was the siege to c ^7 °f Orleans, and to this the English were Orleans. laying siege. If this should fall, the whole of France would pass into English hands. CLOSE OF HUNDRED YEARS' WAR 151 But now there occurred one of the most wonderful things in history — the rise to successful leadership over the French army of a young girl, named Joan of Arc. Joan was of peasant birth, and like most peasants could not read or write. She was a good, sweet girl, and very religious; and she was deeply touched by the miseries of France. Rise of She began to hear Joan of Arc. of the saints, which urged her to voices free France, and to bring the Dauphin to the city of Rheims to be crowned kino-. She long resisted the voices, saying, — " I am a poor girl. I cannot ride or be a leader in Avar." In the 11 • Her • end, her voices mission and death. prevailed; and she came, in men's armor, with a holy banner and a sword, to raise the siege of Orleans. It was only with difficulty that she secured the Dauphin's permission; but as soon as she appeared in the camp, she put a new spirit into the French. The English scarcely dared to oppose her, for they believed that she was a "limb of the devil." In a short time, Joan drove the English from Orleans, and then led the French King to Rheims, where he was crowned. Joan then said her work was done, but the French would not permit her to return home. After JOAN OF ARC 152 THE STORY OF ENGLAND some further fighting, she was captured by soldiers of the Duke of Burgundy, who sold her to the English. At the command of the English, she was accused as a witch and a heretic. After a long and unjust trial, she was condemned to death. She was publicly burned at the stake, calling with her last breath upon the name of Jesus. One of the English soldiers was so impressed by her courage and piety that he exclaimed: "We are lost! We have burned a saint!" Joan of Arc had accomplished her work. She con- vinced the French that, if they would unite, they could End of the drive t Re English from their land. Even ?ea n r d s' war. the Dllke of Burgundy finally broke off his (1453). alliance with England, and joined in the attack upon the common enemy. Just at this time, moreover, the Duke of Bedford died. With their best general gone, and the French united against them, the English were not able to hold what Henry V. had won. Matters did not mend for the English when Henry VI. grew up to manhood. He had no taste for war or business, and would far rather have lived the life of a monk. Fierce quarrels broke out among the Eng- lish nobles, and those who secured power proved corrupt and unsuccessful in their government. So, bit by bit, the English lost the lands which they held in France. In 1450, Normandy was again taken from them. Soon Bordeaux, on the Bay of Biscay, was the only place which they held in southern France; and in 1453, after the defeat of the English in a hard-fought battle, this too was obliged to surrender. There then remained to them only one place in all France — the city of Calais, which Edward III. had taken in 1347, and which England was to hold for a hundred years longer. The great civil wars, called the Wars of the Roses, CLOSE OF HUNDRED YEARS' WAR 153 were now coming on in England, so that nothing could be done to recover the lost possessions in France. Without any treaty of peace, the long Hundred Years' War — which had lasted since 1337 — was suffered quietly to come to an end. TOPICS FOR THOUGHT AND SEARCH 1. Locate on the map the places mentioned in this chapter. 2. Read Shakespeare 's account of the Battle of Shrewsbury (" Henry IV.," Part I, Acts IV. and V.) 3. Why was the claim of the Lancastrians to inherit the French throne less good than that of Edward III.? Could Parlia- ment 's election of the Lancastrians to be Kings of England give them any rights to the throne of France? What English- man had a better right to claim the French throne than Henry V.? 4. Read Shakespeare's account of the Battle of Agincourt. ("Henry V.," Act IV.) "). Was the failure of the English Kings to secure the throne of France a good or a bad thing for England? Why? 6. Find out what you can of Joan of Arc? What great honor has the Catholic Church recently paid to her memory? XVIII THE WARS OF THE ROSES (1455-1485) POINTS TO BE NOTICED Causes of the troubles in the reign of Henry VI.; the rebellion of 1450; complaints of the rebels. The Yorkist claim to the throne; purpose of the Duke of York at the beginning of the struggle; his chief supporter; the real head of the Lancastrian party; why she resisted the Yorkists so fiercely. The first battle in the war; how the war was renewed; advantage gained by the Yorkists at Northampton; adventures of Queen Margaret; victory of the Lancastrians at Wakefield; fate of the Duke of York; the Lancastrians recover possession of Henry VL; they retreat northward; Edward IV. crowned King. Edward IV. gains possession of the kingdom; Henry VI. captured and imprisoned; quarrel between Edward IV. and Warwick; Warwick flees, changes sides; he returns to England and expels Edward IV. Edward recovers the throne; death of Warwick; Margaret defeated; her son slain; Henry VI. put to death; fate of Edward's bi other, Clarence. How Richard III. got the throne; fate of the two little Princes; Richard overthrown by Henry Tudor at Bosworth; effects of the Wars of the Roses. Henry VI. was one of the most unfortunate kings who ever sat on a throne. He was truthful, upright, and just, and wished to please everybody. But he had Character i • • 1 i> i i of Henry neither the strength or mind nor ot body to rule a kingdom, and for long periods he was actually insane. In 1450, the misp;overnment of his ministers led to a rebellion, in southeastern England, under one Jack Cade. The rebels proclaimed that "the King's false Council hath lost his law; his merchandise is lost; France is lost; the King himself is so set that he may not pay for his meat or drink, and he oweth more than ever any King 154 THE AVARS OF THE ROSES 15.5 of England owed." The rebellion was easily put down; but it led the Duke of York to put himself at the head of the opposition, and a struggle then began which soon passed into a war for the crown itself. In order to understand this contest between the houses of York and Lancaster, you will need to look at the table on page 141, and see just how each house was Riva , descended from King Edward III. Henry YL, ^EJnd Lancaster. the head of the house of Lancaster, re- presented the third line of descent; while Richard of Y o r k w a s d escen d ed from Ed- ward's second son, Lionel, through h i s mother, a s well as from the fourt J i son, through h i s father. If strict rules of successi o n were regard- e d , Richard of York had a better right to the throne than King Henry VI. But the claims of the line of Lionel had been passed over in 1399, and had been since disregarded; MAP OF ENGLAND 1455-1660 156 THE STORY OF ENGLAND and it was only the miserable failure of the French war, and the misgovernment at home, which enabled the Yorkists to win any attention for their claims. At first, the object of York was merely to take the government from incapable persons, and to secure it for himself; but later he claimed the throne Ptirt ics to the itself. His ablest supporter was the Earl of struggle. Warwick, who played so important a part that he is called " the King Maker." On the Lancastrian side, the real head of the party was Queen Margaret, a young and beautiful French woman, who fiercely re- sisted all attempts to disinherit her son, Prince Edward. On both sides, the followers of the dif- ferent lords were distin- guished by the badges HENRY VI. which the y wore — t he swan, the bear and staff, the white hart or deer, and the like. But all Lancastrians regarded the Red Rose as their emblem, and all Yorkists similarly looked upon the White Rose. The wars, which troubled England for thirty years, are thus known as the "Wars of the Roses.' 9 The first battle in this struggle was fought in 1455, at St. Albans, where York defeated his enemies, and for a The wars ^ me secured control of the government. Four Roles be- years later, however, Queen Margaret at- gun (1455). tacked the Yorkists with superior forces; and York was obliged to flee to Ireland, while his son THE WARS OF THE ROSES 15? Edward, and Warwick, fled to Calais, in France. In a Parliament which was unfairly elected, Queen Margaret then had York and his friends " attainted " of treason — that is, they were made outlaws, and their lives and iroods were declared forfeited. Next year, York returned from Ireland, and his son and Warwick from Calais. Warwick found the King's army fortified in a meadow near Northampton. But a TOWER OF LONDON (Present condition) The Tower was at first a royal castle and fortress ; later it became a prison heavy rain flooded the meadow and made their cannon useless, while some of the Lancastrian forces deserted; so Warwick won an easy victory. King Henry was captured and taken to London; and it is said that the city "gave to Cod great praise and thanking" for the victory. A new Parliament then repealed the "attain- ders" of the previous year, and decided that King Henry should keep the crown so long as he lived, but that, after his death, it should go to the Duke of York and his descendants. 158 THE STORY OF ENGLAND After the battle of Northampton, Queen Margaret and the little six year old Prince were in great danger. Adventures They fell into the hands of some Yorkists, Oueen and and were robbed of their goods and insulted Prince. and threatened. But a fourteen year old squire took pity on them, and while their captors quar- reled oyer the booty, he said: "Madam, mount you behind me, and my lord the Prince before me, and I will save you or die." So they escaped, all three riding on one horse. At another time, the Queen and her little son took refuge in a wood, where they were found by a brigand of fierce and terrible appearance. But the Queen told her rank, and, placing her boy in the robber's hands, said: "Save the son of your King!" The man proved faithful, and at length the Queen and the little Prince reached friends and safety. Richard of York was not left long in enjoyment of his victory over his opponents. On the last day of December, „ t m 14G0, another battle was fought at Wakefield, Death of ° Richard in the north of England. York was taken bv of York. . . . his enemies "like a fish in a net,'' and fell fighting at the head of his men. The cruel practice, which Warwick had introduced, of putting to death the leaders of the other party, was now followed by the Lancastrians, and many leading Yorkists were slaugh- tered. The bloody head of the Duke of York was set over the gate of a near-by town, and was crowned in mockery with a paper crown. With a large army of rude northerners, Margaret then advanced southward. They came, says a chronicler, "robbing all the country and people, and spoiling abbeys and houses of religion, and chinches: and they bare away communion cups, books, and other ornaments, as THE WARS OF THE ROSES 159 if they had been pagans and not Christian men." They again defeated the Yorkists, and rescued the captive King, to his great joy. But the citizens of London declared against them, and Margaret's army soon retreated northward, still plundering as they went. IN I e a n w h i 1 e Y o r k's eldest son, now nineteen years old, had Edward Iv . fought his way <£££> from Wales to King (i36i). London, and had joined Warwick. "And there," says a chronicler, "he took upon him the crown of England, by the advice of the Lords spiritual and temporal, and by the election of the Commons." He was crowned as Ed- ward IV. — the first of the Yorkist Kings. The new King was tall, strong, and handsome; he was a much better general than Warwick, but not so good. a statesman. His first task was to pursue Queen Margaret's army, which he overtook at Towton, not far from Wakefield. As the battle began, a snow-storm set in, which so blinded the Lancastrians that they discharged all their arrows before the Yorkists came within good He over . range. Then Edward's men pressed on — olle^ with swords, battle-axes, daggers, and deadly Mar ^ aret - hammers of lead, which even helmets of iron could not EDWARD IV ICO THE STORY OF ENGLAND withstand. Both sides fought desperately, and no prisoners were taken. In the end. the victory was won by King Edward. King Henry and his Queen escaped to Scotland; but four years later the poor dethroned King was captured and again imprisoned in the Tower. Edward IV. was now recog- nized by foreign powers as England's ruler. Soon quarrels arose be- tween the new King and Hequar- the mail who liac rels with , , . ... Warwick, made him King. "the King . , Maker." War WICK was greedy of wealth, influence. and power. He kept so many followers that "when he came to London he held such a house that six oxen were eaten at a breakfast, and every tavern was full of his meat, for who had any acquaintance in that house he should have as much boiled and roast as he might carry upon a long dagger." Edward offended Warwick by secretly marrying beneath his rank. Then, to build up a party against Warwick. Edward ennobled and promoted his wife's relatives. Warwick won over to his side Edward's weak brother, the Duke of Clarence. In addition to aU else, King PLATE ARMOR OF THE FIFTEENTH CENTURY Made of plates of iron riveted together THE WARS OF THE ROSES 161 Edward and Warwick differed over foreign policy; for Warwick wisely wished England to remain at peace w T ith France, while Edward wanted to renew the French war. At last, in 1470, Warwick's friends rebelled, and were defeated in a battle, from which they fled so hastily thai it was called " Lose-coat Field." Warwick Edward iv. and Clarence took refuge at the court of the and Henry King of France, where they found Queen (H70). Margaret and her son. The French King caused these "-',; 2J^M ' *4 ■ M BhL * 4 ■ y^ '^f&B&Bk rWWS" '*®hB " WARWICK CASTLE This was one of fifteen strong castles belonging to the Earl of Warwick. It is still used as a residence former enemies to be friends; and in September, 1470, Warwick returned to England, with an army, to drive Edward from the throne and restore the Lancastrian line. For a time everything went well with Warwick. Edward's troops deserted him, and he was forced to flee to Flanders. Henry VI. was then replaced on the throne, and "all his good lovers were glad, and the most part of the people." 162 THE STORY OF ENGLAND But in March, 1471, Edward returned, and his brother, the Duke of Clarence, joined him. At Barnet, a few miles north of London, the battle was fought Edward was completely successful, and Warwick was slain as he left the field. On the very day of the battle of Barnet, Queen Mar- garet and her sou lauded in the west of England, and Edward iv. soon they were at the head of a considerable and Henry armv. A few weeks later the Queen's forces dered (1471). met the Yorkist forces at Tewkesbury. There King Edward fought and won the last battle needed to secure his possession of the crown. The Lancastrian Prince, who had become a fine young man of eighteen years, was captured after the battle, and was cruelly put to death. Queen Margaret was allowed to return to France, where she died some years later. As for poor Henry VI., who played so feeble a part in all these struggles, he was murdered in the 'Tower on the very DO v day that King Edward returned to London. So long as King Edward lived, there was no renewal of the war. The townsmen and common people were glad to have peace at any price, and willingly submitted to the strong rule of the King. The nobles were so weakened by the wars that thev could not resist. To end the troubles within his oavh family, the King charged his brother — "false, fleeting, perjured Clarence" — with treason, and had him put to death. This hard, unscrupulous, pleasure-loving King died in 1483, leaving two sons, Edward and Richard, the one twelve years old, and the other ten. The Death of • Edward iv. elder of these was at once proclaimed King. as Edward V.; and his uncle, Richard of Gloucester became " Protector," or ruler in the young King's name. THE WARS OF THE ROSES 1(W Gloucester was a monster of cunning and cruelty, and set to work to rob his nephew of the crown. He imprisoned and executed the chief supporters of the young King. Then lie had it announced that ///' was the true heir to the throne, and began Richard t<> reign in his own name. The little Princes m. usurps the throne. were shut up in the Tower of London, and soon disappeared murdered by the orders of their cruel uncle. In this way, began the brief reign of Richard III., the last of the Yorkist kings, whom the poet Shake- speare represents with a crooked hack, to match his cruel and crooked mind. But punishment fol- lowed fast upon this wicked King. Old York- ists joined with what was left of the Lancastrian party, and soon a great conspiracy was on foot. They planned to make Henry Tudor (a distant relative of Henry VI.) King, and marry him to Elizabeth of York, the daughter of Edward IV. Henry's first expedition from France failed because of storms and floods; but a second expedition, in 1485, brought him safely to land in Wales. RICHARD TIT. 164 THE STORY OF ENGLAND At Bosworth field he was met by King Richard, and there was fought the last battle of the Wars of the Roses. Richard T ne R ec * R° se °f Lancaster triumphed over by e He h n7y Wn tlie White Rose of York. Richard's leading vn. (1485). ffi cers deserted him, and he died fighting in the front of the battle. His crown was picked up from the field, and set upon the head of Henry Tudor, who was proclaimed King as Henry VII. The marriage with Elizabeth of York followed, and the wise policy of Henry VII. united the interests of both Lancaster and York in the house of Tudor. The long warfare for the crown was at last ended. The old nobility had suffered greviously through deaths on the field and at the block, and through of h th^ ars confiscation of estates, and never again did ^nded. its power seriously threaten the peace of England. The common people, however, had suffered little in the struggle, and a new era of peace and prosperity now dawned for England. Other forces, too, had for some time been changing the modes of life and thought in Europe. With the close of the Wars of the Roses, we may recognize the complete ending of the Middle Ages in England, and the estab- lishing of the "Renaissance," which begins Modern History. TOPICS FOR THOUGHT AND SEARCH 1. Locate on the map the places mentioned in this" chapter. 2. Write in your own words an account of Warwick, the King- Maker. 3. Write an account of Queen Margaret and her son. 4. Find out what you can of the government which Edward IV. gave England. Why were the people willing that he should strengthen the royal power? 5. Find out what you can of the character of Richard III. XIX HENRY VII., AND THE BEGINNING OF MODERN TIMES POINTS TO BE NOTICED Meaning of the term "Renaissance"; wh.-it it included; where and when it began; how it reached England, [nvention of printing; its introduction into England; part played by Caxton in fixing the English Language. England's part in the geographies,] discoveries of this time; regions discovered by John Cabot; value to England of this discovery. Lambert Simnel's pretensions to the Crown; his treatment after his rising was put d<»\vn; Perkin Warbeck's claims; his fate; story of Lord Lovell. Henry *s dealings with ' ' Livery and Maintenance"; the Courl of Star ( lhamber. Three t hings accomplished by l [enry VI I ; importance of his reign. The word "Renaissance" means "re-birth," and we use it to name the period when men's minds awakened to new activities after the slumbers of the Middle Ages. It took the form of a new interest in the literature, art, and philosophy of ancient Greece and Rome, for in these Meaning men found the same spirit of free inquiry, and ^'Renais- *he same appreciation of beauty, which they sance." now f e j^ w jthin their own breasts. With this " revival of learning," as it is called, came also a develop- ment of painting, sculpture, and architecture. Gun- powder and the compass, were introduced from the East; printing was invented; Columbus and Vasco da Gama discovered America and the ocean route to India; and correct ideas of the earth's form and place in the solar system began to replace the mistaken ideas of the Middle Ages. 165 166 THE STORY OF ENGLAND In every line, men's minds worked more freely and more accurately, and the result was a rapid change in almost every line of human endeavor. This movement began in Italy, about one hundred and fifty years before Henry VII. became King. Gradually it spread from that land to the countries north it begins f the Alps, and bv the time of Henry VII. in Italy. L • , the movement was making itself felt in England also. A few Italian scholars had come to England, and a few Englishmen had gone to Italy, to study there, and bring back to England the newly revived learning. Then, from the University of Oxford as a center, there slowly spread, in England, a knowledge of (J reck, a sounder understanding of the old Latin masterpieces, and a more sensible way of looking at all questions. The invention of the art of printing did a great deal to aid this movement. In Invention .. of printing the Middle Ages all spreads it. . . • i 1 books were laboriously written with the pen, letter by letter, usually by monks or nuns; as a result, they were rare and expensive, and only a very few per- sons could learn what they had to teach. But, at about the time that the Wars of the Roses began, a Ger- man named Gutenberg invented a method of casting movable metal types, and made possible the printing of a large number of copies of a book, with little more labor than it would take to Avrite out by hand a single copy. Then the types could be separated, and used again for printing other books. The value of the new invention THE TUDOR ROSE This emblem was formed by combining the Red Rose and the White Rose BEGINNING OF MODERN TIMES 167 was at once seen. Before the century ended printing presses were set up in more than two hundred places. The first to introduce the new art into England was William Caxton, a London cloth merchant who had lived in Flanders. While there he became Caxton interested in an old French book, which told p"-™?"^ the story of the siege of Troy by the Greeks En £ ,and - more than two thousand years before that time. To please the Duchess of Burgundy, who was the sister of King Edward IV., Caxton completed a translation of the book into English. Then, since many people wanted copies of his translation, he learned the new art of print- ing, at the cost of much pains and expense, and printed it, under the name Histories of Troy. This was the very first book ever printed in the English language. In 1477, Caxton returned to England, with type pur- chased abroad, and set up the first printing office in England. The first book printed there was The Sayings of the Philosophers. In the fourteen years which followed, Caxton printed eighty separate books, including histories, stories, poems, and religious works; and twenty-one of these he himself translated from French into English. By always using in his translations the cultivated speech which was used at London and the court, Caxton helped to fix the literary language of England. The dia- EARLY PRINTING OFFICE 168 THE STORY OF ENGLAND lects which were spoken in distant parts of the kingdom were so different, that it was often impossible for a per- „. ._ , son who came from one district to understand His books l x *£« the speech of another. To show this, Caxton English r language. j- e \\ s a s t ry of some merchants sailing down the Thames river from London, who were becalmed at its mouth, and went ashore seeking provisions. "And one of them," says Caxton, "came into a house, and asked for meat, and specially he asked for 'eggs.' The good wife answered that she could speak no French. And the merchant was angry, for he, also, could speak no French; but he would have eggs, and she understood him not. And then at last another said that he would have ' eyeren" (another word for eggs). Then the good wife understood what he wanted." The differences in spelling and pronunciation were as great as the differences in words, and it was long before a standard of correct English was established. It was in the reign of Henry VII., too, that Christo- pher Columbus sailed from Spain in the service of Queen Isabella, and discovered the New World of America. Soon after that (in 1497), Henry VII. sent forth a Venetian seaman, named John Cabot, with per- john Cabot mission to sail "to all places, lands, and seas, Newfound- of the East ' West, and North," and discover land (1497.) w h a t l an d s h e could. After discovering land near the mouth of the St. Lawrence river (which was called "the New-found-land"), Cabot coasted along a part of the mainland of North America, and thus laid the foundation of the claim to this land which England put forth a hundred years later. In the account books of Henry VII., we may still read the entry: "To him that found the new isle, £10." This seems a small reward for so great a service; but Henry VII. was care- BEGINNING OF MODERN TIMES 169 ful of money, and the value of the new discovery was then not known. For many years Henry's chief attention was directed to putting down risings of the Yorkists. In the first of these, a ten year old boy named Lambert Sim- Risings nel was made against Henry VII. to play the chief part. He was the son of a baker, but he was trained to act the part of a Yorkist prince who was then imprisoned in the Tower, but who was falsely said to have escaped. Simnelwas crowned King at Dublin, in Ireland; and then, with Irish and German troops, a landing was made in England. Scarcely an Englishman joined the Yorkists, and their troops were easily defeated. Lambert Simnel was pardoned, and was made a "turn spit" in the King's kitchen. Lord Lovel, who was one of the leaders, disappeared. Long afterwards, in an underground chamber, some workmen accidentally discovered the skeleton of a man seated in a chair with his head resting on a table; and this, it was said, was the body of the missing man, who had hidden there, and through the faithlessness of a servant was left to die of starvation. A few years later another pretender appeared, in the HENRY VII. He holds a red rose, the emblem of the Lancastrians 170 THE STORY OF ENGLAND person of a young man named Perkin Warbeck. He claimed to be the younger of the two sons of Edward IV., who really had been murdered in the Tower by Richard III. For five years he played this part, and was received in Ireland, Flanders, and in Scotland, where the Scottish King found him a wife of noble birth. But, in 1497, he rashly landed in England, and was speedily captured and shut up in the Tower. He soon escaped, with the real prince whom Lambert S i m n e 1 had impersonated; and Henry VII. seized the oppor- tunity to rid him- self of both rivals, the true and the false, by sending them to execution. Henry VII. had laws passed forbidding the practice known as "livery and maintenance," by which the great Henry nobles kept at their call large bands of men, thl P g S rert Wn wno wore t ne badges of their masters and nobles. we re ready to support them, if need be, by force of arms. At one time the King visited the Earl of Oxford, who had been one of his strongest supporters. When he went away he found a great band of men, wearing the Earl's badge, drawn up to show him honor. " I thank you for your good cheer," said Henry to the ELIZABETH OF YORK She holds a white rose, emblem of the Yorkists BEGINNING OF MODERN TIMES 171 Earl, "but I cannot endure to have my laws broken in my sight. My attorney must speak with you." For his disobedience to the law, the Earl was after- wards fined the great sum of £10,000. Another means of breaking the power of the great lords was the development of a court, called (from the place where it met) the Court of Star Chamber. It was composed of high officers of the King's service, who could not be bribed or bullied, as the local juries could; and it did an excellent service in bringing to justice great men who escaped punishment in the ordinary courts. In later years, when the power of great lords no longer disturbed the land, other Kings made this court an instrument of tyranny, and it was then abolished. Henry VII. died in 1509. He had ended the Wars of the Roses, increased the power of the crown, and gathered great sums of money into the royal to & • • Death of treasury. But, most of all, he is to be Henry vn. remembered because it was in his time that the Renaissance was established in England, and the way was paved for the changes which produced the Reformation of the English Church. TOPICS FOR THOUGHT AND SEARCH 1. Find out what you can about the introduction of gunpowder and the compass into Europe. 2. Read an account of Gutenberg and the invention of printing. 3. Write an account of Caxton and what he did for England. 4. Tell the story of John Cabot's expeditions to America. How did the marriage of Henry VII. with Elizabeth of York help him to put down Simnel and Warbeekf Find out what you can about the Court of Star Chamber and the good work which it accomplished under the Tudors. Imagine yourself a boy or girl in the time of Henry VII. and tell about the introduction of printing. ■). XX HENRY VIII. AND THE SEPARATION FROM ROME POINTS TO BE NOTICED Dates of Henry VIII. 's reign; expectations of scholars; their disappointment. Territories ruled over by Charles V.; his war with France; how England profited by this situation. How Wolsey became Henry's chief minister; his position in the English Church; his policy; the "Field of the Cloth of Gold." Grounds on which Henry sought a divorce from Queen Catherine; the Pope refuses to grant it; YVolsey's dismissal and death; his last words; Henry divorces Catherine and marries Anne Boleyn; the Pope's authority abolished in England; Henry takes the title, ''Supreme Head of the Church of England"; the Bible translated; the monasteries dissolved; the "Pil- grimage of Grace. ' ' Origin of "Protestant" teachings; the attitude of Henry VIII. toward changes in doctrine; he persecutes both Catholics and Protestants; Sir Thomas More executed. Henry married six times; two wives divorced, two executed; his three children; his character; for what his reign is chiefly to be remembered. Upon the death of his father, in 1509, Henry VIII. became King. He was a handsome youth of eighteen years, and was educated in the New Learning, Henry vin. as well as skilled in all manner of athletic (1509-1546). games. Scholars believed that they at last had a King after their own heart; but he soon showed that the glory of war weighed more with him than the New Learning, and that the ruling motive of his life was to gratify his own will and his own pleasures. Three strong young Kings had begun to rule in western Europe within a few years of each other — Henry VIII. of England, Francis I. of France, and Charles of Spain. 172 THE SEPARATION FROM ROME 178 From his grandparents, Ferdinand and Isabella, King Charles inherited Spain, Sicily, southern Italy, and the vast Spanish possessions in America and Rivalries of Henry •eceived VIII., Fran- cis I., and Nether- Charles V. the Far East. From his father he Holland and Belgium (called the lands, or " Low Countries"). Then (in 1519), he was chosen Emperor, over both Francis I. and Henry VIII., and as Charles V. became the head of Germany also. Already France and Spain had been at war over Italy; and now a new war broke out between the m , which lasted (with some inter- ruptions) for forty years. Henry VIII., at first, sought to take advantage of this war to win back what he called "our inheritance of France." But a wiser mind than his own soon pointed out that it was to Eng- land's interest rather to maintain a balance of power between France increase England's power HENRY VIII. till s wav and Spain, and in among nations. The man who gave this advice was Thomas Wolsey. He was the son of humble parents, but rose to be the first man in England, after the King. At the woisey becomes age of fifteen he was graduated from the Henry's r chief university of Oxford; then, becoming a priest, minister. he was appointed chaplain to Henry VIII. His energy 174 THE STORY OF ENGLAND and attention to business attracted the King's notice. When Henry sent him as a messenger to the Emperor, in Flanders, Wolsey made the journey and back in four days. When he presented himself before the King, Henry reproached him with his delay in starting. He then learned, to his surprise, that Wolsey had gone and returned. He informed Wolsey that he had sent after him a courier, with fuller instructions. " Sire," replied Wolsey, " I met him on my way back, but I had already taken it upon my- self to fulfill what I foresaw would be your intentions." Such intelligence and industry won rapid advancement for Wolsey, a n d soon he was Henry's principal minister. He was made Chancellor of the kingdom, and Archbishop of wolsfa* York; and Henry secured from the Pope his appointment as Cardinal and the Pope's legate or representative in England. Soon all the business of the government passed through his hands. He conducted himself with haughtiness, and lived in great state. In this way, he made enemies of the ancient nobles, who considered him a low-born upstart. Not content with the position which he held in England, Wolsey planned, with the aid of Henry VIII. and the Emperor Charles Y., to secure his own THE SEPARATION FROM ROME 175 election as Pope, and thus win the highest position to which man mighi aspire. But the Emperor's promises were not sincerely meant, and Wolsey's hopes were disappointed. Under Wolsey's skilful guidance, England was soon raised to a position of great importance. Her alliance was eagerly sought by both the King of France He in _ and the Emperor. In 1520, a great meeting "Viand's took place, in France, between King Henry p° wer - and King Francis, at the "Field of the Cloth of Gold." Henry VIII. came with 5.000 personal attendants, while his Queen brought 1,000. Stately palaces of wood were erected for the occasion in the flat meadows; and everything was more splendid than had ever before been seen. King Francis believed that he had gained his end, and that thenceforth England was his ally. But Wolsey steadily followed the policy of favoring now one and now the other party to the war. and so increased England's power and reputation. The end of Wolsey's rule is connected with King Henry's divorce, which introduced the Reformation into England. When Henry VIII. became King, he married Catherine of Arao-on, his older brother Arthur's young widow. This marriage was against the law of the He fails to Church, but a " dispensation " was granted by d tJor r ce a for the Pope, as head of the Church, which claimed Henf y- to remove the difficulty. For many years, little more was thought of the matter; but. at last. Henry began to have doubts of the power of the Pope to grant such a "dis- pensation," and to question whether Catherine was really his wife. Perhaps he was influenced, too, by the fact that their only living child was a girl (later Queen Mary), and that it was doubtful whether a woman would 176 THE STORY OF ENGLAND SCENE FROM A WAR OF HENRY VIII. AGAINST FRANCE the Channel near The E rns-lish are attacking the city of Boulogne on tne « Calais. "Notffhe ufe of hand-gun, ; as we ■ 1 as cann also the continued use of bows and arrows on, hut THE SEPARATION FROM ROME 177 be permitted to succeed him on the English throne. On the other hand, it is certain that he had grown tired of Catherine, and that lie had shamelessly fallen in love with a young: noblewoman of the court, named Anne Boleyn. If the Pope had been willing to grant Henry a divorce, all might have been well. But, in addition to the great injustice which would thereby be done to Queen Cath- erine, there was the fact that she was the aunt of the Emperor Charles V., whom the Pope did not wish to offend. So, in spite of long negotiations, the Pope would not grant the divorce. Then, in furious anger, Henry turned against his minister, Wolsey, who for fifteen years had served him faithfully and well. Unfortunately for him- Wolsey's self, Wolsey was "feared by all, but loved by dismissal J " , and death. few or none at all." Henry VIII. dismissed him from his office of Chancellor, and confined him to his duties as Archbishop of York; and soon after this he had him arrested on a charge of treason. Wolsey 's health and spirits were now broken; and he died, while on the road to London to be imprisoned in the Tower. In his last hours he said: " Had I but served my God as faithfully as I have served the King, he would not have given me over in my old age!" Failing to obtain a divorce from the Pope, the King obtained one from Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury; and soon it was announced that the King had Henry di _ married Anne Boleyn. The Pope was thus ^fe^and' 8 defied. All the ties which bound the English ^ n P d ° p n e s Church to Rome were now broken. < 1533 >- Appeals to the Pope's courts were forbidden; all pay- ments to Rome were stopped; and the Pope's authority 178 THE STORY OF ENGLAND in England was abolished. By act of Parliament Henry was declared "Supreme Head of the Church of England." To deny this title was made an act of treason. Parliament also made a series of reforms of practical abuses in the Church. The laws which protected clergymen who committed crimes (called in the "benefit of clergy") were done away with, Church. it J- and many payments to the clergy were dis- continued. Also, the Bible was translated into English, and printed copies were placed in the churches. To prevent their being carried off, the great heavy volumes were chained to the reading desks. In St. Paul's church, London, six copies were provided, but even this number was not sufficient. The practice arose of having some one read aloud from one of the Bibles; and "many well-disposed people," we are told, "used to resort to the hearing thereof, especially when thev could get anyone who had a good voice to read to them." More important than these changes was the breaking up of the monasteries. In spite of the vows of "pov- erty" taken by the monks as individuals the The mon- J • i i i 1 i asteries monasteries had become very wealthy; and with wealth had come idleness and moral decay. The monasteries were said to be dens of vice and evil living; but no doubt the desire to obtain monastery lands and goods was a powerful motive in the attack. Parliament took the King's word for the abuses and ordered first the smaller monasteries, and then all of them, to be dissolved, and the monks and nuns to be scattered. Their lands and goods were turned over to the King. Thus one of the greatest features of the mediaeval Church was wiped out in England. In the northern part THE SEPARATION FROM ROME 179 of the kingdom, the people rose in rebellion in favor of the monks; but their "Pilgrimage of Grace," as it was called, was put down with bloody cruelty. The lands of the dispossessed monks were largely given to favorites of the King. Thus a large part of the nobles and gentry of England became financially interested in continuing the separation from the Roman Church. In Germany and Switzerland, meanwhile, a religious Reformation, much deeper than that in England, had been growing and spreading. Martin Luther, a German monk and university professor, mation in a • i 1 ■>? Germany. protested against tne sale of indulgences, by which it was claimed that the Pope wiped out the penalty of sin without real repentance on the part of the sinner. The dispute widened, until Luther threw oil" all obedience to the Pope, and carried out a reform of the German church which touched not only its government, but also its doctrine or teaching, and its ritual or worship. Unlike that in England, the "Protestant" movement in Germany and Switzerland began with the people, not the rulers, and was mainly religious, not political, in its motives. It was not lono- before these Protestant ideas began to spread into England also. One who opposed them wrote that ' k even the chief est and most weighty matters of our religion and faith are called in question, babbled, talked, and jangled upon." Although Henry VIII. had reformed the government of the Church in England to suit his convenience, he would not permit changes to be made in its doctrine. Indeed, before he began his divorce suit, he wrote so well against Luther that the Pope granted him the title, "Defender of the Faith," — a title which his successors still bear! Accordingly, Henry VIII. now persecuted equally the 180 THE STORY OF ENGLAND Catholics who would not go as far as he did, and Protes- Henry tants who went farther. His most important persecutes . . * bothCath- victim, for religion's sake, was Sir Thomas olics and Protestants.More, a learned and noble-minded English- man, who was Henry's Chancellor, after Wolsey's fall. As Chancellor, More had put to death Protestants, and now it was his turn to suffer death, on a charge of treason, for denying that the King was the supreme head of the Church of England. His gentle bearing and courage on the scaffold aroused the pity and admiration of all. As he laid his head on the block, he moved his beard aside, saying with sad humor: "It is a pity that that should be cut which has committed no treason." Henry VIII. did not content himself with putting to death those who differed from him in relig- Six wives — ... . „ two di- ion. He was six times married, and two of vorced, and . „ . . twoexe- his wives were executed. Anne lioleyn bore cuted. the Kinir one child, the Princess Elizabeth; then after a few brief years she lost the King's favor, and was put to death on a charge of unfaithfulness. A few days later, the King married his third wife, who died in little more than a year, after having given to Henry his only son — the future Edward VI. Henry's fourth wife behaved badly, and she, too, was executed — perhaps justly. Then Thomas Cromwell, who, after Wolsey and More, was the King's chief minister, brought about a marriage between Henry VIII. and a Protestant German princess; to whom, however, Henry took such a dislike that he divorced her at the earliest possible moment. Cromwell had been a faithful, though unscrupulous, minister to the King; but, for making this unsatisfactory marriage, he was now condemned unheard, and sent to the block. THE SEPARATION FROM ROME 181 With equal bloodthirstiness, every possible rival to th? throne was put to death; and thus order and peace was kept in the land In his later years, Henry VIII. became very fat, and grew feeble in health. His sixth wife, strange to say, outlived him. He died in 1547, after ruling & Death of for thirty-eight important years. He was a Henry viii. strong King, but was wholly selfish and cruel. England prospered greatly in his time, both at home and abroad. His reign is chiefly to be remembered as the time when the old ties were broken which bound the English Church to Rome; but it was not until after his death that changes were made in the doctrine and wor- ship of the Church. TOPICS FOR THOUGHT AND SEARCH 1. What was the connection between the Eenaissance and the changes in religious ideas which make the Reformation? 2. What did Wolsey do for England? 3. Was the breaking up of the monasteries just or unjust? Was it a good or a bad thing for England? Why? 4. Find out what you can of Sir Thomas More. 5. Was Henry VIII, a good or a bad man? Why? Was he a good or bad King? Why? 6. Was the Church in England Catholic or Protestant at the time of Henry VIII. 's death? Give your reasons. xxr THE REFORMATION ESTABLISHED (1547-1559) POINTS TO BE NOTICED Dates of Edward VI. 's reign; when he became King; Somerset's religions policy; how Englishmen viewed these changes; causes of agricultural discontent; Somerset's policy concern ing Scotland; its results. Somerset's overthrow and death; Northumberland's plans for the succession; brief reign of Lady -lane (hey; her fate. Dates of Queen Mary's reign; her marriage to Philip IT. of Spain; the Catholic religion restored; the Protestants persecuted; Archbishop Cranmer burned at the stake; Mary's unhappi- ness; her death. Reasons why Elizabeth inclined to the Protestant cause; her two chief policies for'England; the changes which she made in the Church; how these were received; importance of her reign in the history of the Church. Henry VIII. 's successor was his only son, Edward VI., who at the time of his father's death was hut nine years Edward °^ ^ n ^ ie Council, which carried on the boyKJng government till he should come of age, the (1547-1553). TJuke f Somerset, who was the young King's uncle, speedily gained control and took the title of Protector. He was opposed to harsh government, and had many good ideas; but he tried to do everything at once, and so did nothing well. Under Somerset's rule, Protestant changes were rapidly made. Church images were pulled down, pic- Protestant t ures of saints and angels were whitewashed undef es over, and many of the old customs and holy somerset, days were suppressed. The Church service was changed from the Catholic " mass-service," in Latin, to a Protestant "preaching service," in the English tongud. 182 THE REFORMATION ESTABLISHED 188 Following the example which was set by the German and Swiss reformers, the English clergy were permitted to marry. These changes went further than most Englishmen of that day wanted, so there was much discontent on religious grounds. Other grievances also existed, of another kind. The old "common lands," on which each villager had the right to pasture his cattle, were being fenced in by the lords of the manors; and the old "open fields," devoted to the raising of grain, were turai i . « • i " • l • l xi discontent. giving place to inclosures, in which the lords carried on sheep-raising. Since it took fewer men to herd sheep than it did to till the soil, many men were thus thrown out of work, and the problem of the " unemployed " first began to trouble the government. "Our captain's name is Poverty," said the leader of a band of rioters in the reign of Henry VIII., "for he and his cousin Necessity hath brought us to this doing." Sir Thomas More was one of many who saw the evils of these changes. "Your sheep," he said, "that used to be so meek and tame, and such small eaters, have now become such great devourers, and so wild, that they eat up and swallow down the very men themselves. They consume, destroy, and devour whole fields, houses, and cities." As a result, rebellions broke out in England: in the West, to restore the religious laws of Henry VIII. ; and in the East, chiefly for these agricultural reasons. Both movements were put down, but they had the effect of seriously weakening Somerset's government. Somerset's policy towards Scotland was also unsuc- cessful. 184 THE STORY OF ENGLAND Henry VIII. 's elder sister had been married to the King of the Scots, in the hope of bringing the two countries together. But, in 1513, he was Scottish defeated and slain in battle, while invading P o icy. England. In 1542 his son was likewise defeated while attacking England. This King died soon afterward, leaving his throne to his five year old daughter, Mary Stuart. This was the condition when Somerset inter- fered in the affairs of Scot- land. Somerset's object was partly to aid the Refor- mation there, and partly to marry Edward VI. to the young Queen of Scot- land . In the battle of Pinkie, the English won a great victory over the Scots; but it destroyed all hope of carrying out the marriage. "We mislike not the match," said one of the Scots, "but the manner of the w r ooing." The little Queen of the Scots was sent over to France, where she was reared as a Catholic, and was married to the future King of that country. Much trouble came to England, in later days, as a result of these events. EDWARD VI. THE REFORMATION ESTABLISHED 185 Both t at home and abroad, Somerset's rule was thus a failure. The result was that the Council determined to remove him. His power passed to his rival, -r^T pxti 11 i o <» Somerset the Duke or .Northumberland, boon alter displaced by Nor- this, Somerset was put to death on a charge tnumber- ' ** & land. ot treason. Northumberland was an able and ambitious man. As a means of keeping his power, and of enriching himself and friends, he favored the Protestants and continued the work of the Reformation. But he cared little for religion, and at the end of his life he claimed that he had been a Catholic all the time. The young King had now become a lad of fifteen years, and was more than usually bright and well educated. But unfortunately he fell into a Fatal sickness, and it soon became evident that he illness of Edward VI. would never live to take the rule into his own hands. The next heir to the throne was his half-sister, Mary, the daughter of Catherine of Aragon. Northum- berland, however, plotted to exclude her, and to raise Lady Jane Grey to the throne. Lady Jane was the granddaughter of Henry VIII.'s younger sister, and had been married to Northumberland's son, Lord (iuilford Dudley. Lady Jane was a beautiful, noble-minded girl of sixteen. She had applied herself so well to her studies that she knew Latin, Greek, French, and Lady Jane Italian. She was persuaded bv Northumber- "ten-day Queen" land that it was her duty to take the throne. (1553). So, when Edward VI. died, in 1553, she permitted Northumberland to proclaim her Queen. As the procla- mation was being read, an apprentice lad bravely cried out: "The Lady Mary has the better title!" This, indeed, was the general opinion of the nation. 186 THE STORY OF ENGLAND Mary escaped those who were sent to seize her, and soon her party was so strong that Northumberland was obliged to submit. Lady Jane Grey's reign lasted only ten days. Queen Mary caused the wicked Duke of Northumber- land to be executed. For some months she allowed Lady Jane and her young husband to live quietly in honor- able captivity. But when rebellions broke out against Mary's rule, as they soon did, Lady Jane and her hus- band, with many other political prisoner s, were promptly put to death At the beginning of her reign. Queen Mary was one of the Reign of Queen Mary (1553-1558). t pop- that LADY JANE GREY u 1 a r rulers England ever had. At the end of it she was one of the most hated. This change in the feelings of her sub- jects was mainly due to two causes — her marriage to a foreigner, and her persecution of Protestants. Her mother's unjust divorce, and her own inclinations, made Queen Mary a zealous Catholic. This led her to Her mar- accept eagerly the proposal that she should Phi^ii. marry Philip II. of Spain, who succeeded his of Spain! father, Charles V., as head of the Catholics of Europe. Englishmen disliked this marriage, partly because they were foolishly jealous of all foreigners, but still more because thev feared that it would cause them THE REFORMATION ESTABLISHED 187 to lose the advantages of their island position, and to take an active part in the wars between France and Spain. Nevertheless, the marriage took place. As soon as she could do so, Mary caused the religious laws of her brother's and father's reigns to be repealed. The Catholic religion and the authoritv of the ° • Catholic Pope were thus restored, and a few monas- religion • t» -mr p restored. tenes were refounded. But Mary found it necessary to leave most of the monastery lands, and other goods of the Church, in the hands of those who possessed them. The laws for punishing heretics were also revived, and many Protestants suffered death for their religion, as Catholics had done in the reign of Henry VIII. The most noted victim of this persecution was Arch- bishop Cranmer of Canterbury. He had granted Henry VIII. his divorce from Catherine of Aragon, Archbishop and had been the leader of the Protestant Cranmer burned. party under Edward VI. In hope of saving his life, Cranmer for a time " recanted," and said that all that he had taught contrary to the Roman Catholic church was false, and that only in that church was there any hope of salvation. Catholics wished to weaken the Reformation by having him repeat this recantation when he was led to the stake. But when Cranmer saw that his submission would not save his life, he regained his courage. " Forasmuch as my hand offended in writing contrary to my heart," he cried, "it shall be first burned." And, true to his word, when the fire was kindled about him, he thrust his right hand into the flames. In spite of his wavering, he made a good end, and the bravery with which he and many others met their deaths strength- ened the Protestant cause. 188 THE STORY OF ENGLAND Queen Mary was bitterly disappointed because she had no children. Her husband, too, who was much younger than she, neglected her, and spent Further J s & * persecu- most of the time away from England. A mortal her . illness, moreover, soon seized u p o n As her mis- fortunes i n - creased, the poor Queen's half -crazed mind sought to please God by sending m ore a n d more Protes- tants to the stake. The number of those who suf- fered death in the five years of her reign has bee n reckoned a t a 1) o u t L 2 7 . T he result was a wave of h o r r o r and disgust which swept over E n g 1 and . and greatly aided the final triumph of the Protestant cause. QUEEN MARY THE REFORMATION ESTABLISHED 189 To complete Mary's unpopularity, the assistance which she gave her husband in his wars with France led to the loss of Calais, which had been England's Mary » s un _ outpost across the Channel since the days of anS P death Edward III. Its loss was no real injury to < 1558 )- England, but it was the last blow needed to complete her unhappiness. She died nine months later — one of the saddest figures which that age of conflict could show. Her half-sister, Elizabeth (Anne Bolevn's daughter), now came to the throne, and began a glorious reign of forty-five years. Elizabeth at this time was twenty-five years old. She spoke several languages well, and could read Latin and Greek. She had a strong will, and had Beginning learned self-control. From her training, and i^S's* because her right to the throne depended on rei ^ n - the legality of Anne Bolevn's marriage to Henry VIII., Elizabeth was inclined to the Protestant cause. Her policy had two objects in view for England. One was to keep the country from war; and the other was to establish a united national Church, free from all foreign control. In carrying out these policies, Elizabeth's chief adviser was William Cecil, whom she made Lord Burleigh. When she chose him as her Secretary of State, she said: "This judgment I have of you, that you will not be corrupted with any manner of gifts, and that you will be faithful to the state." Her choice was justified by the thirty years of faithful service which he gave. Elizabeth caused Parliament to repeal the religious laws of Queen Mary, and to establish a moderate reformation of the English Church. An The Refor . Act of Supremacy was passed which denied ^abiushed the Pope's control over the Church. It re- ( 1559 >- quired all officers to take an oath acknowledging the 190 THE STORY OF ENGLAND Queen as " the only supreme governor of this realm as well in all ecclesiastical things or causes as temporal." The Latin mass-service in the Church was again abolished, and the service in English, as arranged in the time of Edward VI. . was restored. It was pub- lished in the Prayer Book, which is still used in the Episcopal Church. Clergymen who refused to use the Prayer Book, and laymen who stayed away from church services where it was used, were severely punished. Finally, the beliefs of the English church were settled in accordance with Protestant views, and were pub- lished in the Thirty-Nine Articles, which are still the official belief of the English or Episcopal Church. All but one of the bishops refused to accept these changes, and new bishops were appointed in their places. Almost all of the lower clergy, however, accepted the changes, with as little opposition as they had made when Mary restored the Catholic religion, five years before. The nobles and people generally received the changes with rejoicing. Here, as in other matters. Queen Elizabeth seemed to know just how far her people were willing to go. and r .. ^ ^ shaped her laws to meet the general wishes of Elizabeth r & a tactful the nation. This was one of her strong points despot. _ ~ r as a ruler, as it had been of her father, Henry VIII. —with all of his self-will and tyranny. The Tudor rulers were despots, and their Parliaments were usually packed with persons named by them. But their despot- ism rested upon the consent of the people, and, in any important matter, they rarely went bevond what their people wished. With these religious laws of Elizabeth, the Reforma- tion period in England comes to an end. There were still unsettled questions relating to the Church, and both THE REFORMATION ESTABLISHED 191 Elizabeth and her successors had much difficulty in dealing with those who wished to restore the Catholic religion, and with Protestants who wished to depart farther from Catholicism. But these efforts, in the end. were unsuccessful, and the religion of the Church of England is today very much as it was established at the beginning of the reign of "good Queen Bess." TOPICS FOR THOUGHT AND SEARCH 1. Were the changes in agriculture good or bad for England in the end? Why.' 2. Compare Somerset with Wolsey. Compare Northumberland and Somerset. 3. Find out what you can of Lady Jane Grey. -4. What was the character of Queen Mary.' Why did she perse- cute Protestants. 5. Make a list of the changes in religion in England from the time when Henry VI II. became King to the time when the Reformation was finally established. XXII ENGLAND UNDER ELIZABETH POINTS TO BE NOTICED Dates of Elizabeth's reign; why she feared Mary Stuart; attitude of France and Spain; the Reformation in Scotland; Mary's fall into the hands of Elizabeth; the ll Casket Letters"; Elizabeth keeps Mary prisoner; Mary put to death. Causes of the conflicts between England and Spain; Sir Francis Drake; Philip proposes the "Armada"; Drake delays its sailing; it sets forth; running fight in the Channel; defeat of the Armada; its effects. Rise of the Puritans; difference between the "Separatists" and other Puritans; Elizabeth's policy towards the Puritans; towards Catholics; attitude of the Puritans toward Elizabeth. The great writers of Elizabeth's time; William Shakespeare. Why Elizabeth never married; means for the succession; Eliza- beth's death; her character. Queen Elizabeth's reign is notable, not only for the establishing of the Reformation in England, but for other events which made a deep impression on the Reign of Elizabeth (1558-1603), Elizabeth minds of the people. These were the exe- 1558-1603). ___ r „ r cution of Mary Queen of Scots, and the defeat of the great Spanish fleet, called the Armada. In order to understand these two events, we must understand the dangers by which Elizabeth was all her life surrounded, from foes abroad, and from hostile parties at home. Perhaps you may ask : " Why was it that Philip II. of Spain did not interfere in England, while it was under Elizabeth, to protect the Catholics, and to put down the Protestant religion ? " The answer is that he was so jealous of France that he preferred to see England become Protestant rather than see it Catholic under France. 192 ENGLAND UNDER ELIZABETH 193 Mary Stuart, Queen of the Scots (as you will remem- ber), had been married to the son of the French King; so, when he became King in turn (as he did Mary i t-- " plucking the feathers" of the great Armada one by one. The Armada dropped anchor at Calais, to get news of the army which they were to escort from the Netherlands to England. The English, however, sent into the harbor six blazing fire-ships, which they had prepared, and the Spaniards were forced to cut their cables and put out to sea. After another all-day fight, the Spaniards turned northward, sailing before a southerly breeze. They failed to take on the army to invade England, and already the expedition was a failure. Worse, however, was to follow. Storms came, and scores of the clumsy Spanish vessels were dashed to 200 THE STORY OF ENGLAND pieces, while trying to round the northern coasts of Scotland and Ireland. Out of the splendid fleet which set sail with such confidence, only fifty-three vessels returned to Spain. Philip II. did not blame his admiral for this disaster. " I sent you to fight against men," said he, "and not with the winds." The defeat of the Armada freed the English from their fear of Spain. It did more. The whole nation now shared the spirit of men like Drake, and the foundations were soon laid of the trade, colonial empire, and sea power which make England "the mistress of the seas." The power of Spain now rapidly declined. Toward the close of Elizabeth's reign, the religious question again came to the front. The trouble was no longer with the Catholics, but with the extreme Rise of the - Puritans Protestants, who wanted to go further in ' reform. They were not satisfied with the moderate Protestant position which Elizabeth had taken, but wished to do away with nearly everything used by the Catholic church in its worship — priestly robes, images, painted windows, incense, candles, and the like. They also wished to end the rule of the bishops in the Church. They were called "Puritans," because they wished to purify the Church. Some Puritans even wished to do away with any united church, established for the whole country, and to form separate congrega- tions, each independent of the others. These are called "Separatists," or "Independents." Elizabeth was as despotic as her father, and would not permit anything which looked like disobedience to the laws which she had established. Puritans Elizabeth - , ., „ . £ persecutes were nned heavily tor staying away trom church, and when they attempted to hold meetings of their own, these were severely put down. ENGLAND UNDER ELIZABETH 201 Thus Elizabeth persecuted Puritans on the one hand, while, on the other. Catholics were being fined, impris- oned, and even put to death. There was this difference, however: in the earlier part of her reign Catholics were often plotting for her downfall; but the spirit among the Puritans was shown by one of their number, who was condemned to lose his right hand for writing against the bishops, and who nevertheless, waving his hat with the hand that was left to him, cried, "God save the Queen." STATE CARRIAGES OF ELIZABETHS TIME We must not close the account of the reign of Elizabeth without a few words concerning the great writers which it produced. In no other reign did literature flourish as it did under "good Queen Bess.'' under u Poets, playwriters, and essayists abounded; while, in the person of Sir Erancis Bacon. England could boast one of the greatest of philosophers. Among all the writers of the Elizabethan era, William Shakespeare stands first. He was born of poor parents, at Stratford on the river Avon, in the year 1564. He received a grammar school educa- snake- tion, and went to London, where he became an actor and writer of plays. He died in 1616. He was the greatest play writer of modern times, and one of the greatest of poets. His plays have been translated 202 THE STORY OF ENGLAND into many languages. They are still acted many times every year, and the books containing them are found in all libraries. His plays include both comedies and tragedies; they picture all kinds of life, and show men and women acting under all kinds of emotions. Sayings taken from his plays are almost as common today as those from the Bible. Queen Elizabeth did not live to see all of Shakespeare's plays, for when he was at his best she was already old. To the end of her life, she remained England's never "Virgin Queen." She had many suitors for her hand, and it gratified her vanity to have them about her; but she could marry neither foreigner nor Englishman, neither Catholic nor Protestant, without offending some of her subjects. Any marriage, moreover, would endanger the exercise of that indepen- dent power which was so dear to Elizabeth's heart. So, in the end, she never married at all. although she long- talked about it, and was urged again and again by her subjects to do so, in order that the succession to the throne might be settled. The character of Elizabeth was a mixture of great and little qualities. She was so vain and extravagant that Her char- sne na d 3,000 gowns of strange fashion, and deSh and eighty wigs of different colored hair. She (1603). used to paint her face to hide the marks of age. She was not truthful, and her conduct in many ways revealed the coarseness of her time. On the other hand, she had the wisdom to chose good advisers; and however vain and selfish she might seem, she always had the interests of England at heart. " There will never Queen sit in my seat," she once said to Parliament, "with more zeal to my country, or care to my subjects. And though you have had, and may ENGLAND UNDER ELIZABETH 203 have, many princes more mighty and more wise sitting in this scat, yet you never had. nor shall have, any that will be more careful or loving." She saw England grow from a divided to a united nation, and from a weak to a great state: and in this growth she had the chief part. She died at the age of seventy. When asked at the last to settle the succession to the throne, she said: "I will have no rascal's son in my seat, but one w< rthv to be a King." Ami when further pressed to declare her wishes, she added: "And who should this he, hut our cousin of Scotland." So Mary Stuart's son, who was a Protestant, and was known as James VI. of Scotland, succeeded at last to the throne of the great Elizabeth. TOPICS FOR THOUGHT AND SEARCH 1. What was the relationship in blood <>i' Elizabeth and Mary smart.' Why did Catholics believe that Mary's right to the English throne was better than Elizabeth's. 2. Did Elizabeth do right in imprisoning Mary < l )u. Write a short account of William Shakespeare. 6. In what ways was Elizabeth a great ruler .' XXIII JAMES L, THE FIRST STUART KING POINTS TO BE NOTICED Character of the Stuart rule; dates of James I. 's reign; his character; relations of England and Scotland; James's attitude toward the English Puritans. Virginia and Plymouth colonies settled in America; other English settlements under Charles I.; importance of these settlements; Sir Walter Ealeigh; he was imprisoned; why he was; the ' ' Gunpowder Plot. ' ' James's ideas of the power of Kings; he quarrels with Parliament over its privileges; declaration of Parliament; how James treated this; James's other. quarrels with Parliament; failure of James's policies. Under the Tudor rulers, the English people submitted to arbitrary rule because great dangers threatened both church and state. In the time of the Stuart Character of the Kings, these dangers were past. I he attempt Stuart rule. , . of the Stuarts to rule despotically led, there- fore, to a series of quarrels between King and Parliament which resulted in civil war, the execution of one King, the expulsion of another, and the final loss by the Stuarts of the crowns of both England and Scotland. In England, Mary Stuart's son was known as James L, though he continued to be James VI. of Scotland. He was well educated, shrewd, witty, and a lover James i. of peace; but he lacked dignity, was physically a coward, and could never say "No" to his favorites. A foreigner at his court, in Scotland, gave this description of him: " He speaks, eats, dresses, and plays like a boor. He is never still for a moment, but walks perpetually up and down the room. His walk is sprawling and awkward, THE FIRST STUART KING 205 and his voice loud. He prefers hunting to all other amusements, and will he six hours together on horseback. He is very conceited, and he underrates other princes." His great learning, together with his foolish conduct, led a French statesman to call him " the wisest fool in Christendom." One of James's first acts was to trv to unite the two king- d o m s England England's relations with and Scotland. of Scotland into one. Eng- lishmen, however, were jealous both of the favors which James showed to his Scotch subjects and of their trading rights. The attempt failed, and it was not until a hundred years later (1707) that England and Scotland were united under one Parliament. The religious question gave James I. most trouble. English Puritans expected James to support them, because he came . rr James op- from a Presbyterian country. But James poses the Puritans. was so greatly displeased with Presby- terianism in Scotland that, when one of the English Puritans mentioned the word "presbyter," he burst out : " If this be all your party have to say for themselves, I JAMES I. Notice the ruff about the neck, which was then worn by both men and women 206 THE STORY OF ENGLAND will make them conform to the Church, or I will harry them out of the land." By this attitude James pleased the bishops, but made all Puritans his opponents. Some small bands of Separatists took the King at his word, and left England for Holland. After a few years (1620) they passed to America, and colonies founded Plymouth Colony. Virginia also, founded *L . * ' ' . was founded in King James s time (1607), but this was from motives of gain, not of religion. Under James's son, Charles I., the colonies of Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and Mary- land were founded. We cannot tell the story here of these first beginnings of a new world of English-speaking peoples across the sea; but we must not forget that it was one of the greatest events of that time. Catholics, too, had hoped that King James would relieve them from the oppressive laws which Elizabeth had made against their religion. When this Sir Walter i • • i , pi Raleigh hope was disappointed, plots were tormed executed. against the King. Sir Walter Raleigh — a famous man of Elizabeth's reign, who was no Catholic, but was disappointed at not being taken into James's service — was accused and convicted of being engaged in one of these plots, and for thirteen years he was imprisoned in the Tower of London. Then he was allowed to set forth on a gold hunting expedition to South America. When he failed in his quest, and attacked the Spaniards, King James had him put to death under his old sentence. Before laying his head upon the block, he felt the edge of the axe: : 'Tis a sharp medicine," he said, " but a sure cure for all diseases." THE FIRST STUART KING 207 A more important plot, due to Catholic discontent, was formed by a man named Guy Fawkes. With some others, he succeeded in storing thirty barrels CathoUc of gunpowder in a cellar under the Parliament £°y Under house; and he planned to blow up King, Fawkes - Lords, Commons, ministers, and all, at the opening of Parli- ament. The plot, how- ever, was discovered, and Guy Fawkes and his helpers were ex- ecuted. The memory of the event was long preserved by the annual celebration of "Guy Fawkes day," when stuffed figures of Fawkes (whence comes our slang word "guy") were burned. Until recent years, school children in England learned these verses: " Remember, remember, the Fifth of November, Gunpowder treason and plot; I see no reason why Gunpowder treason Should ever be forgot!" King James had very lofty ideas of the powers of a King, and said some very foolish things about them. He believed in the "divine right" of Kings — that is, that they received their powers from hoTds^di- God, and are responsible to Him alone, and Jf^inf^ 1 not in any way to their subjects. But, unfortunately for James, he had even more need of the good will of Parliament than Elizabeth had. He squandered his revenues so recklessly, on his pleasures GUY FAWKES' S CELLAR Where the powder was stored under the Houses of Parliament 208 THE STORY OF ENGLAND and favorites, that he was constantly in need of new taxes. Parliament, however, showed itself firmly resolved not to vote him money until the grievances of which they complained should be removed. From this, and other causes, it resulted that James quarreled with every Parliament that he summoned, except his last one. James took the position that Parliament owed all its powers and privileges — such as the right of free speech, Quarrels an( l freedom from arrest for what might be ment over^s^o! in Parliament — entirely to the gracious- privileges. ness Q f the King He f or bade them "to meddle with anything concerning our government or deep matters of state." Their business, in short, was merely to vote him the money he needed. Parliament, on the other hand, asserted, in a famous declaration which they caused to be written in their journal, that "the liberties, privileges, and jurisdictions of Parliament are the undoubted birthright and inheri- tance of the subjects of England," and that they had a right to debate all matters which concerned them as subjects. James thereupon dismissed his Parliament, and with his own hands tore this declaration from their journal. It was easy to tear out the record; but it was difficult to move the people from what they believed to be their constitutional rights. Besides quarreling over Puritanism, taxes, and privileges, James and his Parliament held different views concerning foreign affairs. From 1618 to 1648, Germany was wasted by a terrible religious war, between Catholics and Protestants, called the Thirtv Years' War. England was in- Ouarrels ; . ° over foreign terested in this, not only because England affairs. J i • i was a Protestant country, and so sympathized with the Protestant cause, but also because Kin<^ James's THE FIRST STUART KING 209 daughter Elizabeth had married a German Protestant prince, who lost his lands in the course of the war. King James wanted to aid his son-in-law to recover his lands, but thought the best way to do this was by making a treaty with Spain, which was aiding the Catholic powers. So, long negotiations were carried on for the marriage of his son, Prince Charles, to a Spanish princess. Parlia- ment, on the other hand, bitterly hated the idea of a Spanish marriage, and wanted to strike a vigorous blow at Spain through a naval war. This would not only help their fellow Protestants in Germany, but at the same time win for themselves rich prizes, and further their trading and colonizing ambitions. In the end, James found that his plans for a Spanish alliance were impossible. He broke off negotiations, and in his last Parliament, which assembled „ Failure of in 1624, he invited that very "meddling" with James's policy. foreign affairs which he had formerly for- bidden. War was then declared against Spain. For the first time, since the early days of his reign, King James and his subjects were in harmony. James died the next year. He left to his son the difficulty of dealing with the many problems which he had raised by his weakness and folly, but had not known how to solve. TOPICS FOR THOUGHT AND SEARCH 1. Why were there more quarrels between the Crown and Parlia- ment under James than under Elizabeth? Was it due more to changes in the character of the ruler? or in the character of the Parliaments? or in the circumstances of the time? 2. Find out what you can of Sir "Walter Raleigh, and his attempt to make a settlement in America under Elizabeth. 3. Tell the story of John Smith and the settlement of the colony of Virginia. 4. Tell the story of the removal of the Pilgrim Fathers to Hol- land, and of their settlement of Plymouth Colony. XXIV CHARLES I. AND PARLIAMENT POINTS TO BE NOTICED Dates of the reign of Charles I.; his character; influence of the Duke of Buckingham; Parliament attacks him; the Petition of Right passed; its importance; death of Buckingham; Charles 's third Parliament. Eleven years of absolute government; Sir John Eliot dies in the Towerj the Ship Money Tax; John Hampden resists it; the judges decide in favor of the King; importance of this case. Archbishop makes changes in the English Church; punishment of persons who opposed these changes; origin of " Bishops' Wars" in Scotland; their effect in England. The Long Parliament called; why Charles could not get rid of it; the three things it set out to do; punishment of the Earl of Strafford; Charles attempts to avoid the leaders of Parlia- ment; effect of this attempt; the two questions which espe- cially separated Charles from his Parliament; importance of the militia question; what the vote of the Grand Eemon- strance showed; the question really at issue in the civil war. Charles I. was a good man, and was much more "kingly" in his manner than James I.; but he held Character as high ideas of his rights, and was far more i f S?25- les impractical. He was less inclined to give way 1649). j. Q Parliament, especially where the rights of the Church were concerned; and there was also an unintentional untruthfulness in him, which made it impossible to bind him to any promise. The result was that he was even less successful than his father in dealing with the problems of his time. King; James's last and greatest favorite, the Duke of Buckingham, was equally in favor with King Charles. influence He had risen from a very humble position, Bu?king" f solely through his handsome face and good ham. manners. He was now in the highest ranks of the English nobility, and had an income of thousands 210 CHARLES I. AND PARLIAMENT 211 of pounds sterling a year. All of his family — father, mother, brothers, sisters — had also been enriched and ennobled. Until Buckingham's death (in 1628) the government was entirely in his hands. But the war wi t h Spain fared badly, and men thought with regret of the glorious vic- tories of Elizabeth. Buck- ingham hurried England into a war with France, also, and this, too, Avas mismanaged. Illegal taxes were collected, and men who refused to pay were illegally punished. In addition, favor was shown to an anti-Puritan party, which now began to rise in the Church of England. For all this, Buckingham was rightly held responsible, and finally he was The p et ition named in Parlia- - ance of grievances." To save him from "impeachment" — that is, trial and punishment by Parliament — Charles was obliged to dismiss his second Parliament. In the next Parliament which he called, the members decided not to renew tneir attack on Buckingham, but to pass a Petition of Right, in which such arbitrary taxation and CHARLES I. In costume of a Cavalier. Notice the absence of the ruff, worn under Elizabeth and James 212 THE STORY OF ENGLAND imprisonment as Buckingham and Charles had used were declared illegal. To this law Charles was forced to give his consent. It was the most important act limiting the power of the crown which had been passed since the granting of the Great Charter, by King John. 413 years before. A few months later. Buckingham was slain by a private enemy; nevertheless, the quarrels between King and Parliament continued. In 1629 this Parliament — the third one of King Charles's reign — broke up in great disorder. While the violent King's messenger knocked loudly upon their Par^ament 11 ! 00 ^ 6 ^ door, to summon them for dismissal. (1629). lYie leaders of the House of Commons forcibly held their Speaker in his chair, and passed a set of defiant resolutions. These declared that anyone who advised the King to bring in anti-Puritan changes in religion, or to collect (without Parliamentary grant) the taxes which were in dispute, should be considered " a capital enemy of the commonwealth" — that is. should be worthy of punishment by death. Period of For the nex t eleven years, no Parliament government was Md* an( J the King carried on the gov- U629-1640). ernmen t by his " absolute" power. Sir John Eliot was the statesman who had played the chief part in opposing the King's measures, and upon him Sir John chiefly the King's wrath now fell. In violation manV^to °f the rights of free speech, granted to Parlia- liberty. me nt, the leaders of Parliament were impris- oned in the Tower of London. Others made their submission and were released, but Eliot's brave spirit refused to gain freedom for himself, by surrendering the principle of liberty for the nation. His imprisonment was made more close. He was placed in a room which CHARLES I. AND PARLIAMENT 213 was dark, cold, and wretchedly uncomfortable: and none but his sons were allowed to visit him. Under the weight of this punishment his health (but not his spirit gave way. and he died in November, 168-2. He was truly a martyr to the cause of constitutional Liberty. Charles's refusal to call Parliament forced him to raise money in many objectionable ways. Among these was the levying of "ship money.*' EXT HOUSE. WESTMINSTER HALL. AND WESTMINSTER ABBEY In the old days, when an army might be raised by calling out the men of the country to serve in war. at their own expense, the counties bordering on the sea were often called upon to furnish ships money tax. for the King's service. This "ship service" King Charles now changed into a money payment: and he demanded it not only from the seaboard counties, but from the whole country. "Ship money" thus became a regular tax, laid upon the land without the consent of Parliament; and it was seen that, if this were permitted to pass unquestioned. Englishmen would lose one of their dearest rights. 214 THE STORY OF ENGLAND A rich and patriotic Englishman, named John Hamp- den, refused to pay his "ship money" tax, which amounted to twenty shillings, and the question Hampden of the lawfulness of "ship money" thus came resists it. l . pi before the courts. The judges of that time felt that they were "the lions that supported the King's throne," and must uphold his power; the King, too, had been weeding out judges whom he thought to be unfriendly to his claims. Therefore, the case was decided against Hampden, and the collection of "ship money" continued. The "ship money" case was nevertheless of great importance. It gave to the leading men who opposed the King's claims a chance to speak their minds on the subject, and so to place before the people the dangers of the King's policy. It showed the nation how insecure were their rights of property, under the law as administered by the King's judges. While the King trampled on the rights of Parliament, and arbitrarily took from his subjects their property, he angered the nation yet more deeply by his religious policies. Charles appointed as Archbishop of Canterbury a well-meaning but narrow-minded man named William Archbishop L au d, and allowed him to carry out changes reugious m tne Church, which seemed to the Puritans policy. |. p ave t ne wa y for a restoration of the Catho- lic faith. Men who wrote and spoke against these changes, or against the power of the bishops, were made to stand in the pillory, had their ears cut off, were branded on the cheek with hot irons, were fined ruinous sums, and were cast into prison. Finally, to complete his folly, Laud and the King tried to "reform" the Church of Scotland, in the same way that they had already " reformed" the Church of England. CHARLES I. AND PARLIAMENT 215 In Scotland, almost the whole nation banded them- selves together to resist the changes. The result was a rebellion, called the " Bishops' Wars," in .'Bishops' which Charles was defeated. The Scots then Gotland advanced into England. Charles was obliged < 1639 )- to make peace with his Scottish subjects. In this he agreed that the Scots ' army should stay in England until the changes which he promised should be carried through, and that he would pay its expenses. To get money to pay the Scots, Charles was obliged, after eleven years oFarrjitrary gore«wneiuV at last to summon his Parliament — the famous Long TheLon g Parliament — which sat (with interruptions) caYied ment from 1640 to 1660. < 1640) - Charles could not rid himself of the Long Parliament, when it opposed him, as he had done his earlier ones, because in its earlier stages it was backed by the army of the Scots. Later he was prevented from dissolving it, because he had been forced to agree that it should not be dismissed without its own consent. In both the House of Commons and the House of Lords there was a strong majority against Charles's policies. The leaders of Parliament, therefore, set to work to do three things — to undo the misgovernment of the last eleven years, to punish Charles's ministers, and to pass laws which should make such abuses impossible for the future. Their hatred was chiefly directed against the Earl of Strafford, who had joined them in opposing the Duke of Buckingham, but had become Charles's . . . Earl of principal adviser after Bucking-ham's death. Stratford , . ii» executed. Strafford was honest in his course, but his former companions regarded him as a traitor to their cause. They also feared him, for so long as he lived no 216 THE STORY OF ENGLAND victory which they might win over the King could he permanent, nor their lives be safe. Every effort, there- fore, was made to have him put to death. He was accused of attempting to overthrow the liberties of the kingdom, and particularly of having advised the King to TRIAL OF STRAFFORD From an old pi'int make war on his English people. This was held to be treason, and Parliament at last voted that he should be beheaded. Charles had promised Strafford that he should not suffer in person or in honor, for aiding him. But the outcry of the London mob against Strafford was so great that the King was terrified for the safety of his Queen and CHARLES I. AND PARLIAMENT 217 children, and, with tears in his eyes, he at last consented to Strafford's execution. "Put not } T our trust in princes!" cried Strafford when this news was brought to him. Nevertheless he had scarcely hoped that he would be spared. He met his death bravely. He was a pure and able man, and was loyal to what he believed to be his duty. It was his misfortune that his ideas of government were those of a past age, and that his death was a necessity for the people's liberty. After Strafford's execution, the King and Parliament drifted ever farther and farther apart. At one time, Charles caused five of the leaders of Parliament to be accused of treason. In violation of their Parliamentary privileges, he came in Attempt person with an armed force to seize them, feadeV^of When the Speaker of the Commons was asked Par,iament - to point out the accused members, he replied, kneeling before the King: " May it please your Majesty, I have neither eyes to see, nor tongue to speak, in this place, but as the House is pleased to direct me." "Well, well," replied the King, "'tis no matter; I think my eyes are as good as another's." However, he did not find the men he sought, because, as he said, "the birds were flown." This attempt did Charles no good, but only caused Parliament and the nation to distrust his intentions. Two questions, especially, now separated Charles from his Parliament. One was the government of the Church by bishops, which the Puritans wished Quarrels , , over militia to cast out, root and branch." The other and Church 1 • 1 T» 1- P ,ea<1 t0 was the appointment by Parliament of the war(i642). officers who commanded the county militia. Troops 218 THE STORY OF ENGLAND were now being raised to put down a rebellion in Ireland, and members of Parliament were fearful lest Charles should use these to put down Parliament itself. To the demand for the right to appoint the militia officers, Charles replied: " That is a thing with which I would not even trust my wife and children." On the religious question, he was equally steadfast. In this position he was supported by many members of Parliament who had formerly opposed him. On a measure called the " Grand Remonstrance," which was directed against the King's government, the opposition to Charles had a majority of only eleven votes, in place of the almost unanimous support which they formerly had. Feeling ran so high that swords were actually drawn on the floor of the House of Commons, and bloodshed was narrowly prevented. The question really at issue was this: Should the King or Parliament control the government ? It was a question which could neither be evaded nor compromised. Matters grew steadily worse and worse; and finally, in 1642, the two parties drifted into civil war. TOPICS FOR THOUGHT AND SEARCH 1. Why were James I. and Charles I. less successful rulers than Elizabeth? 2. What is meant by "impeachment"? Who are the accusers in such a trial? Who are the judges? 3. Find out what you can about Sir John Eliot. About John Hampden. 4. Was the Earl of Strafford a good man or a bad man? Was he justly or unjustly punished? 5. Was the King or Parliament right in the struggle over the Church question and the militia question? Why? xxv <■ — THE CIVIL WAR BETWEEN KING AND PARLIAMENT (1642-1649) POINTS TO BE NOTICED Dates of the great civil war; liow the people were divided; Cavaliers and Roundheads; the Scots aid Parliament; why Charles was successful at first; Cromwell reorganizes the troops of Parliament. The Parliamentary victory at Marston Moor; its effects; victory at Naseby; Charles surrenders to the Scots; they surrender him to his English subjects. Quarrel between the army and Parliament; mistake of Charles; how the army secured possession of him. The second civil war; part played in it by the Scots; Cromwell 's victory at Preston; effect of this war on the fate of Charles. How the army got control of Parliament; the King brought to trial; the charge against him; his attitude; sentence passed on him; his execution; attitude of the people. The great civil war between King Charles and his English Parliament began in August, 1642, when the King "raised his standard" at Nottingham. It did not really end until Charles was beheaded in 1649, and a Commonwealth or republic was set up. In this war, the great majority of the nobles and the gentry, with their dependents, took the side of the King. The middle classes — the traders and manu- Cavaliers facturers of the towns, and most of the small and Round- heads, farmers — upheld the cause of Parliament. The King's supporters, for the most part, believed in the Church of England, and loved a gay life and fine clothes. They were called " Cavaliers." The supporters of Parliament were mainly sober-minded Puritans, plain in their lives and in their dress. They were called 220 THE STORY OF ENGLAND "Roundheads," from their refusal to wear the "love- lock," which Cavaliers wore curling down over one shoulder. The east and south — which were then the most populous, industrious, and wealthy parts of England— generally sided with Parliament. The north and west went with the King. Oxford, the seat of England's greatest university, was the royalist headquarters. Parliament controlled London, the navy, most of the seaports, and the law-making and taxing part of the government. From the beginning its resources were much greater than those of the King. Both sides sought aid outside of England. Parliament secured an army from the Scots. The King's efforts to get men from Ireland and the Continent profited him very little. In the beginning of the war, Charles gained some successes, chiefly because the Cavaliers were better Oliver soldiers than the troops which Parliament cromweii. ra i seo j # g u t among the members of Parliament was a plain, earnest, country squire, named Oliver Cromwell. He had an unsuspected genius for war, and soon saw what was the trouble with the Parliament's army. OLIVER CROMWELL CIVIL WAR— KING AND PARLIAMENT 221 "Your troops," he told his cousin, John Hampden, " are most of them old decayed serving men and tapsters, and such kind of fellows; and their troops are gentle- men's sons and persons of quality. Do you think that the spirits of such base and mean fellows will ever be able to encounter gentlemen that have honor, and courage, and resolution in them? You must . the lady mounted behind on a "pil- lion," according to the fashion of that day. But no ship was to be found at Bristol, and they were forced to go elsewhere. Adven- ture then followed adventure, w h i 1 e Charles made his way along the southern coast of England, from the Bay of Bristol to the Straits of Dover. At the end of six weeks, he obtained a vessel at Brighton, which took him safely across to France. During the course of his wanderings his secret became known to over forty-five persons; but not one of them, for either fear or hope of reward, played him false. The battle of Worcester crushed the last opposition to the Commonwealth, and its rule was extended over BOSCOBEL HOUSE Where Charles II. lay hid for a time after Worcester COMMONWEALTH AND PROTECTORATE 231 Scotland and Ireland as well as England. But Crom- well's work was not yet done. In a famous poem, his friend John Milton reminded him that — "Much remains To conquer still; peace hath her victories No less renowned than war." The remnant of the Long Parliament, which people in scorn called the " Rump," were unwilling to surrender their power. Cromwell They insisted S^aX that, in the ment - new Parliament which was to take the place of the old, they should not only have seats but should have a veto over the election of new mem- bers. Cromwell and his friends opposed this claim, and at last in April, 1653, he forcibly dissolved the " Rump." " Come, come," Crom- well called out from his place in Parliament. "I will put an end to your prating. You are no Parliament. Some of you are drunkards, and some of you are worse. How can you be a Parliament for God's people? Depart, I say. and let us have done with you!" And stamping with his foot, he called in a company of soldiers, which he had stationed outside, and cleared the hall. Then Cromwell tried the experiment of ruling by an assembly of "persons fearing God, and of approved fidelity and honesty," who were appointed by the army council, instead of being elected by the people. The CROMWELL DISSOLVING PARLIAMENT 232 THE STORY OF ENGLAND wits of that day called it "Barebone's Parliament," from the name of one of its members, Praise- God Barebone. This body began vigorously to "Bare- \ bone's Par- reform the abuses which, as Cromwell had liament." . . J? said, ' made many poor to make a few rich. But the task proved too great for them, and they soon resigned their power into Cromwell's hands. Next, a written constitution, called the kk Instrument of Government," was prepared by the army leaders, under which Cromwell became " Protector," Cromwell . . , made and governed with the aid of a Council of Protector. ° State and a Parliament. But troubles at once arose between the Protector and his Parliament, and Cromwell was obliged to fall back again upon the army, and to rule by military force. Worn out at last by much hard fighting and harder governing, and saddened by the loss of those most dear to him, Oliver Cromwell died on September 3, Death of . ... Cromwell 1658 — the anniversary of his great victories at Dunbar and Worcester. He was a great and good man, and many of his ideas for the reform of government and society were in advance of his time. But his attempt at governing by military force, unsup- ported by a majority of the nation, failed — as it must always fail. He was sincerely and deeply religious. As a poet of his party wrote: "He first put arms into Religion's hand, And timorous conscience unto courage manned; The soldier taught that inward mail to wear, And fearing God, how they should nothing fear." He was succeeded as Protector by his son, Richard Cromwell. Richard, however, had neither the force of character nor the hold on the army that his father had. COMMONWEALTH AND PROTECTORATE 233 He permitted the army leaders to restore the "Rump" Parliament, and then that body speedily forced Richard to give up the Protectorate, and retire to private life. Then the " Rump," which had learned nothing by its former expulsion, quarreled with the army. It was again expelled, and then once more, after a few weeks, restored. By this time England was heartily tired of Protectors, army, and "Rump" alike, and was ready to welcome Charles II. as the representative of the old line of Kings. The restoration was accomplished mainly by General Monk, a strong, silent man, who had been stationed in Scotland, and had taken no part in the recent i.i x^ i iii. Charles II. squabbles. Now he marched his troops to restored London, and forced the "Rump" to admit the members excluded by Colonel Pride in 1048. This reconstituted Long Parliament then ordered a new election; and the new Parliament invited Charles II. to return from France and take the English throne. The Puritan Revolution was thus at an end. The republic which it had attempted to set up had failed. But its work was not all in vain. The absolute rule which James I. had claimed, and Charles I. had used, thenceforth became more difficult. In the end, the example of Cromwell and his followers made tyrannical government in England impossible. TOPICS FOE THOUGHT AND SEARCH 1. Compare the government established for the Commonwealth with that of the United States today. 2. Did Cromwell do right in turning out the Long Parliament? Give your reasons. 3. Compare Oliver Cromwell with George Washington. Which was the greater? Why? 4. Was the restoration of Charles II. a good or a bad thing for England? Why? 5. Make a list of the chief events since the death of Elizabeth. XXVII CHARLES II. AND THE STUART RESTORATION (1660-1685) POINTS TO BE NOTICED Character of Charles II.; dates of his reign; changes in the man- ner of life; treatment of the persons who were responsible for the rebellion against his father; the Church restored and Puritan ministers expelled. Prosperity of the Dutch republic; Cromwell's war with it; Charles II. 's two wars with it; England gains New York in America. Charles's secret treaty with France; how the Dutch saved their land from conquest; why Charles made peace. The two disasters to London under Charles II; extent of the plague; extent of the fire. Charles's policy toward the Catholics; his "Declaration of indulgence"; it was recalled; it leads to the first "test act"; the "Popish Plot" arouses England; a new "test act" passed; unsuccessful attempt to exclude the Duke of York from the succession. Kise of the "Whig" and "Tory" parties; principles of each; Charles victorious over his opponents; his death. Charles II. entered London on May 29, 1660, which was his thirtieth birthday. The shouting and joy which greeted him were greater than could be Character of described. He was an abler man than his Charles II. . . father, and his wanderings and exile had given him experience of the world. But he was a bad man morally, and he had none of that loyalty to principle which caused Charles I. to uphold the Church of England at all cost. He was as much resolved to rule absolutely as his father, but he was determined, above all things, not to "set out on his travels again." So, when his measures aroused serious opposition, he drew back. For 234 THE STUART RESTORATION 235 a long time, people did not suspect him of dangerous designs; for his ready wit and pleasant manners disguised his real plans, and he seemed to be wholly given up to leading a gay life. The court and society took their tone from the King, and a great reaction against Puritanism set in. The theaters, which had been closed by the Long i iu- 11 Fashions Parliament, were re-opened. Vv ith them came of the i i ii i • • i i • • n Restoration. back bull-baiting, bear-baiting, cock-fighting, the May-pole dance, and all the other usages, good and bad, which characterized "Merry England." Pleasant vice and profitable corruption prevailed, in place of the Puri- tans' endless psalm singing, sermons, and prayer. It was in the time of Charles II., also, that the drinking of coffee, tea, and chocolate came into use in England. The first was introduced from Turkey, the second from China, and the third from Central America. Coffee houses, or places for drinking coffee, became the chief meeting places for fashionable society, where the latest news could always be heard. Charles was wise enough to let Parliament settle the questions which his restoration raised. Thirteen persons who had taken part in the trial and execution of Charles I. were put to death, but most of those concerned in the rebellion were pardoned, or were lightly punished. LADIES OF THE COURT OF CHARLES II. 236 THE STORY OF ENGLAND Charles's second Parliament, which sat from 1661 to 1679, was as "Cavalier" as his heart could wish. It re-established the Church of England, and Puritan ° ministers expelled two thousand of the Puritan ministers expelled. l from their pulpits. By later laws, it forbade the dispossessed ministers from earning a living by teaching, or from holding religious assemblies, or from even residing within five miles of a town. From this time there exists, along with the established Episcopal church, a large body of Protestant " Dissen- ters " — Presbyterians, Baptists, Quakers, and the like — as well as a considerable body of Roman Catholics. One of the chief needs of the time was to secure, for these Dissenters, relig- ious toleration — that is, the right to worship peaceably, in their own way, without punishment by the state. The foreign policy of Charles was at first chiefly concerned with the "United Provinces," or Dutch republic. These provinces, situated about the mouth of the river Rhine, had become rich and prosperous states through Cromwell's commerce and industry. While Elizabeth the Dutch ruled over England, they became Protestant, (1651-54). an( j tj irew fj- th e crue l government of Spain. For a time, the greater part of the commerce of Europe MAYPOLE DANCE THE STUART RESTORATION 237 was carried on in Dutch vessels. They established a colonial empire which included the Cape of Good Hope, in Africa; Java. Ceylon, and the Moluccas, in the East Indies; and New Amsterdam, in America. The jealousy which their commercial success aroused in England had led Cromwell to pass a Navigation Act, which took from them most of their trade with that country. A war followed (1651- 16.54); and although the Dutch Admiral, Van Tromp, for a time, sailed " with a broom at his masthead," as a sign of his intention to sweep the English fleet from the sea, he had at last been defeated and slain, and the Dutch had made peace. Under Charles II., two new w i t h Dutch wars were fought GENTLEMEN'S COSTUMES IN TIME OF CHARLES II. * " e First Dutch T war of 1,1 Charles II. the first Of (1665-67). t hese ( 1 665- 1 667) , Prince Rupert and Admiral Monk won some vic- tories. Then Charles, thinking that peace would be made, laid up his fleet in the harbors of the river Thames, in order that he might save money to spend on his pleasures. But the Dutch got together a new fleet, and sailed up the Thames and burned three of the English ships which lay at anchor. They then 238 THE STORY OF ENGLAND blockaded the river for two weeks. Men murmured that such things had not happened in Cromwell's day. "Everybody," wrote an officer of the navy, "reflects upon Oliver, and commends him, saying what brave things he did, and how he made all the neighboring princes fear him." The only gain which England made from the Dutch, by this war, was New Amsterdam, which was conquered, and called New York, in honor of Charles's brother, the Duke of York (1664). Charles's second war with the Dutch came in 1672. He attacked them in alliance with Louis XIV. of France, Charles's wno was seeking to extend his kingdom at the Dutch* war expense of his neighbors. By a secret treaty, U672-74). (Charles promised Louis that he would declare himself a Catholic whenever the time seemed ripe for it. In return, the French King again and again gave large sums of money to Charles, to make him independent of Parliament. He also promised to send soldiers to his aid, in case rebellion broke out in England. The war which Charles and Louis waged went badly. On land, the brave Hollanders defended themselves against Louis XIV. by cutting the dykes, which protected their low-lying land against the sea, and flooding the open country. On the sea, the English felt that they were left by the French to do all the fighting. Charles's nephew, William III. of Orange, was now at the head of the Dutch government, with the title of Stadtholder; and the English Parliament soon forced King Charles to conclude a peace. Thenceforth, William III. was free to give all his attention to saving free government and the Protestant religion, in Europe, from the ambitious designs of Louis XIV. THE STUART RESTORATION 239 The city of London, under Charles II., suffered two great disasters — from plague, and from fire. Attacks of the plague were common, owing to bad sanitary conditions and lack of medical knowledge. London streets were narrow and filthy, and the upper stories of the houses projected so P i a gSe eat that they almost met those of the other side. Sunlight and fresh air were thus shut out; also, the drainage was bad, and the water supply poor. The result was that, in 1665, London suffered an attack of the plague such as it had never experienced since the time of the Black Death, three hundred years before. For a time, more than 6,000 persons a week died from it, and altogether fully 1-20,000 persons perished in Lon- don alone. Houses in which persons lay sick with the disease were marked with red crosses, a foot lono-, together with the words, "God have mercy upon us!" At night, death carts went around the streets, accom- panied by men ringing bells and crying, ''Bring out your dead ! " Shops were shut up, and the streets deserted; for all who could do so fled to the purer air of the country. Thirty, forty, and even a hundred miles from London the people were panic stricken. They shut their doors even against their friends; and if two men passed upon the road, or in the open fields, each kept as far from the other as space would permit. It was not until winter that the sickness declined. Scarcely had London begun to recover from the plague, when it was swept by a terrible fire. The flames broke out in the early morning of September c 2, * , . The burn- 1 060, and raged four days. The wind was ing of . ° J . London. blowing a gale, and the fire did not die out until four-fifths of old London was laid in ashes. Eighty-nine churches, including St. Paul's cathedral, 240 THE STORY OF ENGLAND were burned, and more than thirteen hundred houses. Two hundred thousand people were left homeless. In a diary of that time, the writer thus describes the fire at its height: "We saw the fire grow, and as it grew darker, it appeared more and more; in corners and upon steeples, and between churches and houses, as far as we could see up the hill of the city, in a most horrid malicious bloody flame, not like the fine flame of an ordinary fire. We saw the fire as only one entire arch of fire from this side to the other side of the bridge, and in a bow up the hill for an arch of above a mile long. It made me weep to see it: the churches, houses, and all on fire, and flaming at once; and a horrid noise the flames made, and the cracking of houses at their ruin." Some good results followed the fire. It put an end to the last ravages of the plague, by burning out the old, filthy, rat-infested quarters; and it cleared the ground for a rebuilding of the city in more modern fashion. Many persons falsely said that the fire was the work of "Papists" or Roman Catholics, who at that time were both hated and feared bv English Protestants. Charles J D . favors the \ few vears later, Charles made this reeling Catholics. J . . ° much worse by taking a step toward carrying out his secret treaty with Louis XIV. Charles did not dare to declare himself a Catholic, but he did issue a " Declaration of Indulgence." By this, he attempted to suspend all laws passed against Roman Catholics and Protestant Dissenters alike, and give them religious toleration. The measure was wise in itself, but it was dishonest in its motives, and was con- trary to the sentiments of most of his subjects. More- over, it was very doubtful whether the King alone could suspend law's w r hich had been passed by the King and THE STUART RESTORATION 241 Parliament together. The result was that a great opposition was aroused in Parliament. Charles was obliged not only to recall his declaration, but also to give NEW ST. PAUL'S CATHEDRAL Built after the fire his consent to a "test act" by which all Catholics were driven out of political offices. Not long after this, the jealous hatred of English Protestants for Roman Catholics was fanned to a flame 242 THE STORY OF ENGLAND by the discovery of what was alleged to be a "Popish Plot." A wicked man named Titus Oates swore falsely that Catholics were plotting to murder Charles II. and to restore the Catholic religion by the aid of a "Popish French army. Other men came forward, and confirmed his stories, in order that they might share in the rewards which were given to Oates. Unfor- tunately, a London magistrate, at this time, was found dead in a ditch, thrust through with a sword; and this was believed to be the work of the plotters. All England then went wild with excitement. Five Jesuit priests were convicted and hanged, after shame- fully unfair trials, and one Catholic nobleman was beheaded. Hundreds of others were arrested, and punished in milder ways. To check still further the influence of Catholics, a new "test act" was passed, which shut them out of the House of Lords. A desperate effort was also made to prevent the Duke of York, who had declared himself a Catholic, from succeeding his brother, Charles II., as King; but this was unsuccessful. For a long time there had been a growing opposition to the government of Charles II., on political grounds. Now, under the influence of the religious Whig and ' . i- • i Tory parties struggle, it took the form of a political party, called the " Whigs." The name came from a word used by Scottish teamsters to make their horses go faster. The supporters of the King were given the name of "Tories," from an Irish word meaning outlaws. The Tories generally upheld the established Church of England, believed that the King ruled by "divine right," and taught that it was a sin to resist him under any pretext. The Whigs, on the other hand, favored tolera- tion for Protestant dissenters, and believed that the THE STUART RESTORATION 243 King was only an officer of the government, subject to the law and to Parliament. This was the beginning of the two great political parties whose rivalries have shaped the government of England from that day to this. In the last five years of his reign, Charles II. was completely victorious over his opponents. Shaftesbury, the great leader of the Whigs, was exiled and End f died abroad. Other leading Whigs were C1 ?aries's o o reign. arrested and executed, on charges of plotting < 1685 >- against the King. Parliament was called to meet at Oxford, where it would be away from the support of the Londoners; and it was so overawed that it passed what measures the King willed. To make the King's control permanent, steps were taken by which Tories were placed in power in most of the towns of England, so that for the future their representatives in the House of Commons might be favorable to the King. While in the height of his triumph, Charles died, in 1685, of apoplexy. In his last hours he was reconciled to the Catholic church, and died in that faith. He left no legitimate children, and the throne passed to his brother James, Duke of York. The Whig party seemed hopelessly crushed, and it looked as if James II. would rule his dominions of England, Ireland, and Scotland with less trouble than had any member so far of the Stuart house. TOPICS FOR THOUGHT AND SEARCH 1. "Write a letter from an imaginary boy or girl, telling of the changes which took place at the Restoration. 2. Show that the English were now fighting the Dutch for the same reasons that formerly had caused them to fight the Spaniards. 3. Was the religious policy of Charles honest or dishonest? Why? W r as it successful or unsuccessful? 4. Compare the political struggles of Charles II. 's reign with those of Charles I. XXVIII JAMES II. AND THE 'GLORIOUS REVOLUTION" (1685-1689) POINTS TO BE NOTICED James's character and policy; what first turned the people against him; his use of the "dispensing power"; influence of the persecution of the Huguenots by Prance. The Declaration of Indulgence; its reception; the trial of the seven bishops; the rejoicing at their acquittal. Birth of James's son; William of Orange invited to invade Eng- land; why he was successful; flight of James; grounds on which the throne was given to William and Mary; the Bill of Eights; importance of this revolution. Unfortunately for himself, James II. was narrow- minded and obstinate, and was determined not only to be an absolute King but to restore the Cath- james h onc religion to a position at least equal to that of the Church of England. By his unwise policy, he angered not only the classes which had fought against his father, Charles I., but also those who had fought for his father. The result was that, within four years, he lost his crown, and new rulers were called to the throne in his place. At the beginning of his reign, James declared that he would " preserve the government in church and in state as it was established by law." This gave great satis- faction to the people. " We have now the word of a King," it was everywhere said, "and a word never yet broken." 244 THE GLORIOUS REVOLUTION 245 So, when James's nephew, the Duke of Monmouth (who was a Protestant) tried to raise a rebellion, and secure the throne for himself, he got little Mon . support. Almost everybody rejoiced when he "{JeX!™ was overthrown. But, when he was pitilessly fa,ls - put to death, and hundreds of men- and women who had aided him in any way were hanged by the brutal judges appointed by the King, the people's satisfaction began to lessen. Also, it was soon seen that the dec- laration which James made when he as- cended the throne meant less than was thought. The laws which had "estab- lished " the Church had been passed under Queen Eliza- beth. But James regarded her as an usurper; and so, in spite of his promise, he did not feel bound to observe those laws. As a step toward putting Catholics in pow T er, he re- moved from their offices the judges who would not do what he wanted them to do. Then, in spite of . . James the test acts, he appointed Catholics to positions favors the . . . . ... Catholics. in the army, in his Council, in the universities, and even in the English Church. He claimed the right to do this under what was called the " dispensing power" — that is, the power to free a person beforehand from the disabilities imposed by a law, just as he could, by JAMES II. Notice the wig of long curly ha by all gentlemen 246 THE STORY OF ENGLAND his pardoning power, free one from the penalties of the law after an offence was committed. When the matter came before the judges, they decided that the King had this power. In dealing with the Church and the univer- sities, James made matters worse by appointing, as the agents to carry out his policy, an " Ecclesiastical Com- mission," which was similar to an earlier body which had proved very oppressive, and had been abolished by the Long Parliament. It seemed as though the arbitrary government of Charles I. was about to be revived, and to be used, not to uphold the Church of England, but to force the Catholic religion upon the country. English Protestants were made more suspicious by a step which was taken at this time in Catholic France. There Louis XIV., who was the ally of James II., as he had been of Charles II., took away from the Huguenots, or French Protestants, the right of worshiping as they pleased, which they had enjoyed for almost a century, and began a policy of persecution. Their churches were closed, their ministers were thrown into prison, and all sorts of hardships were put upon the Huguenots, to cause them to change their religion. Thousands of them escaped from France to Protestant countries; many came to England where they spread abroad hatred of France and of arbitrary government, and distrust of Catholic intentions. James's next step confirmed this distrust, for he issued a Declaration of Indulgence, such as his brother, He issues a Charles II., had issued, and been obliged to SSnoTin- withdraw. This was intended, in part, to win duigence. j Q j^ s s « c j e ^ p ro testaiit Dissenters, who would thus be freed, equally with the Catholics, from persecution by the Church of England. The most THE GLORIOUS REVOLUTION 247 important leaders among the dissenters, however, saw the snare, and refused to be bribed to support the King's measures. James ordered that the Declaration should be read in all the churches, at the time of divine services. In spite of the doctrine preached by them, which made resistance to the King a sin, most of the clergy refused to read the Declaration. Seven of the most important bishops of the Church of England, indeed, went further. They signed a petition to the King, which declared that this dispensing power was illegal, and that they could not, in "prudence, honor, or conscience," take any part in proclaiming it. When they presented this petition to James, he was greatly surprised and angry. "This is a standard of rebellion," he cried. "Did ever a good church- man question the dispensing power before? I will be obeyed! My Dec- laration shall be published! I will remember A BISHOP OF THE TIME OF JAMES II. vou that have signed this paper. True to his word, James ordered that the seven bishops should be tried by the law courts. The charge was that their petition, which they had shown to nobody but the King himself, sliln° f the was designed to stir the people up to resist ,s ° ps ' the government. When the bishops were brought into court, they passed through a great crowd, who applauded, and asked for their blessings. Some of the ablest lawyers of England appeared to defend them. One of the jurors was a man who brewed beer for the 248 THE STORY OF ENGLAND King's palace, and was afraid of losing the King's trade. He refused to listen to the arguments of the others, saying that his mind was made up against the bishops. "If you come to that," said one of the others, "look at me. I am the largest and strongest of this twelve; and before I find such a petition a crime, here will I stay till I am no bigger than a pipestem." The jury remained locked up all night, and when morning came the brewer gave way. The verdict which they reported to the court was, "Not guilty." Cheers upon cheers greeted this decision, and, as the news spread through London, the whole city burst into rejoicing. James was reviewing the army, which he had stationed just outside London to overawe the city, when the news came. The soldiers cheered, like the rest of England. When James asked what it meant, their officers said: "Nothing, except that the soldiers are glad that the bishops are acquitted." "Do you call that nothing?" he replied. And he added: "So much the worse for them." The leading men of England had borne James's misgovernment quietly, for his two children, Mary and Anne, were Protestants, and the elder of them, Jameses Mary, was married to William of Orange. When James should die, therefore, he would be succeeded by a Protestant, and all would be well. But, in the very midst of the bishops' trial, James's second wife gave birth to a little son. According to the law, this son would succeed to the throne, in preference to his sisters; and since James was now a Catholic it was clear that the little Prince would be brought up as a Catholic, and so Catholic rule in England was likely to continue indefinitely- THE GLORIOUS REVOLUTION" 249 This changed the whole situation. The leading men refused to believe that the hoy was the child of James and the Queen, hut claimed that he was an adopted child, who had been smuggled into the palace in a The doctrine of non-resistance was now forgotten. On the very day that the bishops were acquitted, seven of the leading men. some of them Whigs and some WILLIAM OF ORANGE SETTING OUT FOR ENGLAND Tories, joined in an invitation to William of Orange, to come over with an armed force, and defend the rights of his wife Mary and the liberties of the English people. William accepted the invitation, and landed in England with a small army, on November 5, 1688. James tried to undo his illegal acts, and to recover the lost Wimamo f loyalty of his people; but it was too late. The f^adtt soldiers whom he sent against William were En £ ,and - persuaded by their commanders to go over to the side 250 THE STORY OF ENGLAND of the invader. In the north, a rebellion was raised against the King, with cries of " A free Parliament, the Protestant religion, and no Popery." The Princess Anne and her husband fled from the Court, and joined William. " God help me," cried James, when this news was brought to him, "my very children have forsaken me!" Deserted by everybody, he determined to flee to France. On his first attempt, he was arrested by some fishermen, who took him for an escaping criminal, and James n. he was brought back. This did not suit William, for he did not want to have the problem of deciding what should be done with a deposed King. So James was driven from his palace, and the way was left open (which James was not long in finding) to escape abroad. His second attempt was successful. Louis XIV. received him kindly, and gave him the use of a palace, and a yearly pension. To settle the government in England, a new " Conven- tion Parliament" was called. This declared that James The Bin of nac * broken the "contract" between King and passed people, and that by fleeing from the kingdom (1689). j ie j iac j gi ven U p the throne. William and Mary were then chosen as joint sovereigns. The next year, the Parliament passed the Bill of Rights, which confirmed all that had been done in the Revolution, declared illegal the oppressive acts of James II., and provided that no Catholic should ever succeed to the throne of England. This famous law ranks in importance with the Great Charter of 1215, and the Petition of Right of 1628. Scotland also deposed James II., and accepted William and Mary as its sovereigns; at the same time, it declared Presbyterianism to be the established religion of that kingdom. Only in Ireland did govern- THE GLORIOUS REVOLUTION 251 ment continue in the name of James II., and there also, as we shall see, it was soon to be overthrown. Thus the Stuart rule was ended, and the principle was established that the King is under Parliament and the law, and not above them. This change was accomplished almost wholly without war or bloodshed and with very little disturbance among the people. Well may Englishmen — and we also who derive our governments from them— look back upon the benefits which this change brought, and call it the " Glorious Revolution of 1688!" TOPICS FOR THOUGHT AND SEARCH 1. Compare the character of James II. with that of Charles II. 2. Make a list of the things which caused James's fall. 3. Read the account in Macaulay 's ' ' History of England ' ' of the rejoicing when the bishops were declared "Not guilty." 4. Compare the religious struggles under Charles II. and James II. with those under Charles I. 5. Which were the wiser rulers, the Tudors or the Stuarts'? Why? 6. State in writing, in your own words, the significance of the Revolution of 1688. XXIX THE REIGN OF AVILLIAM AND MARY (1689-1702) POINTS TO BE NOTICED Characters of William and Mary; dates of their reign; France aids James II.; Battle of the Boyne in Ireland; Battle of Killiekrankie in Scotland; Massacre of Glencoe. William's war against Louis XIV.; attitude of Englishmen; Battle of La Hogue; terms on which France made peace; importance of this war. The Toleration Act; Catholics excluded from it; the Mutiny Act; practices aiding the growth of political liberty; the Triennial Act; a step toward Cabinet government; censorship of the press removed. Death of Queen Mary: the Act of Settlement; death of "William; importance of his reign. Parliament chose wisely in placing William and Mary upon the throne. Mary was a Stuart, was still young and handsome, and was popular because of Characters , , • nr-n* of William her good heart and pleasing manners. William and Mary. & i III., on the other hand, was a foreigner, and had a distant manner, which held people off at arm's length. His English subjects never loved him, as they did Mary, although they recognized his ability and his just character. On the Continent, he had already become the leader of the Protestants in resisting the ambitious plans of France. As King of England, his chief object was still to unite Europe against Louis XIV., but at the same time he wished to govern strictly accord- ing to the constitution. Although James II. had fled from England, he had no intention of giving up his throne without a struggle. Louis XIV. treated him as if he were still King of Eng- 252 REIGN OF WILLIAM AND MARY 253 land, and supplied him with soldiers, arms, and money. James's chief attempt was made in Ireland, where the great majority of the people were Catholics, and favored his cause. When James arrived in Ireland he laid siege to the Protestant town of Londonderry. The siege lasted for more than a hundred days. The inhabitants t War with of the town suffered terribly; more than half James n. • i i i / • ' n Ireland - ot them perished, and the survivors were forced to eat the flesh of horses, cats, and dogs. James's officers carried on the siege with savage cruelty; but still the cry was, "No surrender." When at last food was all gone, except a little tallow and some salted hides, a fleet sent by William broke through the "boom" which closed the har- bor, and the town was saved. The next summer (1090) William him- self took a large force to Ireland, and won a great victory in the battle of the river Boyne. The Irish cavalry fought bravely, but their foot soldiers were untrained, and fled from the field. James was one of the first of the fugitives to reach the city of Dublin, and there lie bitterly told an Irish lady that her countrymen had "run away." WILLIAM II] 254 THE STORY OF ENGLAND "If they have. Sire," she replied, "your Majesty seems to have won the race." James now returned to France, leaving his Irish supporters to their fate. It was many months before the last stronghold surrendered to William's generals; and when that happened, more than 10,000 of the Irish soldiers were allowed to go to France, where they formed a famous "Irish brigade" in Louis XIV. 's army. In Scotland, also, William had to fight for the crown. A nobleman, named Dundee, gathered together the Highland clans, and met William's general, William's » -iii war in as he and his men came toiling up through the Scotland. . i « i i pass of Killiekrankie, in central Scotland. William's troops had been supplied with bayonets, a new French invention; but these fitted into the muzzles of the guns, instead of fastening to the outsides, and the guns could not be fired with the bayonets in position. After firing a few volleys, the Highlanders drew their broadswords, and rushed like a whirlwind upon their English and Lowland enemies. They were upon William's troops before the latter could fix their bayonets. Within a few minutes the battle was won. But the brave Dundee there lost his life, and James II. had no one to take his place. William succeeded, without much difficulty, in recov- ering from this defeat, and bv the end of 1G91 most of the Highland clans had submitted. The MacDonalds of Glencoe, however, put off the hateful duty to the last moment; and, through a mistake, they allowed the time set by William for receiving submissions to pass without giving in their names. They were misrepresented to William by their enemies as murderers and brigands. So William gave orders to " extirpate that nest of thieves," as an example to others. This cruel order was carried REIGN OF WILLIAM AND MARY 255 out with vet greater cruelty. The soldiers who were sent to Glencoe pretended to come as friends, and ate at the tables of the MacDonalds, and joked and played cards with them. Then, when night came, they treacherously fell upon their hosts, and put them to death. Only a fourth of the clan succeeded in escaping. When this "massacre of Glencoe" became known to the Scottish Parliament, it caused a great outcry, and William was obliged to dismiss from his employ the persons responsible for it. The help which Louis XIV. gave to James II. led to war between England and France. For eight years, William was at the head of a great league — composed of Great Britain, Holland, Spain, and Germany — which fought the French War wherever they found them. On the Continent, £|uisxiv. it was chiefly a war of sieges, and of pitched ofFrance - battles between an army carrying on the siege and one trying to relieve the besieged town. Soon after the begin- ning of the war, France won a naval victory which for two years gave it command of the sea. Many leading Englishmen, in William's service, grew so faint-hearted that they secretly wrote to James II., telling him that they were favorable to his cause; and William was obliged to let their treason pass unnoticed. But the burning of a village on the coast of England, by a French fleet, aroused England's spirit. James also issued a foolish proclamation, in which he threatened, if he was successful, to punish all persons who had in any way served under William; and this made men hesitate to replace him on the throne. Then, in 1692, the English won a great naval battle off La Hogue, which again gave them the command of the sea, and freed them from all danger of invasion. 256 THE STORY OF ENGLAND Russell, the English commander, was one of those who had secretly informed James that he would help him. " But do not think," he had told James's messenger, "that I will let the French triumph over us in our own sea. Understand this, that, if I meet them, I fight them, even though his Majesty himself should be on board." Russell's hatred of the French was greater than his love for James II. , and he kept his word about fighting them, in spite of his promise to James. At last, in 1697, a peace was made, by which Louis agreed to give up his conquests, and to acknowledge William III. as King of England. William was thus successful in his struggle with the "Grand Monarch" of France. He had shown England, moreover, that its greatest enemy now was not Spain, but France, and that if the English wanted to develop their trade and colonies it was chiefly with France that they must struggle. So he started England on a new "hundred years' war" with France, which was to be fought all over the world, wherever French and English met, and which did not end until England had won from France practically all her colonial possessions, and established the British Empire. In William's reign, also, began many of the practices which established political and religious liberty in Reli _ England. The Protestant Dissenters were n'berty rewarded, for their refusal to aid James II. in secured. j^ illegal measures, by the passage of a Toleration Act. This relieved them from the fines for failure to attend the services of the Church of England, which were imposed by laws made in Elizabeth's reign, and also permitted them to have chapels and hold services of their own. Catholics, however, were not admitted to these privileges. For nearly a hundred REIGN OF WILLIAM AND MARY 257 years the laws against Catholics not only continued in full force, but were even made stronger. To prevent any King becoming strong enough to over- throw free government by force, as James II. had tried to do. Parliament made a change in regard to fe ^. to Growth of the Mutiny Act, which gives the King and political his officers power to control the army. They now began to pass this act for only a year at a time, instead of for a long term of years. Parliament also adopted the practice of voting money to run the government for only a year at a time. In this way, it was made impossible for a King to rule without Parliament, for Parliament must meet at least once each year, to pass the Mutiny Act and the "appro- priation" bills. A few years later, Parliament also passed a Triennial Act, which provided that no Parlia- ment should continue in existence, without a new election, for more than three years. The period for which Parlia- ment can sit was later changed to seven years; but the principle still holds good, that such "long Parliaments" as that which began under Charles I., and that which sat under Charles II., shall not be allowed. The Bank of England was also established under William. This made it much easier for the government to raise money, and to carry on its financial business. Today the Bank of England is one of the greatest money institutions in the world. In the latter part of his reign, William took the step of choosing all his chief ministers from the party which at that time had a majority in the House of Commons, and hence best represented the views of the people. A very little more change, made in later reigns, brought about a system of " cabinet government, " under which England is ruled today. 258 THE STORY OF ENGLAND From William's reign also dates the right of any man to print any book, pamphlet, or newspaper that he wants to, without having to submit it beforehand to Freedom ° of the press a " censor" to see that its opinions are such gained. l as the government and church approve of. Newspapers now sprang up, and it was not long before the first daily paper was founded. This "freedom of the press "helped greatly to educate the people, and to inform them of what the govern- ment was doing ; and thus a "public opinion" was formed which statesmen of both parties were obliged to take ac- count Of. QUEEN MARY II. In 1694 Queen Mary died, of the smallpox, which at that time, before vaccination was discovered, carried off Death of thousands of persons each year. William's Mary. grief was heart-rending. "I was the hap- piest man on earth," he cried, "and now I am the most miserable. She had no faults — none. You knew her well, but you could not know — nobody but myself could know — how good she was." William and Mary had no children, and so, by a provision in the Bill of Rights, Mary's sister, Anne, became heir to the throne. The last of Anne's seventeen children died before William passed away, and it then REIGN OF WILLIAM AND MARY 259 became clear that some further provision must be made concerning the succession. So, in 1701, Par- The Act of Settle- ment liament passed an Act of Settlement, which provided that, after Anne's death, the crown P assed - should go to Sophia, a granddaughter of James I., and to her descendants, "being Protestants." Sophia's husband was Elector (or Prince) of Hanover, one of the German states, and this act thus paved the way for the "Hanoverian succession," which actually took place in 1714. Another provision of the Act of Settlement was that judges should hold their offices during life, or so long as they behaved well. This provision remedied one of the greatest abuses under the Stuart Kings, by making it impossible to remove judges at the King's pleasure, in order to get from the courts decisions which suited him. The next year after this act, William III. died, worn out with anxiety and hard work. The immediate cause of his death was a fall from his horse. He Death of was a great King, though he was not a pop- wiiiiam ular one. We should think of him especially as the one who brought England safely through a great crisis, and who first showed the world how, in a country like England, Parliament and the Crown could govern together. TOPICS FOR THOUGHT AND SEARCH 1. Read an account of the siege of Londonderry. (Macaulay, "History of England," Ch. xii.) 2. Read aloud Browning's poem entitled "Herv£ Eiel " (about the escape of the French fleet after La Hogue). 3. Make a list of five ways in which the Revolution and the reign of William and Mary helped the growth of liberty. 4. Compare the character and work of William III with that of Oliver Cromwell. XXX QUEEN ANNE, THE LAST OF THE STUARTS (1702-1714) POINTS TO BE NOTICED Dates of Anne's reign; influence of Lady Marlborough; rise of the Duke of Marlborough; his character and ability. Origin of the War of the Spanish Succession; England's interest in it; where it was fought; the Battle of Blenheim; end of the war; England's gains by the treaty of Utrecht. Union of England and Scotland; its terms; how shown on the flag. Plans of the "Jacobites"; why they failed; death of Queen Anne; the Hanoverian House comes to the throne. Queen Anne was a good-hearted woman, and was very devoted to the Church of England. But she was stupid and without ability to govern, and was always ruled by her favoritec. From girlhood Anne was under the influence of a beautiful, ambitious, and high-tempered lady of the Oueen court, named Sarah Jennings. Lady Sarah L^Mari- married John Churchill, a handsome young borough. man5 of polished manners, who was as poor and ambitious as Sarah herself. It was through their influence that Anne deserted her father, at the time of the Revolution, and went over to the side of William and her sister Mary. Churchill also deserved well of William, because he led over his troops in James's army to William's side. After the Revolution was successful, William made him Earl of Marlborough; but William never fully trusted him, because he knew that the new Earl was often plotting with his old master. 260 THE LAST OF THE STUARTS 261 In Queen Anne's reign Marlborough at once became the chief man in the government. In spite of his bad conduct in the past, and his greed for money, Lord Marl . this was a fortunate thing for England. Marl- |££ t ugh a borough was both the greatest statesman and ^ eneral - the greatest general of his time. A great Frenchman said of Marlborough that " he never besieged a fortress that he did not take, never fought a battle that he did not win, and never carried on a negotiation that he bring to a did not successful close." One of his strong n dealing points i with men was his unfailing politeness and his good temper. But the chief factor in Marlborough's rise w a s the fact that his wife, who was devoted to him, was the bosom friend and constant com- panion of the Queen. The result was that the richest positions and highest honors were given the Marlboroughs, including for him the title of Duke, and the chief command of the English forces. England needed a general of great ability at this time, for she was once more at war with Louis XIV. of France — this time over the succession to the throne of Spain. What difference, you may ask, did it make to England QUEEN ANNE 262 THE STORY OF ENGLAND who became King of Spain? Ordinarily it made little Question difference. But now it happened that the succession cme f claimant of the Spanish crown was the in Spain. « Dauphin" of France — that is, the eldest son of Louis XIV. — and it would never do to permit France and Spain, with their vast colonies and dependencies, to become united under the same rule. William III. had foreseen this difficulty, and had negotiated "partition treaties" by which Spain and the Spanish colonies Avere to go to an Austrian Prince, and the French Prince should receive only the Spanish pos- sessions in Italy. This was unsatisfactory to the Spanish people; and when the King of Spain died, in 1700, he left a will giving his whole possessions, not to the Dau- phin, but to the Dauphin's second, son. France would go, in the course of time, to the Dauphin's eldest son, and thus the two countries would not have the same King, though they would be under the same family. It was thought that this would remove the objections of the other nations, but it did not. Although Louis XIV. had signed the partition treaties, he decided to accept the inheritance offered by the Spanish King's will. He presented his little grandson to the French court, saying — " Gentlemen, behold the King of Spain ! " He was also reported to have said that "the Pyrenees have ceased to exist." This meant that, thenceforth, Spain and France would be practically one country. This arrangement disturbed what statesmen called "the balance of power" between the different countries, war of the an< ^ Austria and the Dutch republic deter- iuccession m hied to resist it. The result was a great war, begins. called the War of the Spanish Succession, which lasted for eleven vears. It was fought all over THE LAST OF THE STUARTS 263 western Europe, and in North America. At first the English people took little interest in the matter. But when James II. died, in France (in 1700), Louis XIV. broke his treaty with England by recognizing James's son ("the Pretender,'' as he was called) as King of England. A storm of indignation then broke out in England, and under Queen Anne that country became the leading member of the "Grand Alliance" against Louis XIV. Marlborough became commander in chief of the Eng- lish and Dutch forces, while the commander of the Austrian forces was Prince Eugene of Savoy. Eugene also was a great general , and the relations between the two commanders were of the friendliest sort. The greatest battle of this war was fought in Germany, Marl- MEDAL IN CELEBRATION OF VICTORY AT BLENHEIM on the river Dan- ube (1704). A v b -° »f a ' t s French army had B»« nh « im - passed through the Black Forest, and was marching- do wn the valley of the Danube, to attack Vienna, the Austrian capital. Marlborough and Prince Eugene came up with them near the little village of Blenheim, and there the battle took place. Both sides fought bravely, but Marlborough and Eugene showed the greater skill and won the victory. In addition to the French who were slain or taken prisoners, thousands of their men were forced back into the river Danube and drowned. That night Marlborough wrote this hastv note to his beloved wife: 264 THE STORY OF ENGLAND " I have not time to say more than to beg that you will give my duty to the Queen, and let her know that her army has had a glorious victory. The French commander and two of his generals are prisoners, and are in my coach; and I am following the rest. The hearer of this letter will give you an account of what has passed." The battle of Blenheim was indeed " a glorious victory." It not only saved Vienna from the French, but also restored the ancient fame of the English soldiers. The war continued for some years after this. In its latter part the Tories, who were opposed to the war, got control of the government in England. Lady Marl- borough, also, foolishly quarreled with the Queen. The result was that Marlborough was removed from his command, and then the war did not go so well for the allies. At last, Louis XIV. — who was now nearing the close of his long reign — made peace. By the treaty of Utrecht (1713) the French Prince received Spain, the war with its colonies; but it was expressly agreed that France and Spain should never be united under the same King. The Austrians received most of the other Spanish possessions in Europe. Eng- land received the rocky fortress of Gibraltar, at the entrance to the Mediterranean Sea, which she had taken in the course of the war, and which she still retains. She also received Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, and the Hudson Bay territory in America. Thus the War of the Spanish Succession not only saved her from having a Stuart King placed over her, but it marked a step in the building up of her colonial empire at the expense of France. THE LAST OF THE STUARTS 265 Another event of importance in this reign was the union of England and Scotland. Ever since the time when James I. came to the English throne — England except for a short period under Cromwell— , a a n n d d Scot " the two countries had been ruled by the same un,ted - King, though they had kept their separate Parliaments, and were otherwise separate nations. In Queen Anne's rcio-n, this arrangement was ended by an Act of Union (1707). This provided that one sovereign and one VIEW OF GIBRALTAR Notice the resemblance in shape to a lion lying down Parliament should rule the two countries, under the name of " Great Britain." Scotland received a fair share of members in both the House of Commons and the House of Lords, but neither the Scottish law nor the established Presbyterian church of Scotland was to be changed. The union of the two countries is indicated in the national flag. The flag of England was white, with a large upright red cross; the flag of Scotland was blue, *66 THE STORY OF ENGLAND with a diagonal white cross. In the new flag, the two crosses were united, and the corner of the flag in which the crosses were placed was called the "union." About a century later, Ireland was brought under the same Parliament with Great Britain, and its cross — a red diagonal — was then added to the flag. When a flag is made up of the union only, it is called a " union jack.'' The THE UNION JACK union jack, therefore, as it is now used by the British army, consists of a blue flag, bear- ing on it (1) an upright red cross e d £ e d w i t h white, (*2) a diagonal white cross, and (3) a diagonal red cross. As the renm of Anne came to a close, it looked as o though the rule of a Stuart and a Catholic would be restored, after all. That this did not happen. Jacobite says a modern writer, was "the greatest miracle in English history." All of the chief positions in the government were in the hands of the "Jacobites," or supporters of the line of James II.; and they were sending letters to the Pretender, and planning to make him King. But there was one difficulty — the fact that he was a Catholic. He was urged to give up his religion, or at any rate not to show himself openly a Catholic, but he refused. " How could my subjects ever depend upon me, or be THE LAST OF THE STUARTS 267 happy under me," he wrote, "if I should use such dishonesty to o-et myself amongst them ?" This refusal did credit to his heart, but it made the task of his friends very difficult. The final defeat of their plans was due to the facts, first, that 1 . Death of Anne died suddenly, in 1714, before the Queen Anne. Jacobites were quite ready; and second, that the Whig leaders acted promptly and decidedly, in forcing the Council to carry out the provisions of the Act of Settlement. The Electress Sophia had died shortly before this, and the heir to the German territory of Hanover, as well as to the kingdom of Great Britain, was her son George. He was accordingly proclaimed at once, as King of Great Britain, under the name of George I., and quietly succeeded to the throne. In this way the house of Hanover, which has ruled Great Britain down to our own day, and has widely extended the British Empire, first secured the crown of the island kingdom. TOPICS FOR THOUGHT AND SEARCH 1. Find out what you can about Lady Marlborough and her con- nection with Queen Anne. 2. Eead an account, of the great writers of Queen Anne's reign (Addison, Swift, Defoe, Pope). 3. Was it better for England, in Anne's time, to be governed by the Whig party or the Tory party? Give your reasons. 4. In what ways was it an advantage for England and Scotland to be under the same Parliament? 5. Did William III. or Marlborough do more toward building up the British Empire? Give your reasons. XXXI THE FIRST HANOVERIAN KINGS POINTS TO BE NOTICED Dates of the reigns of George I. and George II.; characters of those Kings; how "Cabinet government" arose; Sir Eobert Walpole the first Prime Minister; his policy. Captain Jenkins and the war with Spain; this leads to the War of the Austrian Succession; why England was interested; attempt of the "Young Pretender" to gain the English throne; its failure; end of the war. George I. was King of Great Britain for thirteen years, and his son, George II., was King after him for thirty- George i. three. They were plain, commonplace per- ami George sons > without much ability, and were more i76o! 727 interested in Hanover than they were in England. But they had the good judgment to put in office ministers whom Parliament trusted, and then let them run the government. The ministers usually belonged to the Whig party, for it was to that party that the Hanoverians owed their throne. The reigns of these first hvo Hanoverian Kings were mainly a time of peaceful development; but the period closed with a great war, from which England profited even more than it did from the time of peace. George I. could speak no English at all, so he did not attend the meetings of his ministers; and George II. , Rise of though he could speak English brokenly, g*ve?n- followed the same practice. In this way it ment - became the established principle that the ministers, who made up the " Cabinet," and were responsible for carrying on the government, should meet and discuss their plans without the King being present. 268 THE FIRST HANOVERIAN KINGS 269 It was at this time also that the practice arose of one minister being above all the others. He was called the Prime Minister, and was the one chiefly responsible for carrying on the government. In this way the Cabinet became more united, and more independent of the King, though it continued to be dependent on Parliament. The first real Prime Minister was Sir Robert Walpole, who carried on the govern- ment for twenty- WaIpole> one years, under prfme St George I. and Minister - George II. Queen Caroline, the wife of George II., was a wise and tactful woman, and did much to smooth the rough places for Walpole. His policy was, as he said, to "let sleep- ing dogs lie"; so he did every- thing to keep England at peace, both at home and abroad. Once when there was a war on the Continent, Walpole said to the Queen: , "Madam, there were fifty thousand men slain in Europe this year, and not one of them was an Englishman." But, towards the end of his long administration, Walpole was obliged, against his will, to begin a small war with Spain. By the treaty of Utrecht, a limited right to trade with the Spanish colonies had been given to English merchants, and the Spaniards accused the English of abusing this right. The English, in turn, complained that their ships were stopped by the Spanish war vessels, and searched SIR ROBERT WALPOLE 2?(> THE STORY OF ENGLAND for goods intended to be used in smuggling; and they also complained that English sailors were thrown into Spanish dungeons, and tried by the Spanish Inquisition as heretics. Finally, a Captain Jenkins set all England afire by his story that his ship had been stopped and searched by Spaniards; and that, when they found no evidence of wrong-doing, they angrily cut off his ear. A STREET IX LONDON ABOUT 17 1' As proof of his story, he showed the car, which he carried abotrt with him wrapped up in cotton. When asked what his feelings were when he was in the hands of the Spaniards, Jenkins said: "I commended my soul to God, and my cause to my country." AValpole was forced either to go to war, or to resign as Prime Minister. He chose to go to war; hut it was against his better judgment. THE FIRST HANOVERIAN KINGS 271 "They are ringing their hells now," he said, as London rejoiced at the news, "but they will soon be wringing their hands." Like every war in which England was engaged, in that century, this speedily grew into a war hetween England and France. Queen Maria Theresa •*„„„«... had just succeeded to the throne of Austria, pJ|J ce and Frederick the Great of Prussia took < 1743 >- advantage of the opportunity to seize a part of the Austrian lands. In the hitter war hetween Austria and Prussia which followed, Prance took the side of Prussia. George II., as ruler of Hanover, was jealous of Prussia, and he persuaded the English Parliament to take the side of Austria, against Prussia. Spain, and France. This War of the Austrian Succession, like that of the Spanish Succession, was fought wherever the two parties confronted one another in Germany, in Italy, in the Netherlands, on the seas., in America, and in far-off India. The war in Europe usually went against the English and Austrians, for they had no general equal to Fred- erick the ( ire at, and no army like the one he commanded. 'Idie English fleets, however, gained some victories, and the English colonists in America captured some places from the French; hut in India the English lost to the French most of their trading posts. As a pari of this War of the Austrian Succession, there was a daring attempt to place the Pretender on the Eng- lish throne. The French collected an army. The on their coast, to aid "Prince Charlie," the invades eldest son of the Pretender, in invading (1745). England; hut contrary winds prevented the army from crossing the Channel, and it disbanded. The next year (1745) "Prince Charlie" made his way to Scotland with only seven followers, determined to arouse the Jacobites 272 THE STORY OF ENGLAND to rebellion. The "Young Pretender," as the English called him, was young, handsome, brave, and polite, so that he Avon to his support a large following. He took Edinburgh, and then put the English to flight in a battle which lasted only a very short time. The Jacobites went wild with delight. "We have a Prince," they said, "who can eat a dry crust, sleep on pease-straw, eat his dinner in four minutes, and win a battle in five." The Young Pretender re- solved to make a dash into England, hoping that the people there would rise and proclaim his father as King. By hard march- ing, his little army got as far as Derby, within a hundred and thirty miles of the capital ; and all London was thrown into a panic. But still there was no sign of an army from France, and the English Jacobites refused to risk their lives uselessly, by rising in rebellion. So the Prince was obliged to retreat to Scotland. Two more battles were fought, in the second of which the Pretender was defeated, and his forces com- pletely scattered. THE YOUNG PRETENDER THE FIRST HANOVERIAN KINGS 273 For five months, "Prince Charlie" then lay hid in different parts of western Scotland, while a large reward was offered for his capture. Many persons r i Escape must have known his whereabouts, vet so of the " Pretender loyal were the Scottish people to ' bonnie Prince Charlie" that no one came forward to claim the reward. The Prince finally succeeded in reaching a French vessel, and escaped safely to France. This was the last real attempt to restore the Stuarts to the British throne, though there are still persons in that kingdom who keep up the form of recognizing a member of the Stuart line as their sovereign. In 1748, a peace was finally made which ended the War of the Austrian Succession. Frederick the Great kept the territory which he had taken from 1 l . End of Austria; but all other conquests, including the war those made by either party in America and in India, were restored. The only gain which Great Britain made by the lono- war was the recognition of the Hanoverian Kings by France, and the agreement of France to drive the Pretender from that country. TOPICS FOR THOUGHT AND SEARCH 1. Was it a good or a bad thing for Great Britain that George I. and George II. were not strong, active rulers? Give your reasons. 2. What is meant by "Cabinet government"? Compare the position of the ministers after the rise of Cabinet government with their position before. '.'>. What is meant by a "Prime Minister"? Compare the posi- tion of the Prime Minister with that of our President. 4. Was the fact that their King was now the ruler also of Han- over an advantage or a disadvantage to the people of Great Britain? Give your reasons. 5. Imagine yourself a follower of the Young Pretender, and write an account of his invasion of England. WXII WINNING THE BRITISH EMPIRE (1754-1763) POINTS TO BE NOTICED Nature of the struggles between England and Prance; causes o( their rivalry in America; war begins over the "territory on the Ohio'*; George Washington and l-'oii Duquesne; defeat of General Braddock. Origin of the "Seven Fears' War*' in Europe; allies of England and of Prance; how William Pitt saved England; Genera) Wolfe captures Quebec; all Canada conquered. The English and French in India; Clive defeats the French; the "Black Hole" of Calcutta; Clive's victory at Plassey; French influence in India destroyed. (dose of the war in Europe; George 111. abandons Frederick the Great; how Prussia was saved; 1011ns of the Peace of Paris; the British Empire established. Fob six or eight years following the War of the Austrian Succession, England and France were at peace. Hut the enmity between the two nations continued. French |M English They now understood that they wore really engaged in a world-wide struggle for colonial empire, for the mastery oi the seas, and for commercial supremacy. In whatever part of the world English colonists or merchants went, they found Frenchmen disputing the ground, and fighting often occurred between English and French sailors or settlers, England and France both had colonies in America the French in the valleys of the St. Lawrence and the Their Mississippi, and about the Great Fakes; and Fn°North tn€ English along the Atlantic coast, Virginia, America. Maryland, and the four New England Colonies (Massachusetts. Rhode Island. Connecticut, and New Hampshire) had been founded under James 1. 274 WINNING THE BRITISH EMPIRE 275 and Charles I. New York, New Jersey, fin- Carolinas, Pennsylvania and Delaware were founded under Charles II. Georgia, the last of the thirteen English colonies, was established in the reign of George II. In addition Greai Britain possessed Nova Scotia. New- foundland, and lli*- Hudson Bay Territory The English came as permanent settlers, Mini their numbers increased rapidly. The French, in tin- main, came for tin- fur-trade only, and expected some day to return to their beloved France NEW ENGLAND and NEW FRANCE 1755-1783 fonil'lPSc'l Gulf of ■--f MASSACHUSETTS'"^ /^ ,<$•" ^- u 'hamp. f ftmratogj I \ Philadelphia , Y \ /^dE^sev MAI' OF NEW ENGLAND AND NEW FRANCE The English colonists soon began to feel thai their boundaries were too narrow for them, and turned their gaze toward the greai unsettled valleys beyond the Appalachian mountains. They claimed these western lands on the ground that then- settlements on the coast gave them a right to the territory clear across the conti- nent. The French, on the other hand, claimed this territory on the ground thai their settlements about the 276 THE STORY OF ENGLAND mouths of the St. Lawrence and Mississippi gave tnem the right to all the country drained by these rivers. To support their claim, the French built a chain of forts connecting the Ohio river with the St. Lawrence, •