• .-.'■\ ' 7 * " < 't- ['^^\ .'*;."■• '•••'1:1.1 -f *7-* ■• •' ::•• 'c ^ ••^'•■ ->--•*■•. , • . . . •••—■•.•■»• * ■n-iTH A CONTINUATION TO TIIE YEAH 1815, y HY M. SUHCELL, /. I \ TO WHICH IS ADDED f H 7'' A SKETCH Of TUt; LATK REVOI.UTIOXS IN GREECE, PObAKD, HELGIUM, AND FRANCE, ;l-330'.) BY J. PARRETT, M. D. WITH A CO.VPnEUENSIVl! ACCOUKT OF TIIE RKVOLfTIOfiS IS FRANCE. ITALYv AND THE GERMAN STATES IN IS-JS. (SmbcllidiC'r iDitl) €nciraDings, HARTFORD: PUBLISHED BY EDWIN HUNT. 1849. THE LIBRARY or CONGRESS "I WASHIWOTOHI Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1843, By EDWIN HUNT, in the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the District of Connecticut. CONTENTS, rage. Publisher's Notice, 5 Author's Preface, 7 Life of Koch, 13 CHAPTER I. Introduction, 17 CHAFER II.— PERIOD I. From the invasion of the Roman Empire in the West, by the Bar- barians, to the time of Charlemagne, A. D. 406 — 800, ... 41 CHAPTER III.— PERIOD II. From Charlemagne to Otto the Great, A. D. 800—962, .... 63 CHAPTER IV.— PERIOD III. From Otto the Great to Gregory the Great, A. D. 962—1074, . , 79 CHAPTER v.— PERIOD IV. From Pope Gregory VIII. to Boniface VIIL, A. D. 1074—1300, 101 CHAPTER VI.— PERIOD V. From Pope Boniface VIII. to the taking of Constantinople by the Turks, A. D. 1300—1453, 165 CHAPTER VII.— PERIOD VI. From the taking of Constantinople by the Turks, to the peace of Westphalia, A. D., 1453—1648, 207 IV CONTENTS. CHAPTER Vlir.— PERIOD VII. From the Peace of Westphalia to that of Utrecht, A. D., 1648—1713 281 CHAPTER IX.— PERIOD VIII. From the Peace of Utrecht to the French Revolution, A. D., 1713 —1789, 335 CHAPTER X.— PERIOD IX. From the commencement of the French Revolution to the downfall of Buonaparte, A. 1)., 1789—1815, 418 CHAPTER XI: The Military Predominance of France, under the sway of Napo- leon Buonaparte, A. D. 1802—1810, 476 CHAPTER XII: The decline and downfall of the Empire of Buonaparte, A- D., 1810—1815, • . . 536 APPENDIX: France from the second Restoration of the Bourbons, A. D., 1815, including the Revolution of July, 1830, to the Revolution of February, 1848, .581 Revolution in Belgium, A. D. 1830, 607 Revolution in Poland, A. D. 1830, 608 Revolution in Greece, A. D. 1821 — 1827, 619 War between Russia and Turkey, A. D. 1828 — 1829, .... 638 England, from A. D. 1816 to A. D. 1848, 642 French Revolution of February, 1848, 661 Revolutions in Germany, A. D. 1848, 698 Revolutions in Italy, A. D. 1848, 710 PUBLISHER'S NOTICE. The Publisher of the present edition of Koch's Revolutions, has been induced to prepare this work for publication on account of the very high reputation which it has in Europe, and its general adoption there in Literary Institutions, as the outline of instruction in the portion of History which it embraces. Its high merit would no doubt have obtained for it an earlier reprint from the American press, but for the errors with which the English translation abounds. These defects, it is hoped, will not be found in the present edition, which has been revised by a gentleman who has endeavored not only to correct the faults of language, but also to strike from its pages all expressions of principles inconsistent with the liberal spirit of philosophical history. A practical acquaintance with the work as a Manual of His- tory, has convinced this gentleman of its admirable adaptation to this purpose, and enabled him to recommend it for its fidelity, impartiality, conciseness, clear argument, enlightened spirit, and learned research. Omitting no important event, and dwelling very fully upon those which have had great influence in pro- ducing the permanent changes which the civilized world has vi publisher's notice. undergone in the last fifteen centuries, it may almost claim, he thinks, the united advantages of a compendious and an elaborate History. In order perfectly to adapt the work to the present time, a sketch of the Revolutions in France, Belgium, Poland, and Greece, which occurred in 1830 ; also a narrative of the recent events in Great Britain, of the French Revolution of February, 1848, and the Revolutions which have recently occurred in Ger- many and Italy, have been prepared with much labor and care, and added to the present edition, making it the most complete historical work on Modern Europe yet offered to the public. In full confidence that it will be found deserving of the high character it has sustained abroad, as a valuable and faithful guide to a knowledge of the History of Modern Europe it is now offered to the patronage of the friends of Useful Knowledge, by THE AMERICAN PUBLISHER. AUTHOR'S PREFACE. The work here presented to the pubhc, is a summary of the Revo- lutions, both general and particular, which have happened in Europe since the extinction of the Roman Empire, in the fifth century. As an elementary book, it will be found useful to those who wish to have a concise and general view of the successive revolutions that have changed the aspect of states and kingdoms, and given birth to the existing pohcy and established order of society in modern times. Without some preliminary acquaintance with the annals of these revolutions, we can neither study the history of our own country to advantage, nor appreciate the influence which the different states, formed from the wreck of the ancient Roman Empire, reciprocally exercised on each other. Allied, as it were, by the geographical po- sition of their territories, by a conformity in their rehgion, language, and manners, these states contracted new attachments in the ties of mutual interests, which the progress of civiUzation, commerce, and industry, tended more and more to cement and confirm. Many of them, whom fortune had elevated to the summit of power and pros- perity, carried their laws, their arts and institutions, both civil and military, far beyond the limits of their own dominions. The exten- sive sway which the Romish hierarchy held for nearly a thousand years over the greater part of the European kingdoms, is well known to every reader of history. This continuity of intercourse and relationship among the powers of Europe, became the means of forming them into a kind of repub- VIU PREFACE lican system ; it gave birth to a national law and conventional rights, founded on the agreement of treaties, and the usages of common practice. A laudable emulation sprung up among contemporary- states. Their jealousies, and even their competitions and divisions, contributed to the progress of civilization, and the attainment of that high state of perfection to which all human sciences and institutions have been carried by the nations of modern Europe. It is these political connections, this reciprocal influence of king- doms and their revolutions, and especially the varieties of system which Europe has experienced in the lapse of so many ages, that require to be developed in a general view, such as that which pro- fesses to be the object of the present work. The author has here remodeled his '' Views of the Revolutions of the Middle Ages," (published in 1790,) and extended or abridged the different periods according to circumstances. In continuing this work down to the present time, he has deemed necessary to conclude at the French Revolution, as the numerous results of that great event are too much involved in uncertainty to be clearly or impar- tially exhibited by contemporary writers.* The work is divided into eight periods of time,t according with the principal revolutions which have changed, in succession, the po- litical state of Europe. At the head of each period, is placed either the designation of its particular revolution, or that of the power or empire which held the ascendancy at the time. In limiting his treatise solely to his Revolutions of Europe, the writer has not touched upon those of Asia and the East, except in so far as they have had immediate influence on the destinies of Europe. Con- scious also that the distinguishing characteristic of an historian is veracity, and that the testimony of a writer who has not himself been an eye-witness of the events he records, cannot be relied on * In the edition of 1S23, from which the present translation is made, the Tableau has been continued by the Editor, M. Schoell. down to the 20th of November, 1815. t Nine in the last editions, including the continuation. PREFACE. IX with implicit confidence, the author has imposed on himself the inva- riable rule of citing, with scrupulous care, the principal authorities and vouchers of each period and country that have guided him during his researches, in selecting and examining his materials by the torch of patient criticism. Without this labor and precaution, the work would have been of no avail as an elementary help to those who were desirous of acquiring a more minute and soUd knowledge of history. As a useful and subsidiary accompaniment, an Introduction has been prefixed, in which are given some general remarks on history and geography, as also on genealogy and chronology, which may be regarded as auxiliary sciences. These preliminary notices are fol- lowed by a short outline of ancient history, down to the time of the Barbarian invasion in the fifth century. With this grand era the present work properly commences, when a new series of king- doms and governments sprung up in Europe. LIFE OF KOCH. Christopher William Koch, equally distinguished as a lawyer and a learned historian, was born on the 9th of May 1737 at Bouxwiller, a small town in the seigniory of Lichtenberg in Alsace, which then belonged to the Prince of Hesse-Darmstadt. His father, who was a member of the Chamber of Finance under that prince, sent him to an excellent school in his native place, where he received the rudim.ents of his education. At the age of thirteen, he went to the Protestant University of Strasbourg, where he prosecuted his studies under the celebrated Schoepflin. Law was the profession to which he was destined; but he showed an early predilection for the study of history, and the sciences connected with it, such as Diplomatics, or the art of deciphering and verifying ancient writs and chartulnries, Genealogy, Chro7iology, &c. Sch branch of the ancient Suevi, as did also the Burgundians and the Lombards. After the third century, and under the reign of the Emperor Probus, we find them, with the Burgundians, engaged in warring against the Romans on the Rhine. In the time of Aurelian, (272) they established them- selves in the western part of Dacia, that is, in Transylvania, and a part of modern Hungary. Oppressed in these districts by the Goths, they obtained from Constantine the Great, settlements in Pannonia, on condition of rendering military service to the Romans. They remained in Pannonia, until the commencement of the fifth century, when they set out on their emigration to- wards Gaul. It was on this occasion that they associated them- selves with the Alans, a people originally from Mount Caucasus, and ancient Scythia; a branch of which, settled in Sarmatia near the source of the Borysthenes or Dnieper, had advanced as far as the Danube, and there made a formidable stand against the Romans. In their passage through Germany, the Vandals and the Alans joined a body of the Suevi, who also inhabited the banks of the Danube, eastward of the powerful nation of the Alemanns. United in this rude confederacy, they entered Gaul, plundering and destroying wherever they went. Mayence, Worms, Spire, Strasbourg, and many flourishing cities of Gaul, were pillaged by these barbarians. The Goths,* the most powerful of these destructive nations, began to rise into notice in the third century, after the time of the Emperor Caracalla. They then inhabited the country be- tween the Vistula, the Dniester, the Borysthenes, and the Tanais or Don. It is not certain whether they were originally from these regions, or whether, in more remote times, they inhabited Scandinavia, from which, according to Jornandes, a Gothic au- thor, they emigrated at an early period. It is however certain, that they were of German extraction ; and that, in the third and fourth centuries, they made the Caesars tremble on their thrones. The Emperor Aurelian was compelled (274) to abandon the pro- vince of Dacia to their dominion. This nation, the first of the German tribes that embraced the Christian religion,' was divided, in their ancient settlements beyond the Danube, into two principal branches. They who inhabited the districts towards the east and the Euxine Sea, between the Dniester, the Borysthenes, and the Tanais, were called Ostrogoths ; the Visigoths were the branch which extend- ed vvestward, and occupied ancient Dacia, and the regions situ- ated between the Dniester, the Danube and the Vistula. At- PERIOD I. A. D. 406—800. 43 tacked in these vast countries by the Huns, (375) some were subjugated, and others compelled to abandon their habitations. A part of the Visigoths then fixed their abode in Thrace, ia Maesia, and the frontiers of Dacia, with consent of the emperors ; who granted also to the Ostrogoths settlements in Pannonia. At length the Visigoths, after having twice ravaged Italy, sacked and plundered Rome, ended their conquests by establishing themselves in Gaul and in Spain. One branch of these Goths appears to have been the Thuringians, whom we find in the fifth century established in the heart of Germany, where they erected a very powerful kingdom. The Franks were probably a confederacy which the German tribes, situated between the Rhine, the Maine, the Weser, and the Elbe, had formed among themselves, in order to maintain their liberty arid independence against the Romans. Tacitus, who wrote about the commencement of the second century, did not know them under this new name, which occurs for the first time in the historians of the third century. Among the German tribes who composed this association, we find the Chauci, the Sicambri, the Chamavi, the Cherusci, the Bructeri, the Catti, the Ampsivarii, the Ripuarii, the Salii, &C.'' These tribes, though combined for the purposes of common defence, under the general name of Franks, preserved, nevertheless, each their laws and form of government, as well as their particular chiefs, 1 ! and the names of their aboriginal tribes. In the fourth, and j I towards the beginning of the fifth century, the whole country i 1 lying within the Rhine, the Weser, the Maine, and the Elbe, j ' was called Francia. I i Another confederation of the German tribes, was that of the I I Alemanns ; unknown also to Tacitus. It took its origin about I j the commencement of the third century. Their territories ex- tended between the Danube, the Rhine, the Necker, the Main, and the Lahn. On the east, in a part of Franconia and modem Suabia, they had for their neighbours and allies the Suevi, who, after having long formed a distinct nation, were at length blended with the Alemanns, and gave their country the name of Suabia. The Alemanns rendered themselves formidable to the Romans, by their frequent inroads into Gaul and Italy, in the third and fourth centuries. The Saxons, unknown also to Tacitus, began to make a figure in history about the second century, when we find th^m settled beyond the Elbe, in modern Holstein, having for their neighbours the Angles, or English, inhabiting Sleswick Proper. These nations were early distinguished as pirates and free- booters ; and, while the Franks and the Alemanns spread them- 44 CHAPTER n. selves over the interior of Gaul, the Saxons infested the coapts and even extended their incursions into Britain. The Franks having penetrated into Gaul with their main forces, the Saxons passed the Elbe, and in course of time, occupied, or united in alliance with them, the greater part of ancient Francia, which took from them the name of Saxony. There they subdivided themselves into three principal branches ; the Ostphuiians to the east, the Westphalians to the west, and the Angria7is or Angrivarians, whose territories lay between the other two, along the Weser, and as far as the confines of Hesse. The Hqns, the most fierce and sanguinary of all the nations which overran the Roman Empire in the fifth century, came trom the remote districts of northern Asia, which were altogether unknown to the ancient Greeks and Romans. From the de- scriptions which the historians of the fifth and sixth centuries have given us of them, we are led to believe, that they were Kalmucks or Monguls originally. The fame of their arms had begun to spread over Europe so early as the year 375 of the Christian era. Having subdued the Alans, and crossed the Tanais, they subverted the powerful monarchy of the Goths, and gave the first impulse to the great revolution of the fifth cen- tury, which changed the face of all Europe. The Eastern empire first felt the fury of these barbarians, who carried fire and sword wherever they went, rendered the Emperors their tributaries, and then precipitated themselves on the West under the conduct of the famous Attila.* Several of the nations we have now enumerated, divided among themselves the territories of Gaul. This province, one of the richest and most important in the Western empire, was repeatedly overrun and devastated by the barbarous hordes of the fifth century. The Visigoths were the first that formed settle- ments in it. On their arrival under the command of King Atulf or Adolphus, (412,) they took possession of the whole country lying within the Loire, the Rhine, the Durance, the Mediter- ranean, and the Alps. Toulouse became their capital, and the residence of their kings. The BuRGUNDiANS, a people, it would appear, originally from the countries situated between the Oder and the Vistula, fol- lowed nearly in the track of the Visigoths ; as we find them, about the year 413, established on the Upper Rhine and in Switzerland. After the dissolution of the empire, they suc- ceeded in establishing themselves in those parts of Gaul, known by the names ef the Sequanois, Lyonnois, Viennois and Nar- bonnois, viz. in those districts which formed, in course of lime, the two Burgundies, the provinces of Lyonnois, Dauphiny and PERIOD I. A. D. 406—800. 45 Provence on this side of the Durance, Savoy, the Pays de Vaud, the Valais and Switzerland." These counlriea then assumed the name of the Kingdom of the Burgundians. The Alemanni and the SuEvi became flourishing nations on the banks of the Upper Rhine and the Danube. They invaded those countries in Gaul, or the Germania Prima of the Romans, known since under the names of Alsace, the Palatinate, May- ence, &c. ; and extended their conquests also over a considerable part of Rhetia and Vindelicia. At length the Franks, having been repulsed in different ren- counters by the Romans, again passed the Rhine (430,) under the conduct of Clodion their chief; made themselves masters of the greater part of Belgic Gaul, took possession of Tournay, Cambray and Amiens ; and thus laid the foundation of the new kingdom of France in Gaul. The Romans, however, still main- tained their authority in the interior of that province, and the brave jEtius their general made head against all those hordes of barbarians who disputed with him the dominion of Gaul. It was at this crisis that the Huns made their appearance on the theatre of war. The fierce Attila, a man of great military talents, after having overthrown various states, conquered Pan- nonia, and different provinces of the Eastern empire on the right bank of the Danube, undertook his famous expedition into Gaul. Marching along the Danube from Pannonia, at the head of an innumerable army,^ he passed the Rhine near the Lake of Con- stance, pillaged and ravaged several places, and spread the terror of his arms over all Gaul. The Franks and the Visigoths united their forces with those of the Roman General, to arrest the progress of the barbarian. A bloody and obstinate encounter took place (451,) on the plains of Chalons-sur-Marne, or Mery- sur-Seine, according to others. Thierry, King of the Visigoths, and more than a hundred and sixty thousand men, perished on the field of battle. Night separated the combatants ; and Attila, who found his troops too much exhausted to renew the combat, resolved to retreat. The following year he made a descent on Italy, and committed great devastations. This proved his last expedition ; for he died suddenly on his return, and the monarchy of the Huns expired with him. The defeat of the Huns did not re-establish the shattered and ruinous affairs of the Romans in Gaul. The Salian Franks,^ under their kings, Meroveus and Childeric I., the successors of Clodion, extended their conquests more and more ; till at length (Uovis, son of Childeric 1., put an end to the dominion of the Romans in that country, by the victory which he gained in 486, at Soissons, over Syagrius, the last of the Roman generals, who li j! I !! 1 1 i ! M 1 !i 46 CHAPTER lU died of a broken heart in consequence of this defeat. The Ale* manns afterwards having disputed with him the empire of the Gauls, he routed them completely (496,) at the famous battle of Tolbiac or Zulpich ;' seized their estates, and soon after em- braced Christianity. Emboldened by his new creed, and backed by the orthodox bishops, he attacked the Visigoths, who were of the heretical sect of Arius, defeated and killed their king, Alaric II., in the plains of Vougle, near Poitiers, (507,) and stripped them of all their possessions between the Loire and the Pyrenees.'" Gaul became thus, by degrees, the undisputed possession of the Franks. The descendants of CJovis added to their conquests the kingdom of the Burgundians (534,) which they totally overthrew. These same princes increased their possessions in the interioi of Germany, by the destruction of the powerful kingdom of the Thuringians (531,) comprising those vast countries between the Werra, the Aller, the Elbe, the Saal, the Mulda, and the Danube ; and which are now known under the names of Saxony, Thu- ringia, Franconia, the Upper Palatinate," &c. This kingdom they divided with their allies the Saxons, who obtained the nor- thern part of it, situated between the Unstrut and the Saal. While the Visigoths, the Burgundians, the Franks and the Alemanns, were disputing with each other the conquest of Gaul, the Vandals, the Suevi, and the Alans, turned their ambitious views towards Spain. After having settled some years in Gaul, these tribes passed the Pyrenees (409,) to establish themselves in the most fertile regions of Spain. The Vandals seized Boe- tica, and a part of Gallicia ; the Suevi seized the rest of Gal- licia ; while the Alans took possession of Lusitania, and the province of Carthagena. The Alans afterwards submitted to the sway of Gonderic, King of the Vandals (420,) while the Suevi preserved their native princes, who reigned in Gallicia and Lusitania ; this latter province having been abandoned by the Vandals, (427,) when they passed into Africa. Meanwhile new conquerors began to make their appearance in Spain. The Visigoths, pressed by the Romans in Gaul, took the resolution of carrying their arms beyond the Pyrenees. Under the conduct of their King, Adolphus, they made them- selves masters of the city of Barcelona (in 415.) Euric, one of the successors of this prince, took from the Romans (472) all that yet remained of their possessions in Spain ; and Leovigild, another of their kings, completed the conquest of all that coun- try (584,) by reducing the kingdom of the Suevi. The mo- narchy of the Visigoths, which in its flourishing state comprised, besides the continent of Spain, Septimania or Languedoc in ! PERIOD I. A. D. 406—800. 47 Gaul, and Mauritania Tingitana in Africa, maintained its exist- ence until the commencement of the eighth century ; when, as we shall afterwards see, it was finally overthrown by the Arabs. Northern Africa, one of the finest possessions of the Romans, was wrested from them by the Vandals. Count Boniface, who had the government of that country, having been falsely accused at the court of the Emperor Valentinian III., and believing him- self ruined in the esteem of that prince, invited the Vandals over to Africa; proposing to them the surrender of the province? intrusted to his command. Genseric was at that time king of the Vandals. The preponderance which the Visigoths had ac- quired in Spain, induced that prince to accept the offer of the Roman General; he embarked at the port of Andalusia, (427,) and passed with the Vandals and the Alans into Africa. Mean- time, Boniface having made up matters amicably with the Impe- rial court, wished to retract the engagements which he had made with the Vandals. Genseric nevertheless persisted in his 'enterprise. He carried on a long and obstinate war with the Romans; the result of which turned to the advantage of the barbarians. Genseric conquered in succession all that part of Africa pertaining to the Western empire, from the Straits of Cadiz as far as Cyrenaica, which was dependent on the empire of the East. He subdued likewise the Balearic Isles, with Sardinia, Corsica and a part of Sicily. The writers of that age who speak of this invasion, agree in painting, in the most lively colours, the horrors with which it was accompanied. It appears that Genseric, whose whole sub- jects, including old men and slaves, did not exceed eighty thou- sand persons, being resolved to maintain his authority by terror, caused, for this purpose, a general massacre to be made of the ancient inhabitants of Africa. To these political severities were added others on the score of religion ; being devoted with all his subjects to the Arian heresy, he as well as his successors became the constant and implacable persecutors of the orthodox Christians. This prince signalized himself by his maritime exploits, and by the piracies which he committed on the coasts of Italy and the whole Roman empire. Encouraged, as is supposed, by the Empress Eudoxia, who wished to avenge the death of her hus- band Valentinian III., he undertook an expedition into Italy, (455,) in which he made himself master of Rome. The city was pillaged during fifteen days by the Vandals, spoiled of all its riches and its finest monuments. Innumerable statues, orna- ments of temples, and the gilded cupola of the temple of Jupiter Capitolinus, were removed in order to be transported to Africa ; 48 OlIAPTER 11. together with many thousands of illustrious captives, A vessel loaded with the most precious monuments of Rome, perished in the passage. The dominion of the Vandals in Africa lasted about a hundred yeart). Their kingdom was destroyed by the Emperor Justinian, who reunited Africa to the empire of the East. Gilimer, the last king of the Vandals, was conquered by Belisarius, (534,) and conducted by him in triumph to Constantinople. Britain, inaccessible by its situation to most of the invaders that overran the Western empire, was infested, in the fifth cen- tury, by the northern inhabitants of that island, — the free Britons, known by the nanne of Caledonians or Picts, and Scots. The Romans having withdrawn their legions from the island (446,) to employ them in Gaul, the Britons, abandoned to their own strength, thought proper to elect a king of their own nation, named Vortigern ; but finding themselves still too weak to resist the incursions of the Picts and Scots, who, breaking over the wall of Severus, pillaged and laid waste the Roman province, they took the imprudent resolution of calling in to their succour the Angles, Saxons, and Jullanders, who were already dis- tinguished for their maritime incursions. A body of these An- glo-Saxons arrived in Britain (450,) in the first year of the reign of the Emperor Marcian, under the command of Hengist and Horsa. From being friends and allies, they soon became ene- mies of the Britons ; and ended by establishing their own do- minion in the island. The native islanders, after a protracted struggle, were driven into the province of Wales, where they succeeded in maintaining their independence against their new conquerors. A number of these fugitive Britons, to escape from the yoke of the mvaders, took refuge in Gaul. There they were received by the Franks into Armorica and part of Ly- onnois, to which they gave the name of Brittany. The Anglo-Saxons founded successively seven petty king- doms in Britain, viz. Kent, Sussex, Wessex, Essex, Northum- berland, East Anglia, and Mercia. Each of these kingdoms had severally their own kings ; but they were all united in a political association, known by the name of the Heptarchy. One of the seven kings was the common chief of the confede- racy ; and there was a general convention of the whole, called wit tena gemot, or the assembly of the wise men. Each king- dom was likewise governed by its own laws, and had its sej)a- late assemblies, whose power limited the royal authority. This federal system continued till the ninth century, when Eg- tert the Great succeeded in abolishing the Heptarchy (827,1 and raised himself to be King over all England PERIOD I. A. D. 406 — 800. 49 In the midst of this general overthrow, there were still to he seen in Italy the phantoms of the Roman emperors, feebly sup- porting a dignity which had long since lost its splendour. This fine country had been desolated by the Visigoths, the Huna, and the Vandals, in succession, without becoming the fixed re- sidence of any one of these nations. The conquest of that an- cient seat of the first empire in the world, was reserved for the Heruls and the Rugians. For a long time, these German na- tions, who are generally supposed to have emigrated from the coasts of the Baltic Sea, had been approaching towards the Danube. They served as auxiliaries to the Romans in Italy, after the example of various other tribes of their countrj'men. Being resolved to usurp the dominion of that country, they chose for their king Odoacer, under whose conduct they seized Ravenna and Rome, dethroned Romulus Momyllus Augusta- lus, the last of the Roman Emperors (476,) and put an entire end to the empire of the West. The Heruls did not enjoy these conquests more than seven- teen years, when they were deprived of them in their turn by the Ostrogoths. This nation then occupied those extensive countries on the right bank of the Danube, in Pannonia, Illy- ria, and Thrace, within the limits of the Eastern empire. They had rendered themselves formidable to the Romans in that quarter, by their frequent incursions into the very heart of the empire. The Emperor Zeno, in order to withdraw these dan- gerous neighbours from his frontiers, encouraged their king Theodoric, as is alleged, to undertake the conquest of Italy from the Heruls. This prince immediately penetrated into the country ; he defeated the Heruls in several actions ; and at length forced Odoacer to shut himself up in the city of Ravenna (489,) where, after a siege of three years, he fell into the hands of the conqueror, who deprived him at once of his throne and his life. Theodoric deserves not to be confounded with the other bar- barous kings of the fifth century. Educated at the court of Constantinople, where he passed the years of his youth, he had learned to establish his authority by the equity of his laws, and the wisdom of his administrations. He ruled an empire which, besides Italy, embraced a great part of Pannonia, Rhetia. Noricum, and Illyria. This monarchy, formidable as it was, did not exist beyond the space of sixty years : after a sanguinary warfare of eigh- teen years, it was totally subverted by the Greeks. The Em- peror Justinian employed his generals, Belisarius " and Nai- ses, in recovenng Italy and Sicily from the hands of the Goths. This nation defended their possessions with determined obsti- 4 50 CHAPTER II. nacy. Encouraged by Totila, one of their last kings, they maintained a protracted struggle against the Greeks, and with considerable success. It was during this war that the city of Rome was pillaged afresh, and at length (517,) dismantled by the Goths. Totila sustained a complete defeat at the foot of the Apennines in Umbria (552,) and died of the wounds which he had received in the action. His successor Teias was by no means so fortunate in military affairs. In a bloody battle which he fought with Narses, in Campania (553,) he was vanquished and slain. His dominions passed into the hands of the Greeks, with the exception of that part of Rhetia and Noricum which the Alemanns occupied, and which, during the war between the Greeks and the Goths, had become the possession of the Franks. " A new revolution happened in Italy, (56S,) by the invasion of the Lombards. This people, who originally inhabited the northern part of Germany on the Elbe, and formed a branch of the great nation of the Suevi, had at length fixed themselves in Pannonia (527,) after several times changing their abode. They then joined with the Avars, an Asiatic people, against the Gepidse, who possessed a formidable dominion in ancient Dacia, on the left bank of the Danube. This state was soon over- turned by the combined forces of the two nations, and the whole territories of the Gepidse passed (565) under the dominion of the Avars. The Lombards also abandoned to them their pos- sessions in Pannonia, and went in quest of new settlements into Italy. It was in the spring of 568 that they began theii route, under the conduct of their King Alboin, who, without coming to regular combat with the Greeks, took from them, in succession, a great number of cities and provinces. Pavia which the Goths had fortified with care, was the only town that opposed him with vigorous resistance ; and it did not sur- render till after a siege of three years, in 572. The Lombard kings made this town the capital of their new dominions, which, besides Upper Italy, known more especially by the name of Lombardy, comprehended also a considerable part of the middle and lower districts, which the Lombards gradually wrested from the Greeks. The revolution of which we have just now given a summary view, changed the face of all Europe; but it had a more par- ticular influence on the fate of ancient Germany. The Ger- manic tribes, whose former boundaries were the Rhine and the Danube, now extended their territories beyond these rivers. The primitive names of those nations, recorded by Tacitus, fell mto oblivion, and were replaced by those of five or six grand ponfederatious, viz. the Franks, Saxons. Frisians, Alemanns, PERIOD I. A. D. 406—800. m Suabians, and Bavarians,^'* which embraced all the regions af- terwards comprehended under the name of Germany. The Alemanns, and their neighbours the Suabians, occupied, along with the Bavarians, the greater part of what is called Upper Germany, on both sides of the Danube as far as the Alps. The Franks, masters of a powerful monarchy in Gaul, preserved, under their immediate dominion beyond the Rhine, a part of ancient France, together with the territories of which they had deprived the Alemanns'^ and the Thuringians. In short, in all Lower Germany, no other names were to be found than those of the Thuringians, Saxons, and Frisians ; and as to the eastern part, situated beyond the Saal and the Elbe, as it had been deserted of inhabitants by the frequent emigrations of the German tribes, and by the total destruction of the kingdom of the Thuringians, it was seized in turn by the Slavi, or Slavo- nians, a race distinguished from the Germans by their language and their manners. This nation, diflferent colonies of which still occupy a great part of Europe, did not begin to figure in history until the fourth century of the Christian era. Jornandes, a Gothic writer of the sixth century, is the first author who mentions them. He calls them Slavi, or Slavina ; and distinguishes them into three principal branches, the Venedi, the Slavi, and the Antes, whose numerous tribes occupied the vast countries on the north of the Euxine Sea, between the Vistula, the Niester, the Nie- per, &c. It was after the commencement of the sixth century that these nations emigrated from their ancient habitations, and spread themselves over the east and south of Europe. On the one side, they extended their colonies as far as the Elbe and the Saal; on the other, they crossed the Danube, and penetra- ted into Noricum, Pannonia, and Illyria; occupying all those countries known at this day under the names of Hungary, Sclavonia, Servia, Bosnia, Croatia, Dalmatia, Carniola, Carin- thia, Stiria, and the march of the Venedi. The history of the sixth century, presents nothing more memorable than the bloody wars which the emperors of the East had to maintain against the Slavians of the Danube. Those colonies of them who first distinguished themselves on the Elbe, the Havel, the Oder, and in the countries situated to the north of the Danube, were the Czechi, or Slavi of Bo- hemia; the Sorabians inhabiting both sides of the Elbe, be- tween the Saal and the Oder, in the countries now known under the names of Misnia, Saxony, Anhalt and Lower Lusace ; the Wilzians, or Welatabes, and the Abotrites, spread over Bran- denburg, Pomerania, and Mecklenburg proper ; and, lastly, the 62 CHAPTER U. Moravi, or Moravians, settled in Moravia, and in a part of mo- dern Hungary. We find, in the seventh century, a chief named Samo, who ruled over many of these nations. He fought suc- cessfully against the armies of King Dagobert. It is supposed that this man was a Frank merchant, whom several of the Sla- vian tribes had elected as their chief. There is one thing which, at this period, ought above all to fix our attention, and that is the influence which the revolution of the fifth century had on the governments, laws, manners, sciences, and arts of Europe. The German tribes, in establish- ing themselves in the provinces of the Western empire, mtro- duced along with them the political institutions by which they had been governed in their native country. The governmems of ancient Germany were a kind of military democracies, under generals or chiefs, with the prerogatives of kings. All matters of importance were decided in their general assemblies, com- posed of freemen, having the privilege of carrying arms, and going to war.'^ The succession to the throne was not heredi- tary ; and though it became so in fact in most of the new German stales, still, on the accession of their princes, they were atten- tive to preserve the ancient forms, which evinced the primitive right of election that the nation had reserved to itself. The political division into cantons {gaw,) long used in ancient Germany, was introduced into all the new conquests of the Gor- man tribes, to facilitate the administration of justice. At the head of every canton was a justiciary officer, called Grav, in Latin Comes, who held his court in the open air, assisted by a certain number of assessors or sheriffs. This new division caused a total change in the geography of Europe. The ancient names of the countries were every where replaced by new ones ; and the alterations which the nomenclature of these divisions underwent in course of time, created no small embarrassment in the study of the history and geography of the middle ages Among the freemen who composed the armies of the German nations, we find the grandees and nobles, who were distinguisb«v1 by the number of men-at-arms, or freemen, whom they carried in their train. '^ They all followed the king, or common chief, of the expedition, not as mercenaries or regular soldiers, but as volunteers who had come, of their own accord, to accompany him. The booty and the conquests which they made in war, they regarded as a common property, to which they had all an equal right. The kings, chiefs, and grandees, in the division of their territories, received larger portions than the other mili- tary and freemen, on account of the greater efTorts they had made, and the greater number ol warriors who had followed PERIOD I. A. D. 406 — 800. 53 them to the field. These lands were given them as property in every respect free ; and although an obligation was implied of their concurring in defence of the common cause, yet it was rather a sort of consequence of the territorial grant, and not im- posed upon them as a clause, or essential condition of the tenure. It is therefore wrong to regard this division of lands as having given rise to fiefs. War was the favourite occupation, the only honourable rank, and the inalienable prerogative of a German. They were soldiers not of necessity or constraint, but of their own free will, and because they despised every other employ- ment, and every other mode of life. Despotism was, therefore, never to be apprehended in a government like this, where the great body of the nation were in arms, sat in their general as- semblies, and marched to the field of war. Their kings, how- ever, soon invented an expedient calculated to shackle the national liberty, and to augment their own influence in the pub- lic assemblies, by the number of retainers which they found means to support. This expedient, founded on the primitive manners of the Germans, was the institution of fiefs. It was long a custom among the ancient Germans, that their chiefs should have, in peace as well as in war, a numerous suite of the bravest youths attached to their person. Besides provi- sions, they supplied them with horses and arms, and shared with them the spoil which they took in war. This practice subsisted even after the Germans had established themselves in the pro- vinces of the Western Empire. The kings, and, after their example, the nobles, continued to entertain a vast number of companions and followers ; and the better to secure their alle- giance, they granted them, instead of horses and arms, the enjoy- ment of certain portions of land, which they dismembered from their own territories. These grants, known at first by the name of benefices, and afterwards ofjiefs, subjected those who received them to personal services, and allegiance to the superiors of whom they held them. As they were bestowed on the individual possessor, and on the express condition of personal services, it is obvious that originally fiefs or benefices were not hereditary; and that they returned to the superior, when the reason for which they had been given no longer existed. The laws and jurisprudence of the Romans were in full prac- tice through all the provinces of the Western Empire, when the German nations established themselves there. Far from super- seding or abolishing them, the invaders permitted the ancient inhabitants, and such of their new subjects as desired it, to hve conformably to these laws, and to retain them in their courts of t !i i 54 CHAPTER n, justice. Nevertheless, without adopting this system of juris- prudence, which accorded neither with the rudeness of their manners, nor the imperfection of their ideas, they took great care, after their settlement in the Roman provinces, to have their ancient customs, to which they were so peculiarly attached, di- gested and reduced to writing. The Codes of the Salian and Ripuarian Franks, those of the Visigoths, the Burgundians, the Bavarians, the Anglo-Saxons, the Frisians, the Alemanns, and the Lombards, were collected into one body, and liberty given to every citizen to be governed according to that code of laws which he himself might choose. All these laws wore the impress of the military spirit of the Germans, as well as of their attachment to that personal liberty and independence, which is the true characteristic of human nature in its primitive state. According to these laws, every person was judged by his peers ; and the right of vengeance was reserved to the individuals, or the whole family, of those who had received injuries. Feuds, which thus became heredi- tary, were not however irreconcilable. Compromise was allow- ed for all private delinquencies, which could be expiated, by paying to the injured party a specified sum, or a certain number of cattle. Murder itself might be expiated in this manner ; and every part of the body had a tax or equivalent, which was more or less severe, according to the different rank or condition of the offenders. Every freeman was exempt from corporal punishment; and in doubtful cases, the law obliged the judges to refer the parties to single combat, enjoining them to decide their quarrel sword in hand. Hence, we have the origin of the Judgme7its of God, as well as of Challenges and Buels}^ These customs of the German nations, and their singular resolution in persisting in them, could not but interrupt the good order of society, encou- rage barbarism, and stamp the same character of rudeness on all their conquests. New wants sprung from new enjoyments while opulence, and the contagion of example, taught them to contract vices of which they had been ignorant, and which they did not redeem by new virtues. Murders, oppressions, and rob- beries, multiplied every day ; the sword was made the standard of honour, the rule of justice and injustice ; cruelty and perfidy became every where the reigning character of the court, the nobility and the people. Literature, with the arts and sciences, felt above all the bane- ful effects of this revolution. In less than a century after the first invasion of the barbarians, there scarcely remained a single trace of the literature and fine arts of the Romans. Learning, PERIOD I. A. D. 406 — 800. 55 it is true, had for a long time been gradually falling into decay, and a corrupt taste had begun to appear among the Romans in works of genius and imagination; but no comparison can be made between the state of literature, such as it was in the West anterior to the revolution of the fifth century, and that Avhich we find there after the conquests of the German nations. These barbarians, addicted solely to war and the chase, de- spised the arts and sciences. Under their destructive hands, the finest monuments of the Romans were levelled to the ground ; their libraries were reduced to ashes ; their schools and semi- naries of instruction annihilated. The feeble rays of learning that remained to the vanquished, were unable to enlighten or civilize those enemies to knowledge and mental cultivation. The sciences, unpatronised and unprotected by those ferocious conquerors, soon fell into total contempt. It is to the Christian religion alone, which was embraced, in succession, by the barbarous destroyers of the empire, that we owe the preservation of the mutilated and venerable remains which we possess of Greek and Roman literature. ^^ The cler- gy, being the authorized teachers of religion, and the only inter- preters of the sacred writings, were obliged by their office to have some tincture of letters. They thus became, over all the East, the sole depositaries of learning ; and for a long series of ages, there was nobody in any other rank or profession of life, that occupied themselves with science, or had the slightest ac- quaintance even with the art of writing. These advantages which the clergy enjoyed, contributed in no small degree to augment their credit and their influence. Every where they were intrusted with the management of state affairs ; and the offices of chancellor, ministers, public notaries, and in general, all situations where knowledge or the art of writing was indis- pensable, v/ere reserved for them ; and in this way their very name {clericus) became as it were the synonyme for a man of letters, or any person capable of handling the pen. The bish- ops, moreover, held the first rank in all political assemblies, and in war marched to the field in person, at the head of their vassals. Another circumstance that contributed to raise the credit and the power of the clergy was, that the Latin language continued to be employed in the Roman provinces which had been sub- jected to the dominion of the German nations. Every thing was written exclusively in the Roman tongue, which became the language of the church, and of all public acts ; and it was long before the German dialects, which had become universally pre- valent, could be reduced to writing. The corrupt pronunciation of the Latin, and its mixture with foreign idioms and contsruc- 56 CHAPTER n. tions, gave birth, in course of time, to new languages, which still retain evidence of their Roman origin, such as the Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, French and English languages. In the fifth and following centuries, the Teutonic language, or that spoken by the conquerors of Gaul, was called lingua Francica; this was distinguished from the lingua Romana, or the language spoken by the people ; and which afterwards gave rise to the modern French. It appears, therefore, from what we have just stated, that the incursion of the German tribes into the provinces of the West, was the true source of all the barbarity, ignorance and superstition, in which that part of Europe was so long and so universally buried. There would have been, therefore, every reason to deplore a revolution, not less sanguinary in itself than disastrous in its consequences, if, on the one hand, it had not been the instru- ment of delivering Europe from the terrible despotism of the Romans ; and, on the other, if we did not find, in the rude in- stitutions of the German conquerors, some germs of liberty^ which, sooner or later, were sure to lead the nations of Europe to wiser laws, and better organized governments. Among the states which rose on the ruins of the Roman em- pire, that of the Franks acquired the preponderance ; and, for several ages, it sustained the character of being the most pow- erful kingdom in Europe. This monarchy, founded by Clovis, and extended still more by his successors, embraced the whole of Gaul except Languedoc, which belonged to the Visigoths.** The greater part of Germany also was subject to it, with the exception of Saxony, and the territories of the Slavi. After it had fallen into decay, by the partitions and civil wars of the descendants of Clovis, it rose again, solely however by the wis- dom and ability of the mayors of the palace, who restored it once more to its original splendour. These mayors, from being originally merely grand-masters of the court, rose by degrees to be prime ministers, governors oi the state, and ultimately to be kings. The founder of their greatness, was Pepin d'Heristal, a cadet of the dynasty of the Carlovingians, which succeeded that of the Merovingians, to- wards the middle of the eighth century. Under the Merovin- gian princes, the sovereignty was divided between two principal kingdoms, viz. that of Austrasia, which comprehended East- ern France, being all that part of Gaul situated between the Meuse, the Scheld, and the Rhine; as well as the German pro- vinces beyond the Rhine, which also made a part of that mo- narchy. The whole of Western Gaul, lying between the Scheld, the Meuse and the Loire, was called Neustria. Burgundy, PERIOD I. A. D. 406 — 800. 67 Aquitain, and Provence, were considered as dependencies of this latter kingdom. Dagobert II., King of Austrasia, having been assassinated, in 678, the King of Neustria, Thierry III., would in all probability have reunited the two monarchies ; but the Austrasians, who dreaded and detested Ebroin, Mayor of Neustria, elected a mayor of their own, under the nominal authority of Thierry. This gave rise to a sort of civil war between the Austrasians and the Neustrians, headed by Pepin Heristal, Mayor of Austrasia, and Bertaire, Mayor of Neustria, who succeeded Ebroin. The battle which Pepin gained at Testry, near St. Quentin (687,) decided the fate of the empire ; Bertaire was slain, and Thierry III. fell under the power of the conqueror. Pepin afterwards confirmed to Thierry the honours of royalty, and contented him- self with the dignity of mayor, and the title of Duke and Prince of the Franks ; but regarding the throne as his own by right of conquest, he vested in himself the sovereign authority, and granted to the Merovingian Prince, nothing more than the mere externals of majesty, and the simple title of king. Such Avas the revolution that transferred the supreme authority of the Franks to a new dynasty, viz. that of the Carlovingians, who with great moderation, still preserved, during a period of sixty- five years, the royal dignity to the Merovingian princes, whom they had stripped of all their power.*' Pepin d'Heristal being dead (714,) the partizans of the ancient dynasty made a last effort to liberate the Merovingian kings from that dependence under which Pepin had held them so long. This prince, in transferring the sovereign authority to his grand- son Theodwald, only six years of age, had devolved on his widow, whose name was Plectrude, the regency and guardian- ship of the young mayor. A government so extraordinary emboldened the factious to attempt a revolution. The regent, as well as her grandson, were divested of the sovereignty, and the Neustrian grandees chose a mayor of their own party named Rainfroy ; but their triumph was only of short durat'on. Charles Martel, natural son of Pepin as is supposed, having escaped from the prison where he had been detained by the regent, passed into Austrasia, and then caused himself to be proclaimed duke, after the example of his father. He engaged in a war against Chilperic II. and his mayor Rainfroy ; three successive victories which he gained, viz. at Stavelo, Vinci near Cambray, and Soissons, in 716-17-18, made him once more master of the throne and the sovereign authority. The Duke of Aquitain having delivered up King Chilperic to him, he confirmed anew the title of royalty to that prince ; and 68 CHAPTER 11. shortly after raised his glory to its highest pitch, by the brilliant victories which he gained over the Arabs (732-737,) in the plains of Poitiers and Narbonne. Pepin le Bref, (or the Short) son and successor of Charles Martel, finding his authority established both within and with- out his dominions, judged this a favourable opportunity for re- uniting the title of royalty to the power of the sovereign. He managed to have himself elected King in the General Assem- bly of the Franks, which was convened in the Champ-de-Mars, in the neighbourhood of Soissons. Childeric III. the last of the Merovingian kings, was there deposed (752,) and shut up in a convent. Pepin, with the intention of rendering his person sacred and inviolable, had recourse to the ceremony of corona- tion ; and he was the first King who caused himself to be solemnly consecrated and crowned in the Cathedral of Sois- sons, by St. Boniface, first archbishop of Mayence.^ The example of Pepin was followed soon after by several princes and sovereigns of Europe. The last conquest he added to his do- minion was the province of Languedoc, which he took (759) from the Arabs. The origin of the secular power of the Roman pontiffs com- mences with the reign of Pepin. This event, which had so peculiar an influence on the religion andgovernment of the Euro- pean nations, requires to be detailed at some length. At the period of which we write, there existed a violent con- troversy between the churches in the East, and those in the "West, respecting the worship of images. The Emperor Leo the Isaurian had declared himself against this worship, and had proscribed it by an imperial edict (726.) He and his successors persisted in destroying these objects of idolatry, as well as in persecuting those who avowed themselves devotees to this heresy. This extravagant zeal, which the Roman pontiflS blamed as excessive, excited the indignation of the people against the Grecian Emperors.^ In Italy, there were frequent rebellions against the imperial officers that were charged with the execution of their orders. The Romans especially, took occasion, from this, to expel the duke or governor, who resided in their city on the part of the emperor ; and they formally erected themselves into a republic (730,) under the pontificate of Gregory II., by usurping all the rights of sovereignty, and, at the same time, reviving the ancient names of the senate and the Roman people. The Pope was recognised as chief or head of this new republic, and had the general direction of all affairs, both at home and abroad. The territory of this republic, formed of the dutchy of Rome, extended, from north to south, from PEKIOD I. A. D. 406—800. 6& Viterbo as far as Terracina ; and from east to west, from Narni to the mouth of the Tiber. Such was the weakness of the Eastern empire, that all the efforts of the emperors to reduce the Romans to subjection proved unavailing. The Greek vice- roy — the Duke of Naples, who had marched to besiege Rome, was killed in battle, together with his son ; and the exarch him- self was compelled to make peace with the republicans. This state of distress to which the Grecian empire was re- duced, afforded the Lombards an opportunity of extending their possessions in Italy. Aistolphus their king attacked the city of Ravenna (751,) where the exarchs or governors-general of the Greeks had fixed their residence ; and soon made himself master of it, as well as the province of the exarchate,-^ and the Pen- tapolis. The exarch Eutychius was obliged to fly, and took shelter in Naples. This surrender of the capital of Grecian Italy, emboldened the Lombard King to extend his views still farther ; he demanded the submission of the city and dutchy of Rome, which he con- sidered as a dependency of the exarchate. Pope Stephen II. became alarmed, and began to solicit an alliance with the Greek empire, whose distant power seemed to him less formi- dable than that of the Lombards, his neighbours ; but being closely pressed by A.istolphus, and finding that he had no suc- cour to expect from Constantinople, he determined to apply for protection to the Franks and their King Pepin. The Franks, at that time, held the first rank among the na- tions of Europe ; their exploits against the Arabians had gained them a high reputation fnv valour over all the West. Stephen repaired in person to France, and in an interview which he had with Pepin, he found means, to in* i 182 CHAPTER VI. established their cloth manufactories under the immediate pro- tection of the crown. One circumstance which more particu- larly contributed to the prosperity of the Dutch commerce, was the new method of salting and barrelling herring, which was discovered about the end of the fourteenth century (or 1400) by a man named William Beukelszoon, a native of Biervliet, near Sluys. The new passage of the Texel, which the sea opened up about the same time, proved a most favourable accident for the city of Amsterdam, which immediately monopolized the principal commerce of the fisheries, and began to be frequented by the Hanseatic traders. We now return to the history of Germany. The Imperial throne, always elective, was conferred, in 1308, on the princes of the House of Luxembourg, who occupied it till 1438, when the House of Hapsburg obtained the Imperial dignity. It was under the reign of these two dynasties that the government of the Empire, which till then had been vacillating and uncertain, began to assume a constitutional form, and a new and settled code of laws. That which was published at the Diet of Frank- fort in 1338, secured the independence of the Empire against the Popes. It was preceded by a League, ratified at Rense by the Electors, and known by the name of the General Union of the Electors. The Golden Bull, drawn up by the Emperor Charles IV. (1356,) in the Diets of Nuremberg and Metz, fixed the order and the form of electing the Emperors, and the cere- monial of their coronation. It ordained that this election should be determined by a majority of the suffrages of the seven Elec- tors — and that the vote of ihe Elector, who might happen to be chosen, should also be included. Moreover, to prevent those electoral divisions, which had more than once excited factions and civil wars in the Empire, this law fixed irrevocably the right of suffrage in the Principalities, then entitled Electorates. It forbade any division of these principalities, and for this end it introduced the principal of birthright, and the order of suc- cession, called agnate, or direct male line from the same father. Finally, the Golden Bull determined more particularly the rights and privileges of the electors, and confirmed to the electors of the Palatinate and Saxony the viceroyalty or government of the Empire during any interregnum. The eflforts which the Council of Basle made for the reforma- tion of the church excited the attention of the Estates of the em- pire. In a diet held at Mayence (1439,) they adopted several decrees of that council, by a solemn act drawn up in presence of the ambassadors of the council, and of the kings of France, Castille, Arragon, and Portugal. Among these adopted decrees, PERIOD V. A. D. 1300—1453. 183 which were not afterwards altered, we observe those which establish the superiority of councils above the Popes, which prohibited those appeals called omisso medio, or immediate, and enjoined the Pope to settle all appeals referred to his court, by commissioners appointed by him upon the spot. Two concor- dats, concluded at Rome and Vienna (1447^S,) between the Papul court and the German nation, confirmed these stipulations. The latter of these concordats, however, restored to the Pope several of the reserves, of which the Pragmatic Sanction had deprived him. He was also allowed to retain the right of con- firming the prelates, and enjoying the annats and the alternate months. The ties which united the numerous states of the German empire having been relaxed by the introduction of hereditary feudalism, and the downfall of Imperial authority, the conse- quence was, that those states, which were more remote from the seat of authority, by degrees asserted their independence, or were reduced to subjection by their more powerful neighbours, [t was in ihis manner that several provinces of the ancient kingdom of Burgundy, or Aries, passed in succession to the crown of France. Philip the Fair, taking advantage of the dis- putes which had arisen between the Archbishop and the citizens of Lyons, obliged the Archbishop, Peter de Savoy, to surrender to him by treaty (1312) the sovereignty of the city and its de- pendencies. The same kingdom acquired the province of Dau- phiny, in virtue of the grant which the last Dauphin, Humbert II., made (1349) of his estates to Charles, grandson of Philip de Valois, and first Dauphin of France. Provence was likewise added (1481) to the dominions of that crown, by the testament of Charles, last Count of Provence, of the House of Anjou. As to the city of Avignon, it was sold (1348) by Joan I., Queen of Naples, and Countess of Provence, to Pope Clement VI., who at the san)e time obtained letters-patent from the Emperor Charles IV., renouncing the claims of the Empire to the sove- reignty of that city, as well as to all lands belonging to the Church. A most important revolution happened about this time in Switzerland. That country, formerly dependent upon the king- dom of Burgundy, had become an immediate province of the Empire (1218,) on the ex'jnction of the Dukes of Zahringen, who had governed it unuer the title of Regents. About the beo^innino- of the fourteenth century, Switzerland was divided into a number of petty states, both secular and ecclesiastical. Among these we find the Bishop of Basle, the Abbe of St. Gall, the Counts of Hapsburg, Toggenburg, Savoy, Gruj-^eres, Neuf- chatel, Werdenberg, Bucheck, &c. The towns of Zurich, So- 184 CHAPTEK VI. leure, Basle, Berne, and others, had the rank of free and imperial cities. A part of the inhabitants of Uri, Schweitz, and Under- walden, who held immediatelj^ of the Empire, were governed by their own magistrates, under the title of Cantons. They were placed by the Emperor under the jurisdiction of governors, who exercised, in his name and that of the Empire, the power of the sword in all these cantons. Such was the constitution of Switzerland, when the Emperor Albert I. of Austria, son of Rodolph of Hapsburg, conceived the project of extending his dominion in that country, where he already had considerable possessions, in his capacity of Count of Hapsburg, Kyburg, Baden, and Lentzburg. Being desirous of forming Switzerland into a principality, in favour of one of his sons, he made, in course of time, several new acquisitions of territory, with the view of enlarging his estates. Ihe Abbeys of Murbach, Ein- siedel, Interlaken, and Disentis, and the Canons of Lucerne, sold him their rights and possessions in Claris, Lucerne, Schweitz, and Underwalden. He next directed his policy against the three immediate cantons of Uri, Schweitz, and Underwalden ; and endeavoured to make them acknowledge the superiority of Austria, by tolerating the oppressions which the governors exer- cised, whom he had appointed to rule them in the name of the Empire. It was under these circumstances that three intrepid in- dividuals, Werner de Stauffach, a native of the canton of Schweitz, Walter Fiirst, of Uri, and Arnold de Melchihal of Underwalden, took the resolution of delivering their country from the tyranny of a foreign yoke.^*^ The conspiracy which they formed for this pur- pose, broke out on the 1st of January 1308. The governors, surprised in their castles by the conspirators, were banished the country, and their castles razed to the ground. The deputies of the three cantons assembled, and entered into a league of ten years for the maintenance of their liberties and their privileges; reserving however to the Empire its proper rights, as also those claimed by the superiors, whether lay or ecclesiastical. Thus a conspiracy, which was originally turned only against Austria, terminated in withdrawing Switzerland from the sovereignty of the German empire. The victory which the confederates gained over the Austrians at Morgarten, on the borders of the canton of Schweitz, encouraged them to renew their league at Brunnen (1315;) and to render it perpetual. As it was confirmed by oath, the confederates, from this circumstance, got the name o^ Eidgenossen, which means, bourid by oath. This league became henceforth the basis of the federal system of the Swiss, who were not long in strengthening their cause by the accession of other cantons. The city of Lucerne, having shaken off the yoke of Hapsburg, PERIOD V. A. D. 1300—1453. 185 1 1 joined the League of Brunnen in 1332, Zurich in 1851, Glaris and Zug 1353, and Berne in 1355. These formed the eight ancient cantons. The situation of the confederates, however, could not fail to be very embarrassing, so long as the Austrians retained the vast possessions which they had in the very centre of Switzerland. The proscription \vhich the Emperor Sigismund and the Coun- cil of Constance, issued against Frederic, Duke of Austria (1415,) as an adherent and protector of John XXIII., at length fur- nished the Swiss with a favourable occasion for depriving the house of Austria of their possessions. The Bernese were the first to set the example ; they took from the Austrian Dukes, the towns of Zoffingen, Aran, and Bruck, with the counties of Hapsburg and Lentzburg, and the greater part of Aargovia. Ky- burg fell into the hands of the Zurichers ; the Lucernese made themselves masters of Sursee ; and the free bailiwicks, with the county of Baden, the towns of Mellingen and Bremgarten, were subdued by the combined forces of the ancient cantons, who. since then, have possessed them in common. In the kingdom of Lorraine a new power rose about this time (1363,) that of the Dukes of Burgundy. Philip the Hardy, younger son of John the Good, King of France, having been created Duke of Burgundy by the King his father, married Margaret, daughter and heiress of Louis III., last Count of Flanders. By this marriage he obtained Flanders, Artois, Franche-Comt^, Nevers, Rethel, Malines, and Antwerp, and transmitted these estates to his son John the Fearless, and his grandson Philip the Good. This latter prince increased them still more by several new acquisitions. The Count of Namur sold him his whole patrimony, (1428.) He inherited from his cousin Philip of Burgundy, the dutchies of Brabant and Lim- bourg, (1430.) Another cousin, the famous Jaqueline de Ba- varia, made over to him by treaty (1433) the counties of Hainault, Holland, Zealand, and Friesland. Finally, he acquired also the dutchy of Luxembourg and the county of Chiny, by a compact which he made with the Princess Elizabeth (1443,) niece of the Emperor Sigismund. These different accessions were so much the more important, as the Low Countries, especially Flanders and Brabant, were at that time the seat of the most flourishing manufactories, and the principal mart of European commerce. Hence it happened, that the Dukes of Burgundy began to com- pete with the first powers in Europe, and even to rival the Kings of France. Among the principal reigning families of the Empire, several revolutions took place. The ancient Slavonic dynasty of the 186 CHAPTER VI. Dukes and Kings of Bohemia became extinct with "Wenceslaus v., who was assassinated in 1306. The Emperor Henry VII., of the house of Luxembourg, seized this opportunity of trans- ferring to his own family the kingdom of Bohemia, in which he invested his son John (1309,) who had married the Princess Elizabeth, sister to the last King of Bohemia. John, having made considerable acquisitions in Bohemia, was induced to cede, by treaty with Poland, the sovereignty of that province. The Emperor Charles IV., son of John, incorporated Silesia, as also Lusatia, with the kingdom of Bohemia, by the Pragmatics which he published in 1355 and 1370. The war with the Hus- sites broke out on the death of the Emperor Wenceslaus, Kinsf of Bohemia (1418;) because the followers of John Huss, and Jerome of Prague, had refused to acknowledge, as successor of that prince, the Emperor Sigismund, his brother and heir, whom they blamed for the martyrdom of their leaders. This war, one of the most sanguinary which the spirit of intolerance and fanaticism ever excited, continued for a long series of years, John de Trocznova, surnamed Ziska, general-in-chief of the Hussites, defeated several times those numerous armies of cru- saders, which were sent against him into Bohemia ; and it was not till long after the death of that extraordinary man, that Si- gismund succeeded in allaying the tempest, and re-establishing his own authority in that kingdom. The house of Wittelsbach, which possessed at the same time the Palatinate and Bavaria, was divided into two principal branches, viz. that of the Electors Palatine, and the Dukes of Bavaria. By the treaty of division, which was entered into at Pavia (1329,) they agreed on a reciprocal succession of the two branches, in case the one or the other should happen to fail of heirs-male. The direct line of the Electors of Saxony of the Ascanian House happening to become extinct, the Emperor Sigismund, without paying any regard to the claims of the younger branches of Saxony, conferred that Electorate (1423,) as a vacant fief of the Empire, on Frederic the Warlike, Mar- grave of Misnia, who had rendered him signal assistance in the war against the Hussites. This Prince had two grandsons, Ernest and Albert, from whom are descended the two principal branches, which still divide the House of Saxony, The Ascanian dynasty did not lose merely the Electorate of Saxony, as we have just stated ; it was also deprived, in the preceding century, of the Electorate of Brandenburg. Albert, surnamed the Bear, a scion of this house, had transmitted this latter Electorate, of which he was the founder, to his descend- ants in direct line, the male heirs of which failed about the be- PERIOD V, A. D. 1300—1453. 187 afinning of the fourteenth century. The Emperor Louis of Bavaria then bestowed it on his eldest son Louis (1324,) to the exclusion of the collateral branches of Saxony and Anhalt. The Bavarian Princes, however, did not long preserve this Electo- rate ; they surrendered it (1373) to the Emperor Charles IV., whose son Sigismund ceded it to Frederic, Burgrave of Nu- remberg, of the House of Hohenzollern, who had advanced him considerable sums to defray his expeditions into Hungary. This Prince was solemnly invested with the electoral dignity by the Emperor, at the Council of Constance (1417,) and became the ancestor of all the Electors and Margraves of Brandenburg, as well as of the Kings of Prussia. The numerous republics which had sprung up in Italy, in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, were torn to pieces by contend- ing factions, and a prey to mutual and incessant hostilities. What contributed to augment the trouble and confusion in that unhappy country was, that, during a long series of years, no Emperor had repaired thither in person, or made the smallest attempt to restore the Imperial authority in those states. The feeble efforts of Henry VII., Louis of Bavaria, ami Charles IV., only served to prove, that in Italy the royal prerogative was without vigour or effect. Anarchy every where prevailed ; and I that spirit of liberty and republicanism which had once anima- | ted the Italians gradually disappeared. Disgusted at length ! with privileges which had become so fatal to them, some of these j republics adopted the plan of choosing new masters ; while i others were subjected, against their inclinations, by the more | powerful of the nobles. The Marquises of Este seized Modena | and Reggio (133G,) and obtained the ducal dignity (1452) from | the Emperor Frederic III. Mantua fell to the house of Gonza- ga, who possessed that sovereignty first under the title of Mar- graves, and afterwards under that of Dukes, which was confer- red on them by the Emperor Charles V. in 1530. But the greater part of these Italian republics fell to the share of the Visconti of Milan. The person who founded the prosperity of | their house was Matthew Visconti, nephew of Otho Visconti, j Archbishop of Milan. Invested with the titles of Captain and j Imperial Viceroy in Lombardy, he continued to make himself acknowledged as sovereign of Milan (1315,) and conquered in j succession all the principal towns and republics of Lombardy. j His successors followed his example : they enlarged their terri- tories by several new conquests, till at length John Galeas, great grandson of Matthew Visconti, obtained, from the Emperor Wen- ceslaus (1395,) for a sum of a hundred thousand florins of gold which he paid him, the title of Duke of Milan for himself and i88 CHAPTER VI. all his descendants. The Visconti family reigned at Milan till 1447, when they were replaced by that of Sforza. Among the republics of Italy who escaped the catastrophe of the fourteenth century, the most conspicuous were those of Florence, Genoa and Venice. The city of Florence, like all the others in Tuscany, formed itself into a republic about the end of the twelfth century. Its government underwent frequent changes, after the introduction of a democracy about the middle of the thirteenth century. The various factions which had agi- tated the republic, induced the Florentines to elect a magistrate (1292,) called Gonfaloniere de Justice, or Captain of Justice; invested with power to assemble the inhabitants under his stand- ard, whenever the means for conciliation were insufficient to suppress faction and restore peace. These internal agitations, however, did not prevent the Florentines from enriching them- selves by means of their commerce and manufactures. They succeeded, in course of time, in subjecting the greater part of the free cities of Tuscany, and especially that of Pisa, which they conquered in 1406. The republic of Lucca was the only one that maintained its independence, in spite of all the efforts which the Florentines made to subdue it. The republican form of government continued in Florence till the year 1530, when the family of the Medici usurped the sovereignty, under the protection of the Emperor Charles V. The same rivalry which had set the Genoese to quarrel with the Pisans, excited their jealousy against the Venetians. The interests of these two Republics thwarted each other, both in the Levant and the Mediterranean. This gave rise to a long and disastrous series of wars, the last and most memorable of which was that of Chioggia (1376-82.) The Genoese, after a signal victory which they obtained over the Venetians, before Pola in the Adriatic Gulf, penetrated to the very midst of the lagoons of Venice, and attacked the port of Chioggia. Peter Doria made himself master of this port ; he would have even surprised Ve- nice, had he taken advantage of the first consternation of the Venetians, who were already deliberating whether they should abandon their city and take refuge in the isle of Candia. The tardiness of the Genoese admiral gave them time to recover themselves. Impelled by a noble despair, they made extraordi- nary efforts to equip a new fleet, with which they attacked the Genoese near Chioggia. This place was retaken (24th June 1380,) and the severe check which the Genoese there received, may be said to have decided the command of the sea in favour of the Venetians. But what contributed still more to the down- fall of the Genoese, was the instability of their government, and PERIOD V. A.D. 1300—1453. 189 the internal commotions of the republic. Agitated by continual I divisions between the nobles and the common citizens, and in- I capable of managing their own affairs, they at length surrender- ed themselves to the power of strangers. Volatile and incon- I stant, and equally impatient of liberty as of servitude, these j fickle republicans underwent a frequent change of masters. I Twice (1396-1458) they put themselves under the protection of I the Kings of France. At length they discarded the French, I and chose for their protector either the Marquis of Montferrat I or the Duke of Milan. Finally, from the year 1464, the city of i Genoa was constantly regarded as a dependency of the dutchy I of Milan, until 1528, when it recovered once more its ancient j state of independence. I While the Republic of Genoa was gradually declining, that 1 of Venice was every day acquiring new accessions of power. I The numerous establishments which they had formed in the I Adriatic Gulf and the Eastern Seas, together with the additional I vigour which they derived from the introduction of the heredi- j tary aristocracy, were highly advantageous to the progress of j their commerce and marine. The treaty which they concluded j with the Sultan of Egypt (1343,) by guaranteeing to their re- public an entire liberty of commerce in the ports of Syria and I Egypt, as also the privilege of having consuls at Alexandria and j Damascus, put it in their power gradually to appropriate to themselves the whole trade of India, and to maintain it against I the Genoese, who had disputed with them the commerce of the j East, as well as the command of the sea. These successes en- couraged the Venetians to make new acquisitions ; the turbu- ! lent state of Lombardy having afforded them an opportunity of i enlarging their dominions on the continent of Italy, where at i first they had possessed only the single dogeship of Venice, and I the small province of Istria. They seized on Treviso, and the whole Trevisan March (1388,) which they took from the pow- { erful house of Carrara. In 1420 they again got possession of Dalmatia, which they conquered from Sigismund, King of Hun- gary. This conquest paved the way for that of Friuli, which they took about the same time from the Patriarch of Aquileia, an ally of the King of Hungary. At length, by a succession of good fortune, they detached from the dutchy of Milan (1404) the cities and territories of Vicenza, Belluno, Verona, Padua, Brescia, Bergamo, and Cremona (1454,) and thus formed a con- siderable estate on the mainland. Naples, during the course of this period, was governed by a descendant of Charles, of the first House of Anjou, and younger brother of St. Louis. Queen Joan I., daughter of Robert, King i I ! ! 190 CHAPTER VI. of Naples, having no children of her own, adopteo a younger prince of the Angevine family, Charles of Dnrazzo, whom she destined as her successor, after having given hitn her niece in marriage. This ungrateful prince, in his eagerness to possess the crown, took arms against the Queen his benefactress, and compelled her to solicit the aid of foreign powers. It was on this occasion that Joan, after rescinding and annulling her former deed of adoption, made another in favour of Louis I., younger brother of Charles V., King of France, and founder of the second House of Anjou. But the succours of that prince came too late to save the Queen from the hands of her cruel enemy. Charles having made himself master of Naples and of the Queen's per- son (1382,) immediately put her to death, and maintained him- self on the throne, in spite of his adversary Louis of Anjou, who obtained nothing more of the Queen's estates than the single county of Provence, which he transmitted to his descendants, together with his claim on the kingdom of Naples. Joan IL, daughter and heiress of Charles of Durazzo, having been at- tacked by Louis in. of Anjou, who wished to enforce the rights of adoption which had descended to him from his grandfather Louis I., she implored the protection of Alphonso V., King of Arragon, whom she adopted and declared her heir (14*21 ;) but afterwards, having quarrelled with that prince, she changed her resolution, and passed a new act of adoption (1423) in favour of that same Louis of Anjou who had just made war against her Rene of Anjou, the brother and successor of that prince, took possession of the kingdom of Naples on the death of Joan II. (1435;) but he was expelled by the King of Arragon (1445,) who had procured from Pope Eugenius IV. the investiture of that kingdom, which he transmitted to his natural son Ferdi- nand, descended from a particular branch of the Kings of Na- ples. The rights of the second race of Angevine princes, were transferred to the Kings of France, along with the county oi Provence (1481.) Spain, which was divided into a variety of sovereignties both Christian and Mahometan, presented at this time a kind of sepa- rate or distinct continent, whose interests had almost nothing in common with the rest of Europe. The Kings of Nairarre, Cas- tille, and Arragon, disagreeing among themselves, and occupied with the internal affiiirs of their own kingdoms, had but little leisure to attempt or accomplish any foreign enterprise. Of ail the Kings of Castille at this period, the most famous, in the wars against the Moors, was Alphonso XI. The Mahometan kings of Morocco and Grenada having uniied their forces, laid siege to the city of Tariffa in Andalusia, where Alphonso, as- PERIOD V. A. D. 1300—1453. 191 sisted by the King of Portugal, ventured to attack them in the neighbourhood of that place. He gained a complete victory over the Moors (1340 ;) and this was followed by the conquest ot various other cities and districts; among others, Alcala-Real. and Algeziras. While the Kings of Castille were extending their conquests in the interior of Spain, those of Arragon, hemmed in by the Castillians, were obliged to look for aggrandizement abroad. They possessed the country of Barcelona or Catalonia, in virtue of the marriage of Count Raymond Berenger IV. with Donna Petronilla, heiress of the kingdom of Arragon. To this they added the county of Rousillon, and the seignory or lordship of Montpelier, both of which, as well as Catalonia, belonged to the sovereignty of France. Don James I., who conquered the king- dom of Valencia and the Balearic Isles, gave these, with Rou- sillon and Montpelier, to Don James his younger son, and from whom were descended the Kings of Majorca, tlie last of whom, Don James III., sold Montpelier to France (1349.) Don Pedro III., King of Arragon, and eldest son of Don James I., took Sicily, as we have already seen, from Charles I. of Anjou. Ferdinand II., a younger son of Don Pedro, formed a separate branch of the kings of Sicily, on the extinction of which (1409,) that kingdom reverted to the crown of Arragon. Sardinia was incorporated with the kingdom of Arragon by Don James II., who had conquered it from the Pisans. Finally, Alphonso V., King of Arragon, having deprived the Angevines of the king- dom of Naples, established a distinct line of Neapolitan kings. This kingdom was at length united with the monarchy of Arra- gon by Ferdinand the Catholic. In Portugal, the legitimate line of kings, descendants of Henry of Burgundy, had failed in Don Ferdinand, son and suc- cessor of Don Pedro III. This prince had an only daughter named Beatrix, born in criminal intercourse with Eleanora Tellez de Meneses, whom he had taken from her lawful hus- band. Being desirous to make this princess his successor, he married her, at the age of eleven, to John I., King of Castille : securing the throne to the son who should be born of this union, and failing him, to the King of Castille, his son-in-law. Fer- dmand dying soon after this marriage, Don Juan, his natural brother, and grand-master of the order of Aviez, knowing the aversion of the Portuguese for the Castillian sway, turned this to his own advantage, by seizing the regency, of which he had deprived the Queen-dowager. The King of Castille imme- diately laid siege to Lisbon ; but having miscarried in this en- terprise, the States of Portugal assembled at Coimbra, and 192 CHAPTER VI. conferred the crown on Don Juan, knoAvn in history by the name o{ John the Bastard. This prince, aided with troops from England, engaged the Castillians and their allies the French, at the famous battle fought on the plains of Aljuharota (14th Auo-ust 1385.) The Portuguese remained masters of the field, and John the Bastard succeeded in maintaining himself on the throne of Portugal. The war, however, continued several years between the Portuguese and the Castillians, and did not terminate till 1411. By the peace which was then concluded, Henry III., son of John I., King of Castille, agreed never to urge the claims of Queen Beatrix, his mother-in-law, who had no children. John the Bastard founded a new dynasty of kings, who occupied the throne of Portugal from 1385 to 1580. In France, the direct line of kings, descendants of Hugh Capet, having become extinct in the sons of Philip the Fair, the crown passed to the collateral branch of Valois (1328,) which furnished a series of thirteen kings, during a period ol two hundred and sixty-one years. The rivalry between France and England, which had sprung up during the preceding period, assumed a more hostile charac- ter on the accession of the family of Valois. Till then, the quarrels of the two nations had been limited to some particular territory, or province ; but now they disputed even the succes- sion to the throne of France, which the kings of England claimed as their right. Edward III., by his mother, Isabella of Franco, was nephew to Charles IV., the last of the Capetian kings in a direct line. He claimed the succession in opposition to Philip VI., surnamed de Valois, who being cousin-german to Charles, was one degree more remote than the King of England. The claim of Edward was opposed by the Salic law, which excluded females from the succession to the throne ; but, according to the interpretation of that prince, the law admitted his right, and must be understood as referring to females personally, who were excluded on account of the weakness of their sex, and not to their male descendants. Granting that his mother, Isa- bella, could not herself aspire to the crown, he maintained that she gave him the right of proximity, which qualified him for the succession. The States of France, however, having de- cided in favour of Philip, the King of England did fealty and homage to that prince for the dutchy of Guienne ; but he laid no claim to the crown until 1337, when he assumed the title and arms of the King of France. The war which began in 1338, was renewed during several reigns, for the space of a hundred years, and ended with the entire expulsion of the Eng- lish from France. |L. ji PERIOD V. A. D. 1300—1453. 193 Nothing could be more wretched than the situation of this kingdom during the reign of Charles VI That prince having fallen into a state of insanity in the flower of his age, two par- ties, those of Burgundy and Orleans, who had disputed with each other abcut the regency, divided the Court into factions, and kindled the flames of civil war in the four corners of the kingdom. John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy, and uncle to the king, caused Louis, Duke of Orleans, the King's own brother, to be assassinated at Paris (1407.) He himself was assassinated in his turn (1419) on the bridge of Montereau, in the very presence of the Dauphin, who was afterwards king, under the name of Charles VII. These dissensions gave the English an opportunity for renewing the war. Henry the V. of England gained the famous battle of Agincourt, which was followed by the conquest of all Normandy. Isabella of Ba- varia then abandoned the faction of Orleans, and the party of her son the Dauphin, and joined that of Burgundy. Philip the Good, Duke of Burgundy, and son of John the Fearless, being determined to revenge the death of his father, which he laid to the charge of the Dauphin, entered into a negotiation with England, into which he contrived to draw Queen Isabella, and the imbecile Charles the VI. By the treaty of peace con- cluded at Troyes in Champagne (1420,) it was agreed that Catharine of France, daughter of Charles VI. and Isabella of Bavaria, should espouse Henry V., and that, on the death of the King, the crown should pass to Henry, and the children of his marriage with the Princess of France ; to the exclusion of the Dauphin, who, as an accomplice in the murder of the Duke of Burgundy, was declared to have lost his rights to the crown, and was banished from the kingdom. Henry V. died in the flower of his age, and his death was followed soon after by that of Charles VI. Henry VI., son of Henry V. and Catharine of France, being then proclaimed King of England and France, fixed his residence at Paris, and had for his regents his two uncles, the Dukes of Bedford and Gloucester. Such was the preponderance of the English and Burgundian party in Fiance at this period, that Charles VII., commonly called the Dauphin, more than once saw himself upon the point of being expelled the kingdom. He owed his safety en- tirely to the appearance of the famous Joan of Arc, called the Maid of Orleans. This extraordinary woman revived tho drooping courage of the French. She compelled the English to raise the siege of Orleans, and brought the King to be crowned at Rheims (1429.) But what contributed still more to retrieve the party of Charles VII., was the reconciliation of that 13 194 CHAPTER VI. prince with the Duke of Burgundy, which took place at the peace of Arras (1435.) The Duke having then united his forces with those of the King, the Enghsh were in their turn expelled from France (1453,) the single city of Calais being all that remained to them of their former conquests. An important revolution happened in the government of France under the reign of Charles VII. The royal authority gained fresh vigour by the expulsion of the English, and the reconciliation of various parties that took place in consequence. The feudal system, which till then had prevailed in France, fell by degrees into disuse. Charles was the first king who estab- lished a permanent militia, and taught his successors to abandon the feudal mode of warfare. This prince also instituted Com- panies of ordonance (1445 ;) and, to defray the expense of their maintenance, he ordered, of his own authority, a certain impost to be levied, called the Tax of the Gens-d'armes. This stand- ing army, which at first amounted only to six thousand men, was augmented in course of time, while the royal finances increased in proportion. By means of these establishments, the kings obtained such an ascendancy over their vassals that they soon found themselves in a condition to prescribe laws to them, and thus gradually to abolish the feudal system. The most powerful of the nobles could make little resistance against a sovereign who was always armed ; while the kings, imposing taxes at their pleasure, by degrees dispensed with the necessity of assembling the states-general. The same prince secured the liberties of the Galilean church against the encroachments of the Court of Rome, by solemnly adopting several of the decrees of the Council of Basle, which he caused to be passed in the National Council held at Bourges, and published under the title of the Pragmatic Sanction (1438.) In England, two branches of the reigning family of the Plan- tagenets, those of Lancaster and York, contested for a long time the right to the crown. Henry IV., the first king of the House of Lancaster, was the son of John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, and grandson of Edward III. King of England. He usurped the crown from Richard II., whom he deposed by act of Parliament (1399.) But instead of enforcing the rights which he inherited from his father and grandfather, he rested his claims entirely upon those which he alleged had devolved to him in right of his mother, Blanch of Lancaster, great grand- daughter of Edward, surnamed Hunchback, Earl of Lancaster. This prince, according to a popular tradition, was the eldest son of Henry III., who, it was said, had been excluded from the throne by his younger brother Edward I., on account of his de PERIOD V. A. D. 1300 1453. 19d formity. This tradition proved useful to Henry IV. in excluding the rights of the House of Clarence, who preceded him in the order of succession. This latter family was descended from Lionel, Duke of Clarence, and elder brother of John of Gaunt. Philippine, daughter of Lionel, v/as married to Edward Morti- mer, by whom she had a son, Roger, whom the Parliament, by an act passed in 1386, declared presumptive heir to the crown. Ann Mortimer, the daughter of Roger, married Richard, Duke of York, son of Edward Langley, who was the younger brother of John of Gaunt, and thus transferred the right of Lionel to the Royal House of York. The Princes of the House of Lancaster are known in Eng- lish history by the name of the Red Rose, while those of York were designated by that of the White Rose. The former of these Houses occupied the throne for a period of sixty-three years, during the reigns of Henry IV., V., VI. It was under the feeble reign of Henry VI. that the House of York began to advance their right to the crown, and that the civil war broke out between the two Roses. Richard, Duke of York, and heir to the claims of Lionel and Mortimer, was the first to raise the standard in this war of competition (1452,) which continued more than thirty years, and was one of the most cruel and san- guinary recorded in history. Twelve pitched battles were fought between the two Roses, eighty princes of the blood pe- rished in the contest, and England, during the whole time, pre- sented a tragical spectacle of horror and carnage. Edward IV., son of Richard, Duke of York, and grandson of Ann Mortimer, ascended the throne (1461,) which he had stained with the blood of Henry IV., and of several other Princes of the House of Lancaster. In Scotland, the male line of the ancient kings having become extinct in Alexander III., a crowd of claimants appeared on the field, who disputed with each other the succession of the throne. The chief of these competitors were the two Scottish families of Baliol and Bruce, both descended by the mother's side from the Royal Family. Four princes of these contending families reigned in Scotland until the year 1371, when the crown passed from the House of Bruce to that of Stuart. Robert II., son ot Walter Stuart and Marjory Bruce, succeeded his uncle David II., and in his family the throne remained until the Union, when Scotland was united to England about the beginning of the seventeenth century. Under the government of the Ptuaris, the royal authority acquired fresh energy after being long re- strained and circumscribed by a turbulent nobility. Towards the middle of the fifteenth century, James I., a very accomplished I ! 196 CHAPTER VI. prince, gave the first blow to the feudal system and the exorb'- tant power of the grandees. He deprived them of several 0/ the crown-lands which they had usurped, and confiscated the property of some of the most audacious whom he had con- demned to execution. James II. followed the example of his father. He strengthened the royal authority, by humbling the powerful family of Douglas, as well as by the wise laws which he prevailed with his Parliament to adopt. The three kingdoms of the North, after having been long agitated by internal dissensions, were at length united into a single monarchy by Margaret, called the Semiramis of the North. This princess was daughter of Valdemar III., the last King of Denmark of the ancient reigning family, and widow of Haco VII., King of Norway. Shef was first elected Queen of Den- mark, and then of Norw-ay, after the death of her son, Olaus v., whom she had by her marriage with Haco, and who died without leaving any posterity (13S7.) The Swedes, discon- tented with their King, Albert of Mecklenburg, likewise be- stowed their crown upon this princess. Albert was vanquished and made prisoner at the battle of Fahlekoeping (1389.) The whole of Sweden, from that time, acknowledged the authority of Queen Margaret. Being desirous of uniting the three king- doms into one single body-politic, she assembled their respective Estates at Calmar (1397,) and there caused her grand-nephew Eric, son of Wratislaus, Duke of Pomerania, and Mary of Mecklenburg, daughter of Ingeburg, her own sister, to be re- ceived and crowned as her successor. The act which ratified the perpetual and irrevocable union of the three kingdoms, was approved in that assembly. It provided, that the united states should, in future, have but one and the same king, who should be chosen with the common consent of the Senators and Depu- ties of the three kingdoms; that they should always give the preference to the descendants of Eric, if there were any ; that the three kingdoms should assist each other with their combined forces against all foreign enemies ; that each kingdom should preserve its own constitution, its senate, and national legisla- ture, and be governed conformably to its own laws. This union, how formidable soever it might appear at first sight, was by no means firmly consolidated. A federal system of ^j^ree rnonarchies, divided by mutual jealousies, and by dis- similarity in their laws, manners, and institutions, could present nothinj either ^lid or durable. The predilection, besides, which the kings of the union who succeeded Margaret showed for the Danes ; the preference which they gave them in the distribution of favours and places of trust, and the tone of su PERIOD -v. A. D. 1300—1453. 197 perioriiy which they affected towards their allies, tended natu- rally to foster animosity and hatred, and, above all, to exasperate the Swedes against the union. Eric, after a very turbulent reign, was deposed, and his nephew, Christopher the Bavarian, was elected King of the union in his place. This latter prince having died without issue, the Swedes took this opportunity oi breaking the union, and ch-^osing a king of their own, Charles Canutson Bonde, known by the title of Charles VIII. It was he who induced the Danes to venture likewise on a new elec- tion ; and this same year they transferred their crown to Chris- tian, son of Thierry, and Count of Oldenburg, descended by the female side from the race of their ancient kings. This prince had the good fortune t£) renew the union with Norway (1450;) he likewise governed Sweden from the year 1437; when Charles VIII. was expelled by his subjects, till 1464 when he was recalled. But what deserves more particularly to be remarked, is the acquisition which Christian made of the provinces of Sleswick and Holstein, to which he succeeded (1459,) by a disposition of the States of these provinces, after the death of Duke Adolphus, the maternal uncle of the new King of Denmark, and last male heir of the Counts of Hol- stein, of the ancient House of Schauenburg. Christian I. was the progenitor of all the Kings who have since reigned in Den- mark and Norway. His grandson lost Sweden ; but, in the last century, the thrones both of Russia and Sweden were occupied by princes of his family. Russia, during the whole of this period, groaned under the degrading yoke of the Moguls and the Tartars. The Grand Dukes, as well as the other Russian princes, were obliged to solicit the confirmation of their dignity from the Khan of Kip- zack, who granted or refused it at his pleasure. The dissen- sions which arose among these northern princes, were in like manner submitted to his decision. When summoned to appear at his horde, they were obliged to repair thither without delay, and often suffered the punishment of ignominy and death. ^^ The contributions which the Khans at first exacted from the Rus- sians in the shape of gratuitous donations, were converted, in course of time, into regular tribute. Bereke Khan, the suc- cessor of Batou, was the first who levied this tribute by officers of his own nation. His successors increased still more the load of these taxes ; they even subjected the Russian princes to the performance of military service. The Grand Ducal dignity, w^hich for a long time belonged exclusively to the chiefs of the principalities of Vladimir and Kiaso, became common, about the end of the fourteenth ceu ]98 CHAPTER VI. il tury, to several of the other principalities, who shared among them the dominion of Russia. The princes of Rezan, Twer, Smolensko, and several others, took the title of Grand Dukes, 10 distinguish themselves from the petty princes who were es- tablished within their principalities. These divisions, together with the internal broils to which they gave rise, emboldened the Lithuanians and Poles to carry their victorious arms into Russia ; and by degrees they dismembered the whole western part of the ancient empire. The Lithuanians,^^ who are supposed to have been of the same race with the ancient Prussians, Lethonians, Livonians, and Esthonians, inhabited originally the banks of the rivers Niemen and Wilia ; an inconsiderable state, comprehending Samogitia and a part of the ancient Palatinates of Troki and Wilna. After having been tributaries to the Russians for a long time, the princes of Lithuania shook off their yoke, and began to aggrandize themselves at the expense of the Grand Dukes, their former masters. Towards the middle of the eleventh century, they passed the Wilia, founded the town ofKier- now, and took from the Russians Braclaw, Novgorodek, Grodno, Borzesc, Bielsk, Pinsk, Mozyr, Polotsk, Minsk, Witepsk, Orza, and Mscislaw, with their extensive dependencies. Ringold was the first of these princes that assumed the dignity of Grand Duke, about the middle of the thirteenth century. His succes- sor Mendog or Mindow, harassed by the Teutonic Knights, em- braced Christianity about the year 1252, and was declared King of Lithuania by the Pope ; though he afterwards returned to Paganism, and became one of the most cruel enemies of the Christian name. Gedimin, who ascended the throne of the Grand Duke (1315,) rendered himself famous by his new con- quests. After a series of victories which he gained over the Russian Princes, who were supported by the Tartars, he took possession of the city and Principality of Kiow^ (1320.) The whole of the Grand Dutchy of Kiow, and its dependent princi- palities on this side the Dnieper, were conquered in succession. The Grand Dukes of Lithuania, who had become formidable to all their neighbours, weakened their power by partitioning tneir estates among their sons ; reserving to one, under the title of Grand Duke, the right of superiority over the rest. The civil dissensions which resulted from these divisions, gave the Poles an opportunity of seizing the principalities of Leopold, Przemysl, and Haliisch (1340,) and of taking from the Lithuanians and their Grand Duke Olgerd, the whole of Volhynia and Podolia, of which they had deprived the Russians (1349.) Nothing more then remained of the ancient Russian Empire PERIOD V. A. D. 1300 1453. 199 except the Grand Dutchy of Wolodimir, so called from the town of that name on the river Kliazma, where the Grand Dukes of Eastern and Northern Russia had their residence, before they had fixed their capital at Moscow; which happened about the end of the thirteenth or the beginning of the fourteenth century. This Grand Dutchy, which had several dependent and subor- dinate principalities, was conferred by the Khan of Kipzach (1320) on Iwan or John Danilovitsh, Prince of Moscow, who transmitted it to his descendants. Demetrius Iwanovitsh, grand- son of Iwan, took advantage of the turbulence which distracted the grand horde, and turned his arms against the Tartars. As- sisted by several of the Russian princes his vassals, he gained a signal victory near the Don (1380,) over the Khan Temnic- Mamai, the first which gained the Russians any celebrity, and which procured Demetrius the proud epithet of Donski, or con- queror of the Don. This prince, however, gained little advan- tage by his victory ; and for a long time after, the Tartars gave law to the Russians and made them their tributaries. Toktamish Khan, after having vanquished and humbled Mamai, penetrated as far as Moscow, sacked ihe city, and massacred a great num- ber of the inhabitants. Demetrius was forced to implore the mercy of the conqueror, and to send his son a hostage to the horde in security for his allegiance. The chief residence of the Teutonic Order, which had for- merly been at Verden, was fixed at Marienburg, a city newly built, which from that time became the capital of all Prussia. The Teutonic Knights did not limit their conquests to Prussia; they took from the Poles Dantzic or Eastern Pomerania (1311,) situated between the Netze, the Vistula, and the Baltic Sea, and known since by the name of Pomerelia. This province was definitively ceded to them, with the territory of Culm, and Michelau, by a treaty of peace which was signed at Kalitz (1343.) The city of Dantzic, which was their capital, increased considerably under the dominion of the Order, and became one of the principal entrepots for the commerce of the Baltic. Oi all the exploits of these Knights, the most enterprising was that which had for its object the conquest of Lithuania. Religion, and a pretended gift of the Emperor Louis of Bavaria, served them as a pretext for attacking the Lithuanians, who were Pa- gans, in a murderous war, which continued almost without in- terruption for the space of a century. The Grand Dukes of Lithuania, always more formidable after their defeat, defended their liberties and independence with a courage and perseverance almost miraculous; and it was only by taking advantage of the dissensions which had arisen in the family of the Grand Duke, 200 CHAPTER VI. that they succeeded in obtaining possession of Samogitia. by the treaty of peace which was concluded at Racianz (1404.) The Knights of Livonia, united to the Teutonic Order under the authority of one and the same Grand Master, added to their former conquests the province of Esthonia, which was sold to them by Valdemar IV., King of Denmark. ^^ The Teutonic Knights were at the zenith of their greatness, about the begin- ning of the fifteenth century. At that time they were become a formidable power in the North, having under their dominion the whole of Prussia, comprehending Pomerania and the New March, as also Samogitia, Courland, Livonia and Esthonia. ^^ A population proportioned to the extent of their dominions, a well regulated treasury, and a flourishing commerce, seemed to guarantee them a solid and durable empire. Nevertheless, the jealousy of their neighbours, the union of Lithuania with Po- land, and the conversion of the Lithuanians to Christianity, which deprived the Knights of the assistance of the Crusaders, soon became fatal to their Order, and accelerated their down- fall. The Lithuanians again obtained possession of Samogitia, which, with Sudavia, was ceded to them by the various treaties which they concluded with that Order, between 1411-1436. The oppressive government of the Teutonic Knights — their own private dissensions, and the intolerable burden of taxation — the fatal consequence of incessant war — induced the nobles and cities of Prussia and Pomerania to form a confederacy against the Order, and to solicit the protection of the Kings of Poland. This was granted to them, on their signing a deed of submission to that kingdom (1454.) The result was a long and bloody war with Poland, which did not terminate till the peace of Thorn (1466.) Poland then obtained the cession of Culm, Michelau and Dantzic ; that is to say, all the countries now comprehended under the name of Polish Prussia. The rest of Prussia was retained by the Teutonic Order, who promised, by means of their Grand Master, to do fealty and homage for it to the Kings of Poland. The chief residence of the Order was then trans- ferred to Koningsberg, where it continued until the time when the Knights were deprived of Prussia by the House of Brandenburg. At length, however, Poland recovered from this state of weak- ness into which the unfortunate divisions of Boleslaus III. and his descendants had plunged it. Uladislaus IV. surnamed the Dwarf, having combined several of these principalities, was crowned King of Poland at Cracow (1320.) From that time the Royal dignity became permanent in Poland, and was trans- mitted to all the successors of Uladislaus. '-' The immediate successor of that Prince was his son Casimir the Great, who PERIOD V. A. D. 1300 1453. 201 li renounced his rights of sovereignty over Silesia in favour of the King of Bohemia, and afterwards compensated this loss by the acquisition of several of the provinces of ancient Russia. He likewise took possession of Red Russia (1340,) as also of the provinces of Volhynia, Podolia, Chelm and Belz, which he con- quered from the Grand Dukes of Lithuania (1349,) who had fornierh' dismembered them from the Russian Empire. Under Casimir the Great, another revolution happened in the government of Poland. That Prince, having no children of his own, and wishing to bequeath the crown to his nephew Louis, his sister's son, by Charles Robert King of Hungary, convoked a general assembly of the nation at Cracow (1339,) and there got the succession of the Hungarian Prince ratified, in opposi- tion to the legitimate rights of the Piast Dynasty, who reigned in Masovia and Silesia. This subversion of the hereditary right of the different branches of the Piasts, gave the Polish Nobles a pretext for interfering in the election of their Kings, until at last the throne became completely elective. It also afforded them an opportunity for limiting the power of their Kings, and laying the foundation of a republican and aristocratic government. Deputies were sent into Hungary (1355,) even during the life of Casimir, who obliged King Louis, his intended successor, to subscribe an act which provided that, on his ac- cession to the crown, he should bind himself, and his successors, to disburden the Polish nobility of all taxes and contributions ; that he should never, under any pretext, exact subsidies from them; and that, in travelling, he should claim nothing for the support of his court, in any place during his journey. The an- cient race of the Piast sovereigns of Poland ended with Casimir (1370,) after having occupied the throne of that kingdom for several centuries. His successor in Poland and Hungary w^as Louis, surnamed the Great. In a Diet assembled in 1382, he obtained the con- currence of the Poles, in the choice which he had made of Sigis- mund of Luxembourg, as his son-in-law and successor in both kingdoms. But on the death of Louis, which happened imme- diately after, the Poles broke their engagement, and confeired their crown on Hedwiga, a younger daughter of that Prince. It was stipulated, that she should marry Jagellon, Grand Duke of Lithuania, who agreed to incorporate Lithuania with Poland, to renounce Paganism, and embrace Christianity, himself and all his subjects. Jagellon was baptized, when he received the name of Uladislaus, and was crowned King of Poland at Cracow (1386.) 2- It was on the accession of JagelIon,that Poland and Lithuania, long opposed in their interests, and implacable enemies 202 CHAPTER VI. of each other, were united into one body politic under the au- thority of one and the same King. Nevertheless, for nearly tvvo centuries, Lithuania still preserved its own Grand Dukes, who acknowledged the sovereignty of Poland ; and it was not, properly speaking, till the reign of Sigismund Augustus, that the union of the two states was finally accomplished (1569.) This important union rendered Poland the preponderating power of the North. It became fatal to the influence of the Teutonic Order, who soon yielded to the united efTorts of the Poles and Lithuanians. Uladislaus Jagellon did not obtain the assent of the Polish nobility to the succession of his son, except by adding new pri- vileges to those which they had obtained from his predecessor. He was the first of the Polish kings who, for the purpose of im- posing an extraordinary taxation, called in the Nuncios or De- puties of the Nobility to the General Diet (1404,) and established the use of Dietines or provincial diets. His descendants enjoyed the crown until they became extinct, in the sixteenth century. The succession, however, was mixed ; and although the princes of the Houseof Jagellon might regard themselves as hereditary possessors of the kingdom, nevertheless, on every change of reign, it was necessary that the crown should be conferred by the choice and consent of the nobility. In Hungary, the male race of the ancient kings, descendants of Duke Arpad, had become extinct in Andrew III. (1301.) The Crown was then contested by several competitors, and at length fell into the hands of the House of Anjou, the reigning family of Naples. Charles Robert, grandson of Charles II. King of Naples, by Mary of Hungary, outstripped his rivals, and trans- mitted the Crown to his son Louis, surnamed the Great (1308.) This Prmce, characterized by his eminent qualities, made a dis- tinguished figure among the Kings of Hungary. He conquered from the Venetians the whole of Dalmatia, from the frontiers of Istria, as far as Durazzo ; he reduced the Princes of Moldavia, Walachia, Bosnia and Bulgaria, to a state of dependence ; and at length mounted the throne of Poland on the de,jth of his uncle Casimir the Great. "^ Mary, his eldest daughter, succeeded him in the kingdom of Hungary (1382.) This Princess mar- ried Sigismund of Luxembourg, who thus united the monarchy of Hungary to the Imperial crown. The reign of Sigismund in Hungary was most unfortunate, and a prey to continual disturbances. He had to sustain the first war against the Ottoman Turks ; and with the Emperor of Constantinople, as his ally, he assembled a formidable army, with which he undertook the siege of Nicopolis in Bulgaria, PERIOD V. A. D. 1300 1453. 203 Here he sustained a complete defeat by the Turks. In his re- treat he was compelled to embark on the Danube, and directed his flight towards Constantinople, This disaster was followed by new misfortunes. The malcontents of Hungary offered their Crown to Ladislaus, called the Magnanimous, King of Naples, who took possession of Dalmatia, which he afterwards surren- dered to the Venetians. Desirous to provide for the defence and security of his kingdom, Sigismund acquired, by treaty with the Prince of Servia, the fortress of Belgrade (1425,) which, by Its situation at the confluence of the Danube and the Save, seemed to him a proper bulwark to protect Hungary against the Turks. He transmitted the crown of Hungary to his son-in-law, Albert of Austria, who reigned only two years. The war with the Turks was renewed under Uladislaus of Poland, son of Jagellon, and successor to Albert. That Prince fought a bloody battle with them near Varna in Bulgaria (1444.) The Hungari- ans again sustained a total defeat, and the King himself lost his life in the action. ^'* The safety of Hungary then depended en- tirely on the bravery of the celebrated John Hunniades, governor of the kingdom, during the minority of Ladislaus, the posthu- mous son of Albert of Austria. That general signalized himselt in various actions against the Turks, and obliged Mahomet II. to raise the siege of Belgrade (1456,) where he lost above twenty- five thousand men, and was himself severely wounded. The Greek Empire was gradually approaching its downfall, under the feeble administration of the House of Paleologus, who had occupied the throne of Constantinople since the year 1261. The same vices of which we have already spoken, the great power of the patriarchs and the monks, the rancour of theological disputes, the fury of sectaries and schismatics, and the internal dissension to which they gave rise, aggravated the misfortunes and disorders of the state, and were instrumental in hastening on its final destruction. John I. and his successors, the last Emperors of Constantinople, being reduced to the sad necessity of paying tribute to the Turks, and marching on military expe- ditions, at the command of the Sultans, owed the preservation of their shattered and declining Empire, for some time, entirely to the reverses of fortune which had befallen the Ottomans ; and to the difficulties which the siege of their capital presented to a barbarous nation unacquainted with the arts of blockade. The power of the Ottoman Turks took its rise about the end of the thirteenth century. A Turkish Emir, called Ottoman, or Osman, was its original founder in Asia Minor. He was one of the number of those Emirs, who, after the subversion of the Seljukians of Roum or Iconium, by the Moguls, shared 204 CHAPTER VI. among them the spoils of their ancient masters. A part of Bithynia, and the whole country lying- round Mount Olympus, fell 10 the share of Ottoman, who afterwards formed an alliance with the other Emirs, and invaded the possessions of the Greek Empire, under the feeble reign of the Emperor Andronicus II. Prusa, or Bursa, the ])rincipal city of Bithynia, was conquered by Ottoman (1327.) He and his successors made it the capital of their new state, which, in course of time, gained the ascen- dency over all the other Turkish sovereignties, formed, like thai of Ottoman, from the ruins of Iconium and the Greek Empire. Orchan, the son and successor of Ottoman, instituted the famous Order of the Janissaries, to which in a great measure the Turks owed their success. He took from the Greeks th,e cities of Nice and Nicomedia in Bithynia; and, after having subdued most of the Turkish Emirs in Asia Minor, he took the title of Sultan or King, as well as that of Pacha, which is equi- valent to the title of Emperor. His son Soliman crossed the Hel- lespont, by his orders, near the ruins of ancient Troy, and took the city of Gallipoli, in the Thracian Chersonesus (1358.) The conquest of this place opened a passage for the Turks into Eu- rope, when Thrace and the whole of Greece was soon inundated by these new invaders. Amurath I., the son and successor of Orchan, made himself master of Adrianople and the whole of Thrace (1360;) he next attacked Macedonia, Servia and Bulgaria, and appointed the UrstBeglerbeg, or Governor-general of Eomelia. Several Turkish princes of Asia Minor were obliged to acknowledge his authority ; he made himself master of Kmtaja, the metropolis of Phrygia, which afterwards became the capital of Anatolia, and the residence of the governor of that province (1389.) Amurath was slain at the battle of Cassova. which he fought with the Despot of Servia, assisted by his nume- rous allies. In this bloody battle the Despot himself was slain, and both sides equally claimed the victory. Bajazet I., the suc- cessor of Amurath, put an end to all the Turkish sovereignties which still subsisted in Asia Minor. He completed the reduc- tion of Bulgaria, and maintained the possession of it by the signal victory which he gained at Nicopolis (1396) over Sigis- mund. King of Hungary. The Greek Empire would have yield- ed to the persevering efforts of that prince, who had maintained, for ten years, the siege of Constantinople, had he not been at- tacked, in the midst of these enterprises, by the famous Timour. the new conqueror of Asia. Timour, commonly called Tamerlane, was one of those Mogul EtTiirs who had divided amongst them the sovereignty of Trans- oxiana, after the extinction of the Mogul dynasty of Zagatai. PERIOD V. A. V. 1300—1453. 205 I i Transoxiana was the theatre of his first exploits ; there he usurped the whole power of the Khans, or Emperors of Zagatai, and fixed the capital of his new dominions at the city of Samarcand (1369.) Persia, the whole of Upper Asia, Kipzach, and Hindostan, were vanquished by him in succession; where- ver he marched, he renewed the same scenes of horror, blood- shed, and carnage, which had marked the footsteps of the first Mogul conqueror.-'^ Timour at length attacked the do- minions of Bajazet in Anatolia (1400.) He fought a bloody and decisive battle near Angora, in the ancient Gallogrecia, which proved fatal to the Ottoman Empire. Bajazet sustained ! j an entire defeat, and fell himself into the hands of the con- queror. All Anatolia was then conquered and pillaged by the Moguls, and there Timour fixed his winter quarters. Meantime he treated his captive Bajazet with kindness and generosity; and the anecdote of the iron cage, in which he is said to have confined his prisoner, merits no credit. Sherefeddin Ali, who accompanied Timour in his expedition against Bajazet, makes no mention of it; on the contrary, he avers that Timour consented to leave him the Empire, and that he granted the investiture of it to him and two of his sons. Bajazet did not long survive his misfortune ; he died of an attack of apoplexy (1403,) with which he was struck in the camp of Timour in Caramania. Timour, a short time after, formed the project of an expedi- tion into China; but he died on the route in 1405, at the age of sixty-nine. His vast dominions were dismembered after his death. One of his descendants, named Babour, founded a pow- erful Empire in India, the remains of which are still preserved under the name of the Empire of the Great Mogul. The inva- sion of Timour retarded for some time the progress of the Turk- ish Empire. The fatal dissensions, which arose among the sons of Bajazet, set them at open war with each other. At length Amurath II., the son of Mahomet I., and grandson of Bajazet, succeeded in putting a stop to these divisions, and restored the Empire to its primitive splendour. He deprived the Greeks of all the places which still remained in their hands on the Black Sea, along the coast of Thrace, in Macedonia and Thessaly, He even took, by assault, the wall and forts which they had constructed at the entrance of the isthmus of Corinth, and car- ried his ravages to the very centre of the Peloponnesus. The two heroes of the Christians, John Hunniades and Scan- derbeg, arrested the progress of the Ottoman Sultan. The former, who was General of the Hungarians, boldly repulsed the Sultan of Servia, whom he was ambitious to conquer. The other, a Greek Prince, who possessed one of the petty states of Lh 2(16 CHAPTER VI. Albania of which Croja was the capital, resisted with success the repealed attacks of the Turks. Supported by a smaJl but well disciplined army, and faA'oured by the mountains with whirh his territory was surrounded, he twice compelled Amurath to raise the siege of Croja. At length appeared Mahomet II., the son and successor of Amurath, (1451.) This Prince, who was raised to the Ottoman throne in the twentieth year of his age, conceived the design of achieving the conquest of the Greek Empire, by the taking of Constantinople. He succeeded in overcoming all the difficulties which obstructed this enterprise, in which several of his predecessors had failed. At the head of an army of three hundred thousand combatants, supported by a fleet of 300 sail, he appeared before that capital, and com- menced the siege on the 6th April 1453. The besieged having only from SOOO to 10,000 men to oppose the superior force of the enemy, yielded to the powerful and redoubled efforts of the Turks, after a vigorous defence of fifty-three days. The city was carried by assault, 29th May, and delivered up to the un- restrained pillage of the soldiers. Constantine, surnamed Dragases, the last of the Greek Emperors, perished in the first onset; and all the inhabitants of that great and opulent city were carried into slavery.-^ Mahomet, on entering the very day of the sack, saw nothing but one vast and dismal solitude. Wishing afterwards to attract new inhabitants to this city, which he proposed to make the seat of his Empire, he guaranteed an entire liberty of conscience to the Greeks who might come to settle there ; and authorized them to proceed to the elec- tion of a new patriarch, whose dignity he enhanced by the honours and privileges which he attached to it. He restored also the fortifications of the city, and, by way of precaution against the armaments of the Venetians and other western nations, which he had some reason to dread, he constructed the famous castle of the Dardanelles, at the entrance of the Hellespont. This conquest was followed by that of Servia, Bosnia, Alba- nia, Greece, and the whole Peloponnesus or Morea, as well as most of the islands of the Archipelago. The Greek Empire of Trebizond, on the coast of Asia Minor, submitted in like man- ner to the law of the conqueror (1466.) David Commenus, the last Emperor, fell by the swords of the Mahometans, and with him perished many of his children and relations. Such a rapid succession of conquests created an alarm among the powers of Christendom. In an assembly, which Pope Pius II. held at Mantua (1459,) he proposed a general association among the powers of the West against the Turks. A crusade was pub- PERIOD VI. A. D. 1453—1648. 207 lished by his orders, and he was on the point of setting out in person at the head ot this expedition, wlien he was suddenly cut off by death ai Ancona (1464,) where he had appointed the general rendezvous of the confederate tioops. This event, add- ed to the terror which the arms of Mahomet had created among the nations o( the West, disconcerted the plans of the Crusa- ders, and was the means of dissolving their confederacy. The Turkish Empire thus became firmly established in Europe, and the Tartars of the Crimea put themselves at the same time under the protection of the Porte. CHAPTER VII. PERIOD VI. I From ike taking of Constantinople by the Turks, to the Peace of Westphalia.— X. d. 1453—1648. The revolution which happened in the fifteenth century en- tirely changed the face of Europe, and introduced a new system of politics. This revolution was not achieved by any combina- tions of profound policy, nor by the operation of that physical force which generally subverts thrones and governments. It was the result of those progressive changes which had been produced in the ideas and understandings of the nations of Eu- rope, by the improvements and instimtions of preceding times ; as well as by the invention of paper and printing, of gunpowder, and the mariner's compass. By means of these, the empire of letters and arts was greatly extended, and various salutary im- provements made in the religion, manners, and governments of Europe. The people by degrees shook off the yoke of barba- rism, superstition, and fanaticism, wnich the revolution of the fifth century had imposed on thsm ; and from that time the principal States of Europe began to acquire the strength, and gradually to assume the form, which they have since maintained. Several extraordinary events, however, conspired to accelerate these happy changes. The Belles Lettres and the Fine Arts shone out with new splendour, after the downfall of the Greek Empire. The celebrated Petrarch, and his disciples Boccacio and John of Ravenna, were the first that made the Italians ac- quainted with ancient literature, as the true source and standard of good taste. They prepared the way for a vast number of the Grecian literati, who, to escape the barbarity of the Turks, had fled into Italy, where they opened schools, and brought the study I 208 CHAPTER Vn. of Greek literature into considerable repute. The mos:t celebrated of these Greek refugees were, Manuel Chrysoloras, Cardinal Bessarion, Theodore Gaza, George of Trebizond, John Argyro- philus, and Demetrius Chalcondyles. Protected by the family of the Medicis at Florence, they assisted in forming those fine geniuses which arose in Italy during the fifteenth century, such as Leonard Aretin, the two Guarini, Poggio of Florence, Ange- lo Politian, and many others. Academies, or Free Societies, were founded at Rome Naples, Venice, Milan, Ferrara and Florence, for the encouragement of ancient literature. From Italy the studj^ of the ancient arts passed to the other states of Europe. They soon diffused their influence over every department of literature and science, Avhich by degrees assumed an aspect totally new. The scholastic system, Avhich till then had been in vogue in the pulpits and universities, lost its credit, and gave place to a more refined philosophy. Men learned to discriminate the vices of the feudal system, and sought out the means of correcting them. The sources of disorder and anarchy were gradually dried up, and gave place to better organized governments. Painting, sculpture, and the arts in general, cleared from the Gothic rust which they had contracted during the barbarous ages, and finished after the models of the ancients, shone forth with renewed lustre. Navigation, under the direc- tion of the compass, reached a degree of perfection which at- tracted universal attention ; and while the ancients merely coasted along their own shores in the pursuit of commerce or maritime exploits, we find the modern Europeans extending their naviga- tion over the whole globe, and bringing both hemispheres under their dominion. America, unknown to the ancients, was discovered during this period ; as well as the route to India and the East, round the Continent of Africa. The notion of a fourth quarter of the world had long been prevalent among the ancients. We aU recollect the Atlantis of Plato, which, according to the assertion of that philosopher, was larger than Asia and Africa ; and we know that ^lian the historian, who lived in the reign of Adrian, affirmed in like manner the existence of a fourth continent of immense extent. This opinion had got so much into fashion, during the fourth and fifth centuries of the Christian era, that Lactantius and St. Augustine thought themselves bound in duty to combat it in their writings ; inveighing against the antipodes by reasons and arguments, the frivolousness of which is now very generally admitted ; but, whatever were the notions which the ancients might have entertained as to a fourth quarter of the globe, it is very certain that they knew it only from conjecture and that their navigation never extended so far. Death of Joan of Arc. P. 193. The English inhumanly burned this Heroine as a Sorceress. Death of Constantine XV. in Defending Constantinople, P, 206. PEHioD VI. 1453—1648. 209 The honour of this important discovery belongs to modem navigators, more especially to Christopher Columbus, a native of Genoa. From the knowledge virhich this celebrated man had Jicquired in the sciences of Navigation, Astronomy, and Geo- graphy, he was persuaded that there must be another hemisphere lying to the westward, and unknown to Europeans, but neces- sary to the equilibrium of the globe. These conjectures he communicated to several of the courts of Europe, who all re- garded him as a visionary ; and it was not till after many soli- citations, that Isabella, Queen of Castile, granted him three vessels, with which he set sail in quest of the new continent, 3d August 1492. After a perilous navigation of some months, he reached the Island Guanahani or Cat Island, one of the Lu- cayos or Bahamas, to which he gave the name of St. Salvador. This discovery Avas followed soon after by that of the Islands of St. Domingo and Cuba; and in the second and third voyages which that navigator undertook to America (1493-1498,) he dis- covered the mainland or continent of the New World, especially the coast of Paria, as far as the point of Araya, making part of the province known at present by the name of Cumana. The track of the Genoese navigator was followed by a Flo- rentine merchant, named Amerigo Vesputio. Under the con- duct of a Spanish captain, called Alphonso de Ojeda, he made' several voyages to the New World after the year 1497. Diffe- rent coasts of the continent of South America were visited by him; and in the maps of his discoveries which he drew up, he usurped a glory which did not belong to him, by applying his own name to the new continent ; which it has since retained. The Spaniards conquered the islands and a great part of the continent of America ; extending their victories along with their discoveries. Stimulated by the thirst of gold, which the New World offered to them in abundance, they committed crimes and barbarities which make humanity shudder. Millions of the unfortunate natives were either massacred or buried in the sea, in spite of the efforts which the Spanish Bishop, Bartholomew de Las Casas, vainly made to arrest the fury of his country- men. ^ In the year after the first discovery of Columbus, Fer- dinand the Catholic, King of Spain, obtained a bull from Pope Alexander VI., by which that Pontiff made him a gift of all the countries discovered, or to be discovered, towards the west and the south ; drawing an imaginary line from one pole to the other, at the distance of a hundred leagues westward of Cape Verd and the Azores. This decision having given offence to the King of Portugal, who deemed it prejudicial to his discoveries in the East, an accommodation was contrived between the two courts, 14 210 CHAPTER Vn. in virtue of which the same Pope, by another Bull (1494,) re- moved the line in question farther west, to the distance of four hundred and seventy leagues ; so that all the countries lying to the westward of this line should belong to the King of Spain, while those which might be discovered to the eastward, should fall to the possession of the King of Portugal. ^ It was on this pretended title that the Spaniards founded their right to demand the submission of the American nations to the Spanish Crown. Their principal conquests in the New World commence from the reign of the Emperor Charles V. It was in his name that Ferdinand Cortes, with a mere handful of troops, overthrew the vast Empire of Mexico (1521 ;) the last Emperors of which, Montezuma and Gatimozin, were slain, and a prodigious num- ber of the Mexicans put to the sword. The conqueror of Peru was Francis Pizarro (1533.) He entered the country, at the head of 300 men, at the very time when Atabalipa or Atahualpa was commencing his reign as Incas, or Sovereign of Peru. That prince was slain, and the whole of Peru subdued by the Spaniards. [The Spaniards founded various colonies and establishments in that part of America which they had subjected to their do- minion. The character of these colonies dift'ered from that of the establishments which the Portuguese had founded in India, and the Dutch, the English, and the French, in different parts of the world. As the Spaniards were by no means a commer- cial nation, the precious metals alone were the object of their cupidity. They applied themselves, in consequence, to the working of mines ; they imported negroes to labour in them, and made slaves of the natives. In process of time, when the number of Europeans had increased in these countries, and the precious metals became less abundant, the Spanish colonists were obliged to employ themselves in agriculture, and in raising what is commonly called colonial produce. What we have now said, accounts for the limitations and restrictions which were imposed on the trade of these colonies by the Spanish govern- ment ; they wished to reserve to themselves exclusively the pro- fits of the mines. Commerce, which at first had been confined to the single entrepot of Seville, fell into the hands of a small number of merchants, to the entire exclusion of foreigners. As for the Spanish possessions in America, they were planted with Episcopal and Metropolitan Sees, Missions, Convents, and Uni- versities. The Inquisition was also introduced ; but the hierar- chy which was founded there, instead of augmenting the power of the Popes, remained in a state of complete dependence upon the Sovereigns.] The discovery of Brazil belongs to the Portuguese. Alvares PERIOD VI. A. D. 1453---1648. 211 Cabral, the commander of their fleet, while on his route to India, was driven, by contrary winds, on the coast of Brazil (1500,) and took possession of the country in name of the King of Por- tugal. This colony, in the course of time, became highly im- portant, from the rich mines of diamonds and gold which were discovered there. The Spaniards and Portuguese were at first the only masters of America ; but in a short time, establishments were formed there by some of the other maritime nations of Europe. The first English colony was that of Virginia, which was conducted to North America by Sir Walter Raleigh (1584,) but it did not gain a permanent settlement till the reign of James I. This was afterwards followed by several other colonies which had settled in that part of the American continent, on account of the perse- cution carried on by the Stuart Kings against the non-conform- ists. The first settlements of the English in the Antilles, were those which they formed in the Islands of Barbadoes and St. Christopher (1629 ;) to these they added the Island of Jamaica, which they took from the Spaniards (1655.) The date of the French establishments in Canada, is as old as the reigns of Francis I. and Henry IV., in the years 1534 and 1604. The city of Quebec was founded in 1608. It was at a later period when the French established themselves in the Antilles. The origin of their colonies in Martinique and Gaudaloupe, is gene- rally referred to the year 1635. They gained a footing in St. Domingo as early as 1630, but the flourishing state of that re- markable colony did not begin, properly speaking, till 1722. All the establishments which the English and French had formed in America, were purely agricultural ; and in this respect they were distinguished from the Spanish colonies. The discovery of a passage by sea to the East Indies round Africa, belongs also to the Portuguese. It forms one of those great events which often take their first impulse from very slen- der causes. John I. surnamed the Bastard, the new founder of the kingdom of Portugal, being desirous of affording to his sons an opportunity of signalizing themselves, and earning the honour of knighthood, planned an expedition against the Moois in Africa; he equipped a fleet, with which he landed in the neighbourhood of Ceuta (1415,) of which he soon made himself master, and created his sons knights in the grand mosque of that city. After "^ this event, the Portuguese began to have a taste for navigation and maritime discoveries. In this they were encouraged by the Infant Don Henry, Duke of Viseu, and one of the sons of King John, who had particularly distinguished himself in the expedi- tion of which we have just spoken. That prince, who was well 212 CHAPTER VII. skilled in mathematics and the art of navigation, established his residence at Cape St. Vincent, on the western extremity of Al- garva. There he ordered vessels to be constructed at his own expense, and sent them to reconnoitre the coasts of Africa. From that time the Portuguese discovered, in succession, the Islands of Madeira (1420,) the Canaries (1424,) the Azores (1431,) and Cape Verd (1460.) There they founded colonies; and, ad- vancing by degrees along the southern shores of Africa, they extended their navigation as far as the coasts of Guinea and Ni- gritia. The islands which they had newly discovered, were confirmed to the Kings of Portugal by several of the Popes. The Canaries, however, having been claimed by the Spaniards, a treaty was negotiated between the two kingdoms, in virtue of which these islands were abandoned to Spain (1481.) It was under the reign of John II. that the Portuguese ex- tended their navigation as far as the most southerly point of Africa. Bartholomew Diaz, their admiral, Avas the first who doubled the Cape, which he called the Stormy Cape ; a name which King John changed into that of Good Hope. At length, after twelve years of toils, Vasco di Gama, another Portuguese admiral, had the glory of carrying his national flag as far as India. He landed at the Port of Calicut (1498,) on the Ma- labar coast, in the third year of the reign of Emmanuel. Several other celebrated Portuguese navigators, such as Almeida, Albu- querque, Acunga, Silveira, and de Castro, following the tract of Vasco di Gama, laid the foundation of the power of the Portu- guese in India. Francis Almeida defeated the fleet of the Mameluke Sultan of Egypt, in conjunction with that of the Kings of India (1509.) Alfonzo Albuquerque conquered Goa (1511,) and made it the capital of all the Portuguese settlements in that part of the world. About the same time, the Portuguese established themselves in the Molucca Islands, with some oppo- sition on the part of the Spaniards. Anthony Silveira signalized himself by his able defence of Diu (1535.) He repulsed the Turks, and ruined the fleet which Soliman the Great had sent to the siege of that place (1547.) The King of Cambay having resumed the siege, he experienced likewise a total defeat from John de Castro, who then conquered the whole kingdom of Diu. The Portuguese found powerful kingdoms in India, and nations rich and civilized. There, nature and the industry of the natives, produced or fabricated those articles of commerce and merchandise which have since become an object of luxury to Europeans ; at least until the activity of the Venetians had furnished the inhabitants of this part of the world with them in such abundance, as to make them regarded as artiJes of abso- lERioDVi. A. D. 1453— 1648. 213 lute necessity. This circumstance was the reason why the Por- tuguese never formed any other than mercantile establishments in India, which they erected on the coasts, without extending them into the interior. The working of the mines, and the cares of agriculture, were abandoned entirely to the natives. This era produced a total change in the commerce of the East. Formerly the Venetians were the people that carried on the principal traffic to India. The Jewish or Mahometan merchants purchased at Goa, Calicut, and Cochin, those spiceries and other productions of the East, which they imported into Syria by the Persian Gulf, and into Egypt by the Red Sea. They were then conveyed by a laborious and expensive land-carriage, either to the port of Alexandria, or that of Bairout in Syria. Thither the Venetians repaired in quest of the luxuries of India ; they fixed their price, and distributed them over all Europe. This commerce proved a source of vast wealth to these republicans : it furnished them with the means of maintaining a formida- ble marine, and of very often dictating the law to the other European powers ; but after the discovery of the new passage round the Cape, and the conquests of the Portuguese in India, the Venetians saw themselves compelled to abandon a traffic in which they could not compete with the Portuguese. This was a terrible blow to that republic, and the principal cause of its downfall. The Portuguese, however, did not profit by this ex- clusive commerce as they might have done. They did not, like other nations, constitute Companies, with exclusive commercial privileges ; they carried it on by means of fleets, which the go- vernment regularly despatched at fixed periods. In this manner, the commodities of the East were imported to Lisbon ; but the indolence of the native merchants left to other nations the care of distributing thefti through the markets of Europe. The Dutch were the people that profited most by this branch of industry ; they cultivated it with so much success, and under such favour- able circumstances, that they at length succeeded in excluding the Portuguese themselves from this lucrative traffic, by dis- possessing them of their colonies in the East. If the events which we have now briefly detailed proved fatal to the Venetians, and afflicting to humanity, by the wars and misfortunes which they occasioned, it is nevertheless certain, that commerce and navigation gained prodigiously by these new discoveries. The Portuguese, after having maintained for some time the exclusive possession of the navigation and trade of the East, found afterwards powerful competitors in the Spaniards, the Dutch, English, French, and Danes, who all established mercantile connexions both in India and America. Hence in- 214 CHAPTER VII. numerable sources of wealth were opened to the industry of the Europeans ; and their commerce, formerly limited to the Medi- terranean, the Baltic, and the Northern Seas, and confined to a few cities in Italy, Flanders, and Germany, was now, by means of their colonies in Africa, and the East and West Indies, ex- tended to all parts of the globe. ■* The intercourse of the Por- tuguese with China was as early as the year 1517, and with Japan it began in 1542. Ferdinand Magellan undertook the first voyage round the world (1519,) and his example found afterwards a number of imitators. ^ By degrees the maritime power of Europe assumed a formidable aspect ; arts and manu- factures were multiplied ; and states, formerly poor, became rich and flourishing. Kingdoms at length found in their commerce, resources for augmenting their strength and their influence, and carrying into execution their projects of aggrandizement and conquest. [Among the causes of this revolution which took place in commerce, it is necessary to take into account a discovery ap- parently of trivial importance, but which exercised a most ex- traordinary influence over the civilization of Europe, viz. that of horse-posts for the conveyance of letters. Before the sixteenth century, the communications between distant countries were few and difficult. Messengers, travelling on short journeys, on foot or on horseback, were their only couriers. About the be- ginning of the seventeenth century, and during the reign of Maximilian I., an Italian gentleman of the name of Francis de la Tour et Taxis, established the first posts in the Low Coun- tries. Their object at first was merely for the conveyance of letters by posts or post, for which he provided regular relays. By and by, for the sake of despatch, the use of horses was in- troduced, placed at certain distances. From the Loav Countries this system found its way into Germany, where its profits were secured to the family of Taxis by imperial grants ; and from thence it spread over every civilized country in the world.] A revolution not less important, is that which took place in re- ligion about the beginning of the sixteenth century. The abuses which disgraced the court of Rome, the excess of the power, and the depravity of the morals of the clergy, had excited a very ge- neral discontent. A reformation had for a long time been deemed necessary, but there was a difference of opinion as to the me- thod of effecting it. The common notion was, that this task •tould be legally accomplished only by General Councils, con- voked under the authority of the Popes. It was easy, however, to perceive the ineflicacy of any remedy left at the disposal of those very persons from whom the evil proceeded ; and the un- PERIOD VI. A. D. 1453 — 1648. 215 successful results of the Councils of Constance and Basle, had taught the people, that, in order to obtain redress for the abuses of which they complained, it was necessary to have recourse to some other scheme than that of General Councils. This scheme was attempted by the Reformers of the sixteenth century, who were persuaded, that, in order to restrain the exorbitant power of the clergy, they ought to reject the infallibility of the Pope, as well as that of General Councils ; admitting no other autho- rity in ecclesiastical matters, than that of the sacred scriptures, interpreted by the lights of reason and sound criticism. The immediate and incidental cause of this change in reli- gion, was the enormous abuse of indulgences. Pope Leo X., who was of the family of the Medicis, and well known for his extensive patronage of literature and the fine arts, having ex- hausted the treasury of the church by his luxury and his mu- nificence, had recourse to the expedient of indulgences, which several of his predecessors had already adopted as a means of recruiting their finances. The ostensible reason was, the ba- silica of St. Peter's at Rome, the completion of which was equally interesting to the whole of Christendom. Offices for the sale of indulgences were established in all the different states of Europe. The purchasers of these indulgences ob- tained absolution of their sins, and exemption from the pains of purgatory after death. The excesses committed by the emis- saries who had the charge of those indulgences, and the scan- dalous means which they practised to extort money, brought on the schism to which we are about to advert. Two theologians, Martin Luther, and Ulric Zuingle, opposed these indulgences, and inveighed against them in their sermons and their writings ; the former at Wittemberg in Saxony ; the other, first at Einsiedeln, and afterwards at Zurich, in Switzer- land. Leo X. at first held these adversaries in contempt. He did not attempt to allay the storm, until the minds of men, ex- asperated by the heat of dispute, were no longer disposed to listen to the voice of calmness and conciliation. The means which he subsequently tried to induce Luther to retract having proved abortive, he issued a thundering Bull against him (1520,) which, so far from abating the courage of the Reformer, tended, on the contrary, to embolden him still more. He publicly burnt the Pope's Bull, together with the Canon Law, at Wittemberg (lOtli December,) in presence of a vast concourse of doctors and students from different nations, whom he had assembled for the purpose. From that moment Luther and Zuingle never ceased to preach against the abuses of the indulgences. They completely undermined this system of abomination, and even 216 CHAPTER VII. attacked various other dogmas and institutions of the Romish church, such as monastic vows, the celibacy of the priests, the supremacy of the Pope and the ecclesiastical hierarchy. These two celebrated men, who agreed in the greater part of their opinions, soon attracted a number of followers. The people, long ago prepared to shake off a yoke which had been so op- pressive, applauded the zeal of the Reformers ; and the new opinions, promptly and easily diffused by means of the press, were received with enthusiasm throughout a great part of Europe. John Calvin, another Reformer, trod nearly in the footsteps of Zuingle. He was a native of Noyon in Picardy, and began to distinguish himself at Paris in 1532. Being compelled to leave that city on account of his opinions, he withdrew to Switzerland (1538;) thence he passed to Strasbourg, where he was nomi- nated to the office of French preacher. His erudition and his pulpit talents gained him disciples, and gave the name of Cal- vinists to those who had at first been called Zuinglians. The Lutherans, as well as the Zuinglians or Calvinists in Germany, were comprehended under the common appellation of Protest- ants, on account of the Protest which they took against the decrees of the Diet of Spire (1529,) which forbade them to make any innovations in religion, or to abolish the mass, until the meeting of a General Council. The name of Lutherans was applied more particularly to those who adhered to the Confession of Augsburg, that is, the Confession of Faith which they presented to the Emperor Charles V., at the famous Diet of Augsburg, held in 1530. In this manner a great part of Europe revolted from the Pope and the Romish Church, and embraced either the doc- trines of Luther, or those of Zuingle and Calvin. The half oi Germany, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Prussia, and Livonia, adopted the Confession of Augsburg ; while England, Scotland, the United Provinces, and the principal part of Switzerland, declared themselves in favour of the opinions of Zuingle and Calvin. The new doctrines made likewise great progress in France, Hungary, Transylvania, Bohemia, Silesia, and Poland. This revolution did not convulse merely the Church ; it in- fluenced the politics, and changed the form of government, in many of the States of Europe. The same men who believed themselves authorized to correct abuses and imperfections in re- ligion, undertook to reform political abuses with the same free- dom. New States sprung up ; and princes took advantage of these commotions to augment their own power and authority. Constituting themselves heads of the Church and of the religion PERIOD VI. A. v>. 1453—1648. 217 of their country, they shook off the fetters of priestly influence ; while the clergy ceased to form a counteracting or controlling power in the State. The freedom of opinion which characterized the Protestant faith, awoke the human mind from its intellectual lethargj', infused new energy into it, and thus contrihuted to the progress of civilization and science in Europe. Even the systems of public instruction underwent a considerable change. The schools were reformed, and rendered more perfect. A multitude of nev/ seminaries of education, academies, and universities were founded in all the Protestant States. This revolution, however, was not accomplished without great and various calami- ties. A hierarchy, such as that of the Church of Rome, sup- ported by all that was dignified and venerable, could not be attacked, or shaken to its foundation, without involving Europe in the convulsion. Hence we find that wars and factions arose in Germany, France, the Low Countries, Switzerland, Hungary, and Poland. The march of reformation was every where stain- ed with blood. The means that were employed to bring the quarrels of the Church to an amicable conclusion, tended rather to exasperate than allay the mischief; and if the conferences among the clergy of different persuasions failed, it was not to be expected that a better agreement, or a union of parties, could be founded on the basis of a General Council. The Protestants demanded an un- controlled liberty for the Council. They wished it to be assem- bled by order of the Emperor, in one of the cities of the Empire ; and that their divines should have a voice and a seat in its meet- ings. The Pope was to submit to its authority, and all matters should there be decided according to the rule of the sacred Scrip- tures. These terms were by no means agreeable to the Catho- lics. Paul III. summoned a Council at Mantua (1537,) and another at Vicenza (1538 ;) but both of these convocations were ineffectual, as was also the proposed reform in the Court of Rome, made by the same Pontiff. It was resolved at last, at the instance of the Catholic princes (1542,) to convoke the Council of Trent, though the opening of it was deferred till 1545. This famous Council met with two interruptions; the first took place in 1547, when the Pope, who had become alarmed at the success of the Imperial arms, transferred the Council to Bo- logna, on pretence that an epidemic distemper had broken out at Trent. All the prelates of the Emperor's party remained at Trent, in obedience to the command of their master, who pro- tested loudly against the assembly at Bologna, which neverthe- less held its ninth and tenth Sessions at that city. This latter Council having been dissolved b}- Paul III. ^548.,) its affairs 218 CHAPTER VII. continued in a languid state for the next two years, wnen Pope Julius III., the successor of Paul, revived it, and transferred it once more to Trent (1551.) Another interruption took place at the time when Maurice, Elector of Saxony, had made himself master of Augsburg, and was marching against the Emperor towards Inspruck. It was then agreed to prorogue the Council, now in its sixteenth Session, for two years ; and to assemble again at the end of that period, if peace should happen in the mean time to be established. At length, in 1560, Pius IV., summoned the Council, for the third and last time, to meet at Trent, The session, however, did not commence till 1562 ; and next year its sittings were finally terminated. In this Council, matters were not treated in the same way as they had been at Constance and Basle, where each nation delibe- rated separately, and then gave their suffrage in common, so that the general decision was taken according to the votes of the dif- ferent nations. This form of deliberation was not at all palatable to the Court of Rome, who, in order to gain a preponderance in the assembly, thought proper to decide, by a majority of the votes of every individual member of the Council. The Protestant princes rejected entirely the authority of this Council ; which, far from terminating the dispute, made the schism wider than ever. Its decisions were even condemned by several of the Ca- tholic sovereigns. In France, more especially, it was never formally published, and they expressly excluded such of its acts of discipline as they considered contrary to the laws of the king- dom, to the authority of the sovereign, and the maxims of the Gallican Church. It is nevertheless certain that this Council was instrumental in restoring the tottering power of the Roman pontiffs ; v/hich receiv- ed at the same time a new support by the institution of tlie Order of the Jesuits, The founder of this order was Ignatius Loyola, who was born at the Castle of Loyola in Guipuscoa. He made the declaration of his vows in the church of Montmartre at Paris (1534,) and obtained from Paul III. the confirmation of his new Society, This order was bound, by a particular vow of obedi- ence, niore intimately to the Court of Rome ; and became one of the main instruments of its enormous power. From Spain the Society was speedily propagated in all the other Catholic States ; they filled cities and courts with their emissaries; undertook missions to China, Japan, and the Indies ; and under the special protection of the See of Rome, they soon surpassed in credit and wealth every other religious order. In the midst of these changes which took place in civil and ecclesiastical matters, we find a new system arising in the poli- PERIOD. VI. A. D. 1453—1648. 219 lical government of Europe ; the consequence of those new ties and relations which had been established amongst the different powers since the close of the fifteenth century. Prior to this date, most of the European States Avere feeble, because insulated and detached. Occupied with their own particular interests and quarrels, the nations were little acquainted with each other, and seldom had anv influence on their mutual destinies. The faults and imperfections inherent in the feudal system had pervaded all Europe, and crippled the power and the energies of government. The sovereigns, continually at war with their factious and power- ful vassals, could neither form plans of foreign conquest, nor carry them into execution ; and their military operations were in ge- neral without unity or effect. [Hence it happened, that in the middle ages, changes were produced in the different States, which so little alarmed their neighbours, that it may be said they were scarcely conscious of their existence. Such were the conquests of the English in France, which might certainly have compromised the independence of Europe.] A combination of causes and circumstances, both physical and moral, produced a revolution in the manners and govern- ments of most of the Continental States. The disorders of feudal anarchy gradually disappeared ; constitutions better or- ganized were introduced ; the temporary levies of vassals were succeeded by regular and permanent armies ; which contributed to humble the exorbitant power of the nobles and feudal barons. The consequence was, that States formerly weak and exhausted, acquired strength ; while their sovereigns, freed from the tur- bulence and intimidation of their vassals, began to extend their political views, and to form projects of aggrandizement and conquest. From this period the reciprocal influence of the European States on each other began to be manifest. Those who were afraid for their independence, would naturally conceive the idea of a balance of power capable of protecting them against the in roads of ambitious and warlike princes. Hence those frequent embassies and negotiations ; those treaties of alliance, subsidies, and guarantees ; those wars carried on by a general combina- tion of powers, who deemed themselves obliged to bear a part in the common cause ; and hence too those projects for establish- ing checks and barriers on each other, which occupied the dif- ferent courts of Europe. [The system of equilibrium or the balance of power, originated in Italy, That peninsula, separated from the rest of the continent by the sea and the Alps, had outstripped the other countries in the career of civilization. There a multitude of independent 220 CHAPTER VII. States had been formed, unequal in point of power and extent ; but none of them had sufficient strength to resist the united power of the rest, or usurp dominion over them ; while at the same time, none of them Avere so contemptible in point of weakness, as not to be of some weight in the scale. Hence that rivalry and jealousy among them, which was incessantly watching over the progress of their neighbours ; and hence, too, a series of wars and confederacies, whose object was to maintain some degree of equality among them ; or at least a relative proportion, which might inspire the weaker with courage and confidence. The Popes who were exceedingly active in these transactions, em- ployed all their policy to prevent any foreign power from inter- fering, or establishing itself in Italy. The doctrine of political equilibrium passed the Alps about the end of the fifteenth cen- tury. The House of Austria, which had suddenly risen to a high pitch of grandeur, was the first against which its efl^orts were directed.] This House, which derived its origin from Rodolph of Haps- burg, who was elected Emperor of Germany towards the end of the thirteenth century, owed its greatness and elevation chiefly to the Imperial dignity, and the different family alliances which this same dignity procured it. Maximilian of Austria, son of the Emperor Frederic III., married Mary of Burgundy (1477,) daughter and heiress of Charles the Rash, last Duke of Bur- gundy. This alliance secured to Austria the whole of the Low Countries, including Franche-Comte, Flanders, and Artois. Philip the Fair, the son of this marriage, espoused the Infanta of Spain, daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella of Castille. They had two sons, Charles and Ferdinand, the former of whom, known in history by the name of Charles V., inherited the Low Countries in right of his father Philip (1506.) On the death of Ferdinand, his maternal grandfather (1516,) he became heir to the whole Spanish succession, which comprehended the king- doms of Spain, Naples, Sicily, and Sardinia, together with Spanish America. To these vast possessions were added his partimonial dominions in Austria, which were transmitted to him by his paternal grandfather the Emperor Maximilian I. About the same time (1519,) the Imperial dignity was conferred on this prince by the electors ; so that Europe had not seen, since the time of Charlemagne, a monarchy so powerful as that of Charles V. This Emperor concluded a treaty with his brother Ferdinand, by which he ceded to him all his hereditary possessions in Ger- many. The two brothers thus became the founders of the two principal branches of the House of Austria, viz. that of Spain, PERIOD VI. A. D. 1453—1648. 221 stry. Hence the commerce and manufactures of the Low Countries, which had formerly been the most flourishing in Europe, fell entirely into decay. The Duke of Alva, immediately on his arrival, established a tribunal or court, for investigating the excesses that had been committed during these commotions. This council, which the Flemings called the " Council of Blood," informed against all PERIOD VI. A. D. 1453—1648. 231 those who had been in any way concerned with the Gueux or BegijUrs, who had frequented their preachings, contributed to the support of their ministers or the building of their churches ; or harboured and protected these heretics, either directly, or in- directly. Before this council, whose only judges were the Duke of Alva and his confidant John de Vargas, were cited high and low, without distinction ; and all those whose wealth excited their cupidity. There they instituted proceedings against the absent and the present, the dead and the living, and con- fiscated their goods. Eighteen thousand persons perished by the hands of the executioner, and more than 30,000 others were entirely ruined. Among the number of those illustrious vic- tims of Alva's cruelty, were the Counts Egmont and Horn, who were both beheaded. Their execution excited a general in- dignation, and was the signal of revolt and civil war throughout the Low Countries. The Beggars, who seemed almost forgotten, began to revive ; and were afterwards distinguished into three kinds. All the malcontents, as well as the adherents of Luther and Calvin, were called simply by this name. Those were called Beggars of the Woods, who concealed themselves in the forests and marshes ; never sallying forth but in the night, to commit all sorts of excesses. Lastly, the Maritime or Marine Beggar's, were those who employed themselves in piracy ; infesting the coasts, and making descenis on the country. It was in this situation of affairs that the Prince of Orange, one of the richest proprietors in the Low Countries, assisted by his brother the Counts of Nassau, assembled different bodies of troops in the Empire, with which he attacked the Low Coun- tries in several places at once (1668.) Failing in these first attempts, he soon changed his plan ; and associating the Marine Beggars in the cause, he ventured to attack the Spaniards by sea. The Beggars, encouraged by that Prince, and William Count de la Mark, surnamed the Boar of Ardennes, took the city of Brille by surprise (1572,) situated in the Isle of Voorn, and regarded as the stronghold of the new republic of the Bel- gic Provinces. The capture of the port of Brille caused a re- volution in Zealand. All the cities of that province, except Middleburg, opened their gates to the Beggars ; and their ex- ample was followed by most of the towns in Holland. An as- sembly of the States of this latter province met this same year at Dort, where they laid the foundation of their new republic. The Prince of Orange was there declared Stadtholder or Go- vernor of the provinces of Holland, Zealand, Friesland, and Utrecht ; and they agreed never to treat with the Spaniards, ex- 232 CHAPTER VII. cept by common consent. The public exercise of the reformed religion was introduced, according to the form of Geneva. This rising republic became more firmly established in con- sequence of several advantages which the Confederates had gained over the Spaniards, whose troops being badly paid, at length mutinied ; and breaking out into the greatest disorders, they pillaged several cities, among others Antwerp, and laid waste the whole of the Low Countries. The States-General, then assembled at Brussels, implored the assistance of the Prince of Orange and the Confederates. A negotiation was then opened at Ghent (1576,) between the States of Brussels, and those of Holland and Zealand ; where a general union, known by the name of the Pacification of Ghent, was signed. They engaged mutually to assist each other, with the view of expelling the Spanish troops, and never more permitting them to enter the Low Countries. The Confederates, who were in alliance with Queen Elizabeth of England, pursued the Spaniards every where, who soon saw themselves reduced to the single provinces of Luxemburg, Limburg, and Namur. They were on the point of being expelled from these also, when the government of the Low Countries was intrusted to Alexander Farnese, Prince of Parma. Equally distinguished as a politician and a warrior, this Prince revived the Spanish inte- rests. Taking advantage of the dissensions which had arisen among the Confederates from the diversity of their religious opinions, he again reduced the provinces of Flanders, Artois, and Hainault, under the Spanish dominion. He took the city of Maastricht by assault, and entered into a negotiation with the States-General of the Low Countries at Cologne, under the mediation of the Emperor Rodolph IL, the Pope, and some of the princes of the Empire. This negotiation proved unsuccess- ful ; but the Prince of Orange, foreseeing that the general con- federacy could not last, conceived the plan of a more intimate union among the Provinces ; which he regarded as the most fit to make head against the Spaniards. He fixed on the maritime provinces, such as Holland, Zealand, and Friesland ; and above all, on those whom the same religious creed, viz. the Calvinistic, had attached to the same interests. The commerce of Hol- land, and Zealand, and Friesland, began to make new progress daily. Amsterdam was rising on the ruins of Antwerp. The flourishing state of their marine rendered these provinces for- midable by sea ; and gave them the means not only of repelling the efforts of the Spaniards, but even of protecting the neigh- bouring provinces which might join this Union. Such were the motives which induced the Prince of Orange to form the special PERIOD. VI. A. D. 1453—1648. 2:« confederacy of the Seven Provinces, the basis of which he laid by the famous treaty of Union concluded at Utrecht (1579.) That Union was there declared perpetual and indissoluble ; and it was agreed that the Seven Provinces, viz. those of Gueldres, Holland, Zealand, Utrecht, Overyssel, Friesland, and Groningen, should henceforth be considered as one and the same Province Each of these, nevertheless, was guaranteed in the possession of their rights and privileges — that is, their absolute superiority in every thing regarding their own internal administration. [We may remark, however, that these insurrectionary pro- vinces had not originally the design of forming a republic. Their intention, at first, was only to maintain their political pri- vileges ; and they did not absolutely shake oflT the Spanish authority until they despaired of reconciliation. Moreover, they repeatedly offered the sovereignty of their States to different foreign princes ; and it was not till the Union of Utrecht that the Seven Provinces became a federal republic. Consequently every thing remained on its ancient footing ; and some of the provinces even retained their Stadtholders or governors, at the head of their administration. Hence that mixture of monarchy, aristocracy, and democracy, which prevailed in these countries ; and hence, too, the feeble tie which united them with each other, and which would probably have speedily broken, if Holland had not, by its riches and its power, obtained an influence and pre- ponderance which maintained the Union.] The declaration of the independence of the United Provinces did not take place till 15S1 ; when the Prince of Orange induced the States-General to make a formal proclamation of it, out of revenge for the furious edicts of proscription Avhich the Court of Spain had issued against him. The Prince, however, was assas- sinated at Delft in 1584 -p and the Spaniards took advantage of the consternation which this event had spread among the Con- federates, to reconquer most of the provinces of the Low Coun- tries. The general Confederacy languished away by degrees ; and the Union of Utrecht was the only one maintained among the Seven Provinces. This new republic, which was in strict alliance with England, not only made head against the Spaniards, but gained a considerable increase of strength by the vast num- bers of refugees from the different Belgic provinces, who took shelter there ; as well as from France, where the persecution still raged violently against the Protestants. It is calculated that after the taking of Antwerp by the Prince of Parma in 1585, above a hundred thousand of these fugitives transported themselves to Holland and Amsterdam, carrying with them their wealth and their industry. 20* I! I ! I ; 2Ii4 CHAPTER I, From this dale the commerce of the Confederate States in- creased every day ; and in 1595 they extended it as far as India and the Eastern Seas. The Dutch India Company was estab- lished in 1602. Besides the exclusiye commerce of India, which was guaranteed to them by their charter, they became likewise a political body, under the sovereignty of the States-General of the United Provinces. Supported by a formidable marine, they acquired vast influence in the East by their conquests over the Portuguese, whom they dispossessed by degrees of all their principal establishments in India. The Spaniards, finding their efforts to reduce the Confederates by force of arms ineffectual, set on foot a negotiation at Antwerp (1609,) under the media- tion of France and England ; in consequence of which, a truce of twelve years was concluded between Spain and the United Provinces. It was chiefly during this time that the Confede- rates extended their commerce over all parts of the globe, while their marine daily increased in strength and importance ; which soon raised them to the rank of being the second maritime power, and gave them a decisive influence over the political affairs of Europe. At the expiration of this truce, hostilities were renewed with Spain. The Dutch carried on the war for twenty-five years with great glory, under the auspices of their Stadtholders, Maurice and Henry Frederic, Fiinces of Orange, who discovered great military talents. One event, which proved favourable for the Republicans, was the war that broke out between France and Spain, and which was followed by a strict alliance between France and the States-General. The partition of the Spanish Netherlands was settled by this treaty ; and the allied powers entered into an engagement never to make peace or truce with Spain, except by common consent. This latter clause, however, did not prevent the States-General from concluding at Munster a separate peace with Spain, to the exclusion of France (1648.) By this peace the King of Spain acknowledged the United Pro- vinces as free and independent States ; he gave up to them all the places which they had seized in Brabant, Flanders and Lim- fiurg, viz. Bois-le-Duc, Bergen-op-Zoom, Breda, and Maestricht •. as also their possessions in the East and West Indies, in Asia Africa, and America. The closing of the Scheld, which was granted in favour of the United Provinces, entirely ruined the city of Antwerp, and shut out the Spanish Netherlands from all maritime commerce. The feudal system of the Swiss, which had originated in the tourteenth century, acquired a new importance towards the end ot the fifteenth, by reason of the success of the confederates in 1 > PERIOD VI. A. D. 1453—1648. 235 their war with Charles Duke of Burgundy. This prince, who was of a hot and turbulent spirit, was constantly occupied with projects of conquest. Taking advantage of the ruinous state of the finances of the Archduke Sigismund of Austria, he induced him to sell him the territories of Brisgau and Alsace, with the right of repurchase (1469.) Peter de Hagenbach, a gentleman of Alsace, who had been appointed governor of these countries by the Duke, had oppressed the Austrian subjects, and harassed the whole neighbouring states ; especially the Swiss. The complaints which were made on this score to the Duke, living only rendered Hagenbach still more insolent, the Swiss, with the concurrence of several states of the Empire, paid down, at Basle, the sums stipulated in the contract for repurchasing the two provinces ; and, by force of arms, they re-established the Austrian prince in the possession of Alsace and Brisgau. They even went so far as to institute legal proceedings against Hagen- bach, who was in consequence beheaded at Brisach in 1474. The Duke, determined to avenge this insult, assembled an army of a hundred thousand men, with which he penetrated through Franche-Comte into Switzerland. He was defeated in the first action, which took place at Granson (1476;) after which he reinforced his troops, and laid siege to Morat. Here he was again attacked by the Swiss, who killed eighteen thou- sand of his men, and seized the whole of his camp and baggage. The Duke of Lorraine, an ally of the Swiss, was then restored to those states of which the Duke of Burgundy had deprived him. This latter prince, in a great fury, came and laid siege to Nancy. The Swiss marched to the relief of this place, where they fought a third and last battle with the Duke, who was here defeated and slain (1477.) These victories of the Swiss over the Duke of Burgundy, one of the most powerful princes of his time, raised the fame of their arms ; and made their friendship and alliance courted by the first sovereigns in Europe, especially by France. Their con- federacy, which had formerly been composed of only eight can- tons, was augmented by the accession of two new states, Friburg and Soleure, which were enrolled in the number of cantons. From this time the Swiss were no longer afraid to break the ties that bound them to the Germanic Body, as members of the ancient kingdom of Aries. The Diet of Worms, in 1495, having granted the Emperor Maximilian succours against the French and the Turks, the Swiss alleged their immunities, and their alliance with France, as a pretext for refusing their contingent of supplies. This demand, however, was renewed at the Diet of Lindau, in 1496, which required them to renounce their alii* 236 CHAPTEK VU- ance with France, and accede to the League of Swabia ; as also to submit themselves to the Imperial Chamber, and the law of the public peace ; and to furnish their quota for the support of that Chamber, and the other contributions of the Empire. All these demands were resisted by the Helvetic Body, who regard- ed them as contrary to their rights and privileges. Meantime the Grisons had allied themselves with the Swiss, in order to obtain their protection under the existing differences between them and the Tyrolese. The Emperor Maximilian seized this pretext for making war against the Cantons. Being desirous of vindicating the dignity of the Empire, which had been outraged by the Swiss, and of avenging the insults offered to his own family, he stirred up the League of Swabia to oppose them ; and attacked them in diffe- rent points at once. Eight battles were fought in succession, in course of that campaign ; all of which, with one solitary excep- tion, were in favour of the Swiss, while the Imperialists lost more than twenty thousand men. Maximilian and his allies, the Swa- bian League, then came to the resolution of making their peace with the Cantons, which was concluded at Basle (1499.) Both parties made a mutual restitution of what they had wrested from each other ; and it was agreed, that the differences between the Emperor, as Count of Tyrol, and the Grisons, should be brought to an amicable termination. This peace forms a memorable era in the history of the Helvetic Confederacy, whose independence, with regard to the German Emperor, Avas from that time con- sidered as decided ; although no mention of this was made in the treaty, and although the Swiss still continued for some time to request from the Emperors the confirmation of their immunities. Two immediate cities of the Empire, those of Basle and Schauff- hausen, took occasion, from these latter events, to solicit their admission into the Confederacy. They were received as allies, under the title of Cantons (1501 ;) and the territory of Appenzel, which was admitted in like manner (1513,) formed the thirteenth and last Canton. The alliance which the Swiss had kept up with France, since the reigns of Charles "VII. and Louis XL, tended greatly to se- cure the independence of the Helvetic Body.^ This alliance, which Louis XI. had made an instrument for humbling the power of the Duke of Burgundy, was never but once broken, in the reign of Louis XII., on account of the Holy League, into which the Swiss were drawn by the intrigues of the Bishop of Sion (1512.) The French were then expelled from the Milan- ese territory by the Swiss, who placed there the Duke Maximi- lian Sforza. It was in gratitude for this service, that the duke PERIOD VI. A. D. 1453 — 164S. 237 ceded to the Swiss, by a treaty which was concluded at Basle, the four bailiwicks of Lugano, Locarno, Mendrisio, and Val- Maggio, which he dismembered from the Milanois. Though conquerors at the battle of Novara, the Swiss experienced a san- guinary defeat at Marignano; when they judged it for their in- terest to renew, their alliance with France (1513.) A treaty of perpetual peace was signed at Friburg between these two States (1516,) which was soon after followed by a new treaty of alli- ance, concluded with Francis L at Lucerne (1521,) and regularly renewed under the subsequent reigns. The change which took place in religion, at the beginning of the sixteenth century, extended its influence to Switzerland, where it kindled the flame of civil discord. Four cantons, those of Zurich, Berne, SchaufThausen, and Basle, renouncing entirely the Romish faith, had embraced the doctrines of Zuingle and Calvin ; while two others, viz. Glaris and Appenzel, were divi- ded between the old and the new opinions. The Reformation having likewise found its way into the common bailiwicks, the Catholic Cantons rose in opposition to it (1531 ;) denying liber- ty of conscience to the inhabitants. Hence, a war arose be- tween the Cantons of the two religions ; which, however, was terminated the same year by a treaty of peace, guaranteeing to such parishes within the bailiwicks as had embraced the new doctrines, the liberty of still adhering to them. The same revo- lution extended to Geneva, whose inhabitants had declared so- lemnly in favour of the reformed worship, and erected themselves into a free and independent republic (1534.) The church of Geneva, under the direction of Calvin, became the centre and citadel of the Reformation ; while the academy founded in that city, produced a vast number of theologians and celebrated scho- lars. It was at this time that the duke of Savoy planned the blockade of Geneva, to enforce certain ancient rights which he claimed over that city ; but the Bernese espoused the cause of the Genevans, in virtue of the treaties of common citizenship which subsisted between them. This Canton having entered into alliance with Francis I., declared war against the duke of Savoy (1536 ;) and in less than three months took from him the Pays de Vaud. Being desirous of interesting their neighbours the Friburgers in their cause, they invited them to take posses- sion of all those places that might suit their convenience ; and it was on this occasion that the city of Friburg acquired the prin- cipal part of its territory. These acquisitions were confirmed to the two Cantons, by the treaty which the Bernese concluded at Lausanne with the duke of Savoy (1564.) The German Empire from time to time renewed its preten- 23S CHAPTER VII. sions on Switzerland, and the Imperial Chamber usurped au occasional jurisdiction over one or other of the Cantons. Ne- gotiations for a general peace having commenced ai Munster and Osnaburg, the thirteen Cantons sent their minister or envoy to Watch over the interests of the Helvetic Body at that congress ; and they obtained, through the intervention of France and Swe- den, that in one of the articles of the treaty it should be decla- red, that the city of Basle, and the other Swiss Cantons, were in possession of full liberty, and independent of the Empire, and in no respect subject to its tribunals. In Italy, the authority of the Emperor of Germany, which had silently declined during the preceding centuries, languished more and more under the long and feeble reign of Frederic III. At length it was reduced to the mere ceremony of coronation, and the simple exercise of some honorary and feudal rights, such as the investitures which the Imperial Court continued to grant to the vassals of Lombardy. Although the Imperial dignity im- plied the royalty of Italy, which was considered as indissolubly united to it, nevertheless it was the custom that the Kings of Germany should have themselves crowned separately, Kings of Italy at Milan, and Emperors at Rome. Frederic III., having had certain reasons for avoiding his coronation at Milan, received from the hands of Pope Nicholas V., in his own capital, the two crowns of Italy and Rome. Maximilian I., being prevented by the Venetians from repairing to Italy for his coronation (1608,) w;e of dis- 260 CHAPTER VII. service, by granting them forfeited places, under the name of places of security. By thus fostering a spirit of party and intestine faction, he furnished a plausible pretext to their adversaries for gradually undermining the edict, and finally proscribing the ex- ercise of the reformed religion in France. That great prince, after having established the tranquillity of his kingdom at home and abroad, encouraged arts and manufac- tures, and put the administration of his finances into admirable order, was assassinated by Ravaillac (1610,) at the very moment when he was employed in executing the grand scheme which he had projected for the pacification of Europe. Cardinal Richelieu, when he assumed the reins of government under Louis XIII., had nothing so mtlch at heart as the expulsion of the Calvinists from their strongholds. This he accomplished by means of the three wars which he waged against them, and by the famous siege of Rochelle, which he reduced in 1628. That great states- man next employed his policy against the house of Austria, whose preponderance gave umbrage to all Europe. He took the op- portunity of the vacant succession of Mantua to espouse the cause of the Duke of Nevers against the Courts of Vienna and Mad- rid, who supported the Duke of Guastalla ; and maintained his protege' in the dutchy of Mantua, by ihe treaties of peace which were concluded at Ratisbon and Querasque (1631.) Having afterwards joined Sweden, he made war against the two branches of Austria, and on this occasion got possession of the places which the Swedes had seized in Alsace. Louis XIV. was only four years and seven months old when he succeeded his father (1643.) The queen-mother, Anne of Austria, assumed the regency. She appointed Cardinal Ma- zarin her prime minister, whose administration, during the minority of the King, was a scene of turbulence and distrac- tion. The same external policy which had directed the minis- try of Richelieu, was followed by his successor. He prose- ."uted the war against Austria with vigour, in conjunction with Sweden, and their confederates in Germany. By the peace which was concluded with the Emperor at Munster, besides the three bishoprics of Lorraine, France obtained the Land- graviate of Lower and Upper Alsace, Sungaw, and the pre- fecture of the ten Imperial cities of Alsace. Spain was ex- cluded from this treaty ; and the war continued between that kingdom and France until the peace of the Pyrenees, by which the counties of Roussillon and Conflans were ceded to France, as well as several cities in Flanders, Hainault, and Luxembourg. Spain, which had long been divided into several States, and a stranger as it were to the rest of Europe, became all of a sud PERIOD VI. A. D. 1453—1648. 261 den a formidable power, turning the political balance in her own favour. This elevation was the work of Ferdinand the Catholic, a prince born for great exploits ; of a profound and fertile genius , but tarnishing his bright qualities by perfidy and unbounded ambition. He was heir to the throne of Arragon, and laid the foundation of his greatness by his marriage with Isabella (1469,) sister to Henry VI. last King of Castille. That match united the kingdoms of Castille and Arragon, which were the two principal Christian States in Spain. Henry of Castille had left a daughter, named Jane, but she being considered as illegi- timate by the Castillians, the throne was conferred on Isabella and her husband Ferdinand (1474.) The Infanta Jane, in order to enforce her claims, betrothed herself to Alphonso V. King of Portugal ; but that prince being defeated by Ferdinand at the battle of Toro (1476,) was obliged to renounce Castille and his marriage with the Infanta. At the accession of Isabella to the throne of Castille, that kingdom was a prey to all the miseries of anarchy. The abuses of the feudal system were there maintained by violence and in- justice. Ferdinand demolished the fortresses of the nobles who infested the country ; he gave new vigour to the laws ; liberated the people from the oppression of the great ; and, under pretence of extirpating the Jews and Mahometans, he established the tribunal of the Inquisition (1478.) which spread universal terror by its unheard of cruelties. Torquemada, a Dominican, who was appointed grand Inquisitor (1483,) burnt in the space of four years near 6000 individuals. The Moors still retained the kingdom of Grenada. Ferdinand took advantage of their dissensions to attempt the conquest of it, in which he succeeded, after a vigorous war of eighteen years. Abo Abdeli, the last King of Grenada, fled to Africa. An edict, which was published immediately after, ordered the expul- sion of all the Jew^s ; about an hundred thousand of whom fled from Spain, and took shelter, some in Portugal, and others in Africa. Ferdinand did not include the Moors in this proscrip- tion, whom he thought to gain over to Christianity by means of persecution ; but having revolted in the year 1500, he then al- lowed them to emigrate. It was this blind and headlong zeal that procured Ferdinand the title of the Catholic King, which Pope Alexander III. conferred on him and his successors (1493.) That prince also augmented his power by annexing to his crown the Grand Mastership of the Military Orders of Calatrava, Al- cantara, and St. James of Compostella. Every thing conspired to aggrandize Ferdinand ; and as if the Old World had not been sufficient, a New one was opened to 252 CHAPTER VII. mm by the discovery of America. He was heir, by the father's side, to the kingdoms of Arragon, Sicily, and Sardinia. He got possession of Castille by his marriage, and of Grenada by force of arms ; so that nothing was wanting except Navarre to unite all Spain under his dominion. The Holy League, which Pope Julius II. had organized against Louis XII. (1511,) fur- nished him with a pretext for seizing that kingdom. Entering into an alliance with the Pope, he concerted with the King of England to invade Guienne, on which the English had some ancient claims. They demanded of the King of Navarre that he should make common cause with the allies of the Holy League against Louis XII. That prince, however, wishing to preserve neutrality, they prescribed conditions so severe, that he had no other alternative left than to seek protection in France. Ferdinand then obtained possession of all that part of Navarre which lay beyond the Pyrenees. Twelve years before that time Ferdinand had, by the treaty of Grenada, planned with Louif XII. the conqiiest of the kingdom of Naples. Frederic of Ar- ragon was then deprived of that kingdom, and his States were divided between the two allied kings ; but Ferdinand having Boon quarrelled with Louis XII. as to their respective boundaries, this was made a pretext for expelling the French from Naples, which was again united to the Spanish monarchy, in the years 1503 and 1505. Charles I. of Austria, grandson of Ferdinand, and his succes- sor in the Spanish monarchy, added to that crown the Low Countries and Franche-Comte, which he inherited in right of his father Philip of Austria, and his grandmother Mary of Bur- gundy. He added likewise the kingdoms of Mexico and Peru on the continent of America, and the dutchy of Milan in Italy, in which he invested his son Philip, after having repeatedly ex- pelled the French in the years 1522 and 1525. These were all the advantages he derived from his wars against Francis I., which occupied the greater part of his reign. Blinded by his animosity against that Prince, and by his ruling passion for war, he only exhausted his kingdom, and im- paired his true greatness. Charles resigned the Spanish mo- narchy to his son Philip II., which then comprehended the Low Countries, the kmgdoms of Naples, Sicily and Sardinia, the dutchy of Milan, and the Spanish possessions in America. The peace of Chateau Cambresis, which Philip II. signed in 1559, after a long war against France, may be regarded as the era of Spanish greatness. To the states which were left him by his father, Philip added the kingdom of Portugal, with the Portu- guese possessions in Africa, Asia, and America ; but this was the PERIOD VI- A< t). 1453—1648. 253 termination of his prosperity. His reign after that was only a succession of misfortunes. His revolting despotism excited the Belgians to insurrection, and gave birth to the republic of the United Provinces. Elizabeth of England having joined with the Confederates of the Low Countries, Philip, out of revenge, equipped a formidable fleet, known by the name of the Invinci- ble Armada, which was composed of 130 vessels of enormous size, manned with 20,000 soldiers, exclusive of sailors, and arm* ed with 1360 pieces of cannon. On entering the Channel they were defeated by the English (21st of July 15S8,) and the greater part of them destroyed by a storm. From this calamity may be dated the decline of the Spanish monarchy, which was exhausted by its expensive wars. Philip, at his death, left an enormous debt, and the whole glory of the Spanish nation perished with him. The reigns of his feeble successors are only remarkable for their disasters. Philip III. did irreparable injury to his crown by the expulsion of the Moors or Morescoes (1610,) which lost Spain nearly a million of her mdustrious subjects. Nothing can equal the misfortunes which she experienced under the reign of Philip IV. During the war which he had to support against France, the Catalans revolted, and put themselves under the protection of that Crown (164C,) Encouraged by their example, the Portuguese likewise shook off the yoke, and replaced the House of Braganza on their throne. Lastly, the Neapolitans, harassed by the Duke d'Oli- varez, prime minister of Philip IV. revolted, and attempted to form themselves into a republic (1647.) These reverses on the part of Spain added to the number of her enemies. The famous Cromwell having entered into an alliance Avith France (1655,) dispossessed the Spaniards of Jamaica, one of their richest set- tlements in America. Towards the end of the fifteenth century, Portugal had reach- ed a high pitch of elevation, which she owed to the astonishing progress of her navigation and her commerce. John II., whose fleets first doubled the Cape of Good Hope, augmented the royal authority, by humbling the exorbitant and tyrannical power of the grandees. In the diet which was assembled at Evora, he retracted the concessions which his predecessors had made to the nobles, to the prejudice of the Crown. He abolished the power of life and death, Avhich the lords exercised over their vassals, and subjected their towns and their territories to the jurisdiction of officers appointed by the King. The nobles, who were displeased at these innovations, having combined in de- fence of their privileges, and chosen the Duke of Braganza for their leader, John, without being disconcerted by thia opposition, 254 CHAPTER vn. had the Duke brought to a trial, and his head cut off, while his brother was hanged in effigy. This example of severity intirni* dated the grandees, and made them submit to his authority. The most brilliant era of Portugal was that of Emmanuel and John III., who reigned between the years 1495 and 1557. It was under these two Princes that the Portuguese formed their powerful empire in India, of which nothing now remains but the ruins. The glory of Portugal suffered an eclipse under the feeble reign of Sebastian, grandson and immediate successor of John. That Prince, who came to the throne at the age of three years, had been brought up by the Jesuits, who instead of instructing him in the important arts of government, had given him the education of a monk. They had inspired him with a dislike for matrimony, but with a decided attachment for the crusades. Muley Mahomet, King of Morocco, having requested his assist- ance against his uncle Moluc, who had dethroned him, Sebas- tian undertook an expedition into Africa in person, carrying with him the flower of his nobility. A bloody battle was fought near Alca9ar, in the kingdom of Fez (1578,) where the Portuguese sustained a complete defeat. Sebastian was slain ; and, what is sufficiently remarkable, his enemy Moluc died a natural death during the action, while Muley Mahomet was drowned in the flight. [During the reign of this king, every thing had fallen into decay ; even the character of the nation had begun to degenerate. The spirit of chivalry which had distinguished them, was ex- changed for mercantile adventures, which even infected the higher classes ; while avarice, luxury, and effeminacy, brought on a universal corruption. The governors of their colonies in- dulged in all sorts of violence and injustice. They seized the more lucrative branches of commerce. The military force, which Emmanuel and John III. had kept up in India, was neglected. The clergy usurped the whole weaUh of the colo- nies, and exercised an absolute power by means of the Inquisition, which was no where more terrible than at Goa.] As Sebastian had never been married, the throne passed at his death to Henry the Cardinal, his grand uncle by the father's side, who was already far advanced in life. Perceiving his end approach, and that his death would involve the kingdom in con- fusion, he summoned an assembly of the States at Lisbon (1579,) in order to fix the succession. The States appointed eleven cemmissioners, who were to investigate the claims of the diffe- rent candidates for the crown. Philip II. of Spain, who was one of this number, did not pay the least regard to the decision of I 1 PERIOD VI. A. D. 1453—1648. 255 the Slates. INo sooner had he learned the death of Henry (1580,) than he sent the Duke of Alva, at the head of an army, to take possession of Portugal. Thfe Duke defeated the troops of his opponent, Anthony prior of Crato, one of the claimants, who had proclaimed himself king ; pretending that he was the legiti- mate son of the Infant Don Louis, son of Emmanuel. Anthony had no other alternative left than to take shelter in France, and j the whole of Portugal yielded to the yoke of the Spaniards. An inveterate antipathy, howe^r, subsisted between the two nations, which made the Portuguese detest their Spanish mas- ters. This hatred was still more increased, on account of the losses which the Portuguese sustained, in the meantime, in their commerce and possessions in the East Indies. The lucrative traffic which the Confederates in the Low Countries, called the Dutch, carried on by importing the merchandise of the East from Portugal, and hawking them over the north of Europe, having enabled them to support the war against Spain, Philip II. thought to strike a fatal blow at their prosperity, by forbidding them all commerce with Portugal. That Prince, however, was deceived in his expectation. The Confederates, deprived of this lucrative branch of their industry, and after having made some unsuccessful attempts to find a north-west passage to India, took the resolution of sailing directly thither (1595,) under the conduct of Cornelius Houtman and Molinaar, in order to seek, at the fountain-head, those commodi- ties which were refused them in Portugal. No sooner had they attempted to form settlements in India than the Portuguese de- termined to prevent them, and fought with them, near Bantam, a town in Java, a naval battle, which ended in favour of the Confederates. Encouraged by this first success, the Dutch undertook to de- prive the Portuguese of their principal possessions in India. The conquest which they made of the Moluccas, procured them the spice trade. They likewise formed settlements in the island of Java, where they founded the city of Batavia, which became the capital and emporium of their settlements in India. At length Goa and Diu were the only places that remained to the Portuguese of their numerous possessions in India. These im- portant losses greatly exasperated the Portuguese against the Spaniards. What added still more to their resentment was, that in the court of Madrid they saw a premeditated design to make vassals of the Portuguese ; and to cut off the most likely means of enabling them, sooner or later, to recover their ancient independence. It was with this view that their army and their marine were disorganized, their crown revenues dissipated, their 256 CHAPTER TIL nobility precludea Irom the management of affairs, and the na- tion exhausted by exorbitant assessments. The revolt of the Catalans, which happened in 1640, at length determined the Portuguese to shake off the Spanish yoke. A conspiracy was entered into by some of the grandees, in concert with the Duke of Braganza, which broke out on the 1st Decem- ber that same year. On that day, at eight o'clock in the morn- ing, the conspirators, to the number of about four hundred, re- paired by different routes to the palace of Lisbon, where the vice-queen, Margaret of Savoy, and dowager of Mantua, resided, with Vasconcellos the Secretary of State, who exercised the functions of Prime Minister of the kingdom. Part of them dis- armed the guard of the palace, while others seized Vasconcel- los, who was the only victim that fell a sacrifice to the public vengeance. They secured the person of the vice-queen, and took measures to protect her from insult or violence. The con- spirators then proclaimed the Duke of Braganza King, under the title of John IV. That prince arrived at Lisbon on the 6th of December, and his inauguration took place on the 15th. It is not a little surprising that this revolution became general m eight days time, and that it was not confined merely to Portugal, but extended even to India and Africa. Every where the Por- tuguese expelled the Spaniards, and proclaimed the Duke of Braganza. The city of Ceuta in Africa, was the only town of which the Spaniards found means to retain possession. John IV. was descended in a direct line from Alphonso, na- tural son of John the Bastard, who was created Duke of Bra- ganza. The first care of this new King of Portugal, on his ac- cession to the throne, was to convene an assembly of the States at Lisbon, in order to make them acknowledge his right to the crown. The States, conformably to the fundamental laws of the kingdom, declared that Catherine, daughter of the infant Don Edward, and grandmother of King John, having become the true and legitimate heiress to the throne on the death of Henry the Cardinal, her grandson John IV. was entitled to the repos- session of those rights of which that princess had been unjustly deprived by the Spaniards. The better to establish himself on the throne, John concluded treaties of peace with France, the United Provinces, the Netherlands, and Sweden ; but confining his whole ambition to maintaining the ancient limits of the king- dom, he remained completely inactive with regard to Snain, which, being overpowered by numerous enemies, was quite in- ^pable of carrying on the war with vigour against Portugal The truce and alliance which that Prince had entered into with the Dutch, did not prevent these republicans from contmuing PERIOD VI. A. D. 1453—1648. 257 iheir conquests in India ; -yvhere, in process of time, they strip ped the Portuguese of their finest settlements. England, long before this time, had emerged from the state of turbulence and desolation into which she had been plunged by the destructive wars of the two Roses. A new family, that of fhe Tudors, had mounted the throne; Henry VII., who was its founder, claimed the crown in right of his mother Margaret Beaufort, alleged heiress of the house of Lancaster, or the Red Rose ; and raised an insurrection against Richard III., the last King of the House of York. This prince being defeated and slain at the battle of Bosworth (1485,) Henry, who was then proclaimed King of England, united the titles or claims of the two Roses, by his marriage with Elizabeth, daughter of Edward IV., and heiress of York, or the White Rose. The country be- ing thus restored to tranquillity after thirty years of civil war, every thing assumed a more prosperous appearance. Agricul- ture and commerce began to flourish anew. Henry applied himself to the restoration of order and industry. He humbled the factious nobles, and raised the royal authority almost to a state of absolute despotism. The reformatiom of religion in England began in the reign of his son Henry VIII. That Prince, who was of a very capricious character, vacillating continually between virtue and vice, ap- peared at first as the champion of Popery, and published a treatise against Luther, which procured him, from the Court of Rome, the title of Defender of the Faith. But a violent passion, which he had conceived for Anne Boleyn, having induced him to attempt a divorce from Catherine of Arragon, daughter of Ferdinand the Catholic, he addressed himself for this purpose to Pope Clement VII., alleging certain scruples of conscience which he felt on ac- count of his marriage with Catherine, who was within the de- grees of affinity, prohibited in the sacred Scriptures. The Pope being afraid to displease the Emperor Charles V., who was the nephew of Catherine, thought proper to defer judgment in this matter ; but the King, impatient of delay, caused his divorce to be pronounced by Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury (1532,) and immediately married Anne Boleyn. The sentence of the Archbishop was annulled by the Pope, who published a threatening bull against Henry. This incensed the King, who caused the Papal authority in England to be abro- gated by the Parliament, and installed himself in the capacity of supreme head of the English Church (1534 ;) a title which was conferred on him by the clergy, and confirmed by the Parliament. He also introduced the oath of supremacy, in virtue of which all who were employed in offices of trust, were obliged to acknow- 17 258 CHAPTER VII. ledge nim as head of the Church. A court of High Commission was established, to judge ecclesiastical causes in name of the king, and from whose sentence there was no appeal. The con- vents or monasteries were suppressed, and their revenues confis- cated to the crown (1536-1539.) Henry even became a dogma- tist in theology ; and discarding the principles of Luther, as well as those of Calvin and Rome, he framed a religion according to his own fancy. Rejecting the worship of images, relics, purga- tory, monastic vows, and the supremacy of the Pope, he gave his sanction, by the law of the Six Articles, to the doctrine of the real presence, the communion in one kind, the vow of chastity, the celibacy of the priests, the mass, and auricular confession ; inflicting very severe penalties on all who should deny or disobey one or other of these articles. This monarch, who was the first of the English kings that took the title of King of Ireland (1542,) was involved in the dis- putes which then embroiled the Continental powers ; but instead of holding the balance between France and Austria, he adhered in general to his friend and ally Charles V. against France. This conduct was regulated less by politics than by passion, and the personal interest of his minister Cardinal Wolsey, whom the Emperor had attached to his cause, by the hope of the papal tiara. The religion which Henry had planted in England, did not continue after his death. Edv/ard VI., his son and immediate successor, introduced pure Calvinism or Presbyterianism. Mary, daughter of Henry VIII., by Catherine of Arragon, on her accession to the throne, restored the Catholic religion (1553,) and likewise received the new legate of the Pope into England. She inflicted great cruelties on the Protestants, many of whom were burnt at the stake ; among others, Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury, and the Bishops of London and Worcester. With the view of more firmly establishing the Catholic religion m her dominions, she espoused Philip, presumptive heir to the Spanish monarchy (1554.) The restrictions with which the Eng- lish Parliament fettered his contract of marriage with the Queen, so displeased that prince, that, finding himself without po .ver or authority, he speedily withdrew from England. Mary's reign lasted only five years : she was succeeded by her sister Eliza- beth (1558,) daughter of Henry VIII., by Anne Bo'ejTi. This princess once more abrogated the authority of the Pope, and claimed to herself the supreme administration, both spiritual and temporal, within her kingdom. Though she adopted the Calvmistic principles in every thing regarding the doctrines of the Church, she retained many of the Romish ceremonies, and the erovernment of Bishops. It was this that gave rise to the I I I ! FEPXOD VI. 4.. D. 1453—1648. 259 distinction between the English or High Church, and the Cal- vanistic or Presbyterian. About the time when the High Church par'y rose in England, a change of religion took place in Scotland, protected by Queen Elizabeth. The regency of that kingdom was then vested in the Queen-dowager, Mary of Lorraine, the widow of James V., and mother of Mary Stuart, Queen of Scotland and France- That princess, who was guided solely by the councils of her brothers of Lorraine, had introduced a body of French troops to repress the followers of the new doctrines, who had formed a new league, under the name of the Congregation. These, re- inforced by the Catholic malecontents, who were apprehensive of falling under a foreign yoke, took the resolution of applying for assistance to the English Queen, which it was by no means difficult to obtain. Elizabeth readily foresaw, that so soon as Francis became master of Scotland, he would attempt to enforce Mary's claims to the throne of England, grounded partly on the assumption of her being illegitimate. A considerable number of English troops were then marched to Scotland, and having formed a junction with the Scottish malecontents, they besieged the French in the town of Leith, near Edinburgh. The latter were soon obliged to capitulate. By the articles signed at Leith (1560,) the French and English troops were to evacuate Scot- land ; Francis IL King of France, and his wife Mary Stuart, were to renounce the titles and arms of the sovereigns of Eng- land, which they had assumed ; while a Parliament was to be assembled at Edinburgh for the pacification of the kingdom. The parliament which met soon after, ratified the Confession of Faith, drawn i.p and presented by the Presbyterian ministers. The Presbyterian worship was introduced into Scotland; and the parliament even went so far as to prohibit the exercise of the Catholic religion. Mary Stuart, on her return to Scot- land (1561,) after the death of her husband Francis, was obliged to acquiesce in all these changes ; and it was with difficulty she was allowed the liberty of having a Catholic chapel attached to her court. This unfortunate princess was afterwards accused of having caused the assassination of Henry Darnley, her se- cond husband ; and being obliged to fly the country, she took shelter in England (1568,) where she was arrested and impri- soned by order of Queen Elizabeth. After a captivity of nine- teen years she was sentenced to death, and beheaded (18th Feb. 1587,) as an accomplice in the different plots which had been formed against the life of her royal relative. The troubles which the reformation of religion had excited in Scotland, extended also to Ireland. A kind of corrupt feudal 260 CHAPTEK VII. sjrsTem had prevailed originally in that island, which Henry II. had not been able to extirpate. The English proprietors, who were vassals of tho crown, and governed by the laws of Eng- land, possessed nearly one-third of the whole country ; while the rest of the island was in the hands of the Irish proprietors, who, although they acknowledged the sovereignty of the Eng- lish kings, preserved nevertheless the language and manners of iJieir native land ; and were inclined to seize every opportunity of shaking off the English yoke, which they detested. Hence a continued series of wars and feuds, both among the Irish themselves, and against the English, who on their part had no other object than to extend their possessions at the expense of the natives. The kings of England, guided by an injudicious policy, for several centuries exhausted their resources in perpetual wars, sometimes against France, sometimes against Scotland, and sometimes against their own subjects, without paying the least attention to Ireland, of which they appear to have known neither the importance nor the effectual advantages which they might have reaped from it by means of a wise administration. The progress of agriculture and industry became thus completely impracticable ; a deep-rooted hatred was established between the islanders and the English, Avho in fact seemed two distinct nations, enemies of each other, and forming no alliances either by marriage or reciprocal intercourse. The resentment of the Irish against the English government was aggravated still more, at the time of the Reformation, by the vigorous measures that were taken, subsequently to the reign of Henry VIII., to extend to Ireland the laws framed in Eng- land against the court of Rome and the Catholic clergy. A general insurrection broke out in the reign of Elizabeth (1596,) the chief instigator of which was Hugh O'Neal, head of a clan in the province of Ulster, and Earl of Tyrone. Having gained over the whole Irish Catholics to his cause, he planned an ex- tensive conspiracy, with the design of effecting the entire expul- sion of the English from the island. Philip II., King of Spain, supplied the insurgents with troops and ammunition ; and Pope Clement VIII. held out ample indulgences in favour of those who should enlist under the banners of O'Neal, to combat the English heretics. This insurgent chief met at first with con- siderable success ; he defeated the English in a pitched battle, and maintained his ground against the Earl of Essex, whom Elizabeth had despatched to the island with a formidable army. The rebels, however, ultimately failed in their enterprise, after a sanguinary war which lasted seven years. Charles, Lord Mountjov. governor of Ireland, drove the insurgents to their last ' PERIOD VI. A. D. 1453- - 1648. 261 recesses, and had the glory of achieving the entire reduction of the island. ^ The maritime greatness of England began in the reign of Elizabeth. That Princess gave new vigour to industry and commerce ; and her efforts were seconded by the persecuting zeal of the French and Spanish governments. The numerous refugees from France and the Netherlands, found a ready asy- lum in England, under the protection of Elizabeth ; and her kingdom became, as it were, the retreat and principal residence of their arts and manufactures. She encouraged and protected navigation, which the English, by degrees, extended to all parts of the globe. An Englishman, named Richard Chancellor, having discovered the route to Archangel in the Icy Sea (1555,) the Czar, John Basilowitz II., granted to an English company the exclusive privilege of trading with Russia (1569.) The commerce of the English with Turkey and the Levant, which began in 1579, was likew^ise monopolized by a Company of mer- chants. Francis Drake, a distinguished navigator, and the rival of Magellan, was the first Englishman that performed a voyage round the world, between 1577 and 1580. The intercourse be- tween England and the East Indies began in 1591 ; and the East India Company was instituted in 1600. Attempts were also made, about the same time, to form settlements in North America ; and Walter Raleigh, who had obtained a charter from the Queen (1584,) endeavoured to found a colony in that part of the American Continent, now called Virginia, in compliment to Elizabeth. That colony, however, did not, properly speak- ing, take root or flourish till the reign of James I. The compe- tition with Spain, and the destruction of the Invincible Armada of Philip II., by the combined fleets of England and Holland, gave a new energy to the English marine, the value of which they had learned to appreciate, not merely in guarding the in- dependence of the kingdom, but in securing the prosperity of their commerce and navigation. The House of Tudor ended in Queen Elizabeth (1603,) after having occupied the throne of England about a hundred and eighteen years. It was replaced by that of the Stuarts. James VI., King of Scotland, son of Mary Stuart, and Henry Darnley, succeeded to the throne of England, and took the title of King of Great Britain, which his successors still retain. This prince de- rived his right to the crown, from the marriage of his great grand- mother, Margaret Tudor, daughter of Henry VII., with James IV. of Scotland. Vain of his new elevation, and fond of pre- rogative, James constantly occupied himself with projects for augmenting his royal power and authority in England ; and by 262 CHAPTER VII. instilling these principles into his son, he became the true archi- tect of all the subsequent misfortunes of his house. Charles I., the son and successor of James, seldom convened the Parliament ; and when they did assemble, he provoked them by the measures he proposed, and was then obliged to dissolve them. Being entirely guided by his ministers Laud, Arch- bishop of Canterbury, the Earls of Strafford and Hamilton, and his Queen, Henrietta of France, he ventured to levy taxes and impositions without the advice of Parliament. This conduct on the part of the King produced a general discontent. The flames of civil war began to kindle in Scotland, where Charles had introduced Episcopacy, as more favourable than Presbyte- rianism to royalty. But the Scottish nobility, having formed a confederacy, known by the name of the Covenant, for the main- tenance of their ecclesiastical liberties, abolished Episcopacy (1638,) and subsequently took up arms against the King. The Parliament of England, under such circumstances, rose also against Charles (1641,) and passed an act that they should not be dissolved without previously obtaining redress for the com- plaints of the nation. This act, which deprived the King of his principal prerogative, proved fatal to the royal dignity. A trial was instituted by the Parliament against the King's ministers. The Earl of Strafford and the Archbishop of Canterbury were beheaded ; and Charles had the weakness to sign the death-war rant of his faithful servants. The Presbyterians soon became the prevailing party, and ex- cluded the Bishops from the Upper House. The management of affairs fell then into the hands of the House of Commons ; Episcopacy was abolished ; and the Parliament of England ac- ceded to the Scottish Covenant. War now broke out between the King and the Parliament ; a battle was fought near York, m which the latter was victorious (1644.) Charles, seeing his affairs ruined, took the determination to throw himself into the arms of the Scots (1646,) who, he supposed, might still retain an affection for the race of their ancient Kings. He soon found reason, however, to repent of this step ; the Scots did not hesi- tate to sell him to the English Parliament for a sum of £400,000, Sterling, which they found necessary for the payment of their troops. A new revolution, which soon after happened in the Parlia- ment, completed the ruin of the King. The Presbyterians, or Puritans, who had suppressed the Episcopalians, were crushed, in their turn, by the Independents. These latter were a sort of fanatics, who admitted no subordination whatever in the Church, entertained a perfect horror for royalty, and were inclined for a PERIOD VI. A. D. 1453 — 1648. 263 republican or democratic form of government. The head and soul of this faction was the famous Oliver Cromwell, who, with great dexterity, made it an engine for raising himself to the sovereign authority. The whole power of the Legislature fell entirely into the hands of the Independent party; who, by one act, expelled sixty members from the House of Commons. The Parliament, now completely under their dominion, appointed a commission of a hundred and fifty persons, whom they vested with power to try the King. In vain did the Upper House oppose this resolution ; in vain did the King object to the Judges named by the House ; the commission proceeded, and pronounced the famous sentence, by virtue of which Charles was beheaded on the 30th of January 1649. His family were dispersed, and saved themselves by flight. The revolutions in the North of Europe, about the period of which we now speak, were not less important than those which agitated the West and the South. These arose chiefly from the dissolution of the Union of Calmar, and the reformation in religion ; both of which happened about the beginning of the sixteenth century. The Union of Calmar, between the three kingdoms of the North, had been renewed several times ; but, being badly cemented from the first, it was at length irreparably broken by Sweden. This latter kingdom had been distracted by intestine feuds, occasioned by the ambition and jealousy of the nobles, which continued during the whole reign of Charles VIII., of the House of Bonde, After the death of that Prince (1470,) the Swedes, without renouncing the Union, had regu- larly appointed as administrators of the kingdom, from the year 1471 till 1520, three individuals of the family of Sture, viz. Steno Sture, called the Old, Suante Sture and Steno Sture, called the Young. Meantime, John, King of Denmark, and son of Christian I., had governed the three kingdoms since 1497, when Steno Sture the elder had resigned, until 1501, when he resumed the admin- istration. At length, however. Christian II., son of John, made war on Steno Sture, surnamed the Young, with a view to enforce the claims which he derived from the act of union. Being victorious at the battle of Bogesund, where Sture lost his life, he succeeded in making himself acknowledged by the Swedes as king, and was crowned at Stockholm (1520.) Within a short time after this ceremony, he violated the amnesty which he had publicly announced ; and to gratify the revenge of Gusta- vus Trolle, Archbishop of Upsal, whom the Swedes had deposed.; he caused ninety -four of the most distinguished personages in the kingdom to be arrested, and publicly beheaded at Stockholm 264 CHAPTER VII. This massacre caused a revolution, by which Sweden recover- ed its ancient state of independence. Gustavus Vasa put him- self at the head of the Dalecarlians, ambitious to become the liberator of his country (1521.) He was declared Regent, and two years after. King of Sweden. The example of the Swedes was soon followed by the Danes, who, indignant at the excesses and cruelties of Christian II., deposed him, and conferred their crown on Frederic, Duke of Holstein, and paternal uncle to that prince. Christian, after having long wandered about the Low Countries, was made prisoner by the Danes, and remained in captivity the rest of his days. The Kings of Denmark having renewed, from time to time, their pretensions to the Swedish throne, and still continued the three crowns on their escutcheon, several wars broke out on this subject between the two nations ; and it was not till the peace of Stettin (1570,) that the Danes acknowledged the entire independence of Sweden. Denmark then lost the ascendency which she had so long maintained in the North. The government of the kingdom un- derwent a radical change. A corrupt aristocracy rose on the ruins of the national liberty. The senate, composed wholly of the nobles, usurped all authority ; they overruled the election of the kings, and appropriated to themselves the powers of the States-General, which they had not convoked since 1536 ; they encroached even on the royal authority, which was curtailed more and more every day ; while the prerogatives of the nobility were extended by the conditions which the Senate prescribed to the kings on their accession to the crown. The reformation of religion took place in Denmark, in the reign of Frederic I., the successor of Christian II. That prince employed an eloquent Ereacher, named John Tausen, and several other disciples of lUther, to promulgate the Protestant doctrines in his kingdom. In a diet held at Odensee (1527,) the King made a public pro- fession of the new faith ; and, in spite of the remonstrances of the bishops, he passed a decree, in virtue of wliich, liberty of conscience was established, and permission granted to the priests and monks to marry. These articles were renewed in another diet, assembled at Copenhagen (1530;) where the King ratified the Confession of Faith presented to him by the Protestant min- isters, similar to what had taken place the same year at the diet of Augsburg. At length Christian III. who was elected in 1634, brought these changes in religion to a close. The bishops, during the last interregnum, had done every thing to stop the progress of the Reformation. The King, desirous of annihilating their temporal power, colluded with the principal nobility to have all PERIOD VI. A. I). 1453—1648. 265 the bishops in the kingdom arrested ; and having then assem- bled a meeting of the States at Copenhagen, he abolished Epis- copacy, and suppressed the public exercise of the Catholic reli- gion. The castles, fortresses, and vast domains of the prelates were annexed to the crown ; and the other benefices and reve- nues of the clergy were appropriated to the support of the minis- ters of religion, public schools, and the poor. The monks and nuns were left at liberty, either to quit their convents, or remain there during their lives. The bishops were replaced by super- intendents, the nomination of whom was vested in the King; while each congregation retained the privilege of choosing its own pastors. From Denmark this revolution passed to Norway, which at that time, on account of having joined the party of Christian II., who was deposed by the Danes, lost its indepen- dence, and was declared a province of the kingdom of Denmark. The House of Oldenburg, which had occupied the throne of Denmark since 1448, was separated in the reign of Christian III. into two powerful branches, viz. the Royal, descended from that prince ; and the family of Holstein-Gottorp, descended from his brother the Duke Adolphus. This latter branch was after- wards divided into three others, viz. those of Russia, Sweden and Holstein-Oldenburg. As the law of primogeniture was not established in the dutchies of Sleswick and Holstein, which had fallen into the succession of the House of Oldenburg, the Kings of Denmark soon found themselves under the necessity of divi- ding these dutchies among the younger princes of their family. The treaty of partition, which was entered into (1544) between Christian III. and his brother, had been preceded by a treaty of perpetual union, annexing these dutchies to the kingdom, and intended to preserve the throne, which was elective, in the House of Oldenburg ; as well as to prevent any portion of these two dutchies from falling into the possession of strangers. The union was to endure as long as the descendants of Frederic I. reigned in Denmark. They promised to settle, by arbitration, whatever differences might arise between the states of the union , to afford each other mutual succour against every external ene- my ; and to undertake no war but by common consent. The treaty of 1544 which regulated this partition, made seve- ral exceptions of matters that were to be managed and adminis- tered in common; such as, the customs, jurisdiction over the nobles, the bishops, and certain cities. This gave rise to a sort of copartnership of power, common to all the princes of the union. Every thing regarding either the general safety as stipulated in the treaty, or the exercise of these privileges included in the ex ceptioQs, was to. be discussed and settled by unanimous consent ; 266 CHAPTER VIl. and for this purpose a council of regency, an exchequer, aail common courts were established. This union and community of rights were followed, as a natural consequence, by long and destructive feuds between the Kings of Denmark and the Dukes of Holstein-Gottorp, in which the other powers of the North were also implicated. Christian IV., grandson of Christian III., was distinguished not more by the superiority of his talents, than by the indefati- gable zeal with which he applied himself to every department of the administration. It was in his reign that the Danes extend- ed their commerce as far as India. He founded the first Danish East India Company (1616,) who formed a settlement in Tran- quebar on the Coromandel coast, which had been ceded to them by the Rajah of Tanjore. Various manufactories of silk stuffs, paper, and arms, were constructed, and, several towns built un- der the auspices of Christian IV. The sciences were also much indebted to him ; he gave a new lustre to the University of Co- penhagen, and founded the Academy of Soroe in Zealand, be- sides a number of colleges. If he was unsuccessful in his wars against Sweden and Austria, it must be ascribed to the narrow limits of his power, to the influence of the aristocratic spirit, and of the feudal regime which still prevailed in Denmark. He succeeded, however, in excluding the Swedes from access to the Icy Sea, which opened them a Avay to the coasts of Lapland, by obtaining possession, at the peace of Siorod (1613,) of that part of Lapland which extends along the Northern and Icy Seas, from Titisfiord to Waranger and Wardhuys. The disputes con- cerning the three crowns was settled by the same treaty, in such a way that both sovereigns were permitted to use them, withoul authorizing the King of Denmark to lay any claim to the Swe- dish crown. Sweden, which had long maintained a struggle against Den*- mark, at length acquired such a preponderance over her as to threaten, more than once, the entire subversion of the throne. This preponderance was the achievement of two great men, who rose in the period we now speak of, viz. Gustavus Vasa, and his grandson Gustavus Adolphus. Gustavus Vasa was not merely the liberator, but the restorer of his country. Elevated to the throne by the free choice of the nation, he gave Sweden a power and an influence which it never had before. Every thing under him assumed a new aspect, the government, the religion, the finances, the commerce, the agriculture, the sciences and the morals of the Swedes. Instead of the assemblies of the nobles, formerly in use, and destructive of the national liberty, he sub- etituted Diets composed of the different orders of the State, the PERIOD VI, A. D. 1453—1648. 267 nobility, the clergy, the citizens, and the peasantry. By this means he acquired a new influence, of which he took advantage to humble the power of the church and the nobles, which had long been a source of oppression to Sweden. The reformation of religion, which then occupied every mind, appeared to Gustavus a very proper expedient to second his views, and introduce a better order of things. On his accession to the throne, he authorized the two brothers Olaus and Lau- rentius Petri, to preach publicly at Stockholm the doctrines of Luther, and did every thing in his power to accelerate the pro- gress of the Reformation in his kingdom. The bishops, who were apprehensive for their benefices and their authority, having dra\vn the greater part of the nobility over to their interest, the king, in the presence of a Diet of the four orders assembled at Westeras, took the determination of formally abdicating the crown. This step threw the Diet into a state of consternation, and encouraged the two lower orders, the citizens and peasants, to declare themselves loudly for the King. The bishops and nobles were obliged to comply ; and the King, resuming the reins of government, succeeded in overruling the deliberations of the Diet. By the authority of a decree, he annexed the strong castles of the bishops to the demesnes of the crown, and retrench- ed from their vast possessions whatever he judged convenient. The prelates at the same time were excluded from the senate ; the ties that bound them to the Court of Rome were broken ; and they were enjoined henceforth to demand confirmation from the King, and not from the Pope. The revenues of the clergy in general, and those of the convents, were left at the free dis- posal of the king, and the nobles were permitted to bring forward whatever claims they could adduce over lands granted to these convents by their ancestors. There was nothing now to retard the march of reformation. The Lutheran religion was introdu- ced universally into Sweden, and that event contributed not a little to exalt the royal authority. Gustavus secured the hereditary succession of the crown in favour of his male descendants. The States, anxious to obvi- ate the troubles and disorders which the demise of their kings had often produced, regulated the succession by an act known by the name of the Hereditary Union. It was passed at Ore- bro (1540,) and ratified anew by the States assembled at Wes- teras. The Union Act was renewed at the Diet of Nordkoping, in the reign of Charles IX. (1604,) when the succession was extended to females. The reign of Gustavus Adolphus, the son of Charles IX., raised the glory of Sweden to its height. The virtues and 26S CHAPTER vn. energies of that prince, the sagacity of his views, the admirable order which he introduced into every branch of the administra- tion, endeared him to his subjects ; while his military exploits, and his superiority in the art of war, fixed upon him the admi- ration of all Europe. Gustavus brought the wars, which he had to sustain against the different powers of the North, to a most triumphant conclu- sion. By the peace which he concluded at Stolbova with Rus- sia (1617,) he obtained possession of all Ingria, Kexholm, and Russian Carelia ; and even cut that Empire off from all com- munication with Europe by the Gulf of Finland and the Baltic Sea. His success Avas not less brilliant in his campaigns against Sigismund III., King of Poland, who persisted in contesting with him his right to the crown of Sweden. He took from the Poles the whole of Livonia, with a part of Prussia ; and kept possession of these conquests by the six years truce which he concluded with the latter at Altmark (1629.) It was about this time that Sweden began to occupy a distin- guished place among the powers of Europe ; and that she was called on to take the lead in the League which was to protect the Princess and States of the Empire against the ambition of Austria. Gustavus, who was in alliance with France, under- took a task as difficult as it was glorious. In the short space of two years and a half, he overran two-thirds of Germany with his victorious arms. He vanquished Tilly at the famous battle of Leipsic (1631,) and extended his conquests from the shores of the Baltic to the Rhine and the Danube. Every thing yield- ed before him, and every place opened its gates to him. This great prince, who had made war a new art, and accustomed his army to order, and a system of tactics never before known, per- ished at the memorable battle of Lutzen (1632,) which the Swedes gained after his death, in consequence of the skilful dis- positions he had formed. This war was continued under the minority of Queen Chris- tina, his daughter and heir. It was still carried on, although the Swedes had undertaken a new war against Denmark, with the view of disengaging themselves from the mediation which Christian IV. had undertaken between the Emperor and Swe- den, ai the congress which was to meet at Munster and Osna- burg. The result of that war was completely to the advantage of Sweden, which gained by the peace of Bromsbro (1645) the freedom of the Sound, as also the possession of the provinces and islands of Jamptland, Herjedalen, Gothland, Oesel, and Hal- land. Lastly, the peace of Westphalia secured to Sweden con- siderable possessions on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea, such as Wismar, Bremen and Verden, and part of Pomerania. PERIOD VI. A. D. 1453—1648. I»e9 The power of the Teutonic Knights, which had been greatly reduced during the preceding period, by the defection of a part of Prussia, was completely annihilated in the North, in conse- q'lence of the changes introduced by the reformation of religion. Albert of Brandenburg, grandson of the Elector Albert Achilles on his elevation to the dignity of Grand Master of the Order, tliought himself obliged to withdraw from Poland that fealty and homage to which the Knights had bound themselves by the treaty of Thorn in 1466. This refusal furnished matter for a war between them ; which began in 1519, and ended in 1521, by a truce of four years ; at the expiration of which the Grand Master, who saw the doctrines of Luther disseminated in Prus- sia, and who had himself imbibed these principles in Germany, found means to settle all differences with the King of Poland, by a treaty which he concluded with him at Cracow (1521.) He there engaged to do homage and fealty to the cro\vn of Po- land, which he had refused; and Sigismund I., who was his maternal uncle, granted him Teutonic Prussia, with the title of Dutchy. as a hereditary fief, both for himself and his male-heirs, and for his brothers of the House of Brandenburg and Franconia, and their feudal heirs ; reserving the right of reversion in favour of Poland, failing the male-descendants of these princes. The Teutonic Knights thus lost Prussia, after having possess- ed it for nearly three hundred years. Retiring to their pos- sessions in Germany, they established their principal residence at Mergentheim in Franconia, where they proceeded to the elec- tion of a new Grand Master, in the person of Walter de Cron- berg. The Poles, in getting rid of the Teutonic Knights, whom they had regarded with jealousy, and substituting the House of Brandenburg in their place, never dreamed of adopting an enemy still more dangerous, who would one day concert the ruin and annihilation of their country. Immediately after the treaty of Cracow, the new Duke of Prussia made a public profession of the Lutheran religion, and married a daughter of the King of Denmark. This princess dying without male issue, he married for his second wife a prin- cess of the Brunswick family, by whom he had a son, Albert Frederic, Avho succeeded him in the dutchy of Prussia. The race of these new dukes of Prussia (1568,) as well as that of Franconia, which should have succeeded them, appearing to be nearly extinct, Joachim II., Elector of Brandenburg, obtained from the King of Poland the investiture of Prussia, in fief, con- junctly with the reigiiing dukes. This investiture, which was renewed in favour of several of his successors, secured the suc- cession of that dutchy in the electoral family of Brandenburg; to II 270 CHAPTER VII. whom it devolved on the death of Albert Frederic (1618,) who left no male descendants. He was succeeded by the Elector John Sigismund, who had been coinvested with him in the dutchy. That prince, who had married Anne, eldest daughter of Albert Frederic, obtained likewise, in right of that princess, part of the succession of Juliers, viz. the dutchy of Cleves, the counties of Marck and Ravensberg, which had been adjudged to the house of Brandenburg, by the provisional act of partition concluded at Santern (1614,) and converted into a definitive treaty at Cleves. The grandson of John Sigismund, the Elector Frederic William, was a prince of superior genius, and the true founder of the greatness of his family. Illustrious in war as in peace, and respected by all Europe, he acquired by the treaty of Westphalia, a part of Pomerania, the archbishopric of Magde- burg under the title of a dutchy, with the bishoprics of Halber- stadt, Minden,and Camin, under the title of principalities. His son Frederic was the first King of Prussia. [The Teutonic Knights had nearly lost Livonia at the begin- ning of the sixteenth century ; but that province was saved by the courage and talents of the Provincial Master, Walter de Plattenberg. The Grand Duke Iwan, or John III., having threatened Livonia with an invasion, Plattenberg concluded a defensive alliance at Walik (1501,) with Alexander II., Grand Duke of Lithuania, and the bishops of that country. After having assembled troops to the number of 14,000 men, he defeated the Russian army, which was 40,000 strong, at Maholm ; a second victory, which he gained with the same number of troops over 100,000 Russians at Pleskow (1502,) is one of the most famous exploits in the history of the North. Next year he concluded a truce of six years with the Livonian Order, which was afterwards renewed for fifty years. It is commonly said that Walter, the Provincial Master, taking advantage of the distresses of the Teutonic Knights, and urging the repeated succours which he had furnished them against the Poles, purchased from them his own independence, and that of his Order ; but a recent author (Le Comte de Bray) has shown that this was not exactly the case. By a first agreement signed at Koningsberg (1520,) Albert of Brandenburg, who was then only Grand Master of the Teutonic Order, confirmed to the Knights of Livonia the free right of electing a chief of their own number, promising to sustain the individual whom they should nominate. He secured them the possession of the whole sove- reignty of Reval and Narva ; the countries of Altentirken, Jer- wen, and Wierland ; as also the town and castle of Wesenberg, with their dependencies. This agreement was revived and ratified by a second, signed at Grobin (1525.) when it was for- PERIOD VI. A. D. 145*3—1648. a/i mally stipulated, that the relations between the Knights of Li- vonia and the Teutonic Order should be maintained as they wpre. and that the Livonians should continue to regard the Grand Master as their true head, and render him homage and obe- dience. They were forbidden to solicit from the Emperor ot the Pope any privilege inconsistent with their allegiance. It ap- pears, consequently, that Walter de Plattenberg did not purchat-'e the independence of his Order, but that he regarded those ties which existed between it and the Teutonic Order as broken, when Albert of Brandenburg was declared Duke of Prussia. He next renewed those connexions with the German Empire, which had existed since the thirteenth century ; and was declared bj Charles V. (1527) a prince of the Empire, having a vote and a seat in the Diet. It was during the mastership of Plattenberg that the Lutheran doctrines penetrated into Livonia, where they made rapid pro- gress, especially in the cities. Walter dexterously turned the disturbances caused by the opposition of the clergy to the new tenets, into an occasion for establishing his authority over all Livonia and Esthonia, which the Order had formerly shared with the bishops. The citizens of Eiga acknowledged him as their only sovereign, and expelled the archbishop. The bur- gesses of Revel followed their example. The clergy were so frightened at these movements, that the archbishop of Riga, and the bishops of Dorpat, Oesel, Courland and Revel, formally sub- mitted to the Order. The clergy themselves soon after embraced the reformed religion.] The dominion of the Knights Sword-bearers, had continued in Livonia until the time of the famous invasion of that country by the Czar, John Basilovitz IV. That prince, who had laid open the Caspian Sea by his conquest of the Tartar kingdoms of Casan and Astrachan, meditated also that of Livonia, to obtain a communication with Europe by the Baltic. Gotthard Kettler, who was then Grand Master, finding himself unable to cope with an enemy so powerful, implored first the assistance of the Germanic Body, of which he was a member ; but having got nothing but vague promises, he next addressed himself to Sigis- mund Augustus, King of Poland, and, in concert with the arch- bishop of Riga, he concluded with that prince a treaty of sub- mission at Wilna (1561;) in virtue of which, the whole of Livonia, with Esthonia, Courland and Semigallia, comprising not only what was still in the possession of the Order, but those parts which had boen seized by the enemy, were ceded to the crown of Poland and the Grand Duke of Lithuania, on condi- tion that the use of the Confession of Augsburg should be pre- erved on the same footing as it then was, and that aU orders of 272 cHArTER Tn. the State should be maintained in their goods, properties, rights, privileges and immunities. By ;his same treaty, Courland and Semigallia were reserved :o Gotthard Kettler, the last Grand Master of Livonia, to be onjoyed by himself and his heirs-male, with the title of dutchy. and as a fief of the king and crown of Poland. The new Duke, on taking the oath of fidelity to the King of Poland, solemnly laid aside all the badges of his former dignity. He married Anne, daughter to the Duke of Mecklenburg-Schewerin, and transmitted the dutchy of Courland to his male-descendants, who did not become extinct until the eighteenth century. The Order of Livonia was entirely suppressed, as were also the archbishoprics of Riga, and the bishoprics under its jurisdiction. The revolution in Livonia caused a violent commotion among the powers of the North, who were all eager to share in the plunder. While the Grand Master of the Order was in treaty with Poland, the city of Revel, and the nobles of Esthonia, left without aid, and oppressed by the Russians, put themselves undei the protection of Eric XIV., King of Sweden, who obtaineo possession of that province. The Isle of Oesel, on the contrary, and the district of Wyck in Esthonia, were sold to Frederic II. King of Denmark, by the last bishop of the island, who also ceded to him the bishopric and district of Pilten in Courland. Poland at first held the balance, and maintained Livonia against the Russians, by the peace which she concluded with that power at Kievorova-Horca (1582.) A struggle afterwards ensued be- tween Poland and Sweden for the same object, which was not finally terminated until the peace of Oliva (1660.) Russia, during the period of which we now treat, assumed an aspect entirely new. She succeeded in throwing off the yoke of the Moguls, and began to act a conspicuous part on the theatre of Europe. The Horde of Kipzach, called also the Grand, or the Golden Horde, had been greatly exhausted by its territorial losses, and the intestine wars which followed ; while the Grand Dukes of Moscow gained powerful accessions by the union of several of these petty principalities, which had for a long time divided among them the sovereignty of Northern Rus- sia. John Basilovitz III., Avho filled the grand ducal throne about the end of the fifteenth century, knew well how to profit by these circumstances to strengthen his authority at home, and make it respected abroad. In course of severai expeditions, he subdued the powerful republic of Novogorod, an ancient ally of the Hanseatic towns, and which had for a long time affected an entire independence. He was also the first sovereign of Russia that dared to refuse a humihating ceremony, according to which the Grand Dukes were obliged to walk on foot before the envcys I PERIOD VI. A. D. 1453—1648. 273 that came from the Khan of Kipzach. He even suppressed the residence of Tartar envoys at his court ; and at length shook off their yoke entirely, refasing to pay the tribute which the Grand Dukes had owed to the Khans for several centuries. Achmet, Khan of Kipzach, having despatched certain deputies with an order, under the great seal, to demand paymenV of this tribute, the Grand Duke trampled the order under his feet, spit upon it, and then put all the deputies to death except one, whom he sent back to his master. The Khan, with the view of revenging that insult, invaded Russia several times, but the Grand Duke vigorously repulsed .ill his attacks ; and while he was arresting the progress of his arms on the borders of the Ugra, he despatched a body of troops to the centre of the Grand Horde, who laid every thing desolate (1481.) The Nogai Tartars joined the Russians to finish the destruction of the Grand Horde, whose different settlements on the Wolga they laid completely in ruins ; so that nothing more remained of the powerful en ^ ire of Kipzach than a few de- tached hordes, such as those of Casan, Astracan, Siberia, and the Crimea. Iwan rendered himself formidable to the Tartars ; he subdued the Khans of Casan, and several times disposed of their throne. The entire reduction of that Tartar state was ac- complished by his grandson, John Basilovitz IV., who twice undertook the siege of Casan, and seized and made prisoner of the last Khan (1552.) The fall of Casan was followed by that of Astracan. But John was by no means so fortunate in his en- terprises against Livonia, which, as we have already said, he was obliged to abandon to Poland by the peace of Kievorova-Horca. John IV. was inspired ■with noble views of policy. Being anxious to civilize his subjects, he sent for workmen and artists from England. He requested Charles V. to send him men of talents, well versed in the different trades and manufactures. He introduced the art of printing at Moscow, and established the first permanent army in the country, that of the Strelitzes, which he employed in keeping the nobles in check. The dis- covery of Siberia is one of the events that belong to his reign. A certain chief of the Don Cossacks, named Jermak, who em- ployed himself in robberies on the borders of the Wolga and the Caspian Sea, being pursued by a detachment of Russian troops, retired to the confines of Siberia. He soon entered these re- gions at the head of seven thousand Cossacks, and having gained several victories over the Tartars of Siberia, and their Khan Kutschem^ he got possession of the city of &ibir, Avhich was their principal fortress (1581.) Jermak, in order to obtain his pardon of the Czar, made him an offer of all he had conquered ; which was agreed to bv that Prince, and' the troops of the Russians l8 274 CHAPTER vn. then took possession of Siberia (1583.) The total reduction of the country, however, did not take place until the reign of the Czar Theodore or Fedor Iwanovitz, the son and successor of John, who built the city of Tobolsk (1587,) which has since be- come the capital of Siberia. Fedor Iwanovitz, a prince weak both in mind and body, was entirely under the counsels of his brother-in-law Boris Godunow, who, with the view of opening a way for himself to the throne, caused the young Demetrius, Fedor's only brother, to be assas- sinated (1591.) This crime gave rise to a long series of trou- bles, which ended in the death of Fedor (1598.) With him, as he left no children, the reigning family of the ancient sovereigns of Kussia, the descendants of Ruric, became extinct ; after having occupied the throne for more than eight hundred years. After this, the Russian Crown was worn by persons of diffe- rent houses. Their reigns were disturbed by various preten- ders, who assumed the name of Demetrius, and were supported by the Poles. During fifteen years Russia presented a shock- ing spectacle of confusion and carnage. At length, as a remedy for these disasters, they thought of bestowing the cro^vn on a foreign prince. Some chose Charles Philip, the brother of Gus- -tavus Adolphus of Sweden ; and others voted for Uladislaus, the son of Sigismund IV., King of Poland. These resolutions tended only to increase the disorders of the state. The Swedes took ad- vantage of 'hem to seize Ingria and the city of Novogorod ; while the Poles took possession of Smolensko and its dependencies. The Russians, now seeing their monarchy on the edge of a precipice, adopted the plan of electing a new Czar of their own nation. Their choice fell on Michael Fedrovitz, who became the founder of the new dynasty, that of Romanow (1613,) under whom Russia attained to the zenith of her greatness. That prince, guided by the sage councils of his father, Fedor Roma- now, Archbishop of Rostow, soon rectified all the disorders of ^.he state ; he purchased peace of the Swedes, by surrendering lo them Ingria and Russian Carelia. The sacrifices which he made to Poland, were not less considerable. By the truce of Divilina (1618,) and the peace of Wiasma (1634,) he ceded to them the vast territories of Smolensko, Tschernigou, and Novo- gorod, with their dependencies. Poland, at this time, presented a corrupt aristocracy, which had insensibly degenerated into complete anarchy. The nobles were the only persons that enjoyed the rights of citizenship ; they alone were represented in the Diets, by the nuncios or de- puties which they elected at the Dietines ; the honours and dig- nities both in church and state, and in general all prerogatives whatever, were reserved for them; while the bvirgesses and • PERIOD VI. A. D. 1453—1648. 276 peasantry alone supported the whole burden of expenses. This constitution, at the same time, was under the control of a sort of de- mocracy, in as far as the nobles, without exception, were held to be perfectly equal in their rights and dignities. Imperfect as a government must have been, established on such a basis, it still continued, nevertheless, to preserve some degree of vigour ; and Poland supported, though feebly, the character of being the ru- ling power of the North, so long as the House of Jagellon occu- pied the throne. Besides Prussia, of which she had disposses- sed the Teutonic Knights, she acquired Livonia, and maintained it in spite of Russia. The reformation of religion was likewise promulgated in Po- land, where it was particularly patronized by Sigismund II. A great part of the senate, and more than half of the nobility made, with their King, a profession of the new opinions ; and if the reformation did not take deeper root in that kingdom, or if it had not a more conspicuous influence on the civilization of the people, it was from the want of a middle class in the kingdom, by which it could be supported. The male line of Jagellon, having become extinct with Sigis- mund II. (1572,) the throne became purely elective; and it was ordained that, during the King's life, no successor could be ap- pointed ; but that the States, on his demise, should enjoy for ever a perfect freedom of election on every vacancy of the throne. Such was the origin of the Diets of Election, which, from their very constitution, could not fail to be always tumultuous in their proceedings. The nobles in a body appeared at these Diets • thither they repaired in arms and on horseback, ranked accord- ing to the order of the Palatinates, in a Camp prepared for the purpose near "Warsaw. The custom of the Pacta Conventa. took its rise about the same time. Henry de Valois, who was elected King on the death of Sigismund II., was the first that swore to these conventional agreements, [by which he engaged, that no foreigner should be introduced either in a civil or mili- tary department.] These Pacta., which had all the force of a fundamental law, specified those conditions under which the throne was conferred on the new monarch. The royal authori- ty was thus curtailed more and more, and the prerogatives of the nobility exalted in proportion. Poland, in consequence, soon lost its influence; the govern- ment was altered in its fundamental principles, and the kingdom plunged into an abyss of calamities. Among the elective Kings who succeeded Henry de Valois, the last that supported the dig- nity of the crown against Russia, was Uladislaus IV., the son of Sigismund III., of the House of Vasa. In an expedition which he undertook into the interior of Russia (1618,) he penetrated 276 CflAPTEH VII. as far as Moscow ; and in a second which he made (1634,) he compelled the Russians to raise the siege of Smolensko ; and shut them up so closely in their camp, that they were obliged to capitulate for want of provisions. He then made a new attack on the capital of Russia ; and at the peace of Wiasma, he ob- tained conditions most advantageous to Poland. In the history of Hungary, the most splendid era was the reign of Matthias Corvin, who, at the age of scarcely sixteen, had been raised to the throne by the free choice of the nation (14f58.) Like his father the valorous John Hunniades, he was the terror of the Turks during his whole reign ; he took Bosnia from them, and kept Transylvania, Wallachia, Moldavia, Scla- vonia, and Servia in dependence on his crown, in spite of the incessant efforts which the Turks made to rescue these provinces. He likewise conquered Moravia, Silesia, and Lusatia ; he even took Austria from the Emperor Frederic III., and came to fix his residence at Vienna (1485.) It was in that city that he ter- minated his brilliant career, at the early age of forty-seven (1490.) That great prince added to his military talents, a love for elegant literature, of which, from the first revival of letters, he showed himself a zealous protector. The glory of Hungary suffered an eclipse in the loss of Mat- thias. His successors, Uladislaus II., the son of Casimir IV. King of Poland, and Louis the son of Uladislaus, who held at the same time the crown of Bohemia, were weak and indolent princes, who saw Hungary torn by factions, and ravaged with impunity by the Turks. Soliman the Great taking advantage of the youth of Louis, and the distressed state in which Hungary was, concerted his plans for conquering the kingdom. He at- tacked the fortress of Belgrade (1521,) and made himself master of that important place, before the Hungarians could march to Its relief. His first success encouraged him to return to the charge. Having crossed the Danube and the Drave without meeting with any resistance, he engaged the Hungarians near Mohacz (1526,) in that famous battle which cost them the life of their king and their principal nobility. Twenty-two thousand Hungarians were left on the field of battle, and the whole king- dom lay at the mercy of the conqueror. Soliman now proceeded as far as the Raab ; but instead of completing the conquest of Hungary as he might have done, he contented himself with the laying waste all that part of the country with fire and sword ; and carrying several hundred thousand prisoners into slavery. The premature death of the young King who left no progeny, occasioned a vacancy in the throne of Hungary and Bohemia. Ferdinand of Austria who married Anne, sister to Louis, claimed the succession in virtue of the different treaties signed in the PERIOD VI. A. D. 1453 — 1648. 277 years 1463, 1468, 1491, and 1515, between the Austrian princes and the last kings of Hungary. But though the Bohemian States were disposed to listen to the pretensions of Ferdinand, it was not so with those of Hungary, who transferred the crown to John de Zapolya, Count of Zips, and Palatine of Transylvania. That prince being hardly pressed by Ferdinand, at length de- termined to throw himself under the protection of the Turks. Soliman marched in person to his assistance, and laid siege to the city of Vienna (1529.) In this enterprise, however, he failed, after sacrificing the lives of nearly eighty thousand men. In 153S, a treaty was agreed on between the two competitors, in virtue of which the whole kingdom of Hungary, on the death of John Zapolya, was to devolve on Ferdinand. This treaty was never carried into execution. John at his death having left a son named John Sigismund, then an infant in his cradle, Bishop George Martinuzzi, prime minister of the deceased king, proclaimed the young prince, and secured for him the protec- tion of the Turks. Soliman undertook a new expedition into Hungary in his favour (1541 ;) but by a piece of signal perfidy, he took this occasion to seize the city of Buda, the capital of the kingdom, and several other places ; and banished the prince with his mother the queen-dowager, to Transylvania, which he gave up to him, with several other districts in Hungary. The city of Buda with the greater part of Hungary and Sclavonia remained in the power of the Turks ; and Ferdinand was obliged to pay an annual tribute for the protection of that kingdom, the possession of which was guaranteed to him by the truce which he concluded with them in 1562. In the midst of these unfortunate events, the Austrian princes had again the imprudence to alienate the affections of the Hun- garians, by the intolerant spirit they displayed, and the efforts which they incessantly made to extirpate the Protestant religion from that kingdom. The opinions of Luther and Calvin had already been propagated in Hungary during the reign of Louis, the predecessor of Ferdinand. They had even made great pro- gress ; especially in Transylvania, where the German language and literature were generally cultivated. The oppressions which the partisans of the new doctrines experienced, added to the at- tempts which the Austrian princes made, from time to time, to subvert the ancient constitution of the kingdom, excited fresh troubles, and favoured the designs of the discontented and am- bitious, who were watching their opportunity to agitate the state, and make encroachments on the government. Stephen Boischkai, Bethlem Gabor, and George Ragoczi, princes of Transylvania, were successively the chiefs or leaders of these 278 CHAPTEE vn. malecontents, in the rejgns of Rodolph II., Ferdinand 11., and Ferdinand III., Emperors of Germany. According to the Paci- fication of Vienna (1606,) and that of Lintz (1645,) as well as by the decrees of the Diet of Odenburg (1622,) and of Presburg (1647,) these princes were compelled to tolerate the public exer- cise of the reformed religion ; and to redress the political com- plaints of the Hungarian malecontents. The same troubles on the score of religion, which infested Hungary, extended likewise to Bohemia, where the new doc- trines met with a much better reception, as they were in unison with the religious system of the Hussites, who had already nu- merous partisans in that kingdom. It was chiefly under the reign of the mild and tolerant Maximilian II. that Protestantism made its way in Bohemia. All those who were formerly called Utraquists, from their professing the Communion in both kinds, joined the followers either of Luther or Calvin. Rodolph II., the son and successor of Maximilian, was obliged, at the Diet of Prague (1609,) to grant them the free exercise of their worship, without distinction of place ; and even to extend this indulgence to the Protestants of Silesia and Lusatia by letters-patent, known by the name o{ Letters of Majesty ; copies of which were made at Prague on the 11th of July and 20th of August 1609. These letters were confirmed by King Matthias, on his accession to the throne ot Bohemia; as also by Ferdinand III., when he was acknowledged by the Bohemian States, as the adopted son and successor of Matthias. The different interpretations which were put on these letters occasioned the war, known in history by the name of the Thirty Years' War. The Emperor Matthias happening to die in the midst of these disturbances, the Bohemian States, regarding their crown as elective, annulled the election of Ferdinand II. (1619,) and conferred the crown on Frederic, the Elector Pala- tine. Being in strict alliance with the States of Silesia, Mora- via, and Lusatia, they declared war against Ferdinand, who was supported, on the other hand, by Spain, the Catholic princes of the Empire, and the Elector of Saxony. The famous battle of Prague (1620,) and the fall of the Elec- tor Palatine, brought about a revolution in Bohemia. The ring- leaders of the insurrection were executed at Prague, and their goods confiscated. Ferdinand, who treated that kingdom as a conquered country, declared that the States had forfeited their rights and privileges ; and, in the new constitution which he gave them, he consented to restore these, only on condition of expressly excepting the rights which they had claimed in the election of their kings, a? well as the Letters of Majesty which PERIOD VI. A. D. 1453—1648. 279 granted to the Protestants the free exercise of their worship But this prince did not stop with the suppression of their reli- gious liberties, he deprived them also of their rights of citizen- ship. Laws the most atrocious were published against them, and he even went so far as to deny them the liberty of making testaments, or contracting legal marriages. All their ministers, without exception, were banished the kingdom ; and the most iniquitous means were employed to bring back the Protestants to the pale of the Catholic Church. At length it was enjoined, by an edict in 1627, that all Protestants who persisted in their opinions should quit the kingdom within six months. Thirty thousand of the best families in the kingdom, of whom a hun- dred and eighty-five were nobility, abandoned Bohemia, trans- porting their talents and their industry to the neighbouring States, such as Saxony, Brandenburg, Prussia, &c. Ferdinand judged it for his interest to detach the Elector of Saxony from the alliance with Sweden, which he had joined. He concluded a special peace with him at Prague, in virtue ol which he made over to him the two Lusatias, Avhich he had dis- Htiembered from the kingdom of Bohemia, to reimburse the Elec- tor for those sums which he claimed, as having been the ally of Austria against the Elector Palatine, then King of Bohemia. That province was ceded to the Elector John George, for him- self and his successors, as a fief of the Bohemian crown, under the express condition, that failing the male line of the Electoral branch, it should pass to the female heirs ; but that it should then be at the option of the King of Bohemia to use the right of redemption, by repaying to the female heirs the sum for which Lusatia had been mortgaged to Saxony. This sum amounted to seventy-two tons of gold, valued at seven millions two hundred thousand florins. The Turkish empire received new accessions of territory, both in Asia and Europe, under the successors of Mahomet II., who had fixed their capital at Constantinople. The conquest of Bes- sarabia belongs to the reign of Bajazet II., about the year 1484 That prince had a brother named Jem or Zizim, who had been his competitor for the throne ; and having fled to Rome, he was imprisoned by order of Pope Alexander VI., at the instance of Bajazet, who had engaged to pay the Pope a large pension for him. Charles VIII. of France, when he made his expedition into Italy for the conquest of Naples, compelled the Pope to sur- render up the unfortunate Zizim, whom he designed to employ in the expedition which he meditated against the Turks, but which never took place. Selim I. the son and successor of Ba- jazet, taking advantage of a revolution which happened in Persia, and of the victory which he gained near Taurus over the Schaw 280 CHAPTER VII. Ismail Sophi I. (1514,) conquered the provinces of Diarbekir and Algezira, beyond the Euphrates. The same prince overturned the powerful Empire of the Ma- melukes, who reigned over Egypt, Syria, Palestine, and part of Arabia. He defeated the last Sultans, Cansoul-Algouri, and Toumanbey (1516,) and totally annihilated that dynasty. Cairo, the capital of the Empire of Egypt, was taken by assault (1517,) and the whole of the Mameluke States incorporated with the Ottoman Empire. The Scheriff of Mecca likewise submitted to the Porte, with several tribes of the Arabs. Soliman the Great, who succeeded his father Selim, raised the Turkish Empire to the highest pitch of glory. Besides the island of Rhodes, which he took from the Knights of St. John, and the greater part of Hungary, he reduced the provinces of Moldavia and Wallachia to a state of dependence, and made their princes vassals and tributaries of his Empire. He likewise conquered Bagdad and Irak- Arabia, which happened, according to the Turkish authors, about the year 1534. That prince distinguished his reign, by the efforts which he made to increase the maritime strength of the Empire, which his predecessors had neglected. He took into his service the famous pirate Barbarossa, King of Algiers, whom he created Capitan Pacha, or Grand Admiral. Barbarossa equipped a fleet of more than a hundred sail, with which he chased the Imperi- alists from the Archipelago ; and infested the coasts of Spain, Italy and Sicily (1565.) Soliman miscarried, however, in his enterprise against Malta. The courageous defence made by the Knights, together with the arrival of the fleet from Sicily, obliged the Ottomans to retreat. The decline of the Ottoman Empire began with the death of Soliman the Great (1566.) The sultans, his successors, sur- rendering themselves to luxury and effeminacy, and shut up in their seraglios and harems, left to their Grand Viziers the gov- ernment of the Empire, and the management of the army. The sons of these Sultans, educated by women and eunuchs, and se- cluded from all civil and military affairs, contracted from their earliest infancy all the vices of their fathers, and no longer brought to the throne that vigorous and enterprising spirit, which had been the soul of the Ottoman government, and the basis of all their institutions. Selim II., the son of Soliman, was the first who set this fatal example to his successors. In his time, the Turks took the Isle of Cyprus from the Venetians (1570,) which they maintained in spite of the terrible defeat which they received at Lepanto (1571,) and which was followed by the ruin of their marine. CHAPTER VIII. PERIOD VII. From the Peace of Westphalia, to that of Utrecht. — a. d. 1648 — 1713. The political system of Europe underwent a great cnange at the commencement of this period. France, after having long struggled for her own independence against Austria, at length turned the balance, and became so formidable as to combine against herself the whole policy and military power of Europe. The origin of this extraordinary influence of France, belongs to the reigns of Charles VII., and Louis XI. Several important accessions which she made at this epoch, together with the change which happened in her government, gave her a power and energy, which might have secured her a decided preponde- rance among the Continental States, had not her influence been overbalanced by Austria, which, by a concurrence of fortunate events, and several wealthy marriages, had suddenly risen to a degree of power that excited the jealousy of all Europe. Hence, for nearly two hundred years, it required all the political re- sources of France to make head against her rival ; and what added to her misfortunes was, that, though freed from the dis- traction of the Italian war, she was still agitated by civil wars?, which employed her whole military force. It was not till near the middle of the seventeenth century that she extricated herself from this long struggle ; and that, disen- gaged from the shackles of her own factions and internal dis- sensions, her power assumed a new vigour. The well regulated condition of her finances, the prosperity of her commerce and manufactures, and the respectable state of her marine, all con- curred to diffuse wealth and abundance over the kingdom. The abasement of the House of Austria, effected at once by the treaties of Westphalia and the Pyrenees, together with the consolidation of the Germanic body, and the federal system of the Provinces in the Netherlands, put the last climax on her glory, and secured to her the preponderance in the political scale of Europe. This change in her political system was achieved 282 CHAPTER vm. principally by the two great statesmen, Cardinals Richelieu and Mazarin, who, by drying up the fountains of civil dissensions, and concentrating the reins of authority in the hands of the go- vernment, raised that monarchy to the rank which its position, its population, and its internal resources, had assigned it among the powers of the Continent. Mazarin left the kingdom in a flourishing state to Louis XIV., who, aided by the counsels and assistance of the famous Col- bert, became the patron of letters and the fine arts, and finished the work which was begun by his prime minister. Nothing could equal the ardour which inspired that prince for military fame. France would have been prosperous under his reign, and respected even by all Europe, had he kept nothing else in view than the true interests and happiness of his people ; but he was ambitious of that sort of glory which is the scourge of mankind, the glory of heroes and conquerors. Hence there re- sulted a long series of wars, which exhausted the strength and resources of the state, and introduced a new change in its po- litical system. The same States which had formerly made common cause with France against Austria, now combined against the former, to humble that gigantic power which seemed to threaten their liberty and independence. [In these alliances the maritime powers voluntarily took part ; and, having less fear than the others of falling under the yoke of a universal monarchy, they joined the Confederates merely for the protection of their commerce — the true source of their influence and their wealth. They undertook the defence of the equilibrium system, because they perceived, that a State which could command the greater part cf the continental coasts, might in many ways embarrass their commerce, and perhaps become dangerous to their marine. They soon acquired a very great influence in the affairs of this system, by the subsidies with which from time to time they furnished the States of the Con- tinent. From this period the principal aim of European policy was their finances and their commercial interests, in place ol religion, which had been the grand motive or pretext for the preceding wars. "With this new system began those abuses oi commercial privileges and monopolies, prohibitions, imposts, and many other regulations, which acted as restraints on natural liberty, and became the scourge of future generations. It was then that treaties of commerce first appeared, by which every trading nation endeavoured to procure advantages to itself, at the expense of its rivals ; and it was then that the belligerent powers began to lay restraints and interdicts on the commerce of neutral States. PERIOD vn. A. D. 164S— 1713. 283 But the political system of Europe experienced other changes at this period. Standing armies were introduced, and augment- ed to a degree that proved ruinous both to the agriculture of the inhabitants, and the finances of the government, which, by this means, was rendered more and more dependent on those States. whose principal object was commerce. The frequent commu- nication between foreign courts, which the policy of Richelieu had rendered necessary, gave occasion for envoys and resident ministers ; whereas formerly scarcely any other intercourse was known, except by extraordinary embassies.] The first war that roused the European powers, was thai which Louis XIV. undertook against Spain, to enforce the claims which he advanced, in name of his Queen Maria The- resa, over several provinces of the Spanish Netherlands, espe- cially the dutchies of Brabant and Limburg, the seigniories of Mechlin, the marquisate of Antwerp, Upper Gueldres, the counties of Namur, Hainault and Artois, Cambray and Cam- bresis, which he alleged belonged to him, in virtue of the jus devolutionis, according to the usage of that country. According to that right, the property of goods passed to the children of the first marriage, when their parents contracted another. Maria Theresa, Queen of France, was the daughter, by the first mar- riage of Philip IV. King of Spain; whereas Charles II., his successor in that monarchy, was descended of the second mar- riage. Louis XIV. contended, that from the moment of Philip's second marriage, the property of all the countries, which were affected by the right of devolution, belonged to his Queen ; and that, after the death of her father, that Princess should enjoy the succession. In opposition to these claims of France, the Spaniards alleged, that the right of aevolution, being founded merely on custom, and applicable only to particular successions, could not be opposed to the fundamental laws of Spain, which maintained the indivisibility of that monarchy, and transferred the whole succession to Charles II. without any partition whatever. In course of the campaign of 1667, the French made them- selves masters of several cities in the Low Countries, such as Bruges, Fumes, Armentieres, Charleroi, Binch, Ath, Tournay, Douay, Courtray, Oudenarde, and Lille ; and in course of the following winter, they got possession of Franche-Comte. The Pope and several princes having volunteered their good offices for the restoration of peace, they proposed a congress at Aix-la- Chapelle ; but the principal scene of the negotiation was at the Hague, where Louis sent the Count d'Estrades, to treat sepa- rately with the States-General. This negotiation was greatly accelerated by the famous Triple Alliance, concluded at the 284 CHAPTER vin. Hague 1668, between Great Britain, Sweden, and the States- General. By the terms of this treaty, the Allied Powers re- quired Louis to offer Spain the option, either to leave him in possession of the places which he had conquered, during the campaign of 1667, or to cede to him either the dutchy of Lux- emburg, or Franche-Comte with the cities of Cambray, Douay Aire, St. Omer, and Fumes, with their dependencies. The Spaniards having accepted the former of these alternatives, the draught of a treaty of peace was agreed on, and signed by the ministers of France, England, and the States-General ; and this scheme served as the basis of the treaty, which was concluded at Aix-la-Chapelle, between France and Spain (May 2d 1668.) In consideration of the restitutions which she had made to Spain, France retained, in terms of this treaty, the towns of Charleroi, Binch, Ath, Douay, Tournay, Oudenarde, Lille, Armentieres, Courtray, Bergues, and Fumes, with their bailiwicks and de- pendencies. This peace was soon followed by a new war, which Louis XIV. undertook against the Republic of the Seven United Pro- vinces. Wishing to be avenged on the Dutch, whom he knew to be the principal authors of the Triple Alliance, and consult- ing only his own propensity for war, he alleged, as a pretext, certain insulting medals which had been struck in Holland, on the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle, and the Triple Alliance.^ In vain did the States-General offer him every satisfaction ; he persist- ed in his purpose of declaring war ; and the better to succeed in his design, he endeavoured first to dissolve the Triple Alliance. Colbert de Croissy, whom he sent to England, found means to detach Charles II. from the alliance, ana to draw him over to side with Louis against the Republic. The same success at- tended the negotiation which he set on foot with the Court of Stockholm. Following the example of England, the Swedes renounced the Triple Alliance, and joined with France. Seve- ral princes of the Empire, such as the Electoi of Cologne and the Bishop of Munster, adopted the same line of conduct. The war broke out in 1672; and so rapid were the conquests of Louis, that he subdued in one single campaign the provinces of Gueldres, Utrecht, Overyssel, and part of Holland. He would have carried the city of Amsterdam, if the Dutch had not cut their dikes and inundated the country. Alarmed at these extraordinary successes, and apprehending the entire subversion of the Republic, the Emperor Leopold 1. the King of Spain, the Elector of Brandenburg, and the Impe- rial States, leagued in their favour, and marched to their relief. The Parliament of England obliged Charles II. to make peace PERIOD VII. A. D. 1648—1713. 285 with the Republic, by refusing to grant him supplies (1674.) The Elector of Cologne and the Bishop of Munster did the aame thing. Louis XIV. then tliought proper to abandon his f^onquests in Holland ; and directed his principal strength againsi Spain and the Germanic Stages. He subdued Franche-Com^e in the spring of 1674 ; and in course of the same year, the Prince of Conde gained the battle of Senef. In the following winter Turenne attacked the quarters of the Imperialists in Alsace, and chased them from that province, in spite of their superior numbers. That great general was slain at Saspach in Ortenau when he was on the point of fighting the famous battle with Montecuculi (11th Aug. 1674.) Next year Admiral do Quesne gained two naval victories, near the islands of Lipari and Messina, over De Ruyter, who died of the wounds he had received. The Swedes, according to the secret articles of their alliance with France, had penetrated, in the month of December 1674, into the Electorate of Brandenburg, to cause a diversion against the Elector Frederic William, who commanded the Imperial army on the Rhine ; but the Elector surprised them by forced juarches at Rathenow, and completely routed their army near Fehrbellin (1675.) The Emperor then declared war against Sweden ; and the Elector, in concert with the princes of Bruns- wick, the Bishop of Munster, and the King of Denmark, strip- ped the Swedes of the greater part of their possessions in the Empire. At length, in the years 1678-79, a peace was concluded at Nimeguen, under the mediation of England. Louis XIV. con- trived to divide the allies, and to make a separate treaty with the Dutch, by which he restored to them the city of Maestricht, which he had again seized. The example of the Dutch was fol- lowed by the Spaniards, who in like manner signed a special treaty with France ; in virtue of which, they gave up to her Franche-Comte, with several cities in Flanders and Hainault, such as Valenciennes, Bouchain, Conde, Cambray, Aire, St. Omer, Ypres, Warwick, Warneton, Poperingen, Bailleul, Cas- sel, Bavay, and Maubeuge, with their dependencies. The peace of Munster (1648) was renewed by that which was concluded at Nimeguen, between France, the Empire, and the Emperor. France, on renouncing her right to a garrison in Philipsburg, got possession of the city of Friburg in Brisgaw, but refused to restore what she had wrested from the Duke of Lorraine, except on conditions so burdensome, that the Duke would not accept them and preferred to abandon the repossession of his dutchy. As to the peace which France and Sweden had negotiated with 286 CHAPTER VIII. Denmark and her allies the Princes of the Empire, it was re- newed by different special treaties, concluded in course of the year 1679. No sooner was the peace of Nimegnen concluded, than there sprung up new troubles, known by the name of the Troubles of the Reu7iio7is. Louis XIV., whose ambition was without bounds, had instituted a Chamber of Reunion, in the parliament of Metz- for the purpose of examining the nature and extent of the terri- tories ceded to him by the treaties of Westphaha, the Pyrenees, Aix-ia-Chapelle, and Nimeguen. This Chamber, as well as the Parliament of Besan9on, and the Sovereign Council of Alsace, adjudged to the King, by their decree, several towns and seignio- ries, as being fiefs or dependencies of Alsace ; as also the three bishoprics, Franche-Comte, and the territories which had been ceded to him in the Netherlands. The King's view^s were principally directed to Alsace. He had already tendered his claims on this province, shortly after the peace of the Pyrenees, when the matter had been referred to the decision of arbiters chosen by the Emperor himself. The work of arbitration was not far advanced, when it was inter- rupted by the Dutch war, in which the Emperor and the Em- pire were both implicated. The peace of Nimeguen having confirmed the treaty of Munster, he preferred the method of re- union to that of arbitration, for reclaiming his alleged rights. Taking advantage of the general terms in which the cession of Alsace was announced in the seventy-third and seventy-fourth articles of the said treaty, he claimed the absolute sovereignty of the whole province, and obliged the immediate states, inclu- ded in it, to acknowledge his sovereignty, and to do him fealty and homage, notwithstanding the reservations which the eighty- seventh article of the same treaty had stipulated in favour of these very States. M. de Louvois appeared before Strasburg at the head of the French army, and summoned that city to sub- mit to the King. Accordingly, it surrendered by capitulation on the 30th September 1681. These reunions extended also to the Netherlands, where the French seized, among others, the cities of Courtray, Dixmude and Luxemburg. Louis XIV., in thus taking upon himself alone the interpre- tation of these treaties of peace, could not but offend the powers interested in maintaining them. A new general league was projected against France, and at the Diet of Ratisbon they de- liberated on the means of setting on foot an Imperial army ; but the want of unanimity among the members of the Germanic bo- dy the troubles in Hungary, which were immediately succeed- ed by a war with the Porte, and the march of a Turkish army PERIOD VII. A. D. 1648—1713. 287 on Vienna, threw them into a state of consternation, and pre- vented the Imperial Diet from adopting any vigorous resolution. Spain, exhausted by protracted wars, and abandoned by Eng- land and Holland, was quite incapacitated from taking arms. Nothing else, therefore, remained for the parties concerned, than to have recourse to negotiation. Conferences were opened at Frankfort, which, after having languished for fifteen months in that city, were transferred to Ratisbon, where a truce of twenty years was signed (15th August 1684) between France and Spain; as also between France, the Emperor and the Empire. By the former of these treaties, Louis retained Luxemburg, Bo vines, and Chimay, with their dependencies ; restoring all the places which he had occupied in the Netherlands prior to the 20th Au- gust 1683. As to the treaty between France and the Emperor, the former retained, during the truce, the city of Strasburg, and the fort of Kehl, besides all the places and seigniories which they had taken possession of, since the conunencement of the troubles till the 1st of August 1681. In all the places that were surrendered to him, Louis preserved the exercise of his sover- eign rights, leaving to the proprietors or seigniors the entire en- joyment of the fruits and revenues belonging to their territorial rights. It was nearly about this same time that Louis XIV. under- took to extirpate Calvinism from France. Incensed against the Protestants by the old chancellor Letellier, and his minister Lou- vois, the chancellor's son, he circumscribed, by repeated declara- tions, the privileges which they enjoyed in virtue of former edicts. The holding of general synods was forbidden ; the two Chambers were suppressed ; and they were all, without excep- tion, debarred from exercising any public function. At last, Louis went so far as to send, immediately after the truce of Ra- tisbon (1684,) dragoons over all France, to endeavour, as was said, to convert the Protestants by gentle compulsion. This measure was next followed by the famous Edict of 1685, which revoked that of Nantes, published in 1598, and that of Nismes in 1629. All exercise of their religion — all assemblies for wor- ship, even in the house, were forbidden to the Protestants, under pain of imprisonment and confiscation of goods. Their churches were ordered to be demolished. Parents were enjoined to have their children baptized by the Catholic clergy, and to bring them up in the religion of the state. The ministers were banished, and the other Protestants were forbidden to depart the country, under pain of the galleys for men, and imprisonment and confis- cation for women. The rigour of these prohibitions, however, did not prevent a vast multitude of the French Protestants from 288 CHAPTER vni. removing to foreign countries, and transferring the seat of their industry to Germany, England, and Holland. This blindfold zeal for religion, however, did not hinder Louis from vigorously supporting the rights of his crown against the encroachments of the court of Rome. Among the different dis- putes that arose between him and the Popes, that which regard- ed the prerogative of Regale deserves to be particularly remark- ed. The King, by declarations issued in 1673 and 1675, having extended that right to all the archbishoprics and bishoprics within the kingdom, the bishops of Aleth and Pamiers, who pretended to be exempt from it, applied to the Pope, claiming his protection. Innocent XI. interposed, by vehement briefs which he addressed to the King in favour of the bishops. This induced Louis to convoke an assembly of the French clergy, in which, besides the extension of the Regale, he caused them to draw up the four famous propositions, which are regarded as the basis of the li- berties of the Galilean Church. These propositions were, (1.) That the power of the Pope extends only to things spiritual, and has no concern with temporal matters. (2.) That the authority of the Pope in spiritual affairs is subordinate to a general coun- cil. (3.) That it is even limited by the canons, the customs, and constitution of the kingdom and the Galilean Church. (4.) That in matters of faith the Pope's authority is not infallible. The truce which had been concluded for twenty years at Ra- tisbon, continued only four ; at the end of which Louis again took up arms. He pretended to have got information, that the Emperor Leopold only waited till the conclusion of the peace with the Turks, to make war upon him ; and he thence inferred, that prudence required him rather to anticipate his enemy, than allow himself to be circumvented. In proof of this assertion, he cited the treaty concluded at Augsburg in 1686, between the Emperor, the King of Spain, the States-General, Sweden, the Duke of Savoy, and the principal States of the Empire, for the maintenance of the treaties concluded with France. Louis wished moreover to enforce the claims which the Dutchess of Orleans, his sister-in-law, alleged to the succession of the Pala- tinate. That princess was the sister of Charles, the last Elector Palatine, of the family of Simmern, who died in 1685. She did not dispute the fiefs with her brother's successor in the Electorate ; she claimed the freeholds, which comprehended a considerable part of the Palatinate ; while the new Elector, Philip William, of the family of Neuburg, maintained thac, ac- cording to the laws and usages of Germany, the entire succes- sion belonged to him, without any partition whatever. Besides these motives which Louis XIV. set forth in a long Execution of Charles I. 1649. P. 2G3. Cromwell dissolving the Long Parliament. P. -OG. PERIOD vn. A. D. 1648 — 1713. 289 manifesto, there was another which he kept concealed, the ob- ject of which was, to prevent the expedition which the Prince of Orange. Stadtholder of the United Provinces, was preparing to send to England, against James II. his brother-in-law, who had become odious to the whole English nation. It was of great importance for France to maintain, on the throne of Great Bri- tain, a prince whom she protected, and who would always es- pouse her interests ; while it was easy to foresee, that if the Prince of Orange, the declared enemy of Louis, and the author of the league of Augsburg, should succeed in uniting the crown of England to the stadtholdership, he would not fail to employ this new influence, and turn the combined force of both states against France, The only method of preventing an event so prejudicial to the true interests of that kingdom would have been doubtless, to equip an expedition, and pitch his camp on the frontiers of Holland. The Court of France knew this well, and yet they contented themselves with sending an army to the Khine, v/hich took possession of Philipsburg, Mayence, and the whole Palatinate, as well as a part of the Electorate of Treves (Sept. and Oct. 1688.) Louvois, the French minister who di- rected these operations, had flattered himself that the Dutch, when they beheld the war breaking out in their vicinity, avouM not dare to take any part in the troubles of England. In this opinion he was deceived ; the Prince of Orange, supported by the Dutch fleet, effected a landing in England (16th November 1688.) The revolution there was soon completed, by the dethronement of James II. ; and Louis XIV., ending where he should have begun, then declared war against the States-General. This mistaken policy of the French minister became the true source of all the subsequent reverses that eclipsed the reign of Louis XIV. A powerful league was now formed against France, which was joined successively by the Emperor, the Empire, England, Holland, Spain and Savoy (1689.) Louis XIV., in order to make head against these formidable enemies, recalled his troops from those places which they occupied in the Palatinate, and on the banks of the Rhine ; but in Avithdrawing them, he ordered a great number of the towns to be burnt to ashes, and laid waste the whole country. By this barbarity, which circumstances by no means called for, he only aggravated the hatred and increased the ardour of his enemies. War was commenced by sea and land ; in Italy, Spain, Ireland, the Low Countries, and on the Rhine. Louis supported it nobly against a great part of Europe, now combined against him. His armies were victorious every where. Marshal Luxembourg signalized himself in the cam- paigns of Flanders, by the victories which he gained over the 19 290 CHAPTER vm. allies at Fleurus (1st July 1690,) Steinkirk (3d Aug. 1692,) and Landen or Nerwinden (29th July 1693.) In Italy. Marshal Cn- tinat gained the battle of Stafarda (18th Aug. 1690,) and Mar- saglia (4th Oct. 1693) over the Duke of Savoy. The naval glory of France vi^as virell supported by the Count de Tourville at the battles of Beachy-head (10th July 1690,) and La Hogue (29th May 1692.) However brilliant the success of her arms might be, the pro- digious efforts which the war required could not but exhaust France, and make her anxious for the return of peace. Besides, JiOLiis XIV. foresaw the approaching death of Charles II. of Spain ; and it was of importance for him to break the grand alliance as soon as possible ; as one of its articles secured the succession of the Spanish monarchy to the Emperor and his descendants, to the exclusion of the King of France. In this case, he wished, for his own interest, to give every facility for the restoration of peace ; and by the treaty which he concluded separately with the Duke of Savoy, he granted that Prince, be- sides the fortress of Pignerol, and the marriage of his daughter with the Duke of Burgundy, the privilege of royal honours for his ambassadors. This treaty, concluded at Turin (29th Aug. 1696,) was a preliminary to the general peace, signed at Rys- wick, between France, Spain, England, and Holland (20th Sept. 1697.) Each of the contracting parties consented to make mutual restitutions. France even restored to Spain all the towns and territories which she had occupied in the Low Countries, by means of the reunions ; with the exception of eighty-two places, mentioned in a particular list, as being dependencies of Charlemont, Maubeuge, and other places ceded by the preceding treaties. Peace between France, the Emperor, and the Empire was also signed at Ryswick. The treaties of Westphalia and Nimeguen were there renewed ; and the decrees of the Cham- ber of Reunion at Metz, and of the Sovereign Courts at Besan- 9on and Brisach, were rescinded and annulled. Louis XIV. engaged to restore to the Empire all that he had appropriated to himself, by means of the reunions, either before or during the waT ; that is to say, all places situated or acquired beyond the bounds of Alsace. The city of Strasburg was ceded to France, by a particular article of the treaty ; but the fortress of Kehl, the cities of Friburg, Brisach, and Philipsburg, were surrendered to the Emperor. Leopold, Duke of Lorraine, and son of Charles v.. was reinstated in his dutchy, without any other reservation (ban that of Saar-Louis, and the city and prefecture of Longwy As to the claims of the Dutcher:s of Orleans on the Palatinate they were submitted to the arbitration of the Emperor and the; PERIOD vn. A. D. 1648—1713. 291 King of France ; to be referred to the decision of the Pope, should these two Sovereigns happen to differ in opinion. The peace of Ryswick was followed by the war of the Spanish Succession, which embroiled Europe afresh, and occasioned considerable changes in its political state. Charles II. King of Spain, son of Philip IV., and last male descendant of the Spanish branch of the House of Austria, having neither son, nor daughter, nor brother, the Spanish monarchy, according to a fundamental law of the kingdom, which fixed the succession in the cognate line, appeared to belong to Maria Theresa, Queen of France eldest sister of Charles, and to the children of her marriage with Louis XIV. To this title of Maria Theresa, was opposed her express renunciation, inserted in her marriage-contract, and con- firmed by the peace of the Pyrenees ; but the French maintained, that that renunciation was null, and that it could not prejudice the children of the Queen, who held their right, not from their mother, but by the fundamental law of Spain. Admitting the validity of the Queen's renunciation, the lineal order fixed the Spanish succession on her younger sister, Mar- garet Theresa, who had married the Emperor Leopold I., and left an only daughter, Maria Antoinette, spouse to the Elector of Bavaria, and mother of Joseph Ferdinand, the Electoral Prince of Bavaria. The Emperor, who wished to preserve the Spanish monarchy m his own family, availed himself of the renunciation which he had exacted from his daughter, the Archdutchess Maria Antoi- nette, when she married Maximilian, the Elector of Bavaria, to appear as a candidate himself, and advance the claims of his mother, Maria Anne, daughter of Philip III. King of Spain, and aunt of Charles II. He alleged, that the Spanish succession had been secured to this latter Princess, both by her marriage- contract, and by the testaments of the Kings of Spain ; and as he had two sons, the Archdukes Joseph and Charles, by his marriage with the Princess Palatine of Neuburg, he destined the elder for the Imperial throne and the States of Austria, and the younger for the Spanish monarchy. These different claims having excited apprehensions of a ge- neral Avar, England and Holland, from a desire to prevent it, drew up a treaty of partition, in concert with Louis XIV. (11th Oct. 1698,) in virtue of which the Spanish monarchy was se- cured to Joseph Ferdinand, in case of the death of Charles II. ; while the kingdom of the Two Sicilies, with the ports of Tusca- ny, the marquisate of Finale, and the province of Guipuscoa, were reserved to the Dauphin of France. The Archduke Charles, son to the Emperor, was to have the dutchv of Milan. 292 CHAPTER vm. Although the King of Spain disapproved of the treaty, 30 far as it admitted a partition, nevertheless, in his will, he recognised (he Prince of Bavaria as his successor in the Spanish monarchy. A premature death having frustrated all the high expectations of that prince, the powers who had concluded the first treaty ot partition drew up a second, which was signed at London (March 13, 1700.) According to this, the Archduke Charles, youngest son of the Emperor Leopold, was destined the presumptive heir to the Spanish monarchy. They awarded to the Dauphin the dutchy of Lorraine, with the kingdom of the Two Sicilies, and the province of Guipuscoa ; assigning to the Duke of Lorraine the dutchy of Milan in exchange. Louis XIV. used every effort to have this new treaty of partition approved by the Court of Vienna. He sent thither the Marquis Villars, who, after having been long amused with vague promises, failed entirely in his negotiation ; and the Emperor, whose main object was to con- ciliate the Court of Madrid, lost the only favourable moment which might have fixed the succession of the Spanish monarchy in his family, with the consent of Louis XIV. and the principal Courts of Europe. At Madrid, this affair took a turn diametrically opposite to the vacAvs and interests of the Court of Vienna. Charles II., following the counsels of his prime minister, Cardinal Porto- carrero, and after having taken the advice of the Pope, and of the most eminent theologians and lawyers in his kingdom, de- termined to make a second will, in which he recognised the rights of Maria Theresa, his eldest sister ; and declared, that as the renunciation of that princess had been made solely to pre- vent the union of Spain with the kingdom of France, that mo- tive ceased on transferring the Spanish monarchy to one of the younger sons of the Dauphin. Accordingly, he nominated Phi- lip of Anjou, the Dauphin's second son, heir to his whole do- minions ; in case of his death, the Duke of Berri, his younger brother ; next, the Archduke Charles ; and lastly, the Duke of Savoy ; expressly forbidding all partition of the monarchy. Charles II. having died on the 1st of November following, the Junta, or Council of Regency, which he had appointed by his will, sent to Louis XIV., praying him to accede to the set- tlement of their late King, and give up his grandson to the wishes of the Spanish nation. The same courier had orders to pass on to Vienna, in case of a refusal on his part, and make the same offer to the Archduke. The Court of France then assembled a Grand Council, in which they held a deliberation as to what step it was best to adopt, in an affair which so nearly concerned the general repose of Europe. The result of this PERIOD VII. A. D. 1648—1713. 293 Council was, that they ought to accpde to the will of Charles II.. and renounce the advantages which the second treaty of partition held out to France. It was alleged, as the reason of this resolution, that by refusing to accept the will, Louis must either abandon altogether his pretensions to the Spanish mo- aarchy, or undertake an expensive war to obtain by conquest what the treaty of partition assigned him ; without being able, in this latter case, to reckon on the effectual co-operation of the two maritime courts. Louis XIV. having therefore resolved to accede to the will, Philip of Anjou was proclaimed King by the Spaniards, and made his solemn entry into Madrid on the 14th of April 1701. Most of the European powers, such as the States of Italy, Swe- den, England, Holland, and the kingdoms of the North, ac- knowledged Philip V. ; the King of Portugal, and the Duke of Savoy even concluded treaties of alliance with him. More- over, the situation of political affairs in Germany, Hungary, and the North was such, that it would have been easy for Louif XIV., with prudent management, to preserve the Spanish crown on the head of his grandson ; but he seemed, as if on purpose, to do every thing to raise all Europe against him. It was al- leged, that he aimed at the chimerical project of universal mo- narchy, and the union of France with Spain. Instead of trying to do away this supposition, he gave it additional force, by issuing letters-patent in favour of Philip, at the moment when he was departing for Spain, to the effect of preserving his rights to the throne of France. The Dutch dreaded nothing so much as to see the French making encroachments on the Spanish Netherlands, which they regarded as their natural barrier a- gainst France ; the preservation of which appeared to be equally interesting to England. It would have been prudent in Louis XIV. to give these ma- ritime powers some security on this point, who, since the eleva- tion of William Prince of Orange to the crown of Great Britain, held as it were in their hands the balance of Europe. Without being swayed by this consideration, he obtained authority from the Council of Madrid, to introduce a French army into the Spa- nish Netherlands ; and on this occasion the Dutch troops, who were quartered in various places of the Netherlands, according ;o a stipulation with the late King of Spain, were disarmed. This circumstance became a powerful motive for King William to rouse the States-General against France. He found some diffi- culty, however, in drawing over the British Parliament to his views, as a great majority in that House were averse to mingle in the quarrels of the Continent ; but the death of James II. all 294 CHAPTER vin. tered the minds and inclinations of the English. Louis XIV. having formerly acknowledged the son of that prince as King of Great Britain, the English Parliament had no longer any hesi- tation in joining the Dutch, and the other enemies of France. A new and powerful league was formed against Louis. The Emperor, England, the United Provinces, the Empire, the Kings of Portugal and Prussia, and the Duke of Savoy, all joined it in succession. The allies engaged to restore to Aus- tria, the Spanish Netherlands, the dutchy of Milan, the king- dom of the Two Sicilies, with the ports of Tuscany ; and nevei to permit the union of France with Spain. At the commencement of the war, Louis for some time main- tained the glory and superiority of his arms, notwithstanding the vast number of adversaries he had to oppose. It was not until the campaign of 1704 that fortune abandoned him ; when one reverse was only succeeded by another. The Duke of Marlborough and Prince Eugene defeated Marshal de Tallard at Hochstett or Blenheim, (Aug. 13,) where he lost thirty thousand men, and was himself carried prisoner to England. This disas- ter was followed by the loss of Bavaria, and all the French pos- sessions beyond the Rhine. The battle which Marlborough gained (May 23, 1706) at Ramillies in Brabant was not less dis- astrous ; it secured to the allies the conquest of the greater part of the Netherlands ; and to increase these misfortunes, Marshal de Marsin lost the famous battle of Turin against Prince Eugene (Sept. 7,) which obliged the French troops to evacuate Italy. The battle which was fought at Oudenarde in Flanders (July 11, 1708) was not so decisive. Both sides fought with equal advantage ; but the duke of Burgundy, who was commander-in-chief of the French army, having quitted the field of battle during the night, contrary to the advice of Vendome, Marlborough made this an occasion for claiming the victory. At length the dreadful winter of 1709, and the battle of Malplaquet, which Marlborough gained over Villars (Sept. 11,) reduced France to the greatest distress, and brought Louis un- der the necessity of suing for peace, and even descending to the most humiliating conditions. M. de Torcy, his minister for foreign affairs, Avas despatched to the Hague ; and, amor.g a number of preliminary articles, he agreed to make restitution of all the conquests which the French had made since the peace of Munster. He consented to surrender the city of Strasburg, and henceforth to possess Alsace according to the literal terms of the treaty of Munster ; the throne of Spain was reserved for the archduke ; and Louis consented to abandon the interests of PERIOD VII. A. D. 164S— 1713. 295 Philip. But the allies, rendered haughty by their success, de- inamled of the King that he should oblige his grandson volun- tarily to surrender his crown, otherwise they would compel him by force of arms, and that within the short space of two months. The conferences, which had been transferred from the Hague to Gertruydenberg, were consequently broken off, and the war continued. In this critical state of things, two unexpected events happened, which changed the face of affairs; and Louis XIV., far from being constrained to submit to the articles of the preliminaries at Gertruydenberg, saw himself even courted by England, and in a condition to dictate the law to several of the powers that were leagued against him. The Emperor Joseph I. died (April 11th 1711) without leaving any male offspring. His brother the Archduke Charles, who took the title of King of Spain, now obtained the Imperial dignity, and became heir of all the States belonging to the German branch of the House of Austria. It appeared, therefore, that the system of equilibrium could not possibly admit the same prince to engross likewise the whole Spanish monarchy. This event was coupled with another, rela- tive to the change which had taken place in the ministry and Parliament of Great Britain. The Whigs, who had been the ruling party since the Revolution of 1689, were suddenly sup- planted by the Tories. This overthrow brought the Duke of Marlborough into disgrace, v/ho had long stood at the head of affairs in England, as chief of the Whig faction. Queen Anne, who stood in awe of him, found no other expedient for depriving him of his influence, than to make peace with France. L'Abbe Gualtier, who resided at London in quality of almoner to the ambassador of Charles of Austria, Avas despatched by her Ma- jesty to France, to make the first overtures of peace to Louis. A secret negotiation was set on foot between the two Courts, the result of which was a preliminary treaty signed at London (October 8th 1711.) A congress was opened at Utrecht, with the view of a general pacification. The conferences which took place there, after the month of February 1712, met with long interruptions; both on account of the disinclination of several of the allied powers for peace, and because of the matters to be separately treated be- tween France and England, which retarded the progress of the general negotiation. The battle of Denain, which Marshal Vil- lars gained over the Earl of Albemarle (July 24,) helped to ren- der the allies more tractable. Peace was signed at Utrecht m the month of April 1713, between France and the chief bellige- rent powers. The Emperor alone refused to take part in it, as 296 CHAPTER vm. he could not resolve to abandon his claims to the Spanish monarchy. The grand aim of England in that transaction, was to limit the overwhelming power of France ; for this purpose she took care, in that treaty, to establish as a fundamental and inviolable law, the clause which ordained that the kingdoms of France and Spain never should be united. To effect this, it was necessary that Philip of Anjou should formally renounce his right to the crown of France ; while his brother the Duke de Berri, as well as the Duke of Orleans, should do the same in regard to the claims which they might advance to the Spanish monarchy. The deeds of these renunciations, drawn up and signed in France and in Spain, in presence of the English ambassadors, were inserted, in the treaty of Utrecht ; as were also the letters- patent which revoked and annulled those that Louis had given, for preserving the right of the Duke of Anjou to the succession of the French crown. Louis XIV. promised for himself, his heirs and successors, never to attempt either to prevent or elude the effect of these renunciations ; and failing the descendants of Philip, the Spanish succession was secured to the Duke of Savoy, his male descendants, and the other princes of his family, to the exclusion of the French princes. Another fundamental clause of the treaty of Utrecht declared, that no province, city, fortress or place, in the Spanish Nether- lands, should ever be ceded, transferred, or granted to the crown of France ; nor to any prince or princess of French extraction, under any title whatever. These provinces, designed to serve as a barrier for the Low Countries against France, were ad- judged to the Emperor and the House of Austria, together with the kingdom of Naples, the ports of Tuscany, and the dutchy of Milan ; and as the Emperor was not a party to the treaty, it was agreed that the Spanish Netherlands should remain as a deposit in the hands of the States-General, until that prince should ar' range with them respecting the barrier-towns. The same stipu- lation was made in regard to that part of the French Nether- lands which Louis had ceded in favour of the Emperor ; such as Menin, Tournay, Furnes, and Furnes-Ambacht, the fortress of Kenock, Ypres, and their dependencies. England, in particular, obtained by this treaty various and considerable advantages. Louis XI V. withdrew his protection from the Pretender, and engaged never to give him harbour in France. The succession to the throne of Great Britain, was guaranteed to the House of Hanover. They agreed to raze the Fortifications of the port of Dunkirk, which had so much excited 'he jealousy of England ; while France likewise ceded to he) PERIOD VII. A. D. 1648—1713. 297 Hudson's Bay, and Straits, the Island of St. Christopher, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland in America. Spain gave up Gib- raltar and Minorca, both of which had been conquered by the English during the war; they secured to her, besides, for thirty years, the privilege of furnishing negroes for the Spanish Ameri- can colonies. The King of Prussia obtained the Spanish part of Gueldres, with the city of that name, an4 the district of Kessel, in lieu of the principality of Orange, which was given to France ; though he had claims to it as the heir of William III. King of England. The kingdom of Sicily was adjudged to the Duke of Savoy, to be possessed by him and his male descendants ; and they con- firmed to him the grants which the Emperor had made him, of that part of the dutchy of Milan which had belonged to the Duke of Mantua, as also Alexandria, Valencia, the Lumelline, and the Valley of Sessia. Finally, Sardinia was reserved for the Elec- tor of Bavaria, the ally of France in that war. As the Emperor had not acceded to the treaty of Utrecht, the war was continued between him and France. Marshal Villars took Landau and Friburg in Brisgaw ; afterwards a conference took place between him and Prince Eugene at Rastadt. New- preliminaries were there drawn up ; and a congress was opened at Baden in Switzerland, Avhere a definitive peace was signed (Sept. 7th 1714.) The former treaties, since the peace of West- phalia, were there renewed. The Electors of Cologne and Ba- varia, who had been put to the ban of the Empire, and deprived of their estates, were there fully re-established. Sardinia, which had been assigned to the Elector of Bavaria, by the treaty of Utrecht, remained in possession of the Emperor, who likewise recovered Brisach and Friburg in Brisgaw, instead of Landau which had been ceded to France. Louis XIV. did not long survive this latter treaty. Never did any sovereign patronize literature and the fine arts like him. Many celebrated academies for the promotion of the arts and sciences owe their origin to his auspices, such as the Academy of Inscriptions, Belles-Lettres, Sciences, Painting, and Archi- tecture. His reign was illustrious for eminent men, and talents of every description, which were honoured and encouraged by him. He even extended his favour to the philosophers and lit- erati of foreign countries. This prince has been reproached for his two great partiality to the Jesuits, his confessors, and for the high importance which he attached to the dispute between the Jansenists and the Molinists, which gave rise to the famous Bull Unigenitas, ^ approved by the clergy, and published by the King as a law of the state over all France. This illustrious 298 CHAPTER vm. Prince ended his days after a reign of seventy-two years, fertile in great events ; he transmitted the crown to his great grand- son, Louis XV., who was only five years of age when he mount- ed the throne (Sept. 1, 1714.) In the course of this period, several memorable events hap- pened in Germany. The Emperor, Leopold L, having assem- bled a Diet at Katisbon, to demand subsidies against the Turks, and to settle certain matters which the preceding Diet had left undecided, the sittings of that assembly were continued to the present time, without ever having been declared permanent by any formal law of the Empire. The peace of Westphalia, had instituted an eighth Electorate for the Palatine branch of Wit- tlesbach ; the Emperor, Leopold L, erected a ninth, in favour of the younger branch of the House of Brunswick. The first Elec- tor of this family, known by the name of Brunswick-Luneburg, or Hanover, was the Duke Ernest Augustus, whom the Em- peror invested in his new dignity, to descend to his heirs-male, on account of his engaging to furnish Austria with supplies in money and troops, for carrying on the war against the Turks. This innovation met with decided opposition in the Empire. Several of the Electors were hostile to it ; and the whole body of Princes declared, that the new Electorate was prejudicial to their dignity, and tended to introduce an Electoral Oligarchy. The Duke of Brunswick- WolfTenbuttel especially protested against the preference which was given to the younger branch of his House over the elder, in spite of family compacts, and the right of primogeniture established in the House of Brunswick. A confederacy was thus formed against the ninth Electorate. The allied Princes resolved, in an assembly held at Nuremberg, to raise an army, and apply to the powers that had guaranteed the treaty of Westphalia. France espoused the quarrel of these Princes ; she concluded with the King of Denmark, a treaty of alliance and subsidy against the ninth Electorate, and declared, before the Diet of the Empire, that she regarded this innovation as a blow aimed at the treaty of Westphalia. In cour=e cf time, however, these animosities were allayed. The Princes recog- nised the ninth Electorate, and the introduction of the new Elector took place in 1708. A decree was passed at the Diett which annexed a clause to his admission, that the Catholic Elec- tors should have the privilege of a casting vote, in cases where the number of Protestant Electors should happen to equal that of the Catholics. By the same decree, the King of Bohemia, who had formerly never been admitted but at the election of the Emperors, obtained a voice in all the deliberations of the Empire and the Electoral College, on condition of his paying, in time commg. an Electoral quota for the kingdom of Bohemia. PKRioD vii. A. D. 1648—1713. 299 The Imperial capitulations assumed a form entirely new, about the beginning of the eighteenth century. A difference had for- merly existed among the members of the Germanic body on this important article of public law. They regarded it as a thing illegal, that the Electors alone should claim the right of drawing up the capitulations ; and they maintained, with much reason, that before these compacts should have the force of a fundamen- tal law of the Empire, it was necessary that they should have the deliberation and consent of the whole Diet. The Princes, therefore, demanded, that there should be laid before the Diet a scheme of perpetual capitulation, to serve as a rule for the Elec- tors on every new election. That question had already been debated at the Congress of Westphalia, and sent back by it for the decision of the Diet. There it became the subject of long discussion ; and it was not till the interregnum, which followed the death of the Emperor Joseph I., that the principal points of the perpetual capitulation were finally settled. The plan then agreed to was adopted as the basis of the capitulation, which they prescribed to Charles VI. and his successors. Among other articles, a clause was inserted regarding the election of a king of the Romans. This, it was agreed, should never take place during the Emperor's life, except in a case of urgent necessity ; ind that th^ proscription of an elector, prince, or state of the Smpire, should never take place, without the consent of the Diet, and observing the formalities enjoined by the new capi- tulation. Three Electoral families of the Empire were raised to the royal dignity ; viz. those of Saxony, Brandenburg, and Bruns- wick-Luneburg. Augustus II., Elector of Saxony, after hav- ing made a profession of the Catholic religion, was elected to the throne of Poland ; a dignity which was afterwards conferred, also by election, on his son Augustus III. That change of re- ligion did not prevent the Electors of Saxony from remaining at the head of the Protestant interest in the Diet of the Em- pire, as they had given them assurance that they would make no innovations in the religion of their country, and that they would appoint a council entirely composed of Protestant mem- bers, for administering the affairs of the Empire. These prin- ces, however, lost part of their influence ; and so far was the crown of Poland, which v/as purely elective, from augmenting the greatness and real power of their house, that, on the con- trary, it served to exhaust and enfeeble Saxony, by involving it in ruinous wars, which ended in the desolation of that fine country, the alienation of the Electoral domains, and the increase ■if the debts and burdens of the state. 300 CHAPTER Vlll. If the royal dignity of Poland was prejudicial to the House of Saxony, it was by no means so with that of Prussia, which the House of Brandenburg acquired soon after. The Elector, John Sigismund, on succeeding to the dutchy of Prussia, had acknowledged himself a vassal and tributary of the crown of Poland. His grandson, Frederic William, took advantage of the turbulent situation in which Poland was placed at the time of the invasion of Charles X. of Sweden, to obtain a grant of the sovereignty of Prussia, by a treaty which he concluded with that Republic at Welau (19th September 1657.) Poland, in re- nouncing the territorial rights which she exercised over Ducal Prussia, stipulated for the reversion of these same rights, on the extinction of the male line of the Electoral House of Brandenburg. Frederic I., the son and successor of Frederic William, having become sovereign of Ducal Prussia, thought himself authorized to assume the royal dignity. The elevation of his cousin-ger- man, the Prince of Orange, to the throne of Britain, and of his next neighbour, the Elector of Saxony, to the sovereignty ol Poland, tempted his ambition, and induced him to enter into a negotiation on the subject with the Court of Vienna. The Em- peror Leopold promised to acknowledge him as King of Prussia, on account of a supply of ten thousand men v/hich Frederic pro- mised to furnish him in the war of the Spanish Succession, which was then commencing. To remove all apprehensions on the part of Poland, who might perhaps offer some opposition, the Elector signed a compact, bearing, that the royal dignity of Prussia should in no way prejudice the rights and possession of the King and States of Poland over Polish Prussia ; that neither he nor his successors should attempt to found claims on that part of Prussia ; and that the clause in the treaty of Welau, which secured the reversion of the territorial right of Ducal Prussia, on the extinction of the heirs-male of Frederic William, should remain in full force and vigour, never to be infringed by the new King or any of his successors. After these different conventions, the Elector repaired to Koningsberg, where he was proclaimed King of Prussia (18th January 1701.) It is worthy of remark, that on the ceremony of his coronation, he put the crown on his own head. All the European powers acknowledged the new King, with the exception of France and Spain, with whom he soon engaged in war. The Teutonic Knights, bearing in mind their ancient claims over Prussia, deemed it their duty to support them by a protest, and their example was followed by the Court of Rome. The opinion which the author of the Memoirs of Brandenburg delivers on this event is very remarkable. " Frederic," says he PERIOD vn. A. D. 1648—1713. 301 " was flattered with nothing so much, as the externals of royalty, the pomp of ostentation, and a certain whimsical self-conceit, which was pleased with making others feel their inferiority. What at first was the mere offspring of vanity, turned out in the end to be a masterpiece of policy. The royal dignity liberated the House of Brandenburg from that yoke of servitude under which Austria had, till then, held all the Princes of Germany It was a kind of bait which Frederic held out to all his posterity, and by which he seemed to say, I have acquired for you a title, render yourselves worthy of it ; I have laid the foundation of your greatness, yours is the task of completing the structure." In fact Austria, by promoting the House of Brandenburg, seemed to have injured her own greatness. In the very bosom of the Empire, she raised up a new power, which afterwards became her rival, and seized every opportunity of aggrandizement at her expense. As for the Electoral House of Brunswick-Luneburg, it suc- ceeded, as we have observed, to the throne of Great Britain, in virtue of a fundamental law of that monarchy, which admitted females to the succession of the crown. Ernest Augustus, the first Elector of the Hanoverian line, had married Sophia, daughter of the Elector Palatine Frederic V., by the Princess Elizabeth of England, daughter of James I., King of Great Britain. An act of the British Parliament in 1701, extended the succession to that Princess, then Electress-Dowager of Han- over, and to her descendants, as being nearest heirs to the throne, according to the order established by former acts of Parliament, limiting the succession to Princes and Princesses of the Protes- tant line only. The Electress Sophia, by that act, was called to the succession, in case William III., and Anne, the youngest daughter of James II., left no issue ; an event which took place in 1714, on the death of Anne, who had succeeded William in the kingdom of Great Britain. The Electress Sophia was not alive at that time, having died two months before that princess. George, Elector of Hanover, and son of Sophia by Ernest Au- gustus, then ascended the British throne (Aug. 12, 1714,) to the exclusion of all the other descendants of Elizabeth, who, though they had the right of precedence, were excluded by being Catho- lics, in virtue of the Acts of Parliament 16S9, 1701, 1705. The war of the Spanish Succession had occasioned great changes in Italy. Spain, after having been long the leading power in that country, gave place to Austria, to whojn the trea- ties of Utrecht and Baden had adjudged the dutchy of Milan, the kingdoms of Naples and Sardinia, and the ports of Tuscany. To these she added the dutchy of Mantua., of which the Empe- 302 CHAPTER VUI. for Joseph I. had dispossessed Duke Charles IV. of the House of Gonzaga, for having espoused the cause of France in the War of the Succession. The Duke of Mirandola met with a similar fate, as the ally of the French in that war. His dutchy was confiscated by the Emperor, and sold to the Duke of Modena. This new aggrandizement of Austria in Italy excited the jea- lousy of England, lest the princes of that house should take oc- casion to revive their obsolete claims to the royalty of Italy and the Imperial dignity ; and it was this which induced the Court of London to favour the elevation of the Dukes of Savoy, in order to counterbalance the power of Austria in Italy. The origin of the House of Savoy is as old as the beginning of the eleventh century, when we find a person named Berthold in possession of Savoy, at that time a province of the kingdom of Burgundy or Aries. The grandson of Berthold married Adelaide de Suza, daughter and heiress of Mainfroi, Marquis of Italy and Lord of Suza. This marriage brought the House of Savoy considerable possessions in Italy, such as the Marqui- sate of Suza, the Dutchy of Turin, Piedmont, and Val d'Aoste Humbert II. Count of Savoy, conquered the province of Taren- tum. Thomas, one of his successors, acquired by marriage the barony of Faucigny. Amadeus V. was invested by the Empe- ror Henry VII. in the city and county o^" Asti. Amadeus "VII. received the voluntary submission of the inhabitants of Nice, which he had dismembered from Provence, together with the counties of Tenda and Boglio ; having taken advantage of the intestine dissensions in that country, and the conflict between the factions of Duras and Anjou, who disputed the succession of Naples and the county of Provence. Amadeus VIII. pur- chased from Otho de Villars the county of Geneva, and was created, by the Emperor Sigismund, first Duke of Savoy (Feb. 19, 1416.) The rivalry which had subsisted between France and Austria since the end of the fifteenth century, placed the House of Savoy in a situation extremely difficult. Involved in the wars which had arisen between these two powers in Italy, it became of ne- cessity more than once the victim of political circumstances. Duke Charles III. having allied himself with Charles V., was deprived of his estates by France ; and his son Philibert, noted for his exploits in the campaigns of Flanders, did not obtain re- stitution of them until the peace of Chateau Cambresis. The Dukes Charles Emanuel II., and Victor Amadeus II., experi- enced similar indignities, in the wars which agitated France and Spain during the seventeeth century, and which were ter- uunated by the treaties of the Pyrenees and Turin in the years PERIOD vn. A. D. 1648—1713. 303 1659, 1696, In the war of the Spanish Succession, Victor Amadeus II. declared at first for his son-in-law, Philip King of Spain, even taking upon himself the chief command of the French army in Italy ; but afterwards, perceiving the danger of his situation, and seduced by the advantageous offers which the Emperor made him, he thought proper to alter his plan, and joined the grand alliance against France. Savoy and Piedmont again became the theatre of the war between France and Italy. The French having undertaken the siege of Turin, the Duke and Prince Eugene forced their army in its entrenchments be- fore the place, and obliged them to abandon Italy. The Empe- ror granted the Duke the investiture of the different estates which he had secured to him, on his accession to the grand alliance ; such as Montferrat, the provinces of Alexandria and Valencia, the country between the Tanaro and the Po, the Lu- melline, Val Sessia, and the Vigevanesco ; to be possessed by him and his male descendants, as fiefs holding of the Emperor and the Empire. The peace of Utrecht confirmed these possessions to the Duke ; and England, the better to secure the equilibrium of Italy and Europe, granted him, by that treaty, the royal dignity, with the island of Sicily, which she had taken from Spain. That island was ceded to him under the express clause, that, on the extinc- tion of the male line of Savoy, that kingdom should revert to Spain. By the same treaty they secured to the male descen- dants of that house, the right of succession to the Spanish mon- archy; and that clause was confirmed by a solemn law passed in the Cortes of Spain, and by subsequent treaties concluded be- tween these powers and Europe. The duke was crowned King of Sicily at Palermo (Dec. 21, 1713,) by the archbishop of thai city ; and the only persons who refused to acknowledge him in that new capacity were the Emperor and the Pope. In proportion as France increased, Spain had declined m power, in consequence of the vices of her government, the fee- bleness of her princes, and the want of qualifications in their ministers and favourites. At length, under the reign of Charles II., the weakness of that monarchy was such, that France de- spoiled her with impunity, as appears by those cessions she was obliged to make by the treaties of Aix-la-Chapelle, Nimeguen, and Ryswick. Charles II. was the last prince of the Spanish line of the house of Austria. At his death (Nov. 1700,) a long and bloody war ensued about the succession, as we have already related. Two competitors appeared for the crown. Philip of Anjou, grandson of Louis XIV., had on his side the will of Charles II., the efforts of his grandfather, and the wishes of the 304 CHAPTER vin. Spanish nation. Charles of Austria, younger son of the Empe- ror Leopold I., was supported by a formidable league, which political considerations and a jealousy of the other powers had raised against France. Philip, who had been placed on the throne by the Spaniards, had already resided at Madrid for several years, when the Aus- trian prince, his rival, assisted by the allied fleet, took possession of Barcelona (Oct. 9, 1705,) where he established his capital. The incessant defeats which France experienced at this period, obliged Philip twice to abandon his capital, and seek his safetj- in flight. He owed his restoration for the first time to Marsha' Berwick, and the victory which that general gained over the allies near Almanza, in New Castille (April 25, 1707.) The ^"'chduke having afterwards advanced as far as Madrid, the Uuke de Vendome undertook to repulse him. That General, i in conjunction with Philip V., defeated the allies, who were commanded by General Stahremberg, near Villa Viciosa (Dec. 10, 1710.) These two victories contributed to establish Philip on his throne. The death of Joseph I., which happened soon after, and the elevation of his brother, the Archduke Charles, to the Imperial throne and the crowns of Hungary and Bohemia, accelerated the conclusion of the peace of Utrecht, by which the Spanish monarchy was preserved to Philip V. and his descen- dants. They deprived him, however, in virtue of that treaty, ot the Netherlands and the Spanish possessions in Italy, such as the Milanois, the ports of Tuscany, and the kingdoms of Naples, Sicily, and Sardinia. The conditions which England had exacted at the treaty ot Utrecht, to render effectual the renunciation of Philip V. to the crown of France, as well as that of the French princes to the monarchy of Spain, having made h necessary to assemble the Cortes or States-General, Philip took advantage of that circum- stance to change the order of succession which till then had sub- sisted in Spain, and which was known by the name of the Cos- tilian Succession. A law was passed at the Cortes (1713,) by which it was ordained that females should never be admitted to the crown, except in default of the male line of Philip ; that the male heirs should succeed according to the order of primogeni- ture ; that, failing the male line of that prince, the crown shoula fall to the eldest daughter of the last reigning king, and her de- scendants ; and, failing these, to the sister or nearest relation ol the last king ; always keeping in force the right of primogeniture, and the preference of the male heirs in the order of succession. France, by the sixtieth article of the treaty of the Pyrenees, having renounced the protection of Portugal, the war between Death of Charles the XII. of Sweden. P. 319. Encampment of a Regiment of Imperial Body-Guards. P. 330. PERIOD VII. A. D. 1648—1713. 305 Spain and this latter power was resumed with new vigour. Alphonso VL, King of Portugal, finding himself abandoned by his allies, resolved to throw himself on the favour of England. The English granted him supplies, in virtue of a treaty which he concluded with them (June 23d 1661,) and by which he ceded to them the city of Tangiers in Africa, and the isle of Bombay in India. France, who well knew that it was her inte- rest not to abandon Portugal entirely, rendered her likewise all the ?ecret assistance in her power. The Count Schomberg passed over to that kingdom with a good number of officers, and several companies of French troops. The Portuguese, under the command of that General, gained two victories over the Spaniards at Almexial, near Estremos (1663,) and at Montes Claros, or Villa Viciosa (1665,) which re-established their affairs, and contributed to secure the independence of Portugal, Wlien the war took place about the Right of Devolution, the Coui t of Lisbon formed a new alliance with France. Spain then leained that it would be more for her interest to abandon her projects of conquering Portugal, and accept the proposals of accommodation tendered to her by the mediation of England. It happened, in the meantime, that Alphonso VI., a prince of vicious habits, and of a ferocious and brutal temper, was de- throned (Nov. 23d 1667,) and the Infant Don Pedro, his brother, was declared Regent of the kingdom. The Queen of Alphonso, Mary of Savoy, who had managed the whole intrigue, obtained, from the Court of Rome, a dissolution of her marriage with Al- phonso, and espoused the Regent, her brother-in-law (April 2d 1668.) That prince would willingly have fulfilled the engage- ments which his predecessor had contracted with France, but the English Ambassador having drawn over the Cortes of Por tugal to his interests, the Regent was obliged to make peace with Spain, which was signed at Lisbon, February 13th 1668. The Spaniards there treated with the Portuguese as a sovereign and independent nation. They agreed to make mutual restitution of all they had taken possession of during the war, with the exception of the city of Ceuta in Africa, which remained in the power of Spain. The subjects of both states obtained the resto- ration of all property alienated or confiscated during the war. That peace was followed by another, which Portugal concluded at the Hague, with the United Provinces of the Netherlands (July 31st 1669,) who were permitted to retain the conquests they had made from the Portuguese in the East Indies. The Court of Lisbon was soon after involved in the war of the Spanish Succession which divided all Europe. Don Pedro II. had at first acknowledged Philip V., and even contracted an 20 306 CHAPTER vin. alliance with him ; but yielding afterwards to the influence of the British minister, as well as of the Court of Vienna, he joined the Grand Alliance against France.^ The Portuguese made a distinguished figure in that war, chiefly during the campaign of 1706, when, with the assistance of the English, they penetrated as far as Madrid, and there proclaimed Charles of Austria. The Portuguese, by one of the articles of their treaty of accession to the grand alliance, had been given to expect, that certam important places in Spanish Estremadura and Gallicia would be ceded to them at the general peace. That engage- ment was never fulfilled. The treaty of peace, concluded at Utrecht (6th February 1715,) between Spain and Portugal, had ordered the mutual restitution of all conquests made during the war. The treaty of Lisbon, of 1668, was then renewed, and especially the articles which stipulated for the restitution of all confiscated property. The only point which they yielded to the Portuguese, was that which referred to the colony of St. Sacra- ment, which the Portuguese governor of Rio Janeiro had estab- lished (1680) on the northern bank of the river La Plata, in South America, which was opposed by Spain. By the sixth article of her treaty with Portugal, she renounced all her former claims and pretensions over the above colony. A similar dispute had arisen between France and PortugaL relative to the northern bank of the Amazons river, and the terri- tories about Cape North, in America, which the French main- tained belonged to them, as making part of French Guiana. The Portuguese naving constructed there the fort of Macapa, it was taken by the French govp"".'! of Cayenne. By the treaty of Utrecht, it was agreed between France and Portugal that both banks of the river Amazons should belong entirely to Por- tugal; and that France should renounce all right and preten- sions whatever to the territories of Cape North, lying between the rivers Amazons and Japoc, or Vincent Pinson, in South America. In England, an interregnum of eleven years followed the death of Charles I. Oliver Cromwell, the leader of the Independent party, pissed two Acts of Parliament, one of which abolished the House of Lords, and the other the royal dignity. The kingly office was suppressed, as useless to the nation, oppressive and dangerous to the interests and liberties of the people ; and it 'was decided, that whoever should speak of the restoration of the Stuarts, should be regarded as a traitor to his country. The king- dom being thus changed into a republic, Cromwell took on him? elf the chief direction of affairs. This ambitious man was not long in monopolizing the sovereign authority (1653.) He abolished PERIOD vu. A. D. 1648—1713. 307 the Parliament called the Rump, which had conferred on him hif? power and military commission. He next assembled a new Parliament of the three kingdoms, to the number of one hun- dred and forty-four members ; and he took care to have it com- posed of individuals whom he knew to be devoted to his inte- rests. Accordingly, they resigned the whole authority into his hands. An act, called the Act of Government, conferred on him the supreme authority, under the title of Protector of the three kingdoms ; with the privilege of making war and peace, and assembling every three years a Parliament, which should exercise the legislative power conjunctly with himself. CromAvell governed England with a more uncontrolled power than that of her kings had been. In 1651, he passed the fa- mous Navigation Act, which contributed to increase the com- merce of Great Britain, and gave her marine a preponderance over that of all other nations. That extraordinary man raised England in the estimation of foreigners, and made his Protec- torate respected by all Europe. After a war which he had car- ried on against the Dutch, he obliged them, by the treaty of Westminster (1654,) to lower their flag to British vessels, and to abandon the cause of the Stuarts. Entering into alliance with France against Spain, he took from the latter the island of Jamaica (1655) and the port of Dunkirk (1658.) After his death, the Generals of the army combined to restore the old Parliament, called the Rump. Richard Cromwell, who succeeded his father, soon resigned the Protectorate (April 22, 1659.) Dissensions having arisen between the Parliament and the Generals, Monk, who was governor of Scotland, marched i to the assistance of the Parliament ; and after having defeated I the Independent Generals, he proceeded to assemble a new Par- liament composed of both Houses. No sooner was this Par- liament assembled, than they decided for the restoration of the Stuarts, in the person of Charles II. (18th May 1660.) That Prince made his public entry into London, May 29, 1660. His first care was to take vengeance on those who had been chiefly instrumental in the death of his father. He re- scinded all Acts of Parliament passed since the year 1633; and re-established Episcopacy both in England and Scotland. In- stigated by his propensity for absolute power, and following the maxims Avhich he had imbibed from his predecessors, he adopt- ed measures which were opposed by the Parliament ; and even went so far as more than once to pronounce their dissolution. | His reign, in consequence, was a scene of faction and agitation, which proved the forerunners of a new revolution.'' The ap- pellation of Whigs and Tories, so famous in English history I ! 308 CHAPTER vm. took its rise in his reign. We could almost, however, pardon Charles for his faults and irregularities, in consideration of the benevolence and amiableness of his character. But it was otherwise with James 11. , who succeeded his brother on the British throne (16th Feb. 1685.) That Prince alienated the minds of his subjects by his haughty demeanour, and his extra- vagant zeal for the church of Rome, and the Jesuits his confes- sors. Scarcely was he raised to the throne, when he undertook to change the religion of his country, and to govern still more despotically than his brother had done. Encouraged by Louis XIV., who offered him money and troops, he was the first King of England that had kept on foot an army in time of peace, and caused the legislature to decide, that the King can dispense with the laws. Availing himself of this decision, he dispensed with the several statutes issued against the Catholics ; he per- mitted them the public exercise of their religion within the three kingdoms, and gradually gave them a preference in all places of trust. At length, he even solicited the Pope to send a nuncio to reside at his Court ; and on the arrival of Ferdi- nand Dada, to whom Innocent XL had confided this mission, he gave him a public and solemn entry to Windsor (1687.) Seven bishops, who had refused to publish the declaration re- specting Catholics, were treated as guilty of sedition, and im prisoned by his order in the Tower. During these transactions, the Queen, Mary of Modena, hap- pened to be delivered of a Prince (20th June, 1688,) known in history by the name of the Pretender, As her Majesty had had no children for more than six years, it was not difficult to gain credit to a report, that the young Prince was a suppositi- tious child. James II., by his first marriage with Anne Hyde, daughter of the Earl of Clarendon, had two daughters, both Pro- testants ; and regarded, till then, as heirs to the crown. Mary, the eldest, was married to William, Prince of Orange, and Anne, the youngest, to George, younger son of Frederic III., King of Denmark. The English Protestants had flattered themselves that all their wrongs and misfortunes would terminate with the death of James II. and the accession of the Princess of Orange to the throne. Being disappointed in these expectations by the birth of the Prince of Wales, their only plan was to dethrone the King. The Tories even joined with the Whigs in offering t'he crown to the Prince of Orange. William III., supported by the Dutch fleet, made a descent on England, and landed fifteen thousand men at Torbay (Sth November, 1688,) Avithout ex- periencing the smallest resistance on the part of James, who, seeing himself abandoned by the military, took the resolution PERIOD VII. A. D. 1648—1713. 309 of withdrawing to France, where he had already sent his Queen and his son, the young Prince of Wales. He afterwards re- turned to Irelajid, where he had a strong party ; but being con- quered by William at the battle of the Boyne (11th July 1690,) he was obliged to return to France, where he ended his days. Immediately after the flight of James, the Parliament of Eng- land declared, by an act, that as he had violated the funda- mental law of the constitution, and abandoned the kingdom, the throne was become vacant. They, therefore, unanimously con- ferred the crown on William III., Prince of Orange, and Mary his spouse (Feb. 22, 16S9 ;) intrusting the administration of af- fairs to the Prince alone. In redressing the grievances of the nation, they set new limits to the royal authority. By an Act, called the Declaration of Rights, they decreed, that the King could neither suspend, nor dispense with the laws ; that he could institute no new courts, nor levy money under any pre- tence whatever, nor maintain an army in time of peace, without the consent of Parliament. Episcopacy was abolished in Scot- land (1694,) and the liberty of the press sanctioned. The suc- cession of the crown was regulated by different Acts of Parlia- ment, one of which fixed it in the Protestant line, to the exclu- sion of Catholics. Next after William and Mary and their descendants, was the Princess Anne and her descendants. A subsequent Act conferred the succession on the House of Hanover (1701,) under the following conditions: — That the King or Queen of that family, on their accession to the throne, should be obliged to conform to the High Church, and the laws of 16S9 ; that without the consent of Parliament, they should never engage the nation in any war for the defence of their he- reditary dominions, nor go out of the kingdom ; and that they should never appoint foreigners to offices of trust. The rivalry between France and England assumed a higher tone under the reign of William III. ; and was increased by the powerful efforts which France was making to improve her ma- rine, and extend her navigation and her commerce. The colo- nies which she founded in America and the Indies, by bringing the two nations more into contact, tended to foment their jea- lousies, and multiply subjects of discord and division between them. From that time England eagerly seized every occasion for occupying France on the Continent of Europe ; and the whole policy of William, as we have seen, had no other aim than to thwart the ambitious views of Louis XIV. If this rivalry excited and prolonged wars which inflicted many cala- mities on the world, it became likewise a powerful stimulus for the contending nations to develope their whole faculties ; to 310 CHAPTER vm. make the highest attainments in the sciences, or which they were susceptible ; and to carry arts and civilization to the remotest countries in the world. William III. was succeeded by Anne (1702.) It was in net reign that the grand union between England and Scotland was accomplished, which incorporated them into one kingdom, by means of the same order of succession, and only one Parliament. That Princess had the honour of maintaining the balance oi Europe against France, by the clauses which she got inserted into the treaty of Utrecht. At her death (1st August 1714,) the throne of Great Britain passed to George I., the Elector of Hanover, whose mother, Sophia, derived her right to the British throne from James I., her maternal grandfather. The power and political influence of the United Provinces of the Netherlands had increased every day, since Spain acknow- ledged their independence by the treaty of Munster (1648.) Their extensive commerce to all parts of the globe, and their flourishing marine, attracted the admiration of all Europe. Sovereigns courted their alliance ; and the Hague, the capital of the Stales-General, became, in course of time, the centre of European politics. That Republic was the rival of England in all her commercial relations ; and she ventured also to dispute with her the empire of the sea, by refusing to lower her flag to j I British vessels. These disputes gave rise to bloody wars be- 1 1 tween the two States, in which the famous Dutch Admirals, j : Tromp and De Ruyter, distinguished themselves by their mari- I time exploits. De Ruyter entered the Thames with the Dutch j : fleet (1667,) advanced to Chatham, burnt the vessels in the roads i there, and threw the city of London into great consternation. j Nevertheless, by the treaties of Breda (1667) and Westminster j; (1654,) they agreed that their vessels and fleets should lower j I their flag when they met either one or more ships carrying the j j British flag, and that over all the sea, from Cape Finisterre in j j Gallicia, to the centre of Statt in Norway ; but the Stales-Gen- j 1 eral preserved Surinam, which they had conquered during the I j war ; and at the treaty of commerce which was signed at Breda, the navigation act was modified in their favour, in. so far that the produce and merchandise of Germany were to be considered , as productions of the soil of the Republic. j . It was during these wars that a change took place with regard I I to the Stadtholdership of the United Provinces. William II,, j j Prince of Orange, had alienated the hearts of his subjects by his I , attempts against their liberties ; and having, at his death, left i i his wife, the daughter of Charles I. of England, pregnant of a son (1650,) the States-General took the opportunity of leaving i-ERioDvn. A. D. 164S— 17J3. 311 that ofPce vacant, and taking upon themselves the direction of affairs. The suspicions which the House of Orange had excited in Cromwell by their alliance with the Stuarts, and the resent- ment of John de Witt, Pensionary of Holland, against the Stadt- holder, caused a secret article to be added to the treaty of West- minster, by which the States of Holland and West Friesland engaged never to elect William, the posthumous son of William II., to be Stadtholder ; and never to allow that the office of Captain-General of the Republic should be conferred on him. John de Witt likewise framed a regulation kno^vn by the name of the Perpetual Edict, which separated the Stadtholdership from the office of Captain and Admiral-General, and which enacted, that these functions should never be discharged by the same individual. Having failed, however, in his efforts to make the States-General adopt this regulation, which they considered as contrary to the union, John de Witt contented himself with obtaining the approbation of the States of Holland, who even went so far as to sanction the entire suppression of the Stadt- holdership. Matters continued in this situation until the time when Louis XIV. invaded Holland. His alarming progress caused a revo- lution in favour of the Prince of Orange. The ruling faction, at the head of which was John de Witt, then lost the good opinion of the people. He was accused of having neglected military affairs, and left the State without defence, and a prey to the en- emy. The first signal of '•evolution was given by the small town of Veere in Zealand. William was there proclaimed Stadtholder (June 1672,) and the example of Veere was soon followed by all the cities of Holland and Zealand. Every where the people compelled the magistrates to confer the Stadtholder- ship on the young Prince. The Perpetual Edict was abolished, and the Stadtholdership confirmed to William III. by the As- sembly of States. They even rendered thih dignity, as well as the office of Captain-General, hereditary to all the male and legitimate descendants of the Prince. It was on this occasion that the two brothers, John and Cornelius de Witt, were massa- cred by the people assembled at the Hague. After William was raised to the throne of Great Britain, he still retained the Stadtholdership, with the offices of Captain and Admiral-General of the Republic. England and Holland, united under the jurisdiction of the same prince, acted thence- forth in concert to ihwart the ambitious designs of Louis XIV. ; and he felt the effects of their power chiefly in the war of the Spanish Succession, when England and the States-General made extraordinary efforts to maintain the balance of th^ Continent 312 CHAPTER VTII. which they thought in danger. It was in consideration of these efforts that they guaranteed to the Dutch, by the treity of the Grand Alliance, as Avell as by that of Utrecht, a barrier against France, which was more amply defined by the Barrier Treaty, signed at Antwerp (15th November 1715,) under the mediation and guaranty of Great Britain. The provinces and towns of the Netherlands, both those that had been possessed by Charles II., and those that France had surrendered by the treaty of Utrecht, were transferred to the Emperor and the House of Austria, on condition that they should never be ceded under any title whatever ; neither to France, nor to any other prince except the heirs and successors of the House of Austria in Germany. It was agreed that there should always be kept in the Low Countries a body of Austrian troops, from thirty to thirty-five thousand men, of which the Emperor was to furnish three-fifths, and the States-General the remainder. Finally, the States- General were allowed a garrison, entirely composed of their own troops, in the cities and castles of Namur, Tournay, Menin, Fumes, Warneton, and the fortress of Kenock ; while the Em- peror engaged to contribute a certain sum annually for the main- tenance of these troops. Switzerland, since the confirmation of her liberty and inde- pendence by the peace of Westphalia, had constantly adhered to the system of neutrality which she had adopted ; and taken no part in the broils of her neighbours, except by furnishing troops to those powers with whom she was in alliance. The fortunate inability which was the natural consequence of her union, pointed out this line of conduct, and even induced the European States to respect the Helvetic neutrality. This profound peace, which Switzerland enjoyed by means of that neutrality, was never interrupted, except by occasional do- mestic quarrels, which arose from the difference of their religious opinions. Certain families, from the canton of Schweitz, had fled to Zurich on account of their religious tenets, and had been protected by that republic. This stirred up a war (1656) be- tween the Catholic cantons and the Zurichers, with their allies the Bernese ; but it was soon terminated by the peace of Baden, which renewed the clauses of the treaty of 1531, relative to these very subjects of dispute. Some attempts having afterwards been made against liberty of conscience, in the county of Toggenburg, by the Abbe of St, Gall, a new war broke out (1712,) between five of the Catholic cantons, and the two Protestant cantons of Zurich and Berne. These latter expelled the Abbe of St. Gall from his estates, and dispossessed the Catholics of the county of Baden, with a considerable part of the free bailiwicks which PERIOD VII. A. D. 1648 — 1713. 313 1 Ti'cre granted to them by the treaty concluded at Araw. The Abbe then saw himself abandoned by the Catholic cantons; and it was only in virtue of a treaty, which he concluded with Zu- rich and Berne (1718,) that his successor obtained his restoration Sweden, during the greater part of this period, supported the first rank among the powers of the North. The vigour of her government, added to the weakness of her neighbours, and the important advantages which the treaties of Slolbova, Stumsdori, Bromsbro, and Westphalia had procured her, secured this supe- riority ; and gave her the same influence in the North that France held in the South. Christina, the daughter of Gustavus Adolpiius, held the reins of government in Sweden about the middle of the seventeenth century ; but to gratify her propensity for the fine arts, she resolved to abdicate the crown (1654.) Charles Gustavus, Count Palatine of Deux-Ponts, her cousin- german, succeeded her, under the title of Charles X. Being nurtured in the midst of arms, and ambitious only of wars and battles, he was anxious to distinguish himself on the throne. John Casimir, King of Poland, having provoked him, by protest- ing against his accession to the crown of Sweden, Charles made this an occasion of breaking the treaty of Stumsdorf, which was still in force, and invaded Poland. Assisted by Frederic Wil- liam, the Elector of Brandenburg, whom he had attached to his interests, he gained a splendid victory over the Poles near War- saw (July 1656.) At that crisis, the fate of Poland would have been decided, if the Czar, Alexis Michaelovitz, who was also at war with the Poles, had chosen to make common cause with her new enemies ; but Alexis thought it more for his advantage to conclude a truce with the Poles, and attack the Swedes in Li- vonia, Ingria, and Carelia. The Emperor Leopold and the King C'f Denmark followed the example of the Czar; and the Elector of Brandenburg, after obtaining the sovereignty of the dutchy of Prussia, by the treaty which he concluded with Poland at We- lau, acceded in like manner to this league, — the object of which was to secure the preservation of Poland, and maintain the equi- librium of the North. Attacked by so many and such powerful enemies, the King of Sweden determined to withdraw his troops from Poland, and direct his principal force against Denmark. Having made him- self master of Holstein, Sleswick, and Jutland, he passed the Belts on the ice (January 1658) with his army and artillery, and advanced towards the capital of the kingdom. This bold step intimidated the Danes so much, that they submitted to those ex- ceedingly severe conditions which Charles made them sign at Roschild (February 1658.) Scarcely was this treaty concluded. 314 CHAPTEK vni. when the King of Sweden broke it anew; and under difToen^ pretexts, laid siege to Copenhagen. His intention was, if he had carried that place, to raze it to the ground, to annihilate the kingdom of Denmark, and fix his residence in the province of Schonen, where he could maintain his dom.inion over the North and the Baltic. The besieged Danes, however, made a vigor- ous defence, and they were encouraged by the example of Fred- eric III., who superintended in person the whole operations of the siege ; nevertheless, they must certainly have yielded, had not the Dutch, who were alarmed for their commerce in the Bal- tic, sent a fleet to the assistance of Denmark. These republi- cans fought an obstinate naval battle with the Swedes in the Sound (29th October 1658.) The Swedish fleet was repulsed, and the Dutch succeeded in relieving Copenhagen, by throwing in a supply of provisions and ammunition. The King of Sweden persisted, nevertheless, in his determi- nation to reduce that capital. He was not even intimidated by the treaties which France, England, and Holland, had conclu- ded at the Hague, for maintaining the equilibrium of the North ; but a premature death, at the age of thirty-eight, put an end to his ambitious projects (23d February 1660.) The regents who governed the kingdom during the minority of his son Charles XI., immediately set on foot negotiations Avith all the powers that were in league against Sweden. By the peace which they concluded at Copenhagen with Denmark (July 3, 1660,) they surrendered to that crown several of their late conquests ; re- serving to themselves only the provinces of Schonen, Bleckin- gen, Halland, and Bohus. The Duke of Holstein-Gottorp, the protege of Charles X., was secured by that treaty in the sove- reignty of that part of Sleswick, which had been guaranteed to him by a former treaty concluded at Copenhagen. The war with Poland, and her allies the Elector of Brandenburg and the Emperor, v/as terminated by the peace of Oliva (May 3d 1660.) The King of Poland gave up his pretensions to the crown of Sweden ; while the former ceded to the latter the provinces of Livonia and Esthonia, and the islands belonging to them ; to be possessed on the same terms that had been agreed on at the treaty of Stumsdorf in 1635. The Duke of Courland was re-es- tablished in his dutchy, and the sovereignty of ducal Prussia confirmed to the House of Brandenburg. Peace between Swe- den and Russia was concluded at Kardis in Esthonia ; Avhiie the latter power surrendered to Sweden all the places which she had conquered in Livonia. Sweden was afterwards drawn into the war against the Duicli by Louis XIV., when she experienced nothing but disasters. : I PERIOD VII. A. D. 1648 — 1713. 315 She was deprived of all her provinces in the Empire, and only regained possession of them in virtue of the treaties of Zell, Nimeguen, St. Germain-en-Laye, Fountainbleau, and Lunden (1679,) which she concluded successively with the powers in league against France. Immediately after that peace, a revolu- tion happened in the government of Sweden. The abuse which the nobles made of their privileges, the extravagant authority claimed by the senate, and the different methods which the grandees employed for gradually usurping the domains of the crown, had excited the jealousy of the other orders of the state. It is alleged, that John Baron Gillenstiern, had suggested to Charles XI. the idea of taking advantage of this discontent to augment the royal authority, and humble the arrogance of the senate and the nobility. In compliance with his advice, the King assembled the Estates of the kingdom at Stockholm (1680 ;) and having quartered some regiments of his own guards in the city, he took care to remove such of the nobles as might give the greatest cause of apprehension. An accusation was lodged at the Diet against those ministers who had conducted the ad- ministration during the King's minority. To them were attri- buted the calamities and losses of the state, and for these they were made responsible. The Senate was also implicated. They were charged with abusing their authority ; and it was proposed that the Stales should make investigation, whether the powers which the Senate had assumed were conformable to the laws of the kingdom. The States declared that the King was not bound by any other form of government than that which the constitu- tion prescribed ; that the Senate formed neither a fifth order, nor an intermediate power between the King and the States ; and that it ought to be held simply as a Council, with whom the { King might consult and advise. A College of Reunion, so called, was also established at this Diet, for the purpose of making inquiry as to the lands granted, sold, mortgaged, or exchanged by preceding Kings, either in Sweden or Livonia ; with an offer on the part of the crown to reimburse the proprietors for such sums as they had originally paid for them. This proceeding made a considerable augmen- tation to the revenues of the crown ; but a va^ number of pro- prietors were completely ruined by it. A subsequent diet went even further than that of 1680. They declared, by statute, that though the King was enjoined to govern his dominions accord- iug to the laws, this did not take from him the power of altering these laws. At length the act of 1693 decreed that the Kiny was absolute master, and sole depository of the sovereign power; without being responsible for his actions to any power en earth ; 316 CHAPTER Vm. and that he was entitled to govern the kingdom according to his will and pleasure. It was in virtue of these different enactments and concessions, that the absolute power which had been conferred on Charles XL, was transmitted to the hands of his son Charles XII., who was only fifteen years of age when he succeeded his father (April 1, 1697.) By the abuse which this Prince made of these dangerous prerogatives, he plunged Sweden into an abyss of troubles; and brought her down from that high rank which she had occupied in the political system of Europe, since the reign of Gustavus Adolphus. The youth of Charles appeared to his neighbours to afford them a favourable opportunity for recover- ing what they had lost by the conquests of his predecessors. Augustus II., King of Poland, being desirous to regain Livonia, and listening to the suggestions of a Livonian gentleman, named John Patkul, who had been proscribed in Sweden, he set on foot a negotiation with the courts of Russia and Copenhagen ; the result of which was, a secret and offensive alliance concluded between these three powers against Sweeden (1699.) Peter the Great, who had just conquered Azoff at the mouth of the Don. and equipped his first fleet, was desirous also to open up the coasts of the Baltic, of which his predecessors had been dispossessed by Sweden. War accordingly broke out in the course of the year 1700. The King of Poland invaded Livonia ; the Danes fell upon Sleswick, where they attacked the Duke of Holstein-Got- torp, the ally of Sweden ; while the Czar, at the head of an army of eighty thousand men, laid siege to the city of Narva. The King of Sweden, attacked by so many enemies at once, directed his first efforts against Denmark, where the danger ap- pear ^d most pressing. Assisted by the fleets of England and Holland, who had guaranteed the last peace, he made a descent on the Isle of Zealand, and advanced rapidly towards Copenha- gen. This obliged Frederic IV. to conclude a special peace with him at Travendahl (Aug. 18, 1700,) by which that prince consented to abandon his allies, and restore the Duke of Holstein- Gottorp to the same state in which he had been before the war. Nexi directing his march against the Czar in Esthonia, the young King forced the Russians from their entrenchments before Narva (Nov. 30,) and made prisoners of all the general and principal oflicers of the Russian army ; among others, Field-Marshal General the Duke de Croi. Having thus got clear of the Russians, the Swedish Monarch then attacked King Augustus, who had introduced a Saxon army into Poland, without being authorized by that Republic. Charles vanquished that prince in the three famous battles of Riga (1701,; I ; I ' PERIOD vn. A. D. 1648—1713. 317 Clissau (1702,) and Pultusk (1703 ;) and obliged the Poles to depose him, and elect in his place Stanislaus Lecksinski, Pa- latine of Posen, and a proteg^ of his own. Two victories which were gained over the Saxons, and their allies the Russians, the one at Punie (1704,) and the other at Fraustadt (1706,) caused Stanislaus to be acknowledged by the whole Republic of Po- land, and enabled the King of Sweden to transfer the seat of war to Saxony. Having marched through Silesia, without the previous authority of the Court of Vienna, he took Leipzic. and compelled Augustus to sign a treaty of peace at Alt-Ran stadt, by which that Prince renounced his alliance with the Czar, and acknowledged Stanislaus legitimate King of Poland. John Patkul being delivered up to the King of Sweden, ac- cording to an article in that treaty, was broken on the wheel, for having been the principal instigator of the war. The prosperity of Charles XII., had now come to an end From this time he experienced only a series of reverses, which were occasioned as much by his passion for war, as by his in- discretions, and the unconquerable obstinacy of his character. The Russians had taken advantage of his long sojourn in Po- land and Saxony, and conquered the greater part of Ingria and Livonia. The Czar had now advanced into Poland, where he had demanded of the Poles to declare an interregnum, and elect a new King. In this state of matters, the King of Sweden left Saxony to march against the Czar ; and compelled him to eva- cuate Poland, and retire on Smolensko. Far from listenino-, however, to the equitable terms of peace which Peter offered him, he persisted in his resolution to march on to Moscow, in the hope of dethroning the Czar, as he had dethroned Augus- tus. The discontent which the innovations of the Czar had ex- cited in Russia, appeared to Charles a favourable opportunity for effecting his object ; but on reaching the neighbourhood ot Mohilew, he suddenly changed his purpose, and, instead of di- recting his rouie towards the capital of Russia, he turned to the right, and penetrated into the interior of the Ukraine, in order to meet Mazeppa, Hetman of the Cossacs, who had offered .0 join him with all his troops. Nothing could have been more imprudent than this determination. By thus marchino into the Ukraine, he separated himself from General Lewen- haupt, who had brought him, according to orders, a powerful re inforcement fromLivonia ; and trusted himself among a fickle and inconstant people, disposed to break faith on every opportunity. This inconsiderate step of Charles did not escape the pene- tration of the Czar, who knew well how to profit by it. Putting himself at the head of a chosen body, he intercepted General 318 CHAPTER Vra. Lewenhaupt, and joined him at Desna, two miles from Pro- poisk, in the Palatinate of Mscislaw. The battle which he fought with that general (October 9, 170S,) was most obstinate, and, by the confession of the Czar, the first victory which the Russians had gained over regular troops. The remains of Lewenhaupt's army, having joined the King in the Ukraine, Charles undertook the siege of Pultowa, situated on the banks of the Vorsklaw, at the extremity of that province. It was near this place, that the famous battle was fought (8th July, 1709,) which blasted all the laurels of the King of Sweden. The Czar gained theia a complete victory. Nine thousand Swedes were left on ihe field of battle ; and fourteen thousand, who had retired with General Lewenhaupt, towards Perevo- latschna, between the Vorsklaw and the Nieper, were made pri- soners of war, three days after the action. Charles, accompanied by his ally Mazeppa, saved himself with difficulty at Bender in Turkey. This disastrous route revived the courage of the enemies of Sweden. The alliance was renewed between the Czar, Au- gustus II., and FredericIV.jKing of Denmark. Stanislaus was abandoned. AH Poland again acknowledged Augustus II. The Danes made a descent on Schonen ; and the Czar achieved the conquest of Ingria, Livonia, and Carelia. The Slates that were leagued against France in the war of the Spanish Suc- cession, wishing to prevent Germany from becoming the theatre of hostilities, concluded a treaty at the Hague (31st March 1710,) by which they undertook, under certain conditions, to guarantee the neutrality of the Swedish provinces in Germany, as well as that of Sleswick and Jutland ; but the King of Swe- den having constantly declined acceding to this neutrality, the possessions of the Swedes in Germany were also seized ar.d conquered in succession. The Duke of Holstein-Gottorp, .he nephew of Charles XII., was involved in his disgrace, and stripped of his estates by the king of Denmark (1714.) In the midst of these disasters, the inflexible King of Swe- den persisted in prolonging his sojourn at Bender, making re- peated efforts to rouse the Turks against the Russians. He did not return from Turkey till 1714, when his affairs were already totally ruined. The attempts which he then made, either to renew the war in Poland, or invade the provinces of the Em- pire, excited the jealousy of the neighbouring powers. A for- midable league was raised against him ; besides the Czar, the Kings of Poland, Denmark, Prussia, and England, joined it. Stralsund and Wismar, the only places which Sweden still re- tained in Germany, fell into the hands of the allies ; while the 1 1 PERIOD vii. A. D. 1648— 1713. 319 Cza'- added to these losses the conquest of Finland and Savolax, In a situation so desperate, Charles, by the advice of his minis- ter, Baron Gortz, set on foot a special and secret negotiation with the Czar, which took place in the isle of Aland, in course of the year 1718. There it was proposed to reinstate Stanis- laus on the throne of Poland ; to restore to Sweden her pos- sessions in the Empire ; and even to assist her in conquering Norway ; by way of compensation for the loss of Ingria, Ca- relia, Livonia, and Esthonia, which she was to cede to the Czar. That negotiation was on the point of being finally closed, when it was broken off by the ujiexpected death of Charles XII. That unfortunate prince was slain (December 11th, 1718,) at the siege of Fredericshall in Norway, while visiting the trenches ; being only thirty-seven years of age, and leaving the affairs of his kingdom in a most deplorable state. The new regency of Sweden, instead of remaining in friend- ship with the Czar, changed their policy entirely. Baron de Gortz, the friend of the late King, fell a sacrifice to the public displeasure, and a negotiation was opened with the Court of G.Britain. A treaty of peace and alliance was concluded at Stockholm (Nov. 20, 1719,) between Great Britain and Swe- den. George I., on obtaining the cession of the dutchies of Bremen and Verden, as Elector of Hanover, engaged to send a strong squadron to the Baltic, to prevent any further invasion from the Czar, and procure for Sweden more equitable terms of peace on the part of that Prince. The example of Great Bri- tain was soon followed by the other allied powers, who were anxious to accommodate matters with Sweden. By the treaty concluded at Stockholm (21st January, 1720,) the King of Prussia got the town of Stettin, and that part of Pomerania, v/hich lies between the Oder and the Peene. The King of i j Denmark consented to restore to Sweden the towns of Stral- I j sund and Wismar, with the isle of Rugen, and the part of Po- i i merania^ which extends from the sea to the river Peene. Swe- • j den, on ner side, renounced in favour of Denmark, her exemp- tion from the duties of the Sound and the two Belts, which had been guaranteed to her by former treaties. The Czar was the only person who, far from being intimidated by the menaces of England, persisted in his resolution of not making peace with Sweden, except on the conditions which he had dictated to her. The war was, therefore, continued between Russia and Sweden, during the two campaigns of 1720 and 1721. Different parts of the Swedish coast were laid desolate by the Czar, who put all to fire and sword, To stop the progress of these devasta lions, the Swedes at length consented to accept the peace which ll i" i I 320 CHAPTER VIU. the Czar offered them, which was finally signed at Nystadt (13lh September 1721.) Finland was surrendered to Sweden on condition of her formally ceding to the Czar the provinces of Livonia, Esthonia, Ingria, and Carelia ; their limits to be deter- mined according to the regulations of the treaty. The ascendency which Sweden had gained in the North since the reign of Gustavus Adolphus, had become so fatal to Den- mark, that she was on the point of being utterly subverted, and effaced from the number of European powers. Nor did she extricate herself from the disastrous wars which she had to sup- port against Charles X., until she had sacrificed some of her best provinces ; such as Schonen, Bieckingen, Halland, and the government of Bohus, which Frederic III. ceded to Sweden by j j the treaties of Roschild and Copenhagen. It was at the close of i this war that a revolution happened in the governmentof Denmark. I Until that time, it had been completely under the aristocracy of the j j nobles ; the throne was elective ; and all power was coricentrated ! j in the hands of the senate, and the principal members of the j nobility. The royal prerogative was limited to the command of ! the army, and the presidency in the' Senate. The King was j | even obliged, by a special capitulation, in all affairs which did i not require the concurrence of the Senate, to take the advice of 1 1 four great officers of the crown, viz. the Grand Master, the j Chancellor, the Marshal, and the Admiral ; who were considered I as so many channels or vehicles of the royal authority. ■ The state of exhaustion to which Denmark was reduced at the time she made peace Avith Sweden, obliged Frederic III. to convoke an assembly of the States-General of the kingdom. These, which were composed of three orders, viz. the nobility, the clergy, and the burgesses, had never been summoned to- gether in that form since the year 1536. At their meeting at Copenhagen, the two inferior orders reproached the nobles with having been the cause of all the miseries and disorders of the State, by the exorbitant and tyrannical power which they had usurped ; and what tended still more to increase their animosity against them, was the obstinacy with which they maintained their privileges and exemptions from the public burdens, to the prejudice of the lower orders. One subject of discussion was, to find a tax, the proceeds of which should be applied to the most pressing wants of the State. The nobles proposed a duty on articles of consumption ; but under restrictions with regard to themselves, that could not but exasperate the lower orders. The latter proposed, in testimony of their discontent, to let out to the highest bidder the fiefs of the crown, which the nobles held at rents extremely moderate. This proposal was highly resented I 1 PERIOD VII. A. D. 1648 1713. 321 by the nobility, who regarded it as a blow aimed at tnelr rights and properties ; and they persisted in urging a tax on articles of consumption, such as they had proposed. Certain unguarded expressions which escaped some of the members of the nobility, gave rise to a tumult of indignation, and suggested to the two leaders of the clergy and the burgesses, viz. the bishop of Zea- land and the burgomaster of Copenhagen, the idea of framing a declaration for the purpose of rendering the crown hereditary, both in the male and female descendants of Frederic III. It was not difficult for them to recommend this project to their respective orders, who flattered themselves that, under a heredi- tary monarchy, they would enjoy that equality which was denied them under an aristocracy of the nobles. The act of this de- claration having been approved and signed by the two orders, was presented in their name to the Senate, who rejected it, on the ground that the States-General then assembled, had no right to deliberate on that proposition ; but the clergy and the burges- ses, Avithout being disconcerted, went in a body to the King, carrying with them the Act which offered to make the crown hereditary in his family. The nobles having made a pretence of wishing to quit the city in order to break up the Diet, care was taken to shut the doors. The members of the Senate and the nobility had then no other alternative left than to agree to the resolution of the two inferior orders ; and the offer of the c^o^vn: was made to the King by the three orders conjunctly ( I3th October 1660.) They then tendered him the capitulation, which was annulled ; and at the same time they liberated him from the oath which he had taken on the day of his coronation. A sort of dictatorship was then conferred on him, to regulate the new con- stitutional charter, according to his good pleasure. All the orders of the State then took a new oath of fealty and homage to him, while the King himself was subjected to no oath whatever. Finally, the three orders separately remitted an Act to the King, declaring the crown hereditary in all the descendants of Frederic III., both male and female ; conferring on him and his succes- sors an unlimited power j and granting him the privilege of regulating the order both of the regency and the succession to the throne. Thus terminated that important revolution, without any dis- order, and without sheddmg a single drop of blood. It was in virtue of those powers which the States had conferred on him, that the King published what is called the Royal Law, regarded as the only fundamental law of Denmark. The King was there declared absolute sovereign, above all human laws, acknowledg- mg no superior but God, and unitinsr in his own person all the til 322 CHAPTER VIU. rights and prerogatives of royalty, without any exception whatever He could exercise these prerogatives in virtue of his own author ily ; but he was obliged to respect the Royal Law ; and he could neither touch the Confession of Augsburg, which had been adopted as the national religion, nor authorize any partition of the kingdom, which was declared indivisible ; nor change the order of succession as established by the Royal Law. That suc- cession was lineal, according to the right of primogeniture and descent. Females were only admitted, failing all the male issue 3f Frederic III. ; and the order in which they were to succeed, was defined with the most scrupulous exactness. The term of majority was fixed at the age of thirteen ; and it was in the power of the reigning monarch to regulate, by his will, the tutor- age and the regency during such minority. This constitutional law gave the Danish government a vigour which it never had before ; the effects of which were manifested in the war which Christian V. undertook against Sweden (1675,) in consequence of his alliance with Frederic William, Elector of Brandenburg. The Danes had the advantage of the Swedes both by sea and land. Their fleet, under the command of Niels Juel, gained two naval victories over them, the one near the Isle of Oeland, and the other in the bay of Kioge, on the coast of Zealand (1677.) That war was terminated by the peace of Lunden (Oct. 6th 1679,) which restored matters be- tween the two nations, to the same footing on which they had been before the war. The severe check which Sweden re- ceived by the defeat of Charles XIL, before Pultowa, tended to extricate Denmark from the painful situation in which she had been placed with respect to that power. The freedom of the Sound, which Sweden had maintained during her prosperity, was taken from her by the treaty of Stockholm, and by the ex- planatory articles of Fredericsburg, concluded between Sweden and Denmark, (14th June 1720.) That kingdom likewise re- tained, in terms of the treaty, the possession of the whole dutchy of Sieswick, with a claim to the part belonging to the duke of Holstein-Gottorp, whom Sweden was obliged to remove from under her protection. Poland, at the commencement of this period, presented an afflicting spectacle, under the unfortunate reign of John Casimir, the brother and successor of Uladislaus VIL (1648.) Distracted at once by foreign wars and intestine factions, she seemed every moment on the brink of destruction ; and while the neighbour- ing states were augmenting their forces, and strengthening the hands of their governments, Poland grew gradually weaker and weaker, and at length degenerated into absolute anarchv. The PERIOD VII. A. D. 1648—1713. 323 origin of the Liberum Veto of the Poles, which allowed the op- position of a single member to frustrate the deliberations of the whole Diet, belongs to the reign of John Casimir. The first that suspended the Diet, by the interposition of his veto, was Schinski, member for Upita in Lithuania ; his example, though at first disapproved, found imitators ; and this foolish practice, which allowed one to usurp the prerogative of a majority, soon passed into a law, and a maxim of state. Towards the end of the reign of Uladislaus VII. a murderous war had arisen in Poland, that of the Cossacs. This warlike people, of Russian origin, as their language and their religion prove, inhabited both banks of the Borysthenes, beyond Kiow ; where they were subdivided into regiments, under the command of a general, called Hetman ; and served as a military frontier for Poland against the Tartars and Turks. Some infringements that had been made on their privileges, added to the efforts which the Poles had made to induce their clergy to separate from the Greek Church, and acknowledge the supremacy of the Pope, ex- asperated the Cossacs, and engendered among them a spirit of revolt (1647.) Assisted by the Turks of the Crimea, they in- vaded Poland, and committed terrible devastations. The Poles succeeded from time to time in pacifying them, and even con- cluded a treaty with them ; but the minds of both parties being exasperated, hostilities always recommenced with every new offence. At length, their Hetman, Chmielniski, being hardly pressed by the Poles, took the resolution of soliciting the protec- tion of Russia, and concluded a treaty with the Czar Alexis Michaelovitz (Jan. 16, 1654,) in virtue of which, Kiow and the other towns of the Ukraine, under the power of the Cossacs, were planted with Russian garrisons. It Avas on this occasion that the Czar retook the city of Smolensko from the Poles, as well as most of the districts that had been ceded to Poland, by the treaties of Dwilina and Viasma. That prince made also several other conquests from the Poles; he took possession of Wilna, and several places in Lithuania, at the very time when Charles X. was invading Poland, and threatening that country with entire destruction. The Czar, however, instead of fol. ow- ing up his conquests, judged it more for his interest to conclude a truce with the Poles ^1656,) that he might turn his arms against Sweden. The peace of Oliva put an end to the war between Poland and Sweden ; but hostilities were renewed between the Russians and the Poles, which did not terminate till the treaty of Andrus- !50v (Jan. 1667.) The Czar restored to the Poles a part of his conquests ; but he retained Smolensko, Novogorod-Sieverskoe. 324 CtlAFfbR Vm. Tchernigov, Kiow, and all the country of the Cossacs, beyond the Borysthenes or Dnieper. The Cossacs on this side the river were annexed to Poland, and as for those who dwelt near the mouth of the Dnieper, called Zaporogs, it was agreed that they should remain under the common jurisdiction of the two states ; ready to serve against the Turks whenever circumstances might require it. The wars of which we have just spoken, were attended with troubles and dissensions, Avhich reduced Poland to the most deplorable condition during the reign of John Casi- mir. That prince at length, disgusted with a crown which he had found to be composed of thorns, resolved to abdicate the throne (16th Sept. 1668;) and retiring to France, he there ended his days. Michael Wiesnouiski, who succeeded John Casimir, after a stormy interregnum of seven months, had no other merit than that of being descended in a direct line from Coribut, the brother of Jagellon, King of Poland. His reign was a scene of great agitation, and of unbridled anarchy. Four diets were interrupted in less than four years ; the war with the Cossacs was renewed ; the Turks and the Tartars, the allies of the Cossacs, seized the city of Kaminiec (1672,) the only bulwark of Poland against the Ottomans. Michael, being thrown into a state of alarm, con- cluded a disgraceful peace with the Turks ; he gaA-^e up to them Kaminiec and Podolia, with their ancient limits ; and even agreed to pay them an annual tribute of twenly-two thousand ducats. The Ukraine, on this side the Borysthenes, was aban- doned to the Cossacs, who were to be placed under the protection of the Turks. This treaty was not ratified by the Republic of Poland, who preferred to continue the war. John Sobieski, Grand General of the Crown, gained a brilliant victory over the Turks near Choczim (Nov. 11th, 1673.) It took place the next day after the death of Michael, and determined the Poles to con- fer their crown on the victorious General. Sobieski did ample justice to the choice of his fellow-citizens. By the peace which he concluded at Zarowno with the Turks (26th Oct. 1676,) he relieved Poland from the tribute lately pro mised, and recovered som.e parts of the Ukraine ; but the city c Kaminiec was left in the power of the Ottomans, with a consid- erable portion of the Ukraine and Podolia. Poland then entered into an alliance with the House of Austria, against the Porte Sobieski became the deliverer of Vienna ; he signalized himself in the campaigns of 1683 and 1684 ; and if he did not gain any important advantages over the Turks, if he had not' even the satisfaction of recovering Kaminiec and Podolia, it must be as- cribed to the incompetence of his means, and to the disunion and PERIOD VII. A. r. 164S— 1713. 325 indifTerence of the Poles, who refused to make a single sacrifice in the cause. Sobieski was even forced to have recourse to the protection of the Kussians against the Turks ; and saw himself leduced to the painful necessity of setting his hand to the defi- nitive peace which was concluded with Russia at Moscow (May (ith, 1686,) by which Poland, in order to obtain the alliance of that power against the Ottomans, consented to give up Smolen- fcko, Belaia, Dorogobuz, Tchernigov, Starodub, and Novogorod- Sieverskoe, with their dependencies ; as also the whole territory known by the name of Little Russia, situated on the left bank of the Borysthenes, between that river and the frontier of Putivli, as far as Perevoloczna. The city of Kiow, with its territory as determined by the treaty, was also included in that cession. Finally, the Cossacs, called Zaporogs and Kudafc, Avho, accord- ing to the treaty of Andrussov, ought to have been dependencies of these two states, were reserved exclusively to Russia. Sobie- ski shed tears when he was obliged to sign that treaty at Leopold (or Lemberg,) in presence of the Russian ambassadors. The war with the Turks did not terminate until the reign of Augustus n. the successor of John Sobieski. The peace of Carlowitz, which that prince concluded with the Porte (1699,) procured for Poland the restitution of Kaminiec, as well as that part of the Ukraine, which the peace of Zarowno had ceded to the Turks. Russia became every day more prosperous under the princes of the House of Romanow. She gained a decided superiority over Poland, who had formerly dictated the law to her. Alexis Michaelovitz not only recovered from the Poles what they had conquered from Russia during the disturbances occasioned by the two pretenders of the name of Demetrius ; we have already observed, that he dispossessed them ot Kiow, and all that part of the Ukraine, or Little Russia, which lies on the left bank of the Borysthenes. Theodore Alexievitz, the son and successor of Alexis Mi- chaelovitz, rendered his reign illustrious by the wisdom of his administration. Guided by the advice of his enlightened mi- nister. Prince Galitzin, he conceived the bold project of abolish- ing the hereditary orders of the nobility, and the prerogatives that were attached to them. These orders were destructive of all subordination in civil as well as in military affairs, and gave rise to a multitude of disputes and litigations, of which a court, named Rozrad, took cognizance. The Czar, in a grand assem- bly which he convoked at Moscow (1682,) abolished the here- ditary rank of the nobles. He burnt the deeds and registers by wh'ch they were attested, and obliged every noble family to Jj 326 CHAPTER vra. produce the extracts of these registers, which they had in their possession, that they might be committed to the flames. That prince having no children of his own, had destined his younger brother Peter Alexievitz to be his successor, to the exclusion of John, his elder brother, on account of his incapacity. But, on the death of Theodore, both princes were proclaimed at once by the military, and the government was intrusted to the Princess Sophia, their elder sister, who assumed the title of Autocratix and Sovereign of all the Russias. Peter, who was the son of the second marriage of the Czar, was at that time only ten years of age. It was during the administration of the Princess Sophia that the peace of Moscow was concluded (May 6, 1686 ;) one clause of which contained an alliance, offensive and defen- sive, between Russia and Poland against the Porte. Peter had no sooner attained the age of seventeen than he seized the reins of government, and deposed his sister Sophia, whom he sent to a convent. Endowed with an extraordinary genius, this Prince became the reformer of his Empire, which, under his reign, assumed an aspect totally new. By the advice of Le Fort, a native of Geneva, who had entered the Russian service, and whom he had received into his friendship and con- fidence, he turned his attention to every branch of the public administration. The military system was changed, and mo- delled after that of the civilized nations of Europe. He found- ed the maritime power of Russia, improved her finances, en- couraged commerce and manufactures, introduced letters and arts into his dominions, and applied himself to reform the lav/s, to polish and refine the manners of the people. I ! Peter, being in alliance with Poland, engaged in the war against the Porte, and laid open the Black Sea by his conquest of the city and port of Azoff; and it was on this occasion that he equipped his first fleet at Woronitz. Azoff remained in his possession, by an article of the peace which was concluded with the Porte at Constantinople (13th July, 1700.) About the same time, Peter abolished the patriarchal dignity, which ranked the head of the Russian Church next to the Czar, and gave him a dangerous influence in the affairs of government. He trans- ferred the authority of the patriarch to a college of fifteen per- sons, called the Most Holy Synod, whose duty it was to take cognizance of ecclesiastical affairs, and in general, of all matters which had fallen within the jurisdiction of the patriarch. The members of this college were obliged to take the oath at the hands of the Sovereign, and to be appointed by him on the pre- sentation of the Synod. Being desirous of seeing and examining in person the man- li PERIOD VII. A. n 1648—1713. 327 ners and customs of other nations, he undertook two diflferenl v^cyages into foreign countries, divested of that pomp which is | the usual accompaniment of princes. During these travels, he cultivated the arts and sciences, especially those connected with commerce and navigation ; he engaged men of talents in his services, such as naval officers, engineers, surgeons, artists, and mechanics of all kinds, whom he dispersed over his vast do- minions, to instruct and improve the Russians. During his first voyage to Holland and England, the Strelitzes, the only per- manent troops known in Russia before his time, revolted ; they were first instituted by the Czar, John Basilovitz IV. They fought after the manner of the Janissaries, and enjoyed nearly the same privileges. Peter, with the intention of disbanding these seditious and undisciplined troops, had stationed them on the frontiers of Lithuania ; he had also removed them from being his own body-guard, a service which he entrusted to the regiments raised by himself This sort of degradation incensed the Stre- litzes, who took the opportunity of the Czar's absence to revolt. They directed their march to the city of Moscow, with the design of deposing the Czar, and replacing Sophia on the throne ; but they were defeated by the Generals Schein and Gordon, who had marched to oppose them. Peter, on his return, caused two thousand of them to be executed, and incorporated the rest among his troops. He afterwards employed foreign officers, either Ger- mans or Swedes, to instruct the Russians in the military art. It was chiefly during the war with Sweden that the Russian army was organized according to the European system. The Czar took advantage of the check he had sustained before Narva (Nov. 30, 1700,) to accomplish this important change in levying, equipping, and training all his troops after the German manner. He taught the Russians the art of combating and conquering the Swedes ; and while the King of Sweden was bent on the ruin of Augustus II., and made but feeble efforts against the Czar, the latter succeeded in conquering Ingria from the Swedes, and laid open the navigation of the Baltic. He took the fortress of Noteburg (1702,) which he afterwards called Schlisselburg ; he next made himself master of Nyenschantz, Kopori, and Jamp (now Jamburg) in Ingria. The port of Nyenchantz was entirely razed ; and the Czar laid the foundation of St. Petersburg in one of the neighbouring islands of the Neva (May 27, 1703.) In the middle of winter he constructed the fort of Cronschlot to serve as a defence for the new city, which he intended to make the capital of his Empire, and the principal dep6t for the com- merce and marine of Russia. The fortune of this new capital 328 CHAPTER VIII. was decided by the famous battle of Pultowa (July 8, 1709,) which likewise secured the preponderance of Russia in the North. Charles XII., who had taken refuge in Turkey, used every effort to instigate the Turks against the Russians ; and he suc- ceeded by dint of intrigue. The Porte declared war againsi. the Czar towards the end of the year 1710 ; the latter opened the campaign of 1711 by an expedition which he undertook into Moldavia ; but having rashly penetrated into the interior of that province, he was surrounded by the Grand Vizier near Falczi on the Pruth. Besieged in his camp by an army vastly supe- rior to his own, and reduced to the last necessity, he found no other means of extricating himself from this critical situation, than by agreeing to a treaty, which he signed in the camp of Falczi (21st July 1711 ;) in virtue of which, he consented to re- store to the Turks the fortress of Azoff, with its territory and its dependencies. This loss was amply compensated by the im- portant advantages which the peace with Sweden, signed at Ny- stadt (Sept. 10, 1721,) procured the Czar. It was on this occa- sion that the Senate conferred on him the epithet of Great, the Father of his Country, and Emperor of all the Russias. His inauguration to the Imperial dignity took place, October 22d 1721, the very day of the rejoicing that had been appointed for the celebration of the peace. Peter himself put the Imperial crown on his own head. That great prince had the vexation to see Alexis Czarowitz his son, and presumptive heir to the Empire, thwarting all his improvements, and caballing in secret with his enemies. Being at length compelled to declare that he had forfeited his right to the throne, he had him condemned to death as a traitor (1718.) In consequence of this tragical event, he published an Ukase, which vested in the reigning prince the privilege of nominating his successor, and even of changing the appointment whenever he might judge it necessary. This arrangement became fatal to Russia ; the want of a fixed and permanent order of succession occasioned troubles and revolutions which frequently distracted the whole Empire. This law, moreover, made no provision in cases where the reigning prince might neglect to settle the suc- cession during his life ; as happened with Peter himself, who died without making or appointing any successor (Feb. 1725.) Catherine I., his spouse, ascended the throne, which, after a reign of two years, she transmitted to Peter, son of the unfortu- nate Alexis. In Hungary, the precautions that had been taken by the States of Presburg to establish civil and religious liberty on a solid ba- sis, did not prevent disturbances from springing up in that king- PERIOD vii. A. 1). 1648— 171b. 329 dom. The Court of Vienna, perceiving the necessity of consoh- dating its vast monarchy, whose incoherent parts were suffering from the want of unity, eagerly seized these occasions for ex- tending its power in Hungary, where it was greatly circumscri- bed by the laws and constitution of the country. Hence those perpetual infringements of which the Hungarians had to com- plain ; and those ever-recurring disturbances in which the Otto- man Turks, who shared with Austria the dominion of Hungary, were also frequently implicated. Transylvania, as well as a great part of Hungary, was then dependent on the Turks. The Emperor Leopold I. having granted his protection to John Kemeny, Prince of Transylvania, against Michael Abafii, a protege of the Turks, a war between the two Empires seemed to be inevitable. The Diet of Hunga- ry, which the Emperor had assembled at Presburg on this sub- ject (1662,) was most outrageous. The States, before they would give any opinion as to the war against the Turks, de- manded that their own grievances should be redressed ; and the assembly separated without coming to any conclusion. The Turks took advantage of this dissension, and seized the fortress of Neuheusel, and several other places. The Emperor, incapa- ble of opposing them, and distrustful of the Hungarian malecon- tents, had recourse to foreign aid. This he obtained at the Diet of the Empire ; and Louis XIV. sent him a body of six thou- sand men, under command of the Count de Coligni. An action took place (1664) near St. Gothard, in which the French signal- ized their bravery. The Turks sustained a total defeat ; but Montecuculi, the commander-in-chief of the Imperial army, fail- ed to take advantage of his victory. A truce of twenty years was soon after concluded at Temeswar, in virtue of which the Turks retained Neuheusel, Waradin, and Novigrad. Michael Abafii, their tributary and protege, was continued in Transyl- vania ; and both parties engaged to withdraw their troops from that province. This treaty highly displeased the Hungarians, as it had been ■concluded without their concurrence. Their complaints against ihe Court of Vienna became louder than ever. They complain- ed, especially, that the Emperor should entertain German troops in the kingdom ; that he should intrust the principal fortresses to foreigners ; and impose shackles on their religious liberties. The Court of Vienna having paid no regard to these grievances, several of the nobles entered into a league for the preservation of their rights ; but they were accused of holding correspondence with the Turks, and conspiring against the person of the Empe- ror. The Counts Zrini, Nadaschdi, Frangepan, and Tattenbach I 330 CHAPTER vm. were condemned as gnilty of high treason (1671,) and bad their heads cut off on the scaffold. A vast number of the Protestant clergy were either banished or condemned to the galleys, as implicated in the conspiracy ; but this severity, far from abating these disturbances, tended rather to augment them. The sup- pression of the dignity of Palatine of Hungary, which took place about the same time, added to the cruelties and extortions of all kinds practised by the German troops, at length raised a general insurrection, which ended in a civil war (1677.) The insur- gents at first chose the Count Francis Wesselini as their leader, who was afterwards replaced by Count Emeric Tekeli. These noblemen were encouraged in their enterprise, and secretly abet- ted by France and the Porte. The Emperor then found it necessary to comply ; and, in a Diet which he assembled at Odenburg, he granted redress to most of the grievances of which the Hungarians had to com- plain; but Count Tekeli having disapproved of the resolutions of this Diet, the civil war was continued, and the Count soon found means to interest the Turks and the prince of Transylva- nia in his quarrel. The Grand Vizier Kara Mustapha, at the head of the Ottoman forces, came and laid siege to Vienna (July 14, 1683.) A Polish army marched to the relief of that place under their King, John Sobieski, who was joined by Charles IV., Duke of Lorraine, General of the Imperial troops; they attacked the Turks in their entrenchments before Vienna, and compelled them to raise the siege (September 12, 1683.) Every thing then succeeded to the Emperor's wish. Besides Poland, the Russians and the Republic of Venice took part in this war in favour of Austria. A succession of splendid victories, gained by the Imperial generals, Charles Duke of Lorraine, Prince Louis of Baden, and Prince Eugene, procured for Leopold the conquest of all that part of Hungary, which had continued since the reign of Ferdinand I. in the power of the Ottomans. The fortress of Neuheusel was taken, in consequence of the battle which the Duke of Lorraine gained over the Turks at Strigova (1685.) The same General took by assault the city of Buda, the capital of Hungary, which had been in possession of the .Turks since 1541, The memorable victory of Mohacz, gained by the Imperialists (1687,) again reduced Transylvania and Sclavonia under the dominion of Austria. These continued reverses cost the Grand Vizier his life ; he was strangled by order of the Sultan, Mahomet IV., who was himself deposed by his rebellious Janissaries. Encouraged by these brilliant victories, the Emperor Leopold assembled the States of Hungary at Presburg. He there de- PERIOD VII A. D. 1648 — 1713. 331 marided, that, in conrideration of tne extraordinary efforts he had been obliged to make against the Ottomans, the kingdom should be declared hereditary in his family. The States at first appeared inclined to maintain their own right of election : but yielding soon to the influence of authority, they agreed to make the succession hereditary in favour of the males of the two Austrian branches ; on the extinction of which they were to be restored to their ancient rights. As for the privileges of the States, founded on the decree of King Andrew II., they were renewed at that Diet ; with the exception of that clause in the thirty-first article of the decree, Avhich authorized the States to oppose, by open force, any prince that should attempt to infringe the rights and liberties of the country. The Jesuits, who were formerfy proscribed, were restored, and their authority establish- ed throughout all the provinces of the kingdom. The Protes- tants of both confessions obtained the confirmation of the churches and prerogatives that had been secured to them by the articles of the Diet of Odenburg ; but it was stipulated, that only Catho- lics were entitled to possess property within the kingdoms of Dalmatia, Croatia and Sclavonia. The Archduke Joseph, son of Leopold I., was crowned at this Diet (December 19, 1687,) as the first hereditary King of Hungary. The arms of Austria were crowned with new victories during the continuation of the war against the Turks. Albe-Royale, Belgrade, Semendria, and Gradisca, fell into the hands of the Emperor. The two splendid victories at Nissa and Widdin, which Louis prince of Baden gained (1689,) secured to the Aus trians the conquest of Servia, Bosnia, and Bulgaria. The de- jected courage of the Ottomans was for a time revived by their new Grand Vizier Mustapha Kiupruli, a man of considerable genius. After gaining several advantages over the Imperialists, he took from them Nissa, Widdin, Semendria, and Belgrade ; and likewise reconquered Bulgaria, Servia, and Bosnia. The extraordinary efforts that the Porte made for the campaign of the following year, inspired them with hopes of better success ; but their expectations were quite disappointed by the unfortu- nate issue of the famous battle of Salankemen, which the Prince of Baden gained over the Turks, (Aug. 19, 1691.) The brave Kiupruli was slain, and his death decided the victory in favour of the Imperialists. The war with France, however, which then occupied the principal forces of Austria, did not permit the Em- peror to reap any advantage from this victory ; he was even obliged, in the following campaigns, to act on the defensive m Hungary ; and it was not until the conclusion of peace wuh France, that he was able to resume the war against the Turks- 332 CHAPTER vm. nrith fresh vigour. Prince Eugene, who was then commander- in-chief of the Imperial army, attacked the Sultan Mustapha II. in person, n-ear Zenta on the river Teiss (Sept. 11, 1697,) where he gained a decisive victory. The grand Vizier, seven- tuen Pachas, and two thirds of the Ottoman army, were left dead on the field of battle ; and the grand Seignior was com- pelled to fall back in disorder on Belgrade. This terrible blow made the Porte exceedingly anxious for pea^e ; and he had recourse to the mediation of England and Holland. A negotiation, which proved as tedious as it was in- tricate, was set on foot at Constantinople, and thence transfer- red to Carlowitz, a town of Sclavonia lying between the two camps, one of which was at Peterwaradin, and the other at Belgrade. Peace was there concluded with the Emperor and his allies (Jan. 26, 1699.) The Emperor, by that treaty, retained Hungary, Transylvania and Sclavonia, with the ex- ception of the Banat of Temeswar, which was reserved to the Porte. The rivers Marosch, Teiss, Save, and Unna, were fixed as the limits between the two Empires. The Count Te- keli, who during the whole of this war had constantly espoused the cause of the Porte, was allowed to remain in the Ottoman territory ; with such of the Hungarians and Transylvanians as adhered to him. The peace of Carlowitz had secured to the Emperor nearly the whole of Hungary ; but, glorious though it was, it did not. restore the internal tranquillity of the kingdom, which very soon experienced fresh troubles. The same complaints that had arisen after the peace of Temeswar, were renewed after that of Carlowitz ; to these were even added several others, oc- casioned by the introduction of the hereditary succession, at he Diet of 1687, by the suppression of the clause in the thirty- first article of the decree of Andrew II., by the restoration of he Jesuits and the banishment of Tekeli and his adherents. Nothing was wanted but a ringleader for the malecontents to rekindle the flames of civil war, and this leader was soon found in the person of the famous Prince Ragoczi, who appeared on ^.he scene about the beginning of the eighteenth century, and when the greater part of Europe were involved in the war ol the Spanish Succession. Francis Ragoczi was the grandson of George Ragoczi XL, who had been prince of Transylvania ; and held a distinguish- ed rank in the States of Hungary, not more by his illustrio-'^s birth than by the great possessions which belonged to his fa- mily. The Court of Vienna, which entertained suspicions ol hiiu on account of his near relationship with Tekeli, had kept PERIOD VII. A. D. 1648—1713. 333 him in a sort of captivity from his earliest infancy ; ana he was not set at large, nor restored to the possession of his estates, until 1694, when he married a princess of Hesse-Rheinfels. From that time he resided quietly on his estates, holding his Court at Sarosch, in the district of the same name. Being sus- pected of having concerted a conspiracy with the malecontents, he was arrested by order of the Court of Vienna (1701.) and carried to Neustadt in Austria, whence he escaped and retired to Poland. Being condemned as guilty of high treason, and his estates declared forfeited, he took the resolution of placing himself at the head of the rebels, and instigating Hungary against the Emperor. France, who had just joined in the war with Austria, encouraged him in that enterprise, which she regarded as a favourable event for creating a diversion on the part of her enemy. Having arrived in Hungary, Ragoczi pub- lished a manifesto (1703,) in which he detailed the motives of his conduct, and exhorted the Hungarians to join him, for vin- dicating their ancient liberties which had been oppressed by the House of Austria. He soon attracted a crowd of partisans, and made himself master of a great part of the kingdom. The Transylvanians chose him for their prince (1704 ;) and the States of Hungary, who had united for the re-establishment of their laws and immunities, declared him their chief, with the title of Duke, and a senate of twenty-five persons. Louis XIV. sent his envoy, the Marquis Dessalleurs, to congratulate him on his elevation ; and the Czar, Peter the Great, offered him the throne of Poland (1707,) in opposition to Stanislaus, who was protected by Charles XII. The House of Austria being engaged in the Spanish war, was unable for a long time to reduce the Hungarian malecon- tents. The repeated attempts which she had made to come to an accommodation with them having failed, the war was continued till 1711, when the Austrians, who had been victorious, com- pelled Ragoczi to evacuate Hungary, and retire to the frontiers of Poland. A treaty of pacification was then drawn up. The Emperor promised to grant an amnesty, and a general restitu- tion of goods in favour of all those who had been implicated in the insurrection. He came under an engagement to preserve inviolable the rights, liberties, and immunities of Hungary, and the principality of Transylvania ; to reserve all civil and mih- tary offices to the Hungarians ; to maintain the laws of the kingdom respecting religion ; and as for their other grievances, whether political or ecclesiastical, h" consented to have them discussed in the approaching Diet. These articles were ap- proved and signed by the greater part of the malecontents, who 334 CHAPTER vm. then took a new oath of allegiance to the Emperor. Ragoczi and his principal adherents were the only persons that remain- ed proscribed and attainted, havmg refused to accede to these articles. The Turkish Empire, once so formidable, had gradually fallen from the summit of its grandeur ; its resources were exhausted, and its history marked by nothing but misfortunes. The effe- minacy and incapacity of the Sultans, their contempt for the arts cultivated by the Europeans, and the evils of a govern- ment purely military and despotic, by degrees undermined its strength, and eclipsed its glory as a conquering and presiding power. We find the Janissaries, a lawless and undisciplined militia, usurping over the sovereign and the throne the same rights which the Praetorian guards had arrogated over the an- cient Roman Emperors. The last conquest of any importance which the Turks made was that of Candia, which they took from the Republic of Venice. The war which obtained them the possession of that island, lasted for twenty years. It began under the Sultan Ibrahim (1645,) and was continued under his successor, Mahomet IV. The Venetians defended the island with exemplary courage and intrepidity. They destroyed several of the Turkish fleets ; and, on different occasions, they kept the passage of the Darda- nelles shut against the Ottomans. At length the famous Vizier Achmet Kiupruli undertook the siege of the city of Candia (1667,) at the head of a formidable army. This siege was one of the most sanguinary recorded in history. The Turks lost above a hundred thousand men ; and it was not till after a siege of two years and four months that the place surrendered to them by a capitulation (Sept. 5, 1669,) which at the same time regulated the conditions of peace between the Turks and the Venetians. These latter, on surrendering Candia, reserved, in the islands and islets adjoining, three places, viz. Suda, Spina- longa, and Garabusa. They also retained Clissa, and some other places in Dalmatia and Albania, which they had seizec during the war. The reign of Mahomet from that time, pre- sented nothing but a succession of wars, of which that against Hungary was the most fatal to the Ottoman Empire. The Turks were overwhelmed by the powerful league formed between Austria, Poland, Russia, and the Republic of Venice. They experienced, as we have already noticed, a series of fatal disasters during that war ; and imputing these misfortunes to the effeminacy of their Sultan, they resolved to depose him. Mustapha II., the third in succession from Mahomet IV., ter- minated this destructive war by the peace of Carlowitz, when PERIOD vm. A. D. 1713—1789. 335 the Turks lost all their possessions in Hungary, except Temeswar and Belgrade. They gave up to Poland the fortress of Kami- niec, with Podolia, and the part of the Ukraine on this side the Nieper, which had been ceded to them by former treaties. The Venetians, by their treaty with the Porte, obtained possession of the Morea, which they had conquered during the war ; in- cluding the islands of St. Maura and Leucadia, as also the for- tresses of Dalmatia, Knin, Sing, Ciclut, Gabella, Castlenuovo, and Risano. Finally, the Porte renounced the tribute which Venice had formerly paid for the isle of Zante ; and the Repub- lic of Ragusa was guaranteed in its independence, with respect to the Venetians. CHAPTER IX. PERIOD VIII. From the Peace of Utrecht to the French Revolution, a. d 1713—1789. [During the wars of the preceding period, arts and letters had made extraordinary progress ; especially in France, where they seemed to have reached the highest degree of perfection to which the limited genius of man can carry them. The age of Louis XIV. revived, and almost equalled those master-pieces which Greece had produced under Pericles, Rome under Au- gustus, and Italy under the patronage of the Medici. This was the classical era of French literature. The grandeur which reigned at the court of that monarch, and the glory which his vast exploits had reflected on the nation, inspired authors with a noble enthusiasm ; the public taste was refined by imi- tating the models of antiquity ; and this preserved the French writers from those extravagancies which some other nations have mistaken for the standard of genius. Their language, polished by the Academy according to fixed rules, the first and most fundamental of which condemns every thing that does not tend to unite elegance with perspicuity, became the general medium of communication among the different nations in the civilized world ; and this literary conquest which France made over the minds of other nations, is more glorious, and has proved more advantageous to her, than that universal dominion to which Louis XIV. is said to have aspired. In the period on which we are now entering, men of genius and talents, though they did not neglect the Belles-Lettres, devoted themselves chiefly to those sciences, and that kind of 336 CHAPTER IX. learning, the study of which has been diffused over all classes of society. Several branches of mathematics and natural philo- sophy, assumed a form entirely new; the knowledge of the ancient classics, which, till then, had been studied chiefly for the formation of taste, became a branch of common education, and gave birth to a variety of profound and useful researches. Geo- metry, astronomy, mechanics, and navigation, were brought to great perfection, by the rivalry among the different scientific academies in Europe. Natural Philosophy discovered many of the laws and phenomena of nature. Chemistry rose from the rank of an obscure art, and put on the garb of an attractive science. Natural History, enriched by the discoveries of learned travellers, was divested of those fables and chimeras which ignorance had attributed to her. History, supported by the auxiliary sciences of Geography and Chronology', became a branch of general philosophy. The equilibrium among the different States, disturbed by the am- bition of Louis XIV., had been confirmed by the peace of Utrecht, which lasted during twenty-four years without any great altera tion. Nevertheless, in the political transactions which took place at this time, England enjoyed a preponderance which had been growing gradually since she had ceased to be the theatre of civil discord. The glory which she had acquired by the success of her arms in the Spanish Avars, and the important advantages which the treaty of Utrecht had procured her, both in Europe and America, augmented her political power, and gave her an influence in general affairs which she never had enjoyed before. That nation carried their commerce and their marine to an extent which could not fail to alarm the other commercial and maritime states, and make them perceive that, if the care of their own trade and independence made it necessary to maintain a system of equilibrium on the Continent, it was equally important for their prosperity that bounds should be set to the monopolizing power of England. This gave rise at first to a new kind of rivalry be- tween France and England — a rivalry whose effects were more particularly manifested after the middle of the eighteenth cen- tury, and which occasioned an intimate alliance among the branches of the House of Bourbon. At a later date, and in con- sequence of the principles which the English professed as to the commerce of neutral states, the powers of the North leagued themselves against that universal dominion which they were accused of wishing to usurp over the sea. In the Ninth Period, we shall even see the whole Continent for a short time turned against that nation — the only one that has been able to preserve her commerce and her independence. PERIOD viii. A. D, 1713—1789. 337 This preponderance of England is the first change which the political system of Europe experienced in the eighteenth century. The second took place in the North. Till that time, the northeiii countries of Europe had never, except transiently, had any poli- tical connexions with the South. Russia, separated by the possessions of Sweden on the coasts of the Baltic, had belonged rather to Asia than to our quarter of the world. Poland, fallen from her ancient greatness, had sunk into a state of anarchy and exhaustion. Denmark and Sweden were disputing the command of the Baltic, and had no other influence on the politics of the South than that which Sweden had acquired by the personal qualities of some of her kings. The great war of the North, which broke out at the commencement of the eighteenth century, and the conquests of Peter the Great, v/hich extended the limits of his Empire as far as the Gulf of Finland, and reduced Sweden to a state of debility from which she has not yet recovered, enabled Russia not only to take a distinguished lead in the North, but to become an important member in the system of Europe. Meantime, the foundation of the Prussian monarchy gave rise to a new and intermediate power between the North and the South ; but that state remained within the bounds of mediocrity until the middle of the eighteenth century. At that time the genius of Frederic II. alone raised it to a pitch of greatness which enabled it to struggle against the superior force of its neighbours, but without menacing the indepewdence of other states. This growing power of Prussia, however, occasioned a rivalry between it and Austria, which for seventy years had an influence on the politics of Europe. It produced the extraordinary spectacle of an intimate alliance between two ancient rivals, th-e Houses of Austria and Bourbon ; and, by dividing Germany between two opposite systems, it paved the way for the dissolution of that Empire. Such was the third change which the polity of Europe experienced in course of the eighteenth century. The fourth change was less felt than the three others ; its fatal consequences did not develope themselves until the Ninth Period. For the first time within the last three centuries, the sovereigns of Europe ventured to break treaties and to violate engagements, to declare war and undertake conquests, without alleging any other motives than reasons of convenience, and the ambition of aggrandizement. Thus the basis of the equilibrium system, the inviolability of possessions honourably acquired, was sapped, and the downfall of the whole system prepared. The events of the wars for the succession of Austria, furmshed the first examples of this contempt for treaties ; they were renewed 22 338 CHAPTER IX. in an alarming manner on the partition of Poland, and by the attempts which the Emperor Joseph made to seize Bavaria. The act of iniquity committed against Poland was often cited, during ihe period of the French Revolution, to justify all sorts of vio- lence and usurpation ; and it was followed by a long train of calamities. Commerce continued, in the eighteenth century, to be one of the principal objects that occupied the Cabinets of Europe. The mercantile system was brought to great perfection, and became, with most nations, the basis of their administration. The mari- time powers turned all their attention, and bestowed the greatest care, on their colonies, the number and wealth of which were augmented by new establishments and better regulations. In imitation of Louis XIV., most of the states kept up numerous standing armies ; a practice which they even carried to excess. The influence of England in Continental affairs was increased ; as she had no occasion to augment her own army in proportion to that of other kingdoms, she was able to furnish them with those suppUes which were necessary to carry on their wars. Besides, since the time of Frederic II., or about the year 1740, tactics, and the military art in general, had reached a degree of perfection which seemed scarcely to admit of further improve- ment. Finally, the financial system of several states experienced a revolution, by the invention of public funds for the payment of national debts ; especially that instituted by Mr. Pitt, called the Sinking Fund.] The extraordinary efforts which the powers of Europe had made during the last century, for maintaining the equilibrium of the Continent against the ambitious designs of France and Sweden, brought on a long period of tranquillity, which gave these nations an opportunity of encouraging arts, industry and commerce, and thereby repairing the evils which the long and disastrous wars had occasioned. Cabinets were attentive to maintain the stipulations of the treaties of Utrecht and Stock- holm ; and, by means of negotiations, to guard against every hing that might rekindle a new general war. The good under- standing that subsisted between France and Great Britain during ine reign of George I. and the beginning of that of George II. — or, in other words, under the administration of Walpole, was the ?ffect of those temporary interests that engrossed the attention of the two Courts — the one being under terror of the Pretender, and the other alarmed at the ambitious projects of Spain. The Duke of Orleans, Regent of France during the minority of Louis XV., was anxious to maintain that peace and political order which the late treaties had introduced ; havmg it in view PERIOD vm. A. D. 1713—1789. 339 lO remedy those disorders in the finance, which Louis XIV. had left in so deplorable a state. ^ The King of Spain, on the other hand, who was desirous of reviving his rights to the crown of France, went into the rash schemes of Cardinal Alberoni,^ his prime minister, purporting to renew the war ; to reconquer those territories which the peace of Utrecht had dismembered from the Spanish monarchy ; to deprive the Duke of Orleans of the regency, and vest it in the King of Spain ; and to place the Pre- tender, son of James II., on the throne of Great Britain. The treaty of Utrecht, although it had tranquillized a great part of Europe, was nevertheless defective, in as far as it had not reconciled the Emperor and the King of Spain, the two prin- cipal claimants to the Spanish succession. The Emperor Charles VI. did not recognise Philip V. in his quality of King of Spain ; and Philip, in his turn, refused to acquiesce in those partitions of the Spanish monarchy, which the treaty of Utrecht had stipulated in favour of the Emperor. To defeat the projects and secret intrigues of the Spanish minister, the Duke of Or- leans thought of courting an alliance with England, as being the power most particularly interested in maintaining the treaty of Utrecht, the fundamental articles of which had been dictated by herself. That alliance, into which the United Provinces also entered, was concluded at the Hague (Jan. 4, 1717.) The arti- cles of the treaty of Utrecht, those especially which related to the succession of the tw^o crowns, were there renewed ; and the Regent, in complaisance to the King of England, agreed to banish the Pretender from France, and to admit British com- missaries into Dunkirk to superintend that port. Cardinal Alberoni, without being in the least disconcerted by the Triple Alliance, persisted in his design of recommencing the war. No sooner had he recruited the Spanish forces, and equipped an expedition, than he attacked Sardinia, which he took from the Emperor. This conquest was followed by that of Sicily, which the Spaniards took from the Duke of Savoy (1718.) France and England, indignant at the infraction of a treaty which they regarded as their own work, immediately concluded with the Emperor, at London (Aug. 2, 1718,) the famous Quad- ruple Alliance, which contained the plan of a treaty of peace, to be made between the Emperor, the King of Spain, and the Duke of Savoy. The allied powers engaged to obtain the consent of the parties interested in this proposal, and in case of refusal, to compel them by force of arms. The Emperor v/as to renounce his right to the Spanish crown, and to acknowledge Philip V. as the legitimate King of Spain, in consideration of his renoun- 340 CHAPTER IX. cing the provinces of Italy and the Netherlands, which the ireaty of Utrecht and the quadruple alliance adjudged to the Empernr. The Duke of Savoy w^as to cede Sicily to Austria, receiving Sardinia in exchange, which the King of Spain was to give up. The right of reversion to the crown of Spain was translerred from Sicily to Sardinia. That treaty likewise granted to Don Carlos, eldest son of Philip V., by his second marriage, the even- tual reversion and investiture of the dutchies of Parma and Pla- centia, as Avell as the grand dutchy of Tuscany, on condition ot holding them as fiefs-male of the Emperor and the Empire, aftei the decease of the last male issue of the families of Farnese and Medici, who were then in possession ; and the better to secure this double succession to the Infante, they agreed to introduce a body of six thousand Swiss into the two dutchies, to be quartered in Leghorn, Porto-Ferrajo, Parma, and Placentia. The con- tracting pow^ers undertook to guarantee the payment of these troops. The Duke of Savoy did not hesitate to subscribe to the condi- tions of the quadruple alliance ; but it was otherwise with the King of Spain, who persisted in his refusal ; when France and England declared war against him. The French invaded the provinces of Guipuscoa and Catalonia, while the English seized Gallicia and the port of Vigo. These vigorous proceedings shook the resolutions of the King of Spain. He signed the quadruple alliance, and banished the Cardinal Alberoni from his court, the adviser of those measures of which the allies com- plained. The Spanish troops then evacuated Sicily and Sardi- nia, when the Emperor took possession of the former, and Victor Amadeus, Duke of Savoy, of the latter. The war to all appearance was at an end ; peace, howeA'er, was far from being concluded, and there still remained many difficulties to settle between the Emperor, the King of Spain, and the Duke of Savoy. To accomplish this, and conclude a definitive treaty between these three powers, a Congress was summoned at Cambray, which was to open in 1721, under the mediation of France and England; but some disputes which arose regarding certain preliminary articles, retarded their meet- ing for several years. Their first and principal object was to effect an exchange of the acts of mutual renunciation between the Emperor and the King of Spain, as stipulated by the treaty of the quadruple alliance. The Emperor, who was reluctant to abandon his claims to the Spanish monarchy, started difficulties as to the form of these renunciations. He demanded that Phi- lip's renunciation of the provinces of Italy and the Netherlands, ahould be confirmed by the Spanish Cortes. Philip demanded. PKRIOD VIII. A. D. 1713 1789. 341 in his turn, that the renunciation of the Emperor with regard to Spain, should be ratified by the States of the Empire. To get clear of this difficulty, France and England agreed, by a special compact, signed at Paris (Sept. 27, 1721,) that the renunciations of both princes, however defective they might be, should be held valid under the guaranty of the two mediating powers. Scarcely Avas this difficulty settled, when another presented itself, much more embarrassing. This related to the Company of Ostend, which the Emperor had instituted, and to which, by charter signed at Vienna (Dec. 19, 1722,) he had granted, for thirty years, the exclusive privilege of trading to the East and West Indies, and the coasts of Africa. That establishment set the maritime powers at variance with the Emperor ; especially the Dutch, who regarded it as prejudicial to their Indian com- merce. They maintained, that according to the treaty of Mun- ster, confirmed by the twenty-sixth article of the Barrier Treaty (1715,) the trade of the Spaniards with the East Indies was to remain as it was at that time. Nothing in these preliminary discussions met with so much opposition as the grant of the eventual reversion and investiture of Tuscany, Parma, and Placentia, which the Emperor had en- gaged, by the Quadruple Alliance, to give to Don Carlos, the Infante of Spain. The Duke of Parma, the Pope, and the Grand Duke of Tuscany joined in opposition to it. Anthony, the last Duke of Parma and Placentia, of the House of Farnese, de- manded that the Emperor should never, during his life, exercise over the dutchy of Parma, the territorial rights established by the treaty of the Quadruple Alliance. The Pope also protested loudly against that clause of the treaty which deprived him of the rights of superiority over Parma and Placentia, which his predecessors had enjoyed for several centuries. As for the Grand Duke of Tuscany, John Gaston, the lust of the Medici, he maintained, that as his dutchy neld of God only, he could never permit that it should be declared a fief of the Empire nor recog- nise the Infante of Spain as heir of his estates, to the prejudice of his sister's rights, the widow of the Elector Palatine. Charles VI. without stopping at these objections, laid the business of these investitures before the Diet of Ratisbon ; and, after having obtained their consent, he caused copies to be made of the letters of reversion and investiture in favour of Don Carlos and his heirs-male. These havino" been presented to the Con- gress, the King of Spain refused to receive them ; alleging the protests of the Pope, and the Grand Duke of Tuscany ; nor would he agree to them, except on condition of an act of guaranty on the part of the mediating powers. All these difficulties being 342 CHAPTER IX. settled, and the preliminaries closed, they at length proceeded with the conferences at Cambray (April 1724,) for the conclu- sion of a definitive peace between the Emperor, the King of Spain, and the Duke of Savoy. Every thing seeined arrived at an amicable termination, when some differences arose between the commissioners of the Emperor and those of the mediating powers, which occasioned new interruptions. Meantime, the Duke of Bourbon, who had succeeded the Duke of Orleans in the ministry, sent back to Spain the Infanta Maria, daughter of Philip V., who had been educated at the court of France, as the intended spouse of Louis XV. This event broke I ! up the Congress. Philip V., greatly offended, recalled his , I ministers from Cambray. Baron Ripperda, ^ whom he had sent j I as envoy to the Imperial Court put an end to the differences be- I i tween these two powers, in despite of the mediation of France. i In consequence, a special treaty was concluded at Vienna be- \ tween the Emperor and the King of Spain (April 30, 1725.) This treaty renewed the renunciation of Philip V. to the pro- vinces of Italy and the Netherlands, as well as that of the Em- peror to Spain and the Indies. The eventual investiture of the dutchies of Parma and Placentia, and that of the grand dutchy of Tuscany, were also confirmed. The only new clause con- tained in the treaty, was that by which the King of Spain under- took to guarantee the famous Pragmatic Sanction of Charles VI., which secured to the daughter of that prince the succession of all his estates. It was chiefly on this account that Philip V. became reconciled to the Court of Vienna. The peace of Vienna was accompanied by a defensive alliance between the Emperor and the King of Spain. Among other clauses, one was that the Emperor should interpose to obtain for the King of Spain the restitution of Gibraltar and the island of Minorca ; while Philip, on his side, granted to the shipping of the Emperor and his subjects free entrance into his ports, and all immunities and prerogatives which were enjoyed by the nations in the strictest commercial connexions with Spain. These clauses alarmed England and Holland ; and the intimacy which had been established .between the Courts of Vienna and Madrid attracted more particularly the attention of the Duke of Bourbon, who dreaded the resentment of the King of Spain, as he had advised the return of the Infanta. To prevent any such consequences, he set on foot a league with England and Prus- sia, capable of counteracting that of Vienna, which was concluded at Herrenhausen, near Hanover (Sept. 3, 1725,) and is known by the name of the Alliance of Haiiover. All Europe was divided between these two alliances. Hoi- PERIOD VIII. A. D. 1713 1789. 343 land, Sweden, and Denmark acceded to tne alliance of Hanover. Catherine I. of Russia, and the principal Catholic States of the Empire joined that of Vienna. The Emperor even succeeded in detaching the King of Prussia from the alliance of Hanover to join his own. Europe seemed then on the eve of a general war ; the ambassadors to the different courts were recalled. The English sent a numerous and powerful fleet to America, the Mediterranean, and the Baltic ; while the Spaniards commenced hostilities, by laying siege to Gibraltar. The death of the Em- press of Russia (May 17, 1727,) however, caused a change in the disposition of the Northern powers. The Emperor, seeing he could no longer reckon on the assistance of Russia, showed no anxiety to second the efforts of the Spaniards ; but what chiefly contributed to the maintenance of peace was, that neither France nor England was desirous of war. In this situation of affairs, the Pope interposed his mediation ; and a new preliminary treaty was signed at Paris, which or • dained that there should be an armistice for seven years ; that the Company of Ostend should be suspended for the same time : and that a neAV General Congress should be held at Aix-la- Chapelle. This congress was first transferred to Cambray, and thence tc Soissons, where it was opened in 1728. Ambassadors from almost all the Courts of Europe appeared there ; and they ex- pected, with some reason, a happy conclusion of the business ; as most of the difficulties which had embarrassed the Congress of Cambray were settled by the peace of Vienna, and as the only subject for deliberation was to settle the succession of Parma and Tuscany. But the Emperor having demanded that the Austrian Pragmatic Sanction should be adopted as the basis of the arrange- ments for establishing the peace of Soissons, that incident be- came the subject of new disputes. Cardinal Fleury, then prime minister of France, having strongly opposed this claim of the Court of Vienna, the Emperor, in his turn, threw obstacles in the way of the negotiation at Soissons. This inclined the Car- dinal to make overtures to the Court of Madrid, with whom he concerted a secret negotiation, in which he also found means to associate England. This gave rise to a treaty of peace, union, and offensive al- liance, which was signed at Seville between France, Spain, and England (November 9, 1729.) These powers engaged to gua- rantee the succession of Parma and Tuscany in favour of the- Infante Don Carlos ; and to effect this, they resolved to substitute six thousand Spanish troops in the Swiss garrisons, named by the Quadruple Alliance. The Dutch acceded to that treaty, in 344 CHAPTER IX. consideration of the engagement whicli the contracting powers came under to give them entire satisfaction with respect to the Company of Ostend. The Emperor, finding the treaty of Seville concluded jvith- out his co-operation, was apprehensive of having failed in his principal aim, viz. the adoption of the Austrian Pragmatic Sanc- tion. He was indignant that the allies at Seville should pre- tend to lay down the law to him touching the abolition of the Ostend Company, and the introduction of Spanish troops into Italy. Accordingly, being determined not to comply, he imme- diately broke off all relationship with the Court of Spain ; he recalled his ambassador, and took measures to prevent the Spa- nish troops from taking possession of Italy. The last Duke of Parma, Anthony Farnese, being dead (1731,) he took posses- sion of his dutchy by force of arms. At length, to terminate all these differences, the King of Eng- land, in concert with the States-General, opened a negotiation with the Emperor ; the result of which was a treaty of alliance, signed at Vienna, between him, England and Holland (March 16, 1731.) In virtue of that treaty, the three contracting pow- ers mutually guaranteed their estates, rights and possessions ; England and Holland, more especially, engaged to guarantee the Austrian Pragmatic Sanction ; and the Emperor, on his side, consented to the introduction of Spanish troops into Italy, and to the suppression of the Company of Ostend ; he even agreed that the Netherlands should never carry on trade with the Indies, either by the Ostend Company, or any other. In consequence of this treaty, which was approved by the States-General, Don Carlos took possession of Parma and Pla- centia ; and the Grand Duke of Tuscany also recognised him as his successor. Thus terminated these long disputes about the Spanish Succession, after having agitated the greater part of Europe for upwards of thirty years. In the midst of these contentions, a war had arisen between the Porte and the Republic of Venice ; in which the Emperor Charles VI. was also implicated. The Turks were desirous of recovering the Morea, which they had been obliged to abandon to the Venetians at the peace of Carlowitz ; but instead of at- tacking that Republic, while the Emperor Avas engaged with the French war, and unable to render it assistance, they waited till the conclusion of the treaties of Utrecht, Rastadt, and Baden, before they declared hostilities. The pretexts which the Turks made to justify this rupture were extremely frivolous ; but they knew well that the Venetians, who had lived in the most com- plete security since the peace of Carlowitz, had neglected to re- PERioP VIII. A. D. 1713—1789. 345 pair the fortifications which had been destroyed in the war, and that it would be easy for them to reconquer them. In fact, during the campaign of 1715, the Grand Vizier not. only recovered the Morea, he even dispossessed the Venetians of the places which they still retained in the Isle of Candia ; and, ai the commencement of the following campaign, they laid >Aege to the town of Corfu. Charles VI. thought he was bound, as the guarantee of the peace of Carlowitz, to espouse the (.•ause of the Venetians ; he declared war against the Porte, and his example was followed by the Pope and the King of Spain, who united their fleets to those of the Republic. The Turks were defeated in several engagements, and obliged to raise the siege of Corfu, after sacrificing a great many lives. The campaigns of 1716 and 1717 in Hungary, were trium- phant for the armies of the Emperor ; Prince Eugene gained a brilliant victory over the Grand Vizier, near Peterwaradin (Au- gust 5th,) which enabled him to invest Temeswar, which he carried after a siege of six months, and thus completed the conquest of Hungary. To crown his glory, that great captain next undertook the siege of Belgrade, regarded by the Turks as the principal bulwark of their Empire. The Grand Vizier marched to the relief of the place, at the head of a formidable army. He encamped before Belgrade, and enclosed the Impe- rial army within a semicircle, reaching from the Danube to the Save. Prince Eugene had then no other alternative than to leave his camp, and attack the Turks in their intrenchments. He took his measures which such address, that, in spite of the great superiority of the Turks, he forced them back to their camp, and put them completely to rout (Aug. 16, 1717.) This victory was followed by the reduction of Belgrade, and several other places on the Save and the Danube. The Porte began to wish for peace ; and as the Emperor, who had just been attacked in Italy by the Spaniards, was equally desirous to put an end to the war, both parties agreed to accept the mediation of England and Holland. A congress was opened at Passaro- witz, a small town in Servia, near the mouth of the Morau. A peace was there concluded between the three belligerent powers (July 21, 1718,) on the basis of the Uti possidetis. The Empe- ror retained Temeswar, Orsova, Belgrade, and the part of Wal- lachia lying on this side of the river Aluta ; as also Servia, ac- cording to the limits determined by the treaty, and both banks of the Save, from the Drino to the Unna. The Venetians lost the Morea, but they retained several places in Herzegovina, Dalmatia, and Albania, which they had conquered during the war. The Porte restored to them the Island of Cerigo in ihp Archipelago. 346 CHAPTER IX. The success of Charles VI. in this war procured some new advantages to his house, on the part of the States of Hungary. The Diet of 1687, in vesting the hereditary right of that king- dctn in the Emperor Leopold I., had restricted that right, solely to the male descendants of the House of Austria ; and Charles VI., on his accession to the throne, had acknowledged the elec- tive right of the States, in case he should happen to die without leaving any male offspring. This prince, finding afterwards that he had no other children left than the two daughters by his marriage with Elizabeth princess of Brunswick, and being desi- rous of securing to them the succession of Hungary as well as his other estates, assembled a Diet at Presburg (1722,) and there engaged the States of the kingdom to extend the right of suc- cession to females, according to the order which he had estab- lished in the Austrian Pragmatic Sanction, and published some years before. A revolution happened in the government of Sweden imme- diately after the death of Charles XII., and before the great war of the North was quite ended. Reduced to a state of great dis- tress by the folly, ambition, and inflexible obstinacy of that prince, Sweden saw her finest provinces occupied by the enemy, her commerce annihilated, her armies and her fleets destroyed. They attributed these disasters chiefly to the absolute power of Charles XII., and the abuse he had made of it. The only reme- dy for so many evils, they conceived, was to abolish a power which had become so pernicious to the State. As Charles had never been married, the throne, according to the hereditary law established in Sweden, passed to the son of the dutchess of Hol- stein-Gottorp, eldest sister of Charles ; but the Senate of Sweden preferred to him the princess Ulrica Eleonora, younger sister of the late king; because of the declaration she had made, renoun- cing all absolute power, and consenting to hold the crown only by the free election of the States of the kingdom. The States, in an assembly held at Stockholm, in the beginning of 1719, de Glared the throne vacant, and then proceeded to the election oi the princess. With their act of election, they presented her with a new form of government, and an act known by the name of the Royal Assurance, which imposed new limitations on the royal authority. The princess signed these acts (February 21,) and the States declared that whoever should attempt to restore absolute power, should be considered as a traitor to his country. The government was intrusted to the queen conjunctly with the Senate ; while the legislative power Avas reserved to the States, to meet regularly every three years. The queen had the right of proposing bills or ordinances : but before these PERIOD vriii. A. D. 1713—1789. 347 could have the force of law, they Avere to be submitted to the examination of the States, without whose consent war was never to be proclaimed. As for the deliberations of the Senate, it was resolved, that they should be decided by a plurality of suffrages, that the queen should have two votes, and a casting vote be- sides. Thus, the chief power was vested in the hands of the Senate, the members of which resumed their ancient title of Senators of the kingdom, instead of that of Counsellors to the King, which had been bestowed on them at the revolution of 1680. Ulrica Eleonora afterwards resigned the crown to her husband prince Frederic of Hesse-Cassel. The States, in their election of that prince (May 22, 1720,) ordained that the Queen, in case she should survive her husband, should be reinstated in her rights, and resume the crown, without the necessity of a new deliberation of the States. Frederic, by the Royal Assurance, and the form of government which he signed, agreed to certain new modifications of the royal power, especially concerning ap- pointments to places of trust. By these different stipulations, and the changes which took place in consequence, the power of the Swedish kings was gradually reduced to very narrow limits. It was so much the more easy to make encroachments on the royal power, as the King, by a radical defect in the new form of government, had no constitutional means of preserving the little authority that was left him. The death of Augustus II. of Poland, occasioned new dis- turbances, which passed from the North to the South of Europe and brought about great changes in Italy. Louis XV. took the opportunity of that event to replace Stanislaus on the throne of Poland, who was his father-in-law, and the former proteg^ of Charles XII. The Primate, and the greater part of the Polish nobility being in the interest of that prince, he was consequently elected (Sept. 12, 1733.) Anne Iwanowna, dutchess-dowager of Courland, and niece of Peter the Great, had just ascended the throne of Russia ; having succeeded Peter II. (June 20, 1730,) who was cut off in the flower of his age without leaving any progeny. The grandees, in conferring the crown on Anne, had limited her power by a capitulation which they made her sign at Mittau, but which she cancelled immediately on her arrival at Moscow. That princess, dreading the influence of France in Poland, in case of a war between Russia and the Porte, espoused the interests of Augus- tus III., Elector of Saxony, and son of the late King, whom she wished to place on the Polish throne. Part of the Polish nobility, withdrawing from the field of election, and supported by a Rus- sian army, proclaimed that prince, in opposition to Stanislaus, ihe protege of France. 348 CHAPTER IX. The Russians, reinforced by the Saxon troops, seized Warsa-vi' and compelled Stanislaus to retire to Dantzic, where he was be- sieged by a Russian army, under command of Field-Marshal Munich, and obliged to seek safety in flight. Louis XV. wish- ing to avenge this injury offered to his father-in-law, and not being in a condition to attack Russia, resolved to declare war against the Emperor ; on the ground that he had marched an army to the frontiers of Poland., for supporting the election of the Saxon prince. Spain and Sardinia espoused the cause of Stanislaus, which seemed to them to be the cause of Kings in general ; while the Emperor saw himself abandoned by England and Holland, whose assistance he thought he might claim, in virtue of the guarantee which the treaty of Vienna had stipulated in his fa- vour. But these powers judged it more for their interests to preserve strict neutrality in this war, on the assurance which France had given the States-General, not to make the Austrian Netherlands the theatre of hostilities. The French commenced operations by directing the Count de Belleisle to seize Lorraine, the sovereign of which, Francis Stephen, son of Duke Leopold was to have married Maria Theresa, eldest daughter of the Em- peror Charles VL About the same time. Marshal Berwick passed the Rhine at the head of the French army, and reduced the fortress of Kehl. By thus attacking a fortress of the Em- pire, France gave the Emperor a pretext for engaging the Ger-, manic Body in his quarrel. In fact, he declared war against France and her allies ; which induced the French to seize seve- ral places on the Moselle, and to reduce the fortress of Philips- burg, at the siege of which, Marshal Berwick was slain (June I2,l734.) The principal scene of the war then lay in Italy ; where the campaigns of 1734 and 1735 were most glorious for the allies. After the two victories which they had gained over the Impe- rialists near Parma (June 29,) and Guastalla (Sept. 17,) they made themselves master of all Austrian Lombardy, with the single exception of Mantua, which they laid under blockade. A Spanish army, commanded by the Duke of Montemar, ac- companied by the Infante Don Carlos, directed their march on Naples, which threw open its gates to the Spaniards. The victory which they gained over the Imperialists at Bitonto (May 25,) decided the fate of the kingdom of Naples. After this conquest, the Infante passed to Sicily. He soon reduced that island, and was crowned King of the Two Sicilies at Pa- lermo (July 3, 1735.) The Emperor, overwhelmed by so many reverses, and unablo 1 1 PERIOD VIII. A. D. 1713 — 1789. 349 to withstand the powers leagued against him, eagerly solicited assistance from Russia. The Empress Anne, who saw the war I j loiminated in Poland, and Augustus in quiet possession of the ' I throne, despatched a body of ten thousand auxiliaries, under ' the command of General Count de Lacy, into Germany, in thf •spring of the year 1735. These troops, the first Russians who had appeared in that country, joined the Imperial army on the j I Rhine, which was commanded by Prince Eugene. That Gene- i I ral, however, did not succeed in his design of transferring the seat of war to Lorraine. Matters were in this situation, when the maritime powers in- terposed their good offices for restoring peace between the Em- peror and the States leagued against him. Cardinal Fleury, perceiving that their mediation was not agreeable to the Impe- rial Court, took the resolution of concerting a secret negotia- tion with the Emperor, the result of which was a treaty of pre- liminaries ; although much deliberation Avas necessary before coming to the conclusion of a definitive peace. This Avas at length signed at Vienna, between France, the Emperor, and the Empire, on the 8th of November 1738. The former treaties of Westphalia, Nimeguen, Ryswick, Utrecht, and the Quadruple Alliance, were admitted as the basis of this treaty. Stanislaus renounced the throne of Poland, and retained the title only during his life. They gave him, by way of compensation, the dutchies of Lorraine and Bar, on condition that, at his death, they should revert with full right to France. The single coun- ty of Falkenstein, with its appurtenances and dependencies, was reserved for Francis, Duke of Lorraine. In exchange for the dutchy which he abdicated, that prince received the grand dutchy of Tuscany, whose last possessor, John Gaston, of the House of Medici, had just died without leaving any posterity (1737.) The kingdom of the Two Sicilies, with the ports of Tuscany, were secured to Don Carlos and his descendants, male and female ; and, in failure of them, to the younger bro- thers of that prince, and their descendants. On his part, Don Carlos ceded to the Emperor the dutchies of Parma and Pla- centia, and even renounced the rights which former treaties had given him over the grand dutchy of Tuscany. They restored to the Emperor all that had been taken from him in the pro- vinces of Milan and Mantua; with the reservation of the dis- tricts of Novara and Tortona, which he was obliged to cede to Charles Emanuel III., King of Sardinia, together with San- Fidele, Torre di Forti, Gravedo, and Campo-Maggiore ; as also the territorial superiority of the fiefs commonly called Langhes, to be held entirely as Imperial fiefs. Finally, France under- 350 CHAPTER W. took, in the most authentic form, to guarantee the Pragmatic Sanction of the Emperor. The Kings of Spain and Sardinia were not satisfied with the conditions of this treaty. The former wished to preserve the. ^and dutchy of Tuscany, with the dutchies of Parma and Placentia ; and the other had expected to obtain a larger portion M' Lombardy. Thus, these princes long hesitated to admit the articles agreed to between the courts of France and Vienna ; nor did they give their consent until the year 1739. While these disputes about the succession of Poland occupied a great part of Europe, a war broke out between the Turks and the Russians, in which Austria was also implicated. The Em- gress Anne of Russia, wishing to recover Azoff, and repair the loss which Peter the Great had sustained in his unfortunate campaign on the Pruth, took advantage of the war between the Turks and the Persians, to form an alliance Avith Khouli Khan, the famous conqueror of the East, who had just subverted the ancient dynasty of the Sophis of Persia. The incursions which the Tartars had made at different times into the Russian provinces, without the Porte thinking proper to check them, served as a motive for the Empress to order an expedition against the Turks (1735,) and to declare war against the Porte soon after. It was during the campaign of 1736 that Count Lacy made himself master of Azoff, and that Marshal Munich, after having forced the lines at Perekop, penetrated into the in- terior of the Crimea ; but having in that expedition lost many of his men by famine and disease, he found it impossible to maintain himself in that peninsula. The Emperor offered himself at first as a mediator between the belligerent powers. A conference was opened at Niemerow in Poland, which proved fruitless. The Russians who had just taken Oczakoff, emboldened by their success, were desirous to continue the war ; while the Emperor, without reflecting on the bad condition of his military strength, and the loss which he had sustained by the death of the celebrated prince Eugene (April 21, 1736,) thought only of sharing the conquest with the Russians. He then laid aside the character of mediator, to act on the defensive against the Turks ; but he had soon rea- son to repent of this measure. The Turks, encouraged by the famous Count de Bonneval, gained considerable advantages over the Austrians ; and in course of the campaigns of 1737 and 1738, they dislodged them from Wallachia and Servia, re- took Orsova, and laid siege to the city of Belgrade in 1739. The Court of Vienna, in a state of great consternation, had recourse to the mediation of M. de Villeneuve. the French am- li Jj PERIOD VIII. A. D. 1713 17S9. 351 II bassador a^ Constantinople, to sue for peace with the Porte j Count Neipperg, who was sent by the Emperor to the Turkish camp before Belgrade, signed there, with too much precipita- tion, a treaty, under very disadvantageous terms for Austria : and the Empress Anne, who had intrusted the French ambas- sador Avith her full powers, consented also to a peace very un- favourable for Russia, notwithstanding the brilliant victory .vhich Marshal Munich had gained over the Turks in the neigh- bourhood of Choczim (Oct. 28, 1739,) which was followed by the capture of that place, and the conquest of Moldavia by the Russians. The Emperor, by that peace, ceded to the Porte, Belgrade, Sabatz, and Orsova, with Austrian Servia and Wallachia. The Danube, the Save, and the Unna, were again settled as the boundary between the two Empires ; and Austria preserved nothing but the Banat of TemesAvar, of all that had been ceded to her by the peace of PassaroAvitz. The Austrian merchants, however, Avere granted free passage into and out of the king- doms and provinces of the Ottoman Empire, both by sea and land, in their OAvn vessels, Avith the flag and letters-patent of the Emperor, on condition of their paying the accustomed dues. Russia surrendered all her conquests, and among others Choczim and Moldavia. The boundaries betAA-een the two Em- pires Avere regulated by different special agreements. The for- tress of Azoff was demolished ; and it was stipulated that Russia should not construct any neAV fortress within thirty versts of that place, on the one side ; nor the Porte within thirty versts, on the side of the Cuban. Russia Avas even interdicted from having and constructing fleets or other naval stores, either on the Sea of Azoff or the Black Sea. The Zaporog Cossacs continued under the dominion of Russia, which obtained also from the Porte the acknoAvledgment of the Imperial title. The peace be- tween Russia and the Porte was declared perpetual j but they limited that between Austria and the Porte to twenty-seven years. The latter was reneAved under the Empress Maria Theresa ; and rendered also perpetual, by an agreement which that princess concluded with the Porte, May 25, 1747. The succession to Charle« VL.the last male descendant of the House of Hapsburg, who died October 20th 1740, kindled a new general war in Europe. That prince, in the year 1713, had published an order of succession, known by the name of the Pragmatic Sanction, which decreed, that failing his lineal heirs- male, his own daughters should succeed in preference to those of his brother the Emperor Joseph I. ; and that the succession of his daughters should be regulated according to the order of 352 CHAPTER IX. primogeniture, so that the elder should be preferred to the younger, and that she alone should inherit his whole estates. He took great pains to get this order approved by the different hereditary States of Austria, as well as by the daughters of his? brother Joseph I., and by the husbands of these princesses, the Electors of Saxony and Bavaria. He even obtained, by degrees, the sanction of all the principal powers of Europe. But though his external policy had been very active in securing the rights of his eldest daughter Maria Theresa, he neglected those mea- sures to which he ought rather to have directed his attention. The wretched state in which he left his finances and his army, encouraged a number of pretenders, who disputed the succession with that princess. Of these claimants, the principal was the Elector of Bavaria, who, as being descended from Anne of Austria, daughter of Fer- dinand I., advanced the claims of the females of the elder line, against those of the younger ; grounded on the contract of mar- riage between that princess and Albert V. Duke of Bavaria, as well as on the will of Ferdinand I. The Elector of Saxony, then King of Poland, although he had approved of the Prag- matic Sanction, claimed the succession, as being husband of the elder of the daughters of Joseph I., and in virtue of a compact be- tween the two brothers, Joseph I. and Charles VI., which provided, that the daughters of Joseph should, under all circumstances, be prefen-ed to those of Charles. Philip v., King of Spain, laid claim to the kingdoms of Bo- hemia and Hungary. He grounded his rights on an agreement (1617) between Philip III. of Spain and Ferdinand of Austria, afterwards the Emperor Ferdinand II. ; according to which these kingdoms were to pass to the descendants of Philip III,, failino- the male line of Ferdinand. A war had arisen between Spain and England on account of the clandestine traffic which the English carried on in Spanish America, under favour of the contrnct called the Assiento. Philip V. thought of turning these differences relative to the Austrian succession to his own advan- tage, either for drawing France into an alliance with him against England, or to procure for his son Don Philip a settlement in Italy, at the expense of the daughter of Charles VI. Frederic II., King of Prussia, who had just succeeded his father Frederic William I., judged this a favourable time for turning his attention to the affairs of his own kingdom, and pro- fitting by the troops and treasures which his father had left. With this view, he revived certain claims of his family tc several dutchies and principalities in Silesia, of which his an- cestors, he maintained, had been unjustly deprived by Austria PERIOD VIII. A. D. 1713 — 1789. 353 Finally, the King of Sardinia laid claim to the whole dutchy of Milan ; grounded on the contract of marriage between his an- cestor, Charles Emanuel Duke of Savoy, and the daughter of Philip II. of Spain. The Court of France, wishing to avail herself of these circumstances for humbling Austria, her ancient rival, set on foot a negotiation with the Elector of Bavaria, and engaged to procure him the Imperial crown, with a part of the^ territories, of which he had deprived Austria. An alliance was concluded between France, Spain, and the Elector of Bavaria, which was joined also by the Kings of Prus- sia, Poland, Sardinia, and the two Sicilies ; and to prevent Russia from affording assistance to Maria Theresa, they pre- vailed on Sweden to declare war against that power. The Court of Vienna having complained of these resolutions of the French Cabinet, which were directly opposed to the conditions of the last treaty of Vienna, Cardinal Fleury, who had been drawn into that war by the intrigues of M. De Belleisle, alleged in his own justification, that the guarantee of the Pragmatic Sanction, which France had undertaken by that treaty, pre- supposed the clause Sine prejudicio tertii; that is to say, that France never intended, by that guarantee, to prejudice the just claims of the Elector of Bavaria. The most active of the enemies of Maria Theresa was the King of Prussia, who entered Silesia in the month of December 1740. While he was occupied in making that conquest, the Elector of Bavaria, reinforced by an army of French auxiliaries, took possession of Upper Austria ; but, instead of marching di- rectly upon Vienna, he turned towards Bohemia, with the inten- tion of conquering it. Meantime, the Electoral Diet, which was assembled at Frankfort, conferred the Imperial dignity on that prince, (Jan. 24, 1742,) who took the name of Charles VII. Nothing appeared then to prevent the dismemberment of the Austrian monarchy, according to the plan of the allied powers. The Elector of Bavaria was to have Bohemia, the Tyrol, and the provinces of Upper Austria ; the Elector of Saxony was to have Moravia and Upper Silesia ; and the King of Prussia the remainder of Silesia. As for Austrian Lombardy, it was des- tined for Don Philip, the Infante of Spain^ Nothing was left to the Queen, except the kingdom of Hungary, with Lower Aus- tria, the Dutchies of Carinthia, Stiria and Carniola, and the Belgic Provinces. In the midst of these imminent dangers, Maria Theresa displayed a courage beyond her age and sex. Aided by the supplies of money which England and Holland furnished her, and by the generous efforts which the Hungarian nation made in her favour, she succeeded^ in calming the storm 23. 354 CHAPTER IX. repulsing the enemy with vigour, and dissolving the grand league Avhich had been formed against her. The King of Prussia, in consequence of the two victories which he gained at Molwitz (April 10, 1741,) and Czaslau (May 17, 1742,) had succeeded in conquering Silesia, Moravia, and part of Bohemia. It was of importance for the Queen to get rid of so formidable an enemy. The King of Great Britain having interposed, certain preliminaries were signed at Breslau, which were followed by a definitive peace, concluded at Berlin (July 28, 1742.) The Queen, by this treaty, gave up to the King of Prussia Silesia and the Comte of Glatz, excepting the princi- pality of Teschen, and part of the principalities of Trappau. Jagerndorf, and Neisse. The example of Prussia was soon fol- lowed by the King of Poland. This Prince, alarmed at the sud- den increase of the Prussian power, not only acceded to the treaty of Berlin, but even formed an alliance with the Queen against Prussia. The King of Sardinia, who dreaded the preponderance of the Bourbons in Italy, likewise abandoned the grand alliance, and attached himself to the Queen's interests, by a compact which was signed at Turin. The French and Spaniards then turned their arms against that Prince ; and while the King of the two Sicilies joined his forces with the Spaniards, an English squad- ron appeared before Naples, threatened to bombard the city, and compelled the King to recall his troops from Lombardy, and re- main neutral. This was not the only piece of service which George II. rende'-ed the young Queen. Being one of the powers that guaranteed the Pragmatic Sanction, he sent to her aid an army composed of English, Hanoverians, and Hessians. This, known by the name of the Pragmatic Army, fought and defeated the French at Dettingen (June 27, 1743.) They were afterwards reinforced by a body of troops which the States- General sent, in fulfilment of the engagement Avhich they had contracted with the Court of Vienna. Lastly, that prince, in order to attach the King of Sardinia more closely to the interests of Austria, set on foot a treaty at Worms, by which the Queen ceded to the King of Sardinia the territory of Pavia, between the Po and the Tesino, part of the dutchy of Placentia, and the district of Anghiera, with the rights which they claimed to the marquisate of Finale. The King, on his part, abandoned all claims to the Milanois ; and engaged to support an army of 40,000 men for the service of the Queen, in consideration of the supplies which England promised to pay him. This soon changed the aspect of affairs. The Queen recon- quered Austria and Bohemia. She expelled the French from I I PEKioD vm. A. D. 1713 — 1789. 355 Bavaria, and drove them even beyond the Rhine The Emperor Charles VII. vas obliged to transfer his residence from Munich to Frankfort on the Maine. France, who had never acted till then but as the ally of the Elector of Bavaria, resolved, m con- sequence of these events, formally to declare war against the Queen and the King of Great Britain (March 15, 1744.) The King of the Two Sicilies broke his neutrality, and again joined his troops with the Spanish army, who were acting against the Queen and her ally the King of Sardinia. The war was now carried on with fresh vigour. Louis XV. attacked the Austrian Netherlands in person, and negotiated a treaty of Union, at Frankfort, between the Emperor, and several principal States of the Empire. By this treaty it was stipulated, that the allied princes should unite their forces, and constrain the Queen to acknowledge the Emperor Charles VII., and reinstate him in his hereditary dominions. It was in consequence of this treaty, that the King of Prussia again commenced the war, and made an attack on Bohemia. Prince Charles of Lorraine, who had invaded Alsace, at the head of an Austrian army, was obliged to repass the Rhine, and march to the relief of that kingdom. The French penetrated into Germany, and while Louis XV. laid siege to Friburg in Brisgaw, General Seckendorf, who commanded the Imperial army, reconquered Bavaria. Charles VII., who was then re- stored to his estates, returned to Munich. During these transactions, an unforeseen event happened, which changed the state of affairs. The Emperor died at the early age of forty-seven (Jan. 20, 1745,) and his son Maximilian Joseph II., used all expedition to make up matters with the Queen. By the special treaty, which he concluded with her at Fuessen (April 22, 1745,) he renounced the claims which his father had made to the succession of Charles VI. He again signed the Pragmatic Sanction, satisfied with being maintained in the possession of his patrimonial estates. The French had in vain endeavoured to prevent the election of the Grand Duke of Tuscany to the Imperial throne, who had been associated with his wife, Maria Theresa, in the government of her heredi- tary dominions. That prince, however, was elected at Frank- fort, under the protection of the Austrian and Pragmatic armies. An alliance had been concluded at Warsaw between Maria Theresa, Poland, England, and Holland (Jan. 8, 1745.) Au- gustus III. had engaged, as Elector of Saxony, to despatch an army of thirty thousand men to the Queen's assistance, in con- sideration of the subsidies which England and Holland had pro- mised to pay him. That army being joined by the Austrians, 356 CHAPTER IX bad advanced into Silesia, where they sustained a total defea* near Hohenfriedberg (June 4.) The victorious King of Prussia returned to Bphemia, and there defeated the allies a second time, near Sorr, in the Circle of Konigratz (Sept. 30.) He then attacked Saxony, in order to compel the Queen to make pea^e. by harassmg the Elector her ally. The victory, which he gain- ed over the Saxons at Kesselsdorf (Dec. 15,) made him master of Dresden, and the whole Electorate, which he laid under con- tribution. These victories accelerated the peace between the King of Prussia, the Queen, and the Elector of Saxony, which was signed at Dresden, under the mediation of Great Britain. The King of Prussia restored to the Elector all his estates, the latter promising to pay him a million of Imperial crowns. The Queen gave up Silesia and the Comte of Glatz ; while the King, as the Elector of Brandenburg, acquiesced in the election of Francis I. to the Imperial throne. The King of England, the Dutch, and the States of the Empire, undertook to guarantee these stipulations. The treaties of Fuessen and presden restored tranquillity to the Empire ; but the war was continued in the Netherlands, Italy, and in the East and West Indies. The French, under the conduct of Marshal Saxe, distinguished themselves in the Netherlands. The victories which they gained over the allie? at Fontenoy (May 11, 1745,) andatRocoux (Oct. 11, 1746,) pro- cured them the conquest of all the Austrian Netherlands, except the towns and fortresses of Luxemburg, Limburg, and Gueldres Charles Edward, son of the Pretender, encouraged and assist- ed by the Court of France, landed in Scotland in August 1745. Being joined by a number of partisans, v/hom he found in that kingdom, he caused his father to be proclaimed at Perth and Edinburgh, assuming to himself the title of Prince of Wales, and Regent of the three kingdoms. The victory which he gain- ed near Prestonpans over the English troops, rendered him mas- ter of all Scotland. He next invaded England, took Carlisle, and advanced as far as Derby, spreading terror and consternation in London. George II. was obliged to recall the Duke of Cum- . . . . berland, with his troops, from the Netherlands. That Prince drove back the Pretender, retook Carlisle, and restored tranquil- lity in Scotland, by defeating the Rebels near CuUoden in the Highlands. Charles Edward was then reduced to the necessity of concealing himself among the mountains, until the month of October following, when he found means to transport himself to France. The campaign of 1745 in Italy was glorious for the French, and their allies the Spaniards. Tne Republic of Genoa, being PERIOD vm. A. D. 1713 — 1789. 357 offended at the clause in the treaty of Worms, which took from them the marquisate of Finale, espoused the cause of the two crowns, and facilitated the junction of the French army of the Alps with that of Lombardy. One effect of this junction was the conquest of Piedmont, as also of Austrian Lombardy, except- ing the cities of Turin and Mantua, which the allies had laid under blockade. The fate of the war, however, experienced a new change in Italy, at the opening of the following campaign. Maria The- resa, disengaged from the war with Prussia, sent considerable reinforcements into Lombardy, which gave her arms a superi- ority over those of the allies. The French and Spaniards were stripped of all their conquests, and sustained a grand defeat at Placentia (June 16, 1746,) which obliged them to beat a retreat. To add to their misfortunes, the new King of Spain, Ferdinand VL, who had just succeeded his father, Philip V., being dis- pleased with the Court of France, and unfavourably inclined towards his brother Don Philip, recalled all his troops from Ita- ly. The French had then no other alternative left than to fol- low the Spaniards in their retreat. Italy w'as abandoned to the Austrians, and the French troops again returned to Provence. The whole Republic of Genoa, with its capital, fell into the hands of the Austrians. The King of Sardinia took possession of Finale, Savona, and the western part of the Republican terri- ritory. The Austrians, joined by the Piedmontese, made a descent on Provence, and undertook the siege of Antibes. An extraordinary event produced a diversion favourable for France, and obliged the Austrians and Piedmontese to repass the Alps. The Genoese being maltreated by the Austrians, who had burdened them with contributions and discretionary exactions, suddenly rose against their new masters. The in- surgents, with Prince Doria at their head, succeeded in expel- ling them from Genoa (Dec. 1746.) General Botta, who com- manded at Genoa, was obliged to abandon his stores and equip- age, that he might the more quickly escape from the territory of the Republic. The siege of Antibes was raised ; the allies repassed the Alps, and blockaded Genoa. But the French hav- ing sent powerful supplies by sea to that city, and at the same time made a vigorous attack on the side of Piedmont, relieved the Genoese, and obliged the enemy to retreat. In 1747, the French, who were already masters of the Aus- trian Netherlands, attacked and conquered Dutch Flanders. They blamed the Dutch for having sent constant supplies to Maria Theresa, for having invaded the French territory anJ granted a retreat through their ovvn to -Ke eueioy s troops.. Lue-' I M 358 CHAPTER IX. the battle of Fontenoy. This invasion spread terror in the province of Zealand, who thus saw themselves deprived of their barrier, and exposed to the inroads of the French. The parti- sans of the Prince of Orange took advantage of that circum- stance to restore the Stadtholdership. This dignity, as well as ihat of Captain and Admiral-General of the Republic, had re- mained vacant since the death of William III. William IV., Prince of Nassau-Dietz, though he was testa- mentary heir to that prince, had only obtained the Stadtholder- ship of Friesland, to which was afterwards added that of Gro- ningen and Gueldres ; but the efforts which he made to obtain the other offices and dignities of the ancient Princes of Orange, proved ineffectual. The four provinces of Holland, Zealand, Utrecht, and Overyssel, persisted in their free government, and even refused the Prince the office of General of Infantry, which he had requested. France, by attacking Dutch Flanders, contribu- ted to the elevation of William. There was a general feeling in his favour in those provinces which had no Stadtholder ; the peo- ple of the different towns and districts rose in succession, and obliged the magistrates to proclaim William IV. as Stadtholder and Captain-General. This revolution was achieved without disturbance ; and without any obstacle on the part of those who had an interest in opposing it, but who were obliged to yield to the wishes of the people. They even went so far as to declare the Stadtholdership, as well as the offices of Captain and Admi- ral-General, hereditary in all the Prince's descendants, male and female — a circumstance unprecedented since the foundation of the Republic. This change which happened in the Stadtholdership did not, however, prevent the French from making new conquests. They had no sooner got possession of Dutch Flanders, than they attacked the town of Maestricht. The Duke of Cumber- land having advanced with the allied army to cover the town, a bloody battle took place near Laveld (July 2, 1747,) which was gained by the French, under the command of Marshal Saxe. The fortress of Bergen-op-Zoom, which was deemed impregna- ble by its situation and the marshes which surrounded it, was carried by assault by Count Lewendal, two months after he had opened his trenches. However brilliant the success of the French arms was on the Continent, they failed in almost all their maritime expeditions. The English took from them Louisburg and Cape Breton fn America ; and completely destroyed the French marine, which had been much neglected, under the ministry of Cardinal Fleu- ry. All the belligerent powers at length felt the necessity of PERIOD VIII. A. D. 1713 — 1789. 359 peace ; and there Avere two events which tended to accelerate it. The Empress of Russia, conformable to the engagements into which she had entered with the Courts of Vienna and London, by the treaties of 1746 and 1747, had despatched Prince Repnin to the Rhine, at the head of 30,000 men. Mar- shal Saxe, at the same time, had laid siege to Maestricht, in presence of the enemy, who were 80,000 strong. The taking of that city would have laid open all Holland to the French, and threatened the Republic with the most disastrous consequences. A preliminary treaty was then signed at Aix-la-Chapelle, which was followed by a definitive peace (Oct. 18, 1748.) There all former treaties since that of Westphalia were renewed ; a mutual restitution was made on both sides, of all conquests made during the war, both in Europe, and in the East and West Indies ; and in consideration of the important restitutions which France had made on the Continent, they ceded to Don Philip, the son-in-law of Louis XV., and brother of Don Carlos, the dutchies of Parma, Placentia, and Guastalla ; to be possessed by him and his lawful heirs male. The treaty of preliminaries contained two conditions upon which the dutchies of Parma and Guastalla should revert to the Queen, and that of Placentia to the King of Sardinia ; viz. (1.) Failing the male descendants of Don Philip. (2.) If Don Carlos, King of the Two Sicilies, should be called to the throne of Spain. In this latter case, it was pre- sumed that the kingdom of the Two Sicilies should pass to Don Philip, the younger brother of that prince ; but they did not seem to recollect that the peace of Vienna (1738) had secured this latter kingdom to Don Carlos, and all his descendants male and female ; and consequently, nothing prevented that prince, should the case so happen, from transferring the Two Sicilies to one of his own younger sons ; supposing even that he were not per- mitted to unite that kingdom with the Spanish monarchy. The plenipotentiaries having perceived this oversight after the con- clusion of the preliminaries, took care to rectify it in the defini- tive treaty, by thus wording the second clause of the reversion, " Should Don Philip, or any of his descendants, be either called to the throne of Spain, or to that of the Two Sicilies." The Empress agreed to this change, but the King of Sardinia was not so complaisant. In respect to him, it was necessary to make the definitive treaty entirely conformable to the prelimi- naries. It was this circumstance which prevented the King of the Two Sicilies, from acceding to the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle. By that treaty the King of Sardinia was confirmed in those dif- ferent possessions in the Milanois Avhich the treaty of Worms had adjudged him. These, however, did not include that part of 360 CHAPTER IX. Placentia which had just been ceded to Don Philip ; nor the marquisate of Finale, which the Genoese retained. That Re- public, and the Duke of Modena, who had always been the ally of France, were restored to the same state in which they were before the war. Silesia was guaranteed to the King of Prussia by the whole of the contracting powers. As for England, be- sides the guarantee of the British succession in favour of the House of Hanover, she obtained a renewal of the expulsion o( the Pretender from the soil of France ; while this latter power, victorious on the continent, consented to revive the humiliating clause in the treaty of Utrecht, which ordered the demolition of the Port of Dunkirk. The only modification which was made to this clause was, that the fortifications of the place on the land side should be preserved. Lastly, by the sixteenth article of the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle, the contract of the Assiento re- specting the slave trade granted to England by the treaty of Utrecht, was renewed in favour of the English Company of the Assiento, for the four years in which that trade had been inter- rupted during the war. * This peace produced no considerable change on the political state of Europe ; but by maintaining the King of Prussia in his conquest of Silesia, it raised a rival to Austria in the very centre of the Empire. The unity of the Germanic body was thus broken, and that body divided between the two leading powers, Austria and Prussia. The system of aggrandizement and con- venience which Frederic the Great had put in practice for de- priving Austria of Silesia came afterwards into vogue ; and by gradually undermining the system of equilibrium, which former treaties had introduced, it occasioned new revolutions in Europe. The dispute about the Austrian succession, extended its in- fluence to the North, where it kindled a war between Russia and Sweden. The Empress Anne, a little before her death (Oct. 17, 1740,) had destined as her successor on the throne of Russia, the young prince Iwan or John, the son of her niece Anne of Meck- lenburg, by Prince Anthony Ulric of Brunswick. The Regency during the minority of Iwan, was conferred on her favourite Biron, whom she had raised to the first offices of the state, and created Duke of Gourland. The mother of the young Emperor, indignant at seeing the management of affairs in the hands of a favourite, gained over to her interests Field-Marshal Munich, by whose assistance the Duke of Gourland was arrested and banished to Siberia, whilst she herself was proclaimed Grand Dutchess and Regent of the Empire. The ministry of this princess were divided in their opinions, on the subject of the war about the Austrian succession. Some r-ERioD VIII. A. D. 1713 — 1789. 361 supported the cause of Prussia, with which Russia had jusi re- newed her treaties of alliance; while others were inclined for Austria, the ancient ally of Russia. This latter party having prevailed, France, in order to prevent Russia from assisting Maria Theresa, thought proper to give her some occupation in the North. It was by no means difficult to raise Sweden against her ; where the faction of the Hats., then the ruling party, was entirely devoted to the French interest. This fac- tion, which was opposed by that of the Bonnets, or Caps, re- newed the treaty of subsidy with France, and also concluded a treaty of perpetual alliance against Russia (Dec. 22, 1739.) Encouraged by the young nobles, they flattered themselves that the time was come, when Sweden would repair the losses which she had sustained by the foolish expeditions of Charles XII. A Diet extraordinary was assembled at Stockholm (Aug. 1741,) which declared war against Russia. They alleged, among other motives, the exclusion of the Princess Elizabeth, daughter of Peter the Great, and the Duke of Holstein-Gottorp, from the throne of Russia ; the assassination of Major Sinclair, who had been murdered, as the Swedes affirmed, by the emis- saries of Russia, while bearing despatches from Constantinople lor the Sv.'^edish Court, and when he was passing through Silesia on his way to Stockholm. This declaration of war had been made, before the Swedes could take those measures which pru- dence should have dictated. They had neither an army fit for action, nor stores prepared in Finland ; and their General, Count Lewenhaupt, had nothing to recommend him but his devotion to the ruling party. Sweden had flattered herself that the Turks would recommence the war with Russia, and that she would thus find resources in the alliance and subsidies of France. The first action, which took place near Wilmanstrand (Sept. 3, 1741) was quite in favour of the Russians ; a great number of Swedes were there either killed or made prisoners, and the town of Wil- manstrand was carried sword in hand. Meantime a revolution happened at St. Petersburg, which seemed to have brought about a favourable change for the Swe- dish government. The Princess Elizabeth, supported by the Marquis de la Chetardie, minister of France, andby a company of the guards whom she had drawn over to her interest, seized the Regent Anne, her husband the Prince of Brunswick, and the young Emperor ; all of whom she sent into exile, and caused herself to be proclaimed Empress. The Swedes, who had flat- tered themselves with having aided in placing that princess on the throne, immediately entered into negotiations with her ; but as they carried their pretensions too high, the conference was broken off', and the war continued. 362 CHAPTER IX. I The campaign of 1742, proved also unfortunate for Sweden. Their army in Finland, though equal in point of strength to thai i ' of Eussia, durst not keep the field. They abandoned all their best posts one after another, and retired towards Helsingfors. : ; beyond the ri , er Kymen. Shut up in this position, and besieg- j ) ed by sea and land, they were obliged to capitulate. The Swe- dish troops returned home, the Finnish regiments laid down tneir arms, and the whole of Finland surrendered to the Russians. The States of Sweden having assembled under these circum- stances, and benig desirous of an accommodation with Russia, oifered the tlirone of Sweden to Charles Ulric, Duke of Holstein- Gottorp, and nephew of the Empress Elizabeth. That prince, however, declined the offer of the Diet. He had just been de- clared Grand Duke, and presumptive heir to the Russian Em- pire, and had embraced the Greek religion. This intelligence astounded the Diet, who then placed on the list of candidates for the throne, the Prince Royal of Denmark, the Duke of Deux- Ponts, and the Bishop of Lubec, uncle to the new Grand Duke of Russia. A considerable party were inclined for the Prince of Denmark ; and they were on the point of renewing the ancient union of the three kingdoms of the North in his favour. To prevent an election so prejudicial to the interests of Prussia, the Empress abated from the rigour of her first propositions, and offered to restore to the Swedes a great part of their conquests, on condition of bestowing their throne on Prince Adolphus Fre- deric, Bishop of Lubec. This condition having been acceded to. Prince Frederic was elected (July 3, 1743 ;) the succession to descend to his male heirs. A definitive peace was then conclu- ded between Russia and Sweden, at Abo in Finland. Sweden, by thus renouncing her alliance with the Porte, rati- fied anew all that she had surrendered to Russia by the peace of Nystadt. Moreover, she ceded to that Crown the province of Kymenegard in Finland, with the towns and fortresses of Frie- dricsham and Wilmanstrand ; as also the parish of Pyttis, lying to the east of the Kymen, and the ports, places, and districts, situated at the mouth of that river. The islands lyin^ on the south and west of the Kymen were likewise included in this cession ; as were also the town and fortress of Nyslott, with its territory. All the rest of Finland was restored to Sweden, to- gether with the other conquests which Russia had made during the war. The Swedes were permitted to purchase annually in the Russian Ports of the Baltic, and the Gulf of Finland, grain to the value of 50,000 rubles, without paying any export duty. Portugal, about the middle of the eighteenth century, became the scene of various memorable events, which attracted general J I PERIOD vni. A. D. 1713—1789. 363 attention. John V., who had governed that kingdom from 1706 till 1750, had fallen into a state of weakness and dotage, and abandoned the reins of government to Don Gaspard, his confes- sor, under whooe administration numerous abuses had crept into the state. Joseph I., the son and successor of John V., on ascending the throne (July 31, 1750,) undertook to reform these abuses. By the advice of his minister, Sebastian De Carvalho, afterwards created Count D'Oeyras, and Marquis De Pombal, he turned his attention to every branch of the administration. He patronized the arts and sciences, encouraged agriculture, manufactures, and commerce ; regulated the finances ; and used every effort to raise the army and navy of Portugal from that state of languor into which they had fallen. These innovations could not be accomplished without exciting discontent in the different orders of the state. The minister increased this by his inflexible severity, and the despotism which he displayed in the exercise of his ministerial functions ; as well as by the antipathy which he showed against the nobility and the ministers of reli- gion. The Companies which he instituted for exclusive com- merce to the Indies, Africa, and China, raised against him the whole body of merchants in the kingdom. He irritated the no- bility by the contempt which he testified towards them, and by annexing to the Crown those immense domains in Africa and America, which the nobles enjoyed by the munificence of former kings. The most powerful and the most dangerous enemies of this minister were the Jesuits, whom he had ventured to attack openly, and had even ordered to be expelled from Portugal. This event, which was attended with remarkable consequences, must be described more fully. During the life of John V., a treaty had been signed between the Courts of Madrid and Lisbon (1750,) in virtue of v/hich the Portuguese colony of St. Sacrament and the northern bank of the river La Plata in America, were ceded to Spain, in exchange for a part of Paraguay, lying on the eastern bank of the Uru- guay. This treaty was on the point of being carried into exe- cution ; the commissioners appointed for this purpose had com- menced their labours ; but the inhabitants of the ceded territories opposed the exchange, as did several individuals in both Courts. The Jesuits were suspected of being the authors and instigators of that opposition. In the territories which were to be ceded to Portugal, they had instituted a republic of the natives, which they governed as absolute masters ; and which they were afraid would be subverted, if the exchange in question should take place. They used every means, therefore, to thwart the arrange- ments of the two courts ; and it is alleged they even went so far 364 CHAPTER IX. as lo excite a rebellion among the inhabitants of the countries to be exchanged. The consequence was, a long and expensive war between the two crowns, which occasioned much bloodshed, and cost Portugal alone nearly twenty millions of cruzados. In the midst of these events, there occurred a terrible earth- quake, which, in the twinkling of an eye, demolished the greater part of Lisbon, and destroyed between twenty and thirty thou- sand of its inhabitants (Nov. 1, 1755.) Fire consumed what- ever had escaped from the earthquake ; while the overflowing of the sea, cold and famine, added to the horrors of these ca- lamities, which extended even over a great part of the kingdom. The Jesuits were reproached for having, at the time of this distres- sing event, announced new disasters, which were to overwhelm Portugal, as a punishment for the sins of which the inhabitants had been guilty. These predictions, added to the commotions which still continued in Brazil, served as a pretext for depriving the Jesuits of their office of Court-confessors, shutting them out from the palace, and even interdicting them from hearing con fessions over the whole kingdom. The outrage which was committed against the King's person immediately after, furnished the minister with another pretext against that religious order. The King, when going by night to Belem, (Sept. 3, 1758,) was attacked by assassins, who mis- took him for another, and fired several shots at him, by which he was severely wounded. Several of the first nobles in the kingdom were accused, among others the Duke d'Aveiro, the Marquis and Marchioness de Tavora, the Count d'Atougia, &c. as being the ringleaders in this plot against the King's life, who were sentenced to execution accordingly, [but their innocence was afterwards fully established.] The Jesuits were also implicated in this affair, and publicly declared accomplices in the King's assassination. They were proscribed as traitors and disturbers of the public peace ; theii goods were confiscated ; and every individual belonging to the order was embarked at onf^e at the several ports of the king dom, without any regard to age or infirmities, and transported to Civita Vecchia within the Pope's dominions. The Portu guese minister, apprehensive that this religious order, if pre- served in the other states of Europe, would find means, sooner or later, to return to Portugal, used every endeavour to have their Society entirely suppressed. He succeeded in this at- tempt by means of the negotiations which he set on foot with several of the Catholic courts. In France the Society was dissolved, in virtue of the decrees issued by the parliament (1762.) Paris set the first example of this. Louis XV. declared. ITRIOD VIII. A. D. 1713 — 1789. SKjS that the Society should no longer exist within the kingdom. The Court of Madrid, where they had two powerful enemies in the ministry, Counts d'Aranda and de Caraponianes, coni- manded all the Jesuits to depart from the territory and jurisdic'- tion of Spain ; and, at the same time, declared their goods con- fiscated. They were likewise expelled from the kingdom of Naples ; and the order was at length entirely suppressed, by a brief of Pope Clement XIV. (July 21, 1773.)5 The peace of Aix-la-Chapelle had by no means -restored a good understanding between France and England. A jealous rivalry divided the two nations, which served to nourish and multiply subjects of discord between them. Besides, the ac- tivity of the French in repairing their marine, which had been destroyed in the last war, was viewed with jealousy by Great Britain, then aspiring to the absolute command of the sea, and conscious that France alone Avas able to counteract her ambi- tious projects. Several matters of dispute, which the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle had left undecided, still subsisted betweeen the two nations, relative to their possessions in America. The prin- cipal of these, regarded the boundaries of Nova Scotia and Cana* da, and the claims to the neutral islands. Nova Scotia had beeli ceded to England, by the twelfth article of the treaty of Utrecht, according to its ancient limits. These limits the French had circumscribed within the bounds of the peninsula which forms that province ; while the English insisted on extending them to the southern bank of the river St. Lawrence, of which the ex- clusive navigation belonged to the French. The limits of Canada AVere not better defined than those of Nova Scotia. The French, with the view of opening a com- munication between Canada and Louisiana, had constructed se- veral forts along the river Ohio, on the confines of the English colonies in America. This was opposed by England, who was afraid that these establishments would endanger the safety of her colonies, especially that of Virginia. The neutral islands, namely the Caribees, which comprehended St. Lucia, Domini- ca, St. Vincent, and Tobago, still remained in a contested state, according to the ninth article of the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle. The French, however, alleged certain acts of possession, by which they claimed the property of thes.e islands, as well as of the Caicos and Turkish islands. Commissioners were appoint- ed on both sides to bring these disputes to an amicable termi- nation. A conference was opened at Paris, which began aborat the end of September 1750, and continued for several years ; but as neither party was disposed to act with sincerity, these conferences ended in nothing. The English, who saw that the L.; 366 CHAPTER IX. Frpncli only sought to gain time for augmenting their marine hastened the rupture by committing acts of hostility in America. The first breach of the peace was committed on the banks of the Ohio, where the French, to avenge the murder of one of their officers, seized on Fort Necessity, belonging to the English (July 1754.) The English, on their side, captured two French vessels off the Bank of Newfoundland, which had refused to salute the English flag. They even attacked all the French merchantmen which they met, and captured about three hun- dred of them. Thus, a long and bloody war was waged for the deserts and uncultivated wilds of America, which extended its ravages over all parts of the globe, involving more especially the countries of Europe. England, according to a well known political stratagem, sought to occupy the French arms on the Continent ; in order to prevent the increase of her maritime strength. France, in- stead of avoiding that snare, and confining herself solely to naval operations, committed the mistake of falling in with the views of the British minister. While repelling the hostilities of England by sea, she adopted at the same time measures for invading the Electorate of Hanover. The Court of London, wishing to guard against this danger, began by forming a closer alliance with Russia (Sept. 30, 1755 ;) they demanded of the Empress those supplies which they thought they might claim in virtue of former treaties ; and on the refusal of that princess, who was afraid to disoblige France, and to find her- self attacked by Prussia, they applied to this latter power, with Avhich they concluded a treaty at Westminster (Jan. 16, 1756;) the chief object of which was to prevent foreign troops from entering into the Empire during the war between France and England. To this treaty France opposed the alliance which she had concluded with Austria at Versailles, by which the two powers guaranteed their respective possessions in Europe, and promised each other a mutual supply of twenty-four thousand men in case of attack. The differences then subsisting between France and Great Britain were not reckoned among the Casus Federis. [The alliance of 1756 has given rise to different opinions among statesmen ; the greater part have condemned it. Its ob- ject was, on the part of France, to guard herself against all at- tacks on the Continent, that she might direct her whole force against her maritime rival ; but experience proved, that without attaining this object, she was henceforth obliged to take part in all the disputes of the Continent, however foreign they might be to her own policy. It was even contrary to her interests to I I I li PERIOD VIII. A. D. 1713—1789. 367 have Austria extricated from the embarrassments which the op- position of Prussia had occasioned her. If that project had suc- ceeded, Austria would have become the preponderating power in Germany, to a degree which would have compelled the French to turn their arms against her.] While the French were still hesitating as to the part which they ought to take relative to the Electorate of Hanover, the King of Prussia invaded Saxony (Aug. 1756.) On taking this step, he published a manifesto, the object of which was to prove by the despatches of the three Courts of Vienna, Dresden, and Petersburg, that they had concerted a plan among them for at- tacking him ; and that common prudence required him to pre- vent it. He declared at the same time, that his entrance into Saxony had no other aim than that of opening a communication with Bohemia ; and that he would only retain that country as a depot until the conclusion of the peace. This invasion, however, stirred up a powerful league against Prussia (1757.) Besides France and the Empress, it was joined by the Germanic body, Russia and Sweden. France, which had at first restricted her- self to furnishing the Empress with the supplies stipulated by the alliance, agreed, by a subsequent treaty, to despatch an army of more than 100,000 men into Germany, against the King of Prussia, and his ally the King of England ; and, moreover, to pay to that Princess an annual subsidy of twelve millions of florins. In this war the French arms were attended at first with the most brilliant success. They conquered the island of Minorca, and seized the Electorate of Hesse, and the whole States of Brunswick and Hanover ; but fortune soon turned her back on them, when they experienced nothing but defeats and disasters. ^ The extraordinary efforts which they were making on the Con- tinent naturally tended to relax their maritime operations, and thus afforded England the means of invading their possessions in other parts of the world. In the years 1757 and 1761, Chan- dernagore, Pondicherry, and Mahe, in the East Indies, fell into che hands of the English ; and in 1758, they seized on all the French settlements on the river Senegal and the coasts of Africa. The Islands of Cape Breton and St. John in America ; the forts and settlements on the Ohio ; Quebec (Avhere General "Wolfe fell.) and the whole of Canada, were all conquered in like man- ner, between the years 1756 and 1760. Finally, the Islands of Guadaloupe, Mariagalante, Dominica, Martinique, Grenada, St. Vincent, St. Lucia, and Tobago, were also taken from France. The King of Prussia, though overwhelnied by the number of his enemies, and finding no great assistance from his alliance ^ I ' 368 CHAPTER IX. \vith England, nevertheless did not lose courage. He distin- guished himself by the number of victories which he gained over the powers leagued against him, during the campaigns of the Seven Years' War." This war was already far advanced, when the Duke de Choiseul, who was then at the head of the French ministry, observing the great superiority of the English by sea, conceived the plan of the famous Family Compact, which he negotiated with the Court of Madrid, and which was conclu- ded at Paris (August 15, 1761.) The object of this treaty was to cement an alliance and a perpetual union among the differ- ent branches of the House of Bourbon, for the purpose of coun- terbalancing the maritime power of England. The King of Spain had come under no engagment to join in the war which subsisted between France and England ; but the haughty manner in Avhich the Court of London demanded of him an account of the principles of the Family Compact, gave rise to a declaration of war between these two courts. Spain and France required the King of Portugal to accede to their alliance against England. That prince in vain alleged the treaties which connected him with the English nation, and which would not permit him to take part against them. A declaration, published by the two allied courts, set forth, that the Spanish troops should enter Portugal to secure the ports of that kingdom , and that it should be left at the King's option to receive them as friends or as enemies ; and it was this which laid him under the necessity of declaring himself in favour of England (May 18, 1762.) An English fleet, with a supply of troops, was then sent to the relief of Portugal ; while a body of French troops joined the Spanish army which was destined to act against that king- dom. The city of Almeida was the only conquest which the Spaniards made in Portugal. The English, on the contrary, took from the Spaniards the Havana, and a great part of the Island of Cuba in America ; as also Manilla and the Philip pines in the Indian Ocean. The war thus became m)re general, and seemed about to assume a neAV vigour, when an unforeseen event changed entirely the face of affairs, and disposed the bel- ligerents for peace. Elizabeth, Empress of Russia, died about this time ; and Peter III., nephew to that princess, ascended the throne. Peter, who was a great admirer of the King of Prussia, took an early opportunity of making j eace with that prince. A suspension of arms was signed between the two crowns, which was followed by a treaty of peace concluded at St. Petersburg (May 5, 1762.) By that treaty, Russia surrendered all the conquests which she had made in Prussia and Pomerania d ix'uiQ the war. Peter t.!=z:: PERIOD viiL A. D. 1713—1789. 369 renounced the alliances which he had formerly contracted aganist the King of Prussia; while he, in his turn, refused to form alliances or engagements contrary to the interests of Rus- sia, or to the hereditary possessions of Peter in Germany. But the new Emperor was not content with testifying this mark of affection for the King of Prussia. He agreed to send a body of troops into Silesia to his assistance. A revolution, however, happened in Russia, which occasioned new changes. Peter III. was dethroned (July 9,) after a reign of six months. The Em- jiress Catherine II., his widow, on ascending the throne, pre- served the treaty of peace with the King of Prussia ; but she recalled her troops from Silesia, and declared that she would maintain neutrality between the King and the Empress. Sweden, who had experienced nothing but defeats in course of that war, followed the example of Russia. She agreed to a suspension of arms with the King of Prussia, and soon after con- cluded a treaty of peace with him at Hamburg (May 22, 1762.) These tAvo treaties paved the way for a general peace, the pre- liminaries of which were signed at Fountainbleau, between France, England, S{5ain and Portugal. The definitive peace was concluded at Paris (Feb. 10, 1763.) This treaty was fol- lowed by that of Hubertsburg, which reconciled Prussia with the Empress and the Elector of Saxony. By this latter treaty, the Empress surrendered to the King of Prussia the province of Glatz, as also the fortresses of Wesel and Gueldres. The Elector of Saxony again took possession of those States which the King of Prussia had taken from him ; and the treaties of Breslau, Berlin and Dresden, were renewed. Thus, after seven campaigns, as sanguinary as they were ex- pensive, the peace of Hubertsburg restored the affairs of Ger- many to the same state in which they had been before the war. France, by the treaty of Paris,, ceded to England Canada and the island of Cape Breton, with the islands and coasts of the Gulf and River of St. Lawrence. The boundaries between the two nations in North America were fixed by a line drawn along the middle of the Mississippi, from its source to its mouth. All on the left or eastern bank of that riv^r was given up to England, except the city of New Orleans, wnich was reserved to France ; as was also the liberty of the fisheries on a part of the coasts of Newfoundland, and the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The islands of St. Peter and Miquelon were given them as a shelter for their fishermen, but without permission to raise fortifications. The islands of Martinico, Gaudalonpe, Mariagalante, Desirada, and St. Lucia, were surrendered to France; while Grenada, the Grenadines, St. Vincent, Dominica, and Tobago, were ceded to 24 370 CHAPTER IX. EiK^land. The latter power retained her conquests on the Sen- egal, and restored to France the island of Gorea on the coast of Africa. France was put in possession of the forts and factories which belonged to her in the East Indies, on the coasts of Coro- mandel, Orissa, Malabar, and Bengal, under the restriction oJ keeping up no military force in Bengal. In Europe, France restored all the conquests she had made in Germany ; as also the island of Minorca, England gave up to her Belleisle on the coast of Brittany ; while Dunkirk was kept in the same condition as had been determined by the peace of Aix-la-Chapelle. The island of Cuba, with the Havana, was restored to the King of Spain, who, on his part, ceded to Eng- land Florida, with Fort Augustine and the Bay of Pensacola. The King of Portugal was restored to the same state in which he had been before the war. The colony of St. Sacrament in America, which the Spaniards had conquered, was given back to him.^ The peace of Paris, of which we have just now spoken, was the era of England's greatest prosperity. Her commerce and navigation extended over all parts of tWe globe, and were sup- ported by a naval force, so much the more imposing, as it was no longer counterbalanced by the maritime power of France, which had been almost annihilated in the preceding war. The immense territories which that peace had secured her, both in Africa and America, opened new channels for her industry, and, what deserves especially to be remarked, is, that she ac- quired at the same time vast and important possessions in the East Indies. The Empire of the Great Mogul in India had fallen into decay about the beginning of the eighteenth century. The viceroys and petty governors of the Empire, called Soubahs and Nabobs had become independent, and usurped the prerogatives of royalty in the districts under their authority ; while the Mogul Empe- ror, reduced almost to the single city of Delhi, his capital, pre- served nothing but the shadow of sovereign power, by means of the investitures which he granted to these ambitious princes, and the coinage that was struck in his name. Whenever any differences arose among these princes, they usually had recourse to the European nations, who had settlements in India, and had erected forts with the consent of the Great Mogul, where they kept an armed force for the protection of their commerce. If the French took the part of one nabob, it was sufficient to induce the English to espouse the quarrel of his adversary ; and while the two nations were mutually cultivating peace in Europe, they were often at the same time making war in India, by fur- PERIOD VIII. A. D. 1713— 1789. 371 nishing supplies to their respective allies. Success was tor n long time equal on both sides ; and it was not until the war of 1755, and by the victories and conquests of the famous Lord Clive, that England obtained a decided ascendency over the French in that quarter of the world. Sourajah Dowlah, the Soubah of Bengal, instigated, as is sup- posed, by the French, had taken possession of Calcutta (1756,) the principal settlement of the English on the Ganges. His cruel treatment of the English garrison, which he had made prisoners of war, excited the resentment of that nation. To avenge this outrage, Colonel Clive, supported by Admiral Wat- son, retook Calcutta (Jan. 1757 ;) and after having dispossessed the French of Chandernagore, their principal establishment on the Ganges, he vanquished the Soubah in several actions, de- posed him, and put in his place JafRer Ali Khan, his general and prime minister, who was entirely devoted to England. With this era commences the foundation of the British Empire in India. It happened a short time after, that the Mogul Empe- ror, Shah AUum, being driven from his capital by the Patans, an Indian tribe, solicited the protection of the English, who availed themselves of this occasion, as well as of the death of Jaffier Ali, which happened at this time, to get themselves vested by treaty (1765,) and by means of an Imperial charter, in the sovereignty of all Bengal. In virtue of this title, which legiti- mated their power in the eyes of the people, they seized on the public revenues of the kingdoms of Bengal, Bahar, and Orissa ; with the reservation of an annual tribute, which they promised to pay to the Mogul Emperor, and certain pensions which they assigned to the Soubahs, whose phantom power they disposed of at their pleasure. The dominion of the English in India, was increased still more by subsequent conquests ; the most impor- tant of which was the powerful state of Mysore, which they utterly overthrew, after a series of wars which they carried on with Hyder Ali, and his successor Tippoo Saib.^ [The death of Ferdinand VI., King of Spain, was an event of some importance. He was succeeded by his brother Don Carlos, King of the Two Sicilies, and eldest son of Philip V. by his second marriage, who assumed the title of Charles III. Under this prince the philosophy of the eighteenth century penetrated into Spain, where it displayed an energy, and gave rise to con sequences, which had not yet attended it in France. It occa- sioned the downfall of the Jesuits, which was accompanied by deed^ repugnant to justice and humanity. The ministers and counsellors of that monarch, the Counts Arranda, Florida Blanca, and Campomanes, introduced into the internal administration fi 372 CHAPTER IX. of Spain, especially its finances and tactics, an order aim rc9.) 374 CHAPTER IX. A new change happened at the death of the Empress Eliza- beth, in 1762. Peter III., on his accession to the throne o.t Rus- sia, recalled the Duke de Biron from his exile. The Empress, Catherine II., who succeeded her husband that same year, weni even farther than this ; she demanded the restoration of de Biron to the dutchy of Courland, and obliged Prince Charles of Saxony to give it up to him (1769.) The Duke de Biron then resigned the dutchy to his son Peter, who, after a reign of twen- ty-five years, surrendered it to the Empress ; the States of Courland and Semigallia made a formal submission to Russia (March 28, 1795.) The dethronement of Peter III., which we have just men- tioned, was an event very favourable to Denmark, as it relieved that kingdom from a ruinous war with which it was threatened on the part of the Emperor. Peter III. was the head of the House of Holstein-Gottorp, whom Denmark had deprived of their possessions in Sleswick, by taking advantage of the dis- asters that befell Sweden, which had protected that family against the Danish kings. The Dukes of Holstein-Gottorp ex- claimed against that usurpation ; to which the Court of Denmark had nothing to oppose, except their right of conquest, and the guarantee which the Kings of France and England, as media- tors in the treaty of Stockholm, had given to Denmark with respect to Sleswick. Peter III. was scarcely seated on the throne of Russia, when he began to concert means for recovering his ancient patrimo- nial domains, and avenging the wrongs which the Dukes of Holstein-Gottorp, his ancestors, had received at the hands of Denmark. Being determined to make war against that power, he attached the King of Prussia to his cause, and marched a Russian army of 60,000 men towards the frontiers of Denmark Six thousand Prussians were to join this army,Avhich was sup- ported by a Russian fleet to be stationed on the coasts of Po- merunia. The King of Denmark made every effort to repel the invasion with which he was threatened. He set on foot an army of 70,000 men, the command of which he intrusted to M. de St. Germain, a distinguished French officer. The Danish army advanced towards Mecklenburg, and esta- blished their head-quarters in the town of that name, one league from Wismar. The Danish fleet, consisting of twenty sail of the line and e]«ven frigates, appeared at the same time oft' Rostock. The flames of war were about to kindle in the North, and Peter III. was on the point of joining his army in person at INlecklenburg, when he was dethroned, after a short reign of six months (July 9. 1762.^ The Empress Catherine fERioD VDi. A. D. 1713 — 17S9. 375 II., who succeeded him, did not think fit to espouse the quarrel of her husband. She immediately recalled the Russian army from Mecklenburg ; and being desirous of establishing the tran- quillity of the North on a solid basis, and confirming a good un- derstanding between the two principal branches of the House of Holstein, she agreed, by a treaty of alliance with the King of Denmark (1765,) to terminate all these differences by a provisional arrangement, which was not to take effect until the majority of the Grand Duke Paul, the son of Peter III. This accommodation between the two Courts was signed at Copenhagen (April 22, 1762.) The Empress, in the name of her son, gave up her claim to the ducal part of Sleswick, oc- cupied by the King of Denmark. She ceded, moreover, to that sovereign a portion of Holstein, possessed by the family of Gottorp, in exchange for the counties of Oldenburg and Del- menhorst. It was agreed, that these counties should be erect- ed into dutchies, and that the ancient suffrage of Holstein-Got- torp, at the Imperial Diet, should be transferred to them. This provisional treaty was ratified when the Grand Duke came of age ; and the transference of the ceded territories took place in 1773. At the same time that prince declared, that he designed the counties of Oldenburg and Delmenhorst to form an esta- blishment for a younger branch of his family, that of Eutin ; to which the contracting powers also secured the bishopric of Lubec, to be held in perpetual possession. The bishop of Lubec, the head of the younger branch of the Gottorp family, was that same year put in possession of the counties of Oldenburg and Delmenhorst ; and the Emperor Joseph II. erected these coun- ties into a dutchy and fief male of the Empire, under the title of the Dutchy of Holstein-Oldenburg. Here it will be necessary to advert to the revolutions that took place in the Island of Corsica, which, after a long series of troubles and distractions, passed from the dominion of Genoa to that of France. The oppressions which the Corsicans had suffered under the government of the Genoese, who treated them with extreme rigour, had rendered their yoke odious and insupporta- ble. They rose several times in rebellion against the Republi- cans ; but from the want of union among themselves, they failed in the different attempts which they made for effecting their liberty and independence. One of the last insurrections of the Corsicans was that of 1729. They chose for their leader Andrew Ceccaldi of a noble family in the Island, and Luigi Giafferi, a man of courage and an enthusiast for lil>erty. The Genoese, after trying in vam to subdue the insurgents, were obliged to have recourse to the pro 376 CHAPTER lA. tection of foreigners. They applied to the Emperor Charles VI., who sent them several detachments of troops under tne command of General Wachtendonk, and Prince Frederic Louis of Wurtemberg. The Corsicans, too feeble to oppose an enemv so superior in strength, were glad to lay down their arms. But the war about the Polish Succession having obliged the Empe- ror to withdraw his troops, the Islanders raised a new insurrec- tion. A general assembly was then convened, which declared Corsica to be a free and independent republic (1734.) GiafFeri was re-elected General, and had for his colleague Hyacinthus Paoli, father to the famous general of that name. Thus the Ge- noese, after lavishing much expense on auxiliary troops, had the mortification to find themselves still in the same condition in which they were, before receiving the Imperial succours. They then took into their pay bodies of Swiss and Grison troops ; and even enlisted outlaws and vagabonds, and placed them in their ranks to oppose the Corsicans. It happened, during these transactions, that an adventurer ap- peared in Corsica, the celebrated Theodore Baron Neuhof. He was descended of a noble family in the county of Mark, in West- phalia ; and having procured arms and ammunition at Tunis, he repaired to Corsica (1736,) where he Avas determined to try his fortune. His engaging manners, added to the prospects which he held out of a poAverful foreign assistance, induced the Corsicans to confer on him the royal dignity. He was proclaim- ed King of Corsica, and immediately assumed the external badges of royalty. He appointed guards and officers of state, corned money in his own name, and created an order of knight- hood, called the Redemption. Taking advantage of the enthu- siasm with which he had inspired the Corsicans, he boldly made war on the Genoese, and laid several of their places under blockade. But his money being exhausted, and the people be- ginning to cool in their attachment towards him, he took the determination of applying for assistance to foreigners. He em- barked for Holland, where he found means to engage a society of merchants, by the allurements of a lucrative commerce with Corsica, to furnish him with artillery, ammunition, and other supplies, Avith which he returned to the Island. Under these circumstances, the Genoese, threatened with losing for ever their sovereignty over Corsica, entered into an association with the Court of Versailles. This Court, fearing thai. England would take advantage of these disturbances to get possession of the Island, concerted measures with the Court of Vieruia, for obliging the Corsicans to return to their allegiance to the Genoese. For this purpose, a plan of pacification was li PERIOD VIII. A. D. 1713—1789. 377 drawn up at Versailles, and Count tie BoissJeux was charged to carry it into execution. This General landed in the Island (173S,) at the head of a body of French auxiliaries ; and his ar- rival determined King Theodore to abandon Corsica, and seek his safety in flight. He retired to London, where he was im- prisoned for debt. After a long captivity he was set at liberty, and died in a state of misery (1756.) Boissieux harassed the Corsicans exceedingly, but he failed in his efforts to reduce them co submission. His successor, the Marquis de Maillebois, was more fortunate ; he took his measures with such precision and vigour, that he obliged the Islanders to lay down their arms, and receive the law from the conqueror. Their Generals, Giafferi and Paoli, retired to Naples. The war of the Austrian Succession, having obliged the French Court to recall their troops from Corsica, that island be- came the scene of new disturbances. Gafforio and Matra then took upon them the functions of generalship, and the direction of affairs. They had a colleague and coadjutor in the person of Count Rivarola, a native of Corsica, who, with the assistance of some English vessels succeeded in expelling the Genoese from Bastia and San Fiorenzo. The Corsicans might have pushed their advantages much farther, if they could have sub- dued their own feuds and private animosities, and employed themselves solely in promoting the public interest ; but their internal divisions retarded their success, and allowed their ene- mies to recover the places they had conquered. Rivarola and Matra having resigned the command, the sole charge devolved on Gafforio, who w^as a man of rare merit and of tried valour. He was beginning to civilize his countrymen, and to give some stability to the government of the island, when he was assassi- nated, as is supposed, by the emissaries of the Genoese (1753.) His death plunged Corsica once more into the state of disorder and anarchy, from which he had laboured to deliver it. At length appeared the celebrated Pascal Paoli, whom his aged father had brought from Naples to Corsica. Being elected General-in-chief by his countrymen (1755,) he inspired them with fresh courage ; and while he carried on the war with suc- cess against the Genoese, he made efforts to reform abuses in the State, and to encourage agriculture, letters and arts. Nothing was wanting to accomplish this object, and to confirm the liberty and independence of his country, but the expulsion of the Geno- ese from the maritime towns of Bastia, San Fiorenzo, Calvi, Al- gagliola and Ajaccio ; the only places which still remained in their power. In this he would probably have succeeded, had he not met with new interruptions from France, who had underta- 378 CHAPTER IX. ken, by the several treaties which she had concluded with ihs Genoese in the years 1752, 1755, 1756 and 1764, to defend their ports and fortifications in that island. The original intention of the French, in taking possession of these places, was not to carry on hostilities with Paoli and the natives, but simply to retain them for a limited time, in discharge of a debt which the French government had contracted with the Kej ablic of Genoa. The Genoese had flattered themselves, that if exonerated from the duty of guarding the fortified places, they would be able, with their own forces, to reconquer all the rest of the island ; but it was not long before they found them- selves deceived in their expectations. The Corsicans drove the Genoese from the island of Capraja (1767.) They even took possession of Ajaccio, and some other parts which the French had thought fit to abandon. At the same time the shipping of the Corsicans made incessant incursions on the Genoese, and annoyed their commerce. The Senate of Genoa, convinced at last that it was impossible for them to subdue the island, and seeing the time approach when the French troops were to take their departure, took the resolution of surrendering their rights over Corsica to the crown of France, by a treaty which was signed at Versailles (May 15, 1768.) The King promised to restore the island of Capraja to to the Republic. He guaranteed to them all their possessions on terra fir via ; and engaged to pay them annually for ten years, the sum of 200,000 livres. The Genoese reserved to themselves the right of reclaiming the sovereignty of Corsica, on reimbursing the King for the expenses of the expedition he was about to undertake, as well as for the maintenance of his troops. This treaty occasioned strong remonstrances on the part of the Corsicans, who prepared themselves for a vigorous de- fence. The first campaign turned to their advantage. It cost France several thousand men, and about thirty millions of livres. The Duke de Choiseul, far from being discouraged by these dis- asters, transported a strong force into the island. He put the Count de Vaux in the place of the Marquis de Chauvelin, who, by the skilful dispositions which he made, found himself master of all Corsica, in less than two months. The Islanders not hav- ing received from England the supplies which they had request- ed, the prospect of which had kept up their courage, considered it rash and hopeless to make longer resistance. The different provinces, in their turn, gave in their submission ; and the prin- cipal leaders of the Corsicans dispersed themselves among the neighbouring States. Pascal Paoli took refuge in England. The throne of Poland having become vacant by the death of PERK D vni. A. D. 1713—1789. 379 Augustus III. (Oct. 5, 1763,) the Empress Catherine II. des- dned that crown for Stanislaus Poniatowski, a Polish nobleman, who had gained her favour when he resided at St. Petersburgh as plenipotentiary of Poland. That princess having gained over the Court of Berlin to her interests, sent several detachments of troops into Poland ; and in this manner succeeded in carrying the election of her favourite, who was proclaimed King at the Diet of Warsaw (Sept. 7, 1764.) It was at this diet of election that the Empress formally interceded with the Republic in favour of the Dissidents (or dissenters) of Poland and Lithuania, with the view of having them reinstated in those civil and ec- clesiastical rights, of which they had been deprived by the in- tolerance of the Catholics. The name of Dissidents was then given in Poland to the Greek non-conformists and to the Pro- testants, both Lutherans and Calvinists. That kingdom, as well as Lithuania, had contained from the earliest ages a vast num- I j ber of Greeks, who persisted in their schism, in spite of the 1 1 efforts which were incessantly made by the Polish clergy for bringing them back to the pale of the Romish church. The Protestant doctrines had been introduced into Poland, and had made considerable progress in course of the seventeenth cen- tury ; more especially under the reign of Sigismund Augustus. The nobles who were attached to that form of worship, had ob- tfined, at the Diet of Wilna (1563,) the right of enjoying, along with the Greeks, all the prerogatives of their rank, and of being admitted without distinction, both to the assemblies of the Diet, and the offices and dignities of the Republic. Moreover, their religious and political liberties had been guaranteed in the most solemn manner, not only by treaties of alliance, and the Pacta Conventa of the kings, but also by the laws and constitution of their kingdom. The Catholics having afterwards become the stronger party, their zeal, animated by their clergy and the Jesuits, led them to persecute those whom they regarded as heretics. They had in various ways circumscribed their religious liberties, especially at the Diet of 1717 ; and in those of 1733 and 1736, they went so far as to exclude them from the diets and tribunals, and in general from all places of trust ; only preserving the peace with them according to the ancient laws of the Republic. The Dissidents availed themselves of the influence which the Empress of Russia had secured in the affairs of Poland, to obtain by her means the redress of their grievances. That prin- cess interposed more especially in favour of the Greeks, accord- ing to the ninth article of the peace of Moscow between Russia and Poland (1686;) while the Courts of Berlin, Stockholm London, and Copenhagen, as guarantees of the peace of Oliva 380 CHAPTER IX. urged the second article of that treaty in support of the Pro- testant dissenters. Far from yielding to an intercession so powerful, the Diet of Warsaw, instigated by the clergy and the Court of Rome, in the year 1766 confirmed all the former laws against the Protestants which the foreign courts had desired to be altered and amended. They merely introduced some few modifications in the law of 1717, relative to the exercise of their worship. This palliative did not satisfy the Court of St. Petersburg, which persisted in demanding an entire equality of rights ii) favour of those under its protection. The Dissidents had the courage to resist, and entered into a confederacy at the assem- blies which were held at Sluckz (1767) and Thorn. Such ol the Catholic nobility as were discontented with the government, allied themselves with the Dissidents, and formed several dis- tinct confederacies, which afterwerds combined into a general confederation under Marshal Prince Radzivij. An extraordi- nary Diet was then assembled at Warsaw. Their deliberations, which began October 5, 1767, were very tumultuous. Without being intimidated by the presence of a Russian army, the Bishop of Cracow and his adherents gave way to the full torrent of their zeal, in the discourses which they pronounced before the Diet. The Empress caused them to be arrested and con- ducted into the interior of Russia, whence they were not per- mitted to return till after an exile of several years. They agreed at length, at that Diet, to appoint a committee, composed of the different orders of the Republic, to regulate all matters regard- ing ihe Dissidents, in concert with the ministers of the protect- ing courts. A separate act was drawn up (February 24, 1768) in the form of a convention between Russia and Poland. By that act, the Dissidents were reinstated in all their former rights. The regulations which had been passed to their pre- judice in the years 1717, 1733, 1736, and 1766, were annulled; and a superior court, composed equally of both parties, Avas granted to them, for terminating all disputes which might arise between persons of different religions. This act was confirmed by the treaty of peace and alliance concluded at Warsaw be- tween Russia and Poland (Feb. 24, 1768,) by which these two powers guaranteed to each other the whole of their possessions in Europe. The Empress of Russia guaranteed, more especially, the liberty, constitution, and indivisibility of the Polish Republic. The act we have just now mentioned, as well as another which modified what were called the cardinal or fundamental aws of the Republic, having displeased a great majority of the Poles, they used every effort to have these acts recalled. The PERIOD VIII. A. D. 1713 17S9 381 Diet of 176S was no sooner terminated, than they formed them- selves into a confederacy at Bar in Podolia, for the defence of their religion and liberties. By degrees, these extended to several Palatinates, and were at length combined into a general confederation, under the Marshal Count De Pac. The standards of these confederates bore representations of the Virgin Mary and the Infant Jesus. Like the Crusaders of the middle ages, they wore embroidered crosses on their garments, with the motto Conquer or Die. The Russians despatched troops to disperse the confederates as fast as they combined : but at length, with the assistance of France, and M. De Vergennes, the French Ambassador at the Porte, the)' succeeded in stirring up the Turks against the Russians. The war between these two Em- pires broke out towards the end of 1768, which proved disas- trous for the Turks, and suppressed also the confederates in Poland. The manifesto of the Grand Signior against Russia was published October 30th, and his declaration of war Decem- ber 4th, 1768. The Empress despatched several armies against the Turks, and attacked them at once from the banks of the Dniester to Mount Caucasus, Prince Alexander Galitzin, who commanded the principal army, was to cover Poland, and penetrate into Moldavia. He passed the Dniester different times, but was al- ways repulsed by the Turks, who were not more fortunate in their attempts to force the passage of that river. On their last attempt (September 1769,) twelve thousand men had succeeded in crossing it, when there happened a sudden flood which broke down the bridge, and cut off the retreat of the Turks. This body was cut to pieces by the Russians, when a panic seized the Ot- toman army, who abandoned their camp and the fortress of Choczim. The Russians took possession of both without cost- ing them a single drop of bloocf, and soon after penetrated into the interior of Moldavia and Wallachia. The campaign of 1770 was most splendid for the Russians. General Romanzow, who succeeded Prince Galitzin in the com- mand of the army of Moldavia, gained two brilliant victories over the Turks near the Pruth (July 18,) and the Kukuli (August 1,) which made him master of the Danube, and the towns of Ismael, Kilia, and Akerman, situated in Bessarabia, near the mouth of that river. Another Russian army, under the command of General Count Panin, attacked the fortress of Bender, defended by a strong Turkish garrison. It was carried by assault (Sept. 26,) and the greater part of the garrison put to the sword. The Empress did not confine herself to repulsing^ the Turks 382 CHAPTER IX. on the banks of the Dniester and the Danube, and harassing their commerce in the Black Sea. She formed the bold pro- ject of attacking them at the same time in the islands of the Ar- chipelago, and on the coasts of Greece and the Morea. A Rus- sian fleet, under the command of Alexis Orloff and Admira: SpiritofT, sailed from the Baltic, and passed the Northern Seas and the Straits of Gibraltar, on their way to the Archipelago. Being joined by the squadron of Rear- Admiral Elphinstone, they fought an obstinate battle with the fleet of the Capitan Pacha (July 5, 1770,) between Scio and Anatolia. The ships of the two commanders, Spiritoflf and the Capitan Pacha, having mec in the engagement, one of them caught fire, when both were blown into the air. Darkness separated the combatants ; but the Turks having imprudently retired to the narrow bay of Chisme, the Russians pursued them, and burnt their whole fleet during the night. This disaster threw the city of Constantinople into great consternation ; and the bad state of defence in which the Dardanelles were, gave them reason to fear, that if the Rus- sians had known to take advantage of this panic, it would have been easy for them to have carried the Turkish capital. Rear- Admiral Elphinstone, who commanded one of the Russian squad- rons, had suggested that advice ; but the Russian Admirals did not think proper to follow it. The war on the Danube was continued next year, though feebly ; but the second Russian army, under the command of Prince Dolgoruki, succeeded in forcing the lines at Perekop, de- fended by an army of 60,000 Turks and Tartars, commanded by the Khan of the Crimea in person. Dolgoruki, after hav- ing surmounted the formidable barrier, made himself master of the Crimea, as also of the Island of Taman ; and received from the Empress, as the reward of his exploits, the surname of Krimski. An act was signed by certain pretended deputies from the Tartars, by which that nation renounced the dominion of the Ottomans, and put themselves under the protection of Russia (1772.) These conquests, however splendid they might be, could not fail to exhaust Russia. Obliged frequently to recruit her ar- niies, which were constantly thinned by battles, fatigues, and diseases, she soon saw the necessity of making peace. The plague, that terrible ally of the Ottomans, passed from the army into the interior of the Empire, and penetrated as far as Mos- cow, where it cut off nearly 100,000 men in the course of a smgle year (1771.) What added still more to the embarrass- ments of Catherine II. was, that the Court of Vienna, which, m coniunction with that of Berlin, had undertaken to mediate t I 1 ;i PERIOD viii. A. D. 1713— 17S9. 383 between Russia and the Porte, rejected Avith disdain the condi* tions of peace proposed by the Empress. Moreover, they sirongiy opposed the independence of Moldavia and Wallachia, as well as of the Tartars ; and Avould not even permit that the Russians should transfer the seat of war to the right be ni<: of the Danube. The Court of Vienna went even farther : it threatened to make common cause with the Turks, to compel the Empress to restore all her conquests, and to place matters between the Rus- sians and the Turks on the footing of the treaty of Belgrade. An agreement to this effect was negotiated with the Porte, and signed at Constantinople ( fuly 6, 1771.) This convention, however, was not ratified, the Court of Vienna having changed its mind on account of the famous dismemberment of Poland, concerted between it and the Courts of Berlin and St. Peters- burg. The Empress then consented to restore to the Turks the provinces of Moldavia and Wallachia, on the conclusion of the peace ; and the Court of Vienna again engaged to exert its friendly interference in negotiating peace bet\veen Russia and the Porte. In consequence of these events, the year 1772 was passed entirely in negotiations. A suspension of arms was agreed to between the two belligerent powers. A Congress was opened at Foczani in Moldavia, under the mediation of the Courts of Ber- lin and St. Petersburg. This Congress was followed by another, which was held at Bucharest in Wallachia. Both of these meetings proved ineffectual, the Turks having considered the conditions proposed by Russia as inadmissible ; and what dis- pleased them still more was, the article relative to the indepen- dence of the Tartars in the Crimea. This they rejected as con- trary to the principles of their religion, and as tending to esta- blish a rivalry between the two Caliphs. They succeeded, however, in settling the nature of the religious dependence under which the Khans of the Crimea were to remain with re- gard to the Porte ; but they could not ])ossibly agree as to the surrender of the ports of Jenikaleh and Kerch ; nor as to the unrestrained liberty of navigation in the Turkish seas, which the Russians demanded. After these conferences had been re- peatedly broken off, hostilities commenced anew (1773.) The Russians twice attempted to establish themselves on the right bank of the Danube, but without being able to accomplish it ; ihey even lost a great number of men in the different actions which they fought with the Turks. The last campaign, that of 1774, Avas at length decisive. Abdul Hammed, Avho had just succeeded his brother Mustapha 1 1 II 384 CHAPTER IX. III. on the throne of Constantinople, being eager to raise the glory of the Ottoman arms, made extraordinary preparations for this campaign. His troops, reckoned about 300,000 men, greatly surpassed the Russians in point of number ; but they were not equal in point of discipline and military skill. About the end of June, Marshal Romanzow passed the Danube, without meeting any obstacle from the Ottoman army. That General took advantage of a mistake which the Grand Vizier had committed, in pitching his camp near Schumla at too great a distance from his detachments, and cut oif his communication with these troops, and even with his military stores. The de- feat of 28,000 Turks, who were bringing a convoy of four or five thousand wagons to the army, by General Kamenski, struck terror into the camp of the Grand Vizier, who, seeing his army on the point of disbanding, agreed to treat with Marshal Romanzow on such terms as that general thought fit to pi'escribe. Peace was signed in the Russian camp at Kainargi, four leagues from Silistria. By that treaty, the Tartars of the Crimea, Boud- ziac,and Cuban, were declared entirely independent of the Porte, to be governed henceforth by their own sovereign. Russia ob- tained for her merchant vessels free and unrestrained naviga- tion in all the Turkish seas. She restored to the Turks Bes- sarabia, Moldavia, and Wallachia ; as well as the islands in the Archipelago which were still in her possession. But she re- served the city and territory of AzofT, the two Kabartas, the for- tresses of Jenikaleh and Kerch in the Crimea, and the Castle of Kinburn, at the mouth of the Dnieper, opposite OczakofT, Avith the neck of land between the Bog and the Dnieper, on which the Empress afterwards built a new city, called Cherson, to serve as an entrepSt for her commerce with the Levant. The foun- dation of this city was laid by General Hannibal (Oct. 19, 1778,) on the western bank of the Dnieper, fifteen versts from the confluence of the Inguletz with that river. The House of Austria also reaped advantages from that war, by the occupation of Bukowina, which she obtained from Rus- sia, who had conquered it from the Turks. This part of Mol- davia, comprehending the districts of Suczawa and Czernowitz, was claimed by the Court of Vienna as one of its ancient ter- ritories in Transylvania, which has been usurped by the princes of Moldavia. The Porte, who Avas indebted to Austria for the restitution of this latter province, had no alternative but to abandon the districts claimed by Austria. Prince Ghikas of Moldavia, having opposed the cession of these provinces, was put to death by order of the Porte ; and Bukowina was confirm- ed to Austria by subsequent conventions (1776, and 1777,) Earthquake at Lisbon. P. 3(54. Engagement of the Russian and Turkish Fleets off Scio, 1770. P. :iS2. PERIOD VIII. A. D. 1713 — 1789. 385 which at the same time regulated the limits between the two States. The peace of Kainargi, though glorious for Russia, proved most calamitous for the Ottoman Porte. By establishing the independence of the Tartars, it lost the Turks one ot their principal bulwarks against Russia; and they were indig- nant at seeing the Russians established on the Black Sea, and permitted unrestrained navigation in all the Turkish seas. Henceforth they had reason to tremble for the safety of their capital, which might be assailed with impunity, and its supplies intercepted, on the least disturbance that might arise between the two Empires. The many disasters which the Turks had experienced in the war we have now mentioned, had a direct influence on the fate of Poland, which ended in the dismemberment of that kingdom. This event, which had been predicted by John Casimir in the seventeenth century, was brought about by the mediation of the Courts of Berlin and Vienna for the restoration of peace between Russia and Turkey. The conditions of that treaty, which were dictated by the Empress Catherine II., having displeased the Court of Vienna, which had moreover displayed hostile inten- tions against Russia, by despatching troops into Hungary, and' taking possession of a part of Poland, which Austria claimed as anciently belonging to Hungary, the Empress took this occasion of observing to Prince Henry of Prussia, who then sojourned at her Court, that if Austria seemed inclined to dismember Poland; the other neighbouring powers were entitled to do the same. This overture was communicated by Prince Henry to his brother the King of Prussia, who resolved to act on this new idea. He foresaw it would be a proper means for indemnifying Russia, contenting Austria, and augmenting his own territories, by establishing a communication between the kingdom of Prussia, and his dutchy of Brandenburg. These considerations induced him to set on foot a negotiation with the courts of Vienna and St. Petersburg. He gave the former to understand, that if war should break out between Austria and Russia, he could not but take part in it as the ally of the latter power ; while he repre- sented to the Empress of Russia, that if she w^ould consent to restore Moldavia and Wallachia to the Turks, and indemnify her- self by a part of Poland, she would avoid a new war, and facili- tate an accommodation with the Porte. In this manner did he succeed, after a long and difficult negotiation, in recommending to the two Imperial courts, a project which was to give Europe the example of a kingdom dismembered on mere reasons of con- venience. A preliminary agreement was drawn up, in which the equality of the respective portions of the three courts was 25 386 CHAPTER IX. assumed as the basis of the intended partition. A negotiation was afterwards entered into at St. Petersburg, for regulating the portion to be given to the Court of Vienna; as the Empress and the King of Prussia, had already agreed about the divisions to which they thought they might lay claim. ^^ At length the formal conventions were signed at St. Peters- burg, between the ministers of the three Courts (Aug. 5, 1772.) The boundaries of the territories and districts, which were to fall to the share of !]ie three powers respectively, were there definitively settled and guaranteed to each other. They agreed to defer taking possession till the month of September following, and to act in concert for obtaining a final arrangement with the Republic of Poland. The Empress engaged by the same treaty to surrender Moldavia and Wallachia to the Turks, in order to expedite the restoration of peace between her and the Porte. In terms of that agreement, the declarations and letters-patent of the three Courts, were presented at Warsaw, in September 1772 ; and on taking possession of the territories and districts which had been assigned them, they published memorials for establishing the legitimacy of their right.", over the countries which they claimed. The King of Poland and his ministry, in vain claimed the assistance and protection of the powers that guaranteed the treaties. They had no other alternative left, than to condescend to every thing which the three courts de- manded. A Diet which was summoned at Warsaw, appointed a delegation, taken from the Senate and the Equestrian order, to transact with the plenipotentiaries of the three powers, as to the arrangements of the different treaties by which the provinces already occupied were to be formally ceded to them on the part of the Republic. These arrangements were signed at Warsaw, September 18, 1773, and afterwards ratified by the Diet of Poland. To Austria was assigned, in terms of her treaty with the Re- public, the thirteen towns in the county of Zips, which Sigis- mund. King of Hungary, had mortgaged to Poland in 1412 ; besides nearly the half of the Palatinate of Cracow, part of Sando- mire, Red Russia, the greater part of Belz, Pocutia, and part of Podolia. The towns in the county of Zips were again incor- porated with Hungary, from which they had been dismembered ; and all the rest were erected into a particular State, under the name of the kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria. One very important advantage in the Austrian division was, the rich salt mines in Wieliczka, and Bochnia, and Sambor, which furnished salt to the greater part of Poland. ^^ Russia obtained for her share, Polish Livonia, the greater part of Witepsk and Polotsk, the whole Palatinate of Mscislaw, I , ' PERIOD vni. A. D. 17] 3— 1789. 387 and the two extremities of the Palatinate of Minsk.^^ These the Empress formed into two grand governments, those of Polotsk and Mochilew. The King of Prussia had the states of Great Poland, situated beyond the Netze, as well as the whole of Polish Prussia, except the cities of Dantzic and Thorn, which were reserved to Poland. ^^ That republic, in virtue of a treaty with the King of Prussia, renounced also her rights of domaine, and the reversion which the treaties of Welau and Bidgost had secured to her with regard to Electoral Prussia, as well as the districts of Lauenburg, Butow, and Draheim. The portion of the King of Prussia was so much the more important in a poli- tical point of view, as it united the kingdom of Prussia with his possessions in Germany ; and, by giving him the command of the Vistula, it made him master of the commerce of Poland ; especially of the corn-trade, so valuable to the rest of Europe. The three courts, in thus dismembering Poland, renounced, in the most formal manner, all farther pretensions on the re- public ; and, lastly, to consummate their work, they passed an act at Warsaw, by which they sanctioned the liberum veto, and the unanimity in their decisions forinerly used at the Diet in state matters ; the crown was declared elective, and foreign princes were to be excluded. The prerogative of the King, al- ready very limited, was circumscribed still more by the establish- ment of a permanent council ; and it was statuted, that no one could ever change this constitution, of which the three powers had become the guarantees. [This partition of Poland must be regarded as the harbinger of the total overthrow of the political system which for three hun- dred years had prevailed in Europe. After so many alliances had been formed, and so many wars undertaken, to preserve the weaker states against the ambition of the greater, we here find three powers of the first rank combining to dismember a state which had never given them the slightest umbrage. The bar riers between legitimate right and arbitrary power were thus overthrown, and henceforth the destiny of inferior states was no longer secure. The system of political equilibrium became the jest of innovators, and many well disposed men began to regard it as a chimera. Though the chief blame of this transaction must fall on the courts of St. Petersburg, Berlin, and Vienna, those of London and Paris were accomplices to the crime, by allowing this spoliation to be consummated without any mark of their reprobation.] In Sweden, the aristocratic system had prevailed since the changes which had been introduced into the form of government t>y the revolution of 1720. The chief power resided in the body 388 CHAPTER IX. of the Senate, :uid the royal authority was reduced lo a mere shadow. The same factions, the Hats and the Bonnets, of which we have spoken above, continued to agitate and distract the state. The Hats were of opinion, that to raise the glory of Sweden, and to recover the provinces of Livonia and Finland, it was ne- cessary to cultivate friendship with France and the Porte, in order to secure their support in case of a rupture with Russia. The Bonnets, on the other hand, maintained that Sweden, ex- hausted by the preceding wars, ought to engage in no under- taking against Russia. In preferring a system of pacification, they had no other object in view than to maintain peace and good understanding with all states, without distinction. These two factions, instigated by foreign gold, acquired a new impor- tance when the war broke out between Russia and the Porte. It was in the Diet of 1769 that the Hats found means to get possession of the government, by depriving the members of the opposite party of their principal employments. There was some reason to believe that France, in consequence of her connexions with the Porte, had used every effort to stir up Sweden against Russia, and that the mission of Vergennes, who passed from Constantinople to Stockholm, had no other object than this. Russia had then to make every exertion to raise the credit and influence of the Bonnets, in order to maintain peace with Swe- den. In these endeavours, she was assisted by the Court of London, who were not only willing to support the interests of Russia, but glad of the opportunity to thwart France in her po- litical career. The death of Adolphus Frederic, which happened in the meantime, opened a new field for intrigue in the Diet, which was summoned on account of the accession of his son and suc- cessor Gustavus III. (Feb. 12, 1771.) This young prince at first interposed between the two parties, with a view to conciliate them ; but with so little success, that it rather increased their animosity, until the Bonnets, who were supported by Russia and England, went so far as to resolve on the total expulsion of the Hats, not only from the senate, but from all other places and dignities in the kingdom. Licentiousness then became extreme ; and circumscribed as the royal power already was in the time of Adolphus Frederic, they demanded new restrictions to be imposed on his successor. The treaties that were projected with Russia and England, were evidently the result of the system adopted by that faction who had now seized the reins of government. In this state of affairs, the young king saw the necessity of attempting some change in the system of adnunistration. His gentleness and eloquence, and his affable and popular manners. PERioT) VIII. A. D. 1713 — 1789. 389 had gained him a number of partisans. He possessed in an eminent degree the art of dissimulation ; and while he was making every arrangement for a revolution, and concerting mea- sures in secret with the French ambassador, he seemed to have nothing so much at heart as to convince the world of his sincere attachment to the established constitution. It is alleged, that he had sent emissaries over the whole kingdom to stir up the people against their governors ; and that he might have some pretext for calling out his troops, he induced Captain Hellichius, the commandant of Christianstadt in Blekingen, to raise the standard of revolt against the states who still continued their sittings at Stockholm. That officer, known afterwards by the name of G^istafsckeld, or the Shield of Gastavus, published at first a kind of manifesto, in which he reproached the States for their misconduct ; which he showed to have been diametrically opposite to the public in- terest and the laws of the kingdom. Prince Charles, the King's brother, who was at that time at Landscrona in Schonen, being informed of the proceedings of the commandant of Christianstadt, immediately assembled the troops in the provinces, and marched to that place, with the intention, as is said, of stifling the revolt in its birth. The news of this insurrection spread consternation in the capital. The States were suspicious of the King, and took measures to prevent the ambitious designs which they supposed him to entertain. Hellichius was proclaimed a rebel by the Senate, and guilty of high treason. They advised the King not to quit Stockholm, the command of which was intrusted to a senator, the Count of Kalling, with the most ample powers. At length the regiment of Upland, whose officers were devoted to the Senate, were ordered to the capital, with the intention, as is supposed, of arresting the King. That prince then saw that he had no longer time to delay, and that he must finish the execu- tion of the plan which he had proposed. On the morning of the 19th of August, the King presented himself to the troops who mounted guard at the palace ; and having assembled the officers, he detailed to them the unfortu- nate state of the kingdom, as being the consequence of those dissensions which had distracted the Diet for more than fourteen months. He pointed out to them the necessity of abolishing that haughty aristocracy who had ruined the state, and to restore the constitution to what it was before the revolution of 1680 ; ex- pressing at the same time his decided aversion for absolute and despotic power. Being assured of the fidelity of the guards, who were eager to take the oath of allegiance to him, he ordered a detachment to surround the Council Chamber where the Se- 390 CHAPTER IX. nators were assembled, and put the leaders of the ruling party under arrest. The artillery and other regiments of guards hav- ing also acknowledged his authority, their example was soori followed by all the colleges (or public offices,) both civil and military. The arrest against Hellichius was revoked, and the regiment of Upland received orders to march back. These mea- sures and some others Avere executed with so much skill and punctuality, that the public tranquillity was never disturbed ; and by five o'clock in the evening of the same day, the revolu- tion seemed to be accomplished without shedding a single drop of blood. Next day, the magistrates of the city took the oath to the King, and the assembly of the States was summoned to meet on the 21st. On that day the King caused the palace to be sur- rounded by troops, and cannons to be pointed into the court op- posite the Chamber of the States. Seated on his throne, and surrounded by his guards, the King opened the assembly by an energetic discourse which he addressed to the members, in which he painted, in lively colours, the deplorable state of the kingdom, and the indispensable necessity of applying some prompt remedy. The new form of government which he had prepared was read by his orders, and adopted without opposition by the whole four orders of the kingdom. The king then drew a psalm-book from his pocket, and taking off his crown, began to sing Te Deum, in which he was joined by the whole assembly. Matters passed in the interior of the provinces with as little tumult and opposi- tion as in the capital and principal cities. The King's brothers received, in his name, the oath of fidelity on the part of the in- habitants and the military. In virtue of this new form of government, all the fundamen- tal laws introduced since 1680 were cancelled and abolished. The succession to the throne was restricted to males only. The lineal order, and the right of primogeniture, as settled by the convention of 1743, and by the decree of the Diet of 1750, were confirmed. The King was to govern alone, according to the laws ; and the Senate were to be considered as his counsel- lors. All the senators were to be nominated by the King, and matters were no longer to be decided by a plurality of votes. The senators were simply to give their advice, and the decision belonged to the King. Courts of justice, however, were ex- cepted. The chief command of all the forces in the kingdom, both by sea and land, and the supreme direction of the Exche- quer, were conferred on the King. On the report of the senate, he filled up all the high offices in the state, both military, civil, and ecclesiastical. He alone had the right of pardoning, and of summoning the States, who could never assemble on their PERIOD VIII. A. D. 1713— 1789. 391 own authority, except in a case where the throne became vacant, by the total extinction of the royal family in the male line. The duration of the Diets was fixed for three months, and the King had the privilege of dissolving them at the end of that time. He could make no new laws, nor interpret the old ones, nor im- pose subsidies or assessments, nor declare war, without the ad- v'ice and consent of the States. He was allowed, however, to levy an extraordinary tax, in cases where the kingdom might be attacked by sudden invasion ; but on the termination of the war, the States were to be assembled, and the new tax discon- tinued. All negotiations for peace, truces, and alliances, whe- ther offensive or defensive, were reserved to the King, by whom they were to be referred to the Senate. If, in these cases, the unanimous voice of the Senate was opposed to that of the King, it became his duty to acquiesce in their opinion. Every Swedish citizen was to be judged by his natural judge. The King could attaint neither the life, honour, nor fortune of any citizen, otherwise than by the legal forms. All extraordinary commissions or tribunals were to be suppressed, as tending to establish tyranny and despotism. The revolution of Stockholm, of which we have just now spoken, had nothing in common with that which happened at Co- penhagen the same year ; and which, without in any way af- fecting the constitution of the kingdom, merely transferred the reins of government from the hands of the reigning Queen to those of the Queen-dowager.^'*- In a remote corner of Europe, there existed an association of warriors, of a kind quite peculiar, namely, that of the Zaparog Cossacs ; so called because they dwelt near the cataracts of the Dnieper, where they served as a military frontier, first to the Poles, and afterwards to the Russians. The chief residence of these Cossacs was called Setscha. It contained a considerable mass of houses, scattered and badly constructed, and had a small fort occupied by a Russian garrison. The position of Setscha had not always been the same ; but it was ultimately fixed on the western bank of the Borysthenes, opposite Kame- noi-Saton, an ancient fortress of the Russians, and was called New Setscha. These Cossacs, known in Poland by the name of Haydamacs, and formidable by their incursions and their de- vastations, had adopted a republican form of government. Their capital was divided into thirty Kurenes, or quarters. Every Cossac belonged to one of these Kurenes. There he lodged when he stayed at Setscha, and was obliged to conform to its laws. All those who belonged to the same Kurene, formed as it were one and the same family. Like the ancient Spartans 392 CHAPTER nc. thev were nourished with the same food, and ate at the same tabfe. The overseer of each separate Kurene was called Ata- man, and the chief of all the Kurenes Koschewoi-Ataman. All the chie-fs, without distinction, were elected by common consent ; the Ataman by his own Kurene, and the Koschewoi by the whole Kurenes united. They were deposed whenever they be- came unpopular. The assemblies of Setscha were either ordi- nary or extraordinary. In that which was regularly held every year on the 1st of January, they made a formal division of the fields, rivers, and lakes, among the Kurenes. They made use of lots in order to avoid disputes ; and they renewed them every year, that a favourable chance might be given to all the Kurenes in succession. At that assembly they elected new chiefs, if they happened to be discontented with the old ones. As for the ex- traordinary assemblies, they were held when it was in agitation to undertake a campaign, or to make an excursion ; and gene rally on all occasions when the common interest seemed to re- quire it. They had a judge and some other officers in Setscha. The judge never pronounced sentence except in affairs of little importance. Those which appeared more v/eighty required the intervention of all the chiefs. They would suffer no woman to remain in Setscha. Those who were inclined to marry were obliged to remove elsewhere. To keep up their numbers the Zaparogs received deserters and fugitives from all nations. They were particularly careful to recruit their ranks with young boys, whom they kidnapped in their excursions ; and brought them up according to their customs and manner of living. The treaty of Andrussov between Russia and Poland had left these Cossacs under the common protection of those two States. They preferred that of Russia, and were continued under the dominion of that power by the peace of Moscow. Being afterwards implicated in the revolt of Mazeppa, they put themselves under the protection of the Tartars of the Crimea af- ter the battle of Pultowa, and transferred their capital of Setscha to the eastern bank of the Dnieper, nearer its mouth. Being discontented under the Tartars, who repressed their incursions, and often imposed exactions on Setscha, they took the resolution of putting themselves once more under the dominion of Rus- sia (1733.) The Empress Anne confirmed them in their pri- vileges, and furnished money to assist them in rebuilding their capital on the western bank of the Dnieper. As they continued, however, to commit robbery and plunder on the frontiers without intermission, and having neither friends nor allies, Catherine II. resolved to annihilate this fantastic as- sociation. Besides their depredations, the Zaparogs were ac- <^ PERIOD vm. A. D. 1713 — 17S9. 393 cused of having' usurped possession of several countries between the Dnieper and the Bog; as well as of several districts which hari at all times belonged to the Cossacs of the Don. What more particularly exasperated the Empress against them, was, ihal bemg so obstinately attached to their absurd form of go- vernment, they opposed every scheme of reform, the object of which was to make them live in re-jular society, and in the bonds of matrimony ; or to induce them to form themselves into regiments, after the manner of the other Cossacs. They had also refused to send their deputies to Moscow, at the time when Catherine had sent for them from all parts of the Empire, for the formation of a new code of laws ; and there was some rea- son to fear they might attempt to revolt, on account of the changes which the Empress proposed to make in the adminis- tration of the government. These and other considerations in- duced that princess to despatch a body of troops against Setscha (1775.) The Zaparogs, attacked unawares, and inclosed on all hands, saw themselves without the means of making the least resistance. Their capital was destroyed, and their whole tribe dispersed. Those who were not inclined to embrace another kind of life, were sent back to their native towns and their re- spective countries. The succession of Bavaria reverted of right to the Elector Palatine, Charles Theodore, as head of the elder branch of Wit- telsbach. That prince had on his side, the Feudal Law of Ger- many, the Golden Bull, the peace of Westphalia, and family compacts frequentljr renewed between the two branches of that house ; all Europe was persuaded that, should the case so turn out, the rights of the Elector Palatine would be beyond all con- i troversy. Meantime, the Elector Maximilian had scarcely closed his eyes, when several pretenders appeared on the field, to dispute the succession as his presumptive heirs. The Emperor Joseph II. claimed all the fiefs of the Empire, which his pre- decessors had conferred on the house of Bavaria, without ex- pressly including the princes of the Palatine branch in these investitures. The Empress, Maria Theresa, besides the fiefs of the Upper Palatinate holding of the crown of Bohemia, demand- ed all the countries and districts of Lower and Upper Bavaria, as well as of the Upper Palatinate, which had been possessed by the Princes of Bavaria-Straubingen, who had become extinct in 1425. She also alleged a pretended investiture, which the Em- peror Sigismund had granted, in 1426, to his son-in-law Duke Albert of Austria. The Electress-Dowager of Saxony, sister to the last Elector of Bavaria, thought herself entitled to claim the allodial succession, which she made out to be very extensive 1 1 394 CHAPTER IX. Lastly, the Dukes of Mecklenburg brought forward an ancient deed of reversion, which their ancestors had obtained from the Emperors, over the landgraviate of Leuchtenberg. * Before these different claims could be made known, the Aus- trian troops had entered Bavaria, immediately after the death of the late Elector, and taken possession of all the countries and districts claimed by the Emperor and the Empress-Queen. The Elector Palatine, intimidated by the Cabinet of Vienna, ac- knowledged the lawfulness of all the claims of that court, by a convention which was signed at Vienna (Jan. 3, 1778,) but which the Duke of Deux-Ponts, his successor and heir presumptive^ refused to ratify. That prince was supported in his opposition by the King of Prussia, who treated the pretensions of Austria as chimerical, and as being incompatible with the security of the constitution of the Germanic body. The King interposed in this affair, as being a guarantee for the peace of Westphalia, and a friend and ally of the parties concerned, who all claimed his pro- tection. He demanded of the Court of Vienna, that they should withdraw their troops from Bavaria, and restore to the Elector the territories of which they had deprived him. A negotiation on this subject was opened between the two courts, and numerous controversial writings were published ; but the proposals of the King of Prussia not proving agreeable to the court of Vienna, the conferences were broken off about the end of June 1778, and both parties began to make preparations for war. It was about the beginning of July when the King of Prussia entered Bohemia, through the county of Glatz, and pitched his camp between Jaromitz and Konigratz, opposite that of the Em- peror and Marshal Daun, from which he was only separated by the Elbe. Another army, composed of Prussians and Saxons, and commanded by Prince Henry of Prussia, penetrated into Bohemia through Lusatia ; but they were stopped in their march by Marshal Laudohn, who had taken up a very advantageous position, and defeated all the measures of the Prince of Prussia. At length a third Prussian army marched into Austria and Sile- sia, and occupied the greater part of that province. Europe had never seen armies more numerous and better disciplined, and commanded by such experienced generals, approach each other so nearly without some memorable action taking place. The Emperor and his generals had the good sense to act on the de- fensive ; while the efforts of the King of Prussia, to bring him to a general engagement, proved altogether unavailing. This prince, who had lost a great many rnen by sickness and deser- tion, was compelled to evacuate Bohemia about the end of Oc- tober, and his example was soon followed by his brother Prince i! PERIOD VIII. A. D. 1713—1789. 395 E-Ienr}\ At the beginning of this first cannpaign, the Empress- Queen being desirous of peace, had sent Baron Thugut to the King of Prussia, to offer him new proposals. A conference was agreed to take place at the convent of Braunau (Aug. 1778,) which had no better success than the preceding, on account of the belligerous disposition of the Emperor, Avho was for continu- ing the war. At length the return of peace was brought about by the powerful intervention of the courts of Versailles and St. Petersburg. France, who was obliged, by the terms of her alliance with Austria, to furnish supplies for the Empress-Queen, could not in the present case reconcile this engagement with the interests of her crown, nor with the obligations which the treaty of West- phalia had imposed upon her, with respect to the Germ.anic body. Besides, the war which had broken out between her and England, on account of her alliance with the United States of America, made her anxious for the restoration of peace on the Continent, for avoiding every thing which might occasion a diversion of her maritime forces. The Empress of Russia, who thought her glory interested, could not remain a quiet spectator of a struggle which, if prolonged, might set all Europe in a flame. She de- clared to the Court of Vienna, that in consequence of the ties of friendship and alliance which subsisted between her and the Court of Berlin, she would find herself railed on to join her i | troops to those of Prussia, if the war was to be continued. But, j j before coming to that extremity, she would interpose her good i offices, conjointly with France, to bring existing differences to an j i amicable conclusion. 1 1 The mediation of these two courts having been accepted by j I the belligerent powers, a congress was summoned at Teschen, in j j Silesia, which was opened in the month of March 1779. The j Empress of Russia, to give the greater weight to her interfer- | | ence, despat-ched a body of troops to the frontiers, destined to act j ' as auxiliaries under the King of Prussia, in case the war should happen to be renewed. Prince Repnin, Avho commanded that body, appeared, at the same time, in the capacity of ambassador- extraordinary at the Congress. France sent, on her part. Baron de Breteuil, her ambassador at the Court of Vienna. All things being already prepared, and the principal difficulties removed, the peace was concluded in less than two months. By this treaty, the convention of the 3d of January, made between the Court of Vienna and the Elector Palatine, was annulled. Austria was required to give up all her possessions in Bavaria, except the places and districts situated between the Danube, the Inn, and the Salza, which were ceded to her as all she could claim of tlie I I 396 CHAPTER EC succession of Bavaria, v/hich she had renounced in the most for- mal manner. The fiefs of the Empire, which had been confer- red on the House of Bavaria, were secured by that treaty to the Elector Palatine and his whole family ; as well as those situated in the Upper Palatinate, and holding of the Crown of Bohemia. The Elector Palatine engaged to pay the Elector of Saxony, for his allodial rights, the sum of six millions of florins, money of the Empire ; while the Empress-Queen gave up to the said prince the rights which the crown of Bohemia had over certain seigniories lying Avithin Saxony, and possessed by the Counts of Schonburg. The Palatine branch of Birkenfeldt, whose right of succession to the Palatine estates had been disputed, on the giound of their being the issue of an unequal marriage, were now declared capable of succeeding to all the estates and pos- sessions of the House of Wittlesbach, as comp^-ehended in the family compacts of that house. The existing treaties between the Court of Vienna and the King of Prussia, and also those of Westphalia, Breslau, Berlin, and Dresden, were renewed and confirmed ; and a formal ac- knowledgment made to the royal line of Prussia, of their right to unite the margraviates of Baireuth and Anspach, failing the present possessors, to the hereditary succession of the Electorate of Brandenburg ; which right the House of Austria had called in question during the dispute which we have already mention- ed. As for the House of Mecklenburg, they granted to it the privilege of the non appellando, in virtue of which, no one could carry an appeal from the tribunals of that country to the sove- reign courts of the Empire. The two mediating powers under- took to guarantee this treaty. Thus the war for the succession of Bavaria was checked at its commencement. The following peculiarities are worthy of remark, viz. that the Palatine family, who were the party chiefly interested, took no share in it ; while Bavaria, the sole cause of the war, was no way engaged in it , and the Elector Palatine, who had even refused the assistance of the King of Prussia, was, nevertheless, the party chiefly ben- efited by the peace, by means of the protection of that prince. The House of Austria having failed, as we have just seen, in her project of conquering Bavaria, tried, in the next place, to get possession of that country by way of exchange for the Ne- therlands. The Elector Palatine appeared willing to meet the views of the Court of Vienna ; but it was not so with the Duke of Deux-Ponts, who haughtily opposed the exchange; while the King of Prussia, who supported it, was obliged to acknowledge that such an exchange was inadmissible, and in opposition both to former treaties, and to the best interests of the Germanic body I i 1 I PERIOD vm. A. D. 1713— 17S9. 397 The Court of Vienna then abandoned this project, at lea.st in appearance ; but the alarm which it had caused throughout the Empire, gave rise to an association, known by the name of the Germanic Confederation. It was concluded at Berlin (July 23, 1785,) between the' three Electors of Saxony, Brandenburg and Brunswick-Luneburg ; besides several provinces of the Im perial State who adhered to it. This association, purely de fensive, had no other object than the preservation of the Ger manic System, with the rights and possessions of all its members The Revolution in North America, deserves to be placed among the number of those great events which belong to the general history of Europe; Bes'des the sanguinary war which it kindled between France and England, and in which Spain and Holland were also implicated, it may be regarded as the harbinger of those revolutions which took place soon after in several of the Continental Slates of Europe. The English colonies in North America were no otherwise connected with the mother country, than by a government purely civil, by a similarity of manners, and by customs, Avhich long usage had rendered sacred. They were divided into provinces, each ot which had its particular constitution more or less analogous to that of England, but imperfectly united with the mother coun- try, because the inhabitants of these provinces were not repre- sented in the national Parliament. If they had been so. Great Britain would certainly never have enjoyed that monopoly which she had reserved to herself, agreeably to the colonial system of all modern nations. The exclusive privilege of sending her commodities to the Americans, by fettering their industry, alien- ated their affections from England, and made them naturally de- sirous of shaking ofli' her yoke ; and this propensity coulcl not fail to increase, in proportion as these colonies increased in strength, population, and wealth. 1 1 One consideration, however, likely to secure their allegiance, was the protection which England granted them against their powerful neighbours the French in Canada, the Spaniards in Florida, and the Barbarians in the West. The Canadians, es- pecially, proved daring and troublesome neighbours to New Eng- land, which rendered the assistance and protection of the mother country indispensable. The aspect of affairs changed at the time of the peace of Paris (1763.) Erwgland, by getting pos- session of Canada and Florida, broke the main tie which at- tached the colonies to her government. Delivered then from the terror of the French, and having no more need of foreign succour to protect them from their attacks, the Americans began to concert measures for extricating themselves from the domin- ion of Britain. ! 1 ~1 398 CHAPTER IX. The first disturbances ihat broke out were occasioned by the attempts which the British Parliament had made to impose taxes on the Americans. The national debt of England having increased considerably during the preceding war, the Parlia- ment thought they had a right to oblige the colonies to furnish their quota for the liquidation of that debt, which had been con- tracted, in part, for the interests of America. The Parliament passed an act, according to which all contracts in the American colonies were to be drawn upon stamped paper ; and the tax on the stamp was regulated according to the different objects of the contract. When this act had passed into a law, and was about to be carried into effect in America, it caused a general insur- rection. The people committed all sorts of excesses and abuses Rcrainst the Kinsf's officers. The Courts of Justice were shut up, and the colonies began to form associations among them- selves. They disputed the right of the British Parliament to impose taxes en them ; alleging that they were not represented there, and that it was the constitutional privilege of every Eng- lishman, not to be taxed except by means of his own represen- tatives. The colonies having thus attacked the sovereignty and legislative power of the Parliament, laid an interdict on all commerce with the mother country, and forbade the purchase of commodities imported from Great Britain. The Parliament rescinded the Stamp act. They published, however, a declaratory act which set forth, that the colonies were subordinate to, and dependent on, the Crown and Parlia- ment of Great Britain, in whom resided full power and au- thority to make laws and statutes binding on the colonies, in all possible cases. The provincial assemblies of the colonists were enjoined, by that act, to receive into their towns whatever num- ber of British troops the mother country might think proper to send, and to furnish them with wood and beer. Far from al- laying these disturbances, this new act tended, on the contrary, to exasperate them still more. The Americans considered it as tyrannical, and as having no other design than to destroy the foundation of their liberty, and to establish an absolute and despotic power. The British ministry made still farther concessions. They abandoned altogether the idea of a tax to be levied in the in- terior of the country, and limited themselves entirely to taxes or duties on imported goods. The Stamp act was replaced by another (1767,) which imposed certain duties on tea, paper, lead, and paint-colours, &c. &c. exported from England into the colonies. This act was no better received than its predecessor. The Assembly of Massachusetts, which was formed at Boston, TERioD viii. A. D. 1713— 1789. 390 addressed circular letters to all the colonies, exhorting them to •act in concert for the support of their rights against the mother country. The resolutions which some of the colonies had al- ready adopted, of prohibiting thfi use of commodities manufac- tured in Great Britain, became common to all the colonies ; and the American merchants in general, countermanded the goods which they had ordered from England, Scotland, and Ireland. The spirit of revolt thus extending Avider and wider, the British government determined to employ troops for the restoration of order and tranquillity in the colonies, and making them respect the sovereignty of Great Britain (1769.) Affairs were in this situation when Lord North, who had been placed at the head of the adniinistratlon, succeeded in calming the minds of the colonists, by passing an act which abolished the obnoxious taxes, with the single exception of that on tea. The view of the minister in retaining this tax, was not of reap- ing any advantage from it ; but he hoped by this trifling duty to accustom the colonies to support greater taxes. The Ameri- cans were very sensible of this ; however, as they imported very little tea from England, and as the Dutch furnished them with this article by way of contraband, they showed no symptoms of resentment until the year 1773. At that time, the Parliament having given permission to the East India Company to export tea to America, of which they had large supplies in their ware- houses, the Americans, indignant to see this Company made the organ of a law which was odious to them, resolved to oppose the landing of these tea cargoes. Three of the Company's vessels, freighted with this article, having arrived at Boston, and prepa- ring to unload, the inhabitants boarded them during the night of the 21st of December, and threw all the chests into the sea, to the number of 342. In the other provinces, they only sent back the ships loaded with this obnoxious commodity. On the news of this outrage, the British Parliament thought it necessary to adopt rigorous measures. Three acts were passed in succession (1774,) the first to lay the port of Boston under in- terdict ; the second to abolish the constitution and democratic government of Massachusetts, and substitute a royal govern- ment ; and the third to authorize the colonial governors to trans- port to England the Americans who were accused of rebellion, to be tried at the Court of King's Bench. General Gage was sent to Boston with a body of troops and several vessels to carry these coercive measures into effect. By thus adopting decisive mea- sures, the British Parliament in vain flattered themselves, that they could reduce, by force, a continent so vast, and so remote from the mother country, as that of America. Supposing even I il I il J I 400 CHAPTER IX* that llie}' could have succeeded, the spirit and nature of the English government would never have permitted them to main- tain their conquests by force. The colonies, however, far from being intimidated by these acts, warmly espoused the causf of the province which had been singled out for punishment. A general Congress, composed of the representatives of all the colonies, was opened at Philadelphia (Sept. 5, 1774.) They declared the acts of the British Parliament against Massachu- setts, to be unjust, oppressive, and unconstitutional. They agreed never more to import articles of commerce from Great Britain ; and to present an address to the King, and a petition to the House of Commons, for the redress of those grievances of which the colonies had to complam. This latter step having produced no effect, and the Parliament having still persisted in their rigorous measures, hostilities commenced in the month of April 1775. The American Congress then conferred the com- mand of their army on George Washington, a rich planter in Virginia, who had acquired considerable military reputation by his success in opposing the French in Canada ; and at the same time, to raise the immediate supplies of which the colonies stood in need, the Congress agreed to issue paper money, sufficient to meet the unavoidable expenses of the war. A declaration, pub- lished in the month of July, 1775, explained the reasons which had compelled the Americans to take up arms ; and announced their intention not to separate from Great Britain, nor adopt a system of absolute independence. But as the British Ministry had made extraordinary efforts for the campaign of 1776, and Jaken a body of German troops into their pay, the Americans thought proper to break off all alliance with England, that they night have recourse in their turn to the protection of foreigners. The independence of the Colonies was therefore formally de- clared by an Act of Congress (July 4, 1776.) They then drew up articles of confederation and perpetual union among the States of America, to the number of thirteen provinces, under the title of the United States of America. In virtue of this union, each of the States remained master of its own legislative and inter- nal administration, while the Congress, which was composed ol deputies from all the colonies, had the power of regulating all political affairs ; that is to say, every thing concerning war or peace, alliances, money matl.^rs. weights and measures, posts, &c. ; as well as the settlement of any differences which might arise between two or more of the confederate States. The first favourable action for the Americans, in their war against Eng- land, was that at Trenton on the Delav/are, (Dec. 25, 1776,) where General Washington surprised a body of Hessians and Destruction of the Bastile at Paris by the People. P. 423. Execution of Louis XVJ. of France. P. 429. PERIOD vui. A D. 1713—1789, 401 English, and made them prisoners. But the event which in some degree set the seal to the independence of America, was the important check which General Burgoyne met with near Saratoga. Having advanced from Canada to support the opera- tions of General Howe, who was marching on Philadelphia, he was compelled by the American troops under General Gates to lay down his arms, by a capitulation which was signed in the camp at Saratoga (Oct. 16, 1777.) The news of this disaster was no sooner received in Europe, than France, who, during the time that England was occupied with the disturbances in America, had put her marine on a respectable footing, took the resolution of acknowledging the New Republic, and entered into d formal alliance with it. Treaties of friendship, alliance, and commerce, were concluded at Paris between them and the Uni- ted States of America (Feb. 6, 1778.) France demanded as a primary condition, that the United States should not lay down their arms, until England had acknowledged their independence. I'he notification which the Court of France made to that of Lon- don of this treaty with the United States, became the signal of war between these two nations. This war which France had undertaken against England for the free navigation of the seas, was the first which did not in- volve the continent of Europe, as it was confined entirely to maritime operations. The European powers, far from thwart- ing France in this enterprise, applauded her success ; and while Great Britain depended on her own strength, and had not a sin- gle ally on the Continent, France contrived to interest Spain and Holland in her cause. Spain, after having for some time held the rank of a media- ting power, entered into the war in fulfilment of those engage- ments which she had contracted, by the Family Compact; and as respected Holland, England had determined to break with her. The British ministry were offended at that Republic, which, instead of granting England the supplies that she was entitled to claim in virtue of former treaties, had lent itself an accomplice to the interests of her enemies. The Dutch, on their side, com- plained of the multiplied vexations with which they were inces- santly harassed by the British privateers. They had sought to protect themselves against these, under the shield of that armed neutrality which the Empress of Russia had just negoti- ated for protecting the commerce of neutral States ; and it was in order to prevent their accession to that neutrality, that Eng- land made such haste to declare war against the Republic (Dec. 20, 1780.) Without entering here into the details of that war, the prin- 26 402 CHAPTER li. cipal scene of which was in America, though it extended lo Africa and the Indies, we shall con^ne ourselves to a few gen- eral observations. When hostilities commenced between France and England, the latter had a very great superiority in maritime strength. She had armies at the two extremities of the globe. The number of her vessels was prodigious. Her arsenals were overloaded with stores. Her dock-yards were in the greatest activity ; but after France and Spain had united their naval force, it was no longer possible for Great Britain, obliged as she was to divide her strength, to defend her distant possessions against the numerous attacks of the French and their allies. Not fewer than twenty- one engagements took place between the belligerent powers ; in all of which England, from the experience of her Admirals, and the ability of her naval officers, did not lose a single ship of the line. The first naval action was fought near Ushant (July 27, 1778,) between D'Orvilliers and Admiral Keppel. This action, the glory of which was claimed equally by both nations, was as indecisive as most of those which followed it. The only decisive actior, properly speaking, was that which Admiral Rodney fought with Count de Grasse (April 12, 1782,) between the islands of Dominica and Saintes. The English Admiral having broken the French line, succeeded in taking five ships of the line, inclu- ding the Admiral's, and had the honour to carry him prisoner to London. At the beginning of the war, the English stripped the French of their possessions in the East Indies, such as Pondicherry, Chandernagore, and Mahe. They took from them the islands of St. Peter and Miquelon, as well as that of St. Lucia, and Gorea on the coast of Africa. The French afterwards repaid themselves for these losses, by conquering the islands of Domin- ica, St. Vincent, Grenada, Tobago, St. Christophers, Nevis and Monteserrat. All the forts and establishments of the English on the Senegal in Africa, as well as Gondelore in the East In- dies, fell into their possession. The Spaniards made themselves masters of the fortfj which the English occupied on the Mississippi. They took fort Mo- bile or Conde, in ancient French Louisiana, and subdued the whole of Western Florida, with the town of Pensacola. In Europe they recovered, with the assistance of the French, the island of Minorca, with port Mahon and fort St. Philip ; but the combined forces of the two nations failed in their enterprise against Gibraltar. This place, which was bravely defended by General Elliot, was twice relieved with supplies by the English fleet — first by Admiral Rodney (1780,) and afterwards by Lord ! I '1 I PERIOD VIII. A. D. 1713 — 1789. 403 Howe (1782.) The floating batteries invented by M. D'Arhed her preparations for war, when the King of the Two Siciliet, instigated by a party who wished to urge the Cabinet of Vienna to greater despatch, commenced hostilities, by expelling the French from Rome (Nov. 24.) That enterprise failed of success. The Neapolitan troops, who were commanded by a foreigner. General Baron de Mack, showed neither discipline nor courage. After this first repulse, the King took shelter in Sicily. His capital became a prey to the most frightful anarchy. Mack, to save his life, deserted to the enemy. The Lazzaroni defended Naples against the French army, and it was not till after a battle of three days, that Championnet, who was at their head, succeeded in getting possession of the city : after which he PERIOD IX. A. D. 17S9— 1815. 447 proclaimed the Parthenopean P^cpublic (Jan. 25.) General Jou- bert took possession of Turin ; and when the new campaign opened, the whole of Italy was in the hands of the French. The Executive Directory made these hostile preparations of the King of the Two Sicilies a pretext for declaring war against the King of Sardinia (Dec. 6, 179S,) who Avas in alliance with France. General Joubeit having already advanced into Pied- mont, Charles Emanuel I /. signed an act, drawn up by General Clauzel, by which he renounced the exercise of all power, and commanded his subjects to obey the provisional government which the French were about to establish. He afterwards re- tired into Sardinia, where he protested against the violence which he had experienced. The Congress of Rastadt had continued their sittings. On the 6th December 1798. the French plenipotentiaries gave in their ultimaturn on the third proposition relative to the mode of carrying into execution the two fundamental articles agreed to ; with a threat to quit Rastadt unless it w^as accepted within six days. The majority of the deputation, who were not initiated into the secrets of great cabinets, and who were importuned by a crowd of princes, nobles, and deputies under the influence either of interest or terror, accepted this ultimatum ; against which Austria, Saxony, and Hanover voted. The plenipoten- tiary of the Empire ratified it ; probably because the Court of Vienna, who were on the point of abrogating every thing that had passed at Rastadt, did not think it necessary to enter into any discussion on that subject. This finished the operations of the Congress. From that moment, the French plenipotentiaries did nothing but complain of the march of the Russian troops, who in effect had penetrated into Galicia, and were approaching the Danube. The deputation, Avhose distinctive character was pusillanimity, confirmed these complaints in presence of the Emperor (Jan. 4, 1799,) who, however, eluded giving any posi- tive answer, until the whole of his measures were organized. A French army, commanded by Jourdan, passed the Rhine, be- tween Strasburg and Basle. The Congress, nevertheless, con- tinued to sit until *\ie 7th April, when it was dissolved by Count Metternich, who annulled all its decisions. • The 28th of April was a day memorable in the annars o\ modern history. Some of the Austrian Hussars, within a quar- ter of a league of Rastadt, assassinated the French ministers Bonnier, Debry, and Roberjot, who were on their return to Paris. That deed was not authorized by the Executive Direccory, al- though it was attributed to them because they had artfully turned it to their advantage, by exciting the public mind which had 448 CHAPTER X. already declared itself against the war ; neither was it author ized by any cabinet, or commander of the army. Its real au- thor has never been officially made known. The French Republic had already declared war against the Emperor and the Grand Duke of Tuscany (March 12, 1799,) without any apparent motive. But, before this declaration was made, the campaign had already opened in Switzerland, where General Massena had dislodged the Austrians from the country of the Grisons, which they had occupied in consequence of a treaty with the Republicans, concluded at Coire (Oct. 7, 1798.) The Archduke Charles, at the head of the main Austrian army, acquitted himself gloriously. He defeated Jourdan in several pitched battles at Pullendorf and Stockach (March 20, 25,) and compelled the army of the Danube, as it was called, to repass the Rhine. The remains of Jourdan's army were then united to that of Massena. In Italv, while General Macdonald, who had succeeded Cham- pionnet in the command, was covering Rome and Naples, Gen- eral Gauthier occupied Florence. Sherer, at the head of the army of Italy, was defeated by Kray at Legnago (March 25,) Roco (30,) and Verona (x^pril 5.) It was at this time that Su- warow arrived in Italy with the Russians, and took the chief command of the combined army. Moreau, who with a noble resignation had taken on himself the interim command of the French army in its present discouraging circumstances, was de- feated at Cassano (April 27,) and retired to Alessandria. It was of great importance for Suwarow to prevent Macdonald, who had arrived at Naples, from joining Moreau. But the two French generals manoeuvred so dexterously, that this junction took place ; although Macdonald had been attacked by Suwa- row near the Trebia (June 17,) where he sustained a considera- ble loss. The whole of Lombardy fell into the hands of the Allies. Mantua likewise capitulated. Joubert, who had been appointed General of the army of Italy, had scarcely arrived when he offered battle to Suwarow near Novi (Aug. 15 ;) but he was slain near the commencement of the action. Moreau, who had continued with the army as a volunteer, could not pre- vent the general rout. Championnet, who succeeded Joubert, was not more fortunate. Coni, the last place in their possession, having been taken (Dec. 3,) the French retired within the Ap« penines. The Archduke Charles having marched into Switzerland, Massena took up a strong position on the Aar and the Reuss. The hopes which they had entertained of bringing over Prussia to the coalition having entirely failed, it was agreed between PERIOD IX. A. D. 1789 — 1815. 449 Great Britain and Russia (June 29,) that the army of 45,000 men which the latter had eventually promised to place at the dis- posal of the King of Prussia if he became a party in the war, should henceforth be employed against France in Switzerland. Accordingly these troops, who were commanded by Prince Kor- sakoff, having arrived on the Limmat, the Archduke joined to them 30,000 Austrians ; while with the rest of his troops he marched towards the Rhine, where a new French army had occupied Heidelberg and Manheim. The Archduke compelled them to repass the river, and took Manheim by assault (Sept. 18.)^ After the battle of Novi, Suwarow quitted Italy with the Russians whose number was now reduced to 24,000 men, to march on the Limmat, and take the command of the allied army in Switzerland. Massena, who was anxious to prevent this junction, attacked Korsakoff, and defeated him near Zurich (Sept. 24;) which obliged him to evacuate Switzerland. Suwarow, whose march across the Alps had now become very dangerous, accomplished it nevertheless with boldness and celerity; and although he had to encounter Leccurbe who wished to intercept him, and afterwards Massena who was in pursuit of him, he crossed the small cantons of the Grisons, and effected a union with the remains of Korsakoff's army. The Roman and Parthenopean Republics had fallen to pieces after the departure of Macdonald. Ancona, where he had left a body of troops, did not surrender until the 29th of November. The combined fleets of the Turks and Russians, about the end of the year 1798, had taken possession of the French islands that had formerly belonged to the Venetians. Corfu held out till the 1st of March 1799. The Archduke Charles having advanced on Switzerland after the defeat of Korsakoff, Lecourbe, who had been called to the command of the army of Alsace, passed the Rhine ; but he was soon after compelled to return to the left bank of that river. In virtue of a convention which was concluded at St. Peters- burg (June 22,) the Emperor Paul, in addition to the 105,000 men which he had already despatched, engaged to furnish 17,500 more. These with 12,000 English, under the command of the Duke of York, attempted to make a descent on Holland, and landed at Holder. This expedition proved a total failure. The Duke of York, after having been worsted in several engage- ments with General Brune, evacuated the country, in conse- quence of a capitulation signed at Alkmaar (Oct. 18, 1799.) These disasters were but feebly compensated by the taking of Surinam (Aug. 16,) the last of the Dutch colonies which fell into the hands of the English. ^ 29 450 CHAPTER X. While these events were transacting in Europe, Bonaparte had subdued the greater part of Egypt ; but he was less suc- cessful in the expedition which he undertook against Syria. Being obliged to raise the siege of Acre (May 19,) after sus- taining considerable losses, he returned to Egypt with the feeble remains of his army. Shortly after (July 15,) a Turkish fleet appeared off Aboukir, and landed a body of troops, who took possession of that fort. Bonaparte directed his march against them, beat them, and almost totally annihilated them (July 25;) but being displeased at the Directory, Avho had left him without support, and having heard of their disorganization, he resolved to return to Europe. He embarked secretly (Aug. 23,) and landed at Frejus on the coast of Provence (Oct. 9, 1799.) At the time of his arrival, France was in a state of the most violent commotion. The Council of Five Hundred was become more and more Jacobinical, in consequence of new elections. Sieyes, Gohier, Roger Ducos, and Moulins, with Barras, Direc- tor of the Ancients, formed the government. The revolutionary measures which were adopted by the Council, seemed a pre- lude to the return of Terror. Such was the law which author- ized the Directory to take hostages among the relations of the emigrants (July 12 ;) and the loan of a hundred millions, which was decreed (Aug. 6.) In the west, the Chouans had organized a new insurrection under the conduct of George Cadoudal and the Counts de Frot- te, D'Autichamp, and de Bourmont. Disturbances had broken out in other provinces ; the government had fallen into contempt ; a general restlessness had taken possession of the public mind. Barras and Sieyes were perfectly conscious that this state of things could not continue. Each of them, separately, had con- trived the plan of a new revolution ; and each of them endeav- oured to make a partisan of General Bonaparte, who had just arrived in Paris, and on whom the hopes of France seemed at that time to depend. The General deceived Barras, and entered into a conspiracy with Siej'^es and the more powerful mem- bers of the Council of Ancients. On the 18th Brumaire (Nov. 9, 1799,) the Council nominated Bonaparte commandant of the troops ; abolished the Directory ; and ordered the Legislative Assembly to be transferred to St. Cloud. The meeting which took place next day was a scene of great turbulence. Bonaparte ineffectually attempted to defend himself in the Council of Five Hundred, when the firmness of his brother Lucien and the gren- adiers of the guard alone secured his safety. The Council was dissolved, and the constitution of the year Three abolished (Nov. 11.) A provisional government was established, consisting of PERIOD IX. A. D. 1789 — 1815. 451 Sieves, Roger Ducos, and Bonaparte. A legislative commission of twenty-five members were charged to draw up the plan of a new constitution. The new constitution was announced on the 22d of Frimaire, of the year Eight (13th Dec. 1799.) The republican forms were preserved ; and the government, in appearance, was intrusted to a Council of three persons, appointed for ten years, and decorated with the title of Consuls, viz. Bonaparte, Cambaceres, and Le Brun ; but in reality to the first only, on whom they conferred a power truly monarchical. The other constituted bodies were a Conservative Senate, contrived by Sieyes, to be the guardian of the public liberties ; a Tribunal of one hundred members, whose business it was to discuss such forms of law as the government laid before them ; and a Legislative Body of three hundred members, who gave their vote without any previous debate. Bonaparte seized the reins of government with a firm hand. He abrogated several of the revolutionary laws, amalgamated its different parts into a system, and by degrees organized the most complete despotism. He consolidated his power by quashing the insurrection in the West. By his orders. Generals Brune and Hedouville concluded a peace (Jan. IS, 1800,) first with the Vendeans at Montfau^on, and afterwards with the Chouans. He gave a most striking example of perfidy, by causing the brave Frotte to be shot a few days after. But he conciliated the af- fection of his subjects by the restoration of religion, which he established by means of a Concordat with the Court of Rome, (July 15, 1801.) Bonaparte was no sooner placed at the head of the govern- ment, than he proposed to make peace with England, by means of a letter (Dec. 26, 1799,) not written, according to etiquette, by one of his ministers to the Secretary of State for Foreign Af- fairs, but in his own hand, and addressed to King George III., whom he complimented for his patriotic virtues. He stated the necessity for peace ; and trusted, that two nations so enlightened as France and Great Britain, would no longer be actuated by false ideas of glory and greatness. This step, made in so un- usual a form, could not possibly have a successful result, espe- cially as Mr. Pitt was determined to employ all the resources of England to overthrow the revolutionary despotism which the First Consul was endeavouring to establish in France. That great statesman endeavoured, by the treaties of subsidy which we have already mentioned, to repair the loss which the coalition had just suffered by the retirement of Paul I., who being morti- fied with the bad success of the Russian arms, which he ascribed 452 CHAPTER X. lo the allies themselves, had recalled his troops at the beginning of the year ISOO. General Melas, who commanded the Austrians in Italy, open- ed the campaign of 1800 in the most splendid manner. In con- sequence of the victory which he gained over Massena at Voltri (April 10,) the latter was obliged to throw himself into Genoa, where he sustained a siege of six weeks with great courage. Melas made himself master of Nice (May 11,) and Souchet passed the Var on his march to Provence. But, in a short time, Bonaparte, at the head of a new army which collected at Dijon, passed the Alps, and took possession of Milan (June 2 ;) while Melas was not yet aware that his army was in existence. For^ tunately for the latter, Massena was obliged to surrender Genoa at that very time, (June 5,) which placed the corps of General Ott at his disposal. He had found it difficult, with his small garrison, to preserve order among the inhabitants, of whom 15,000 are said to have perished by famine or disease during the blockade. General Ott was defeated by Berthierat Monte- bello (June 9.) Melas himself engaged General Bonaparte at Marengo (June 14.) Victory was already within his grasp, when the arrival of the brave Desaix with his division, disap- pointed him of the triumph. The defeat had a most discourag- ing effect on General Melas, and cost Austria the whole of Lombardy. A truce which was concluded at Alessandria (June 16,) put Bonaparte in possession of that town ; as well as of Tortona, Turin, Placentia, Coni, Genoa, &c. The Austrians retired beyond the Mincio. Moreau, at the head of a French army, had passed the Rhine (April 25,) and defeated Kray in several engagements. The Austrians then retired within the Upper Palatinate. Moreau had already made himself master of Munich, when he received the news of the truce at Alessandria. He then concluded an armistice at Parsdorf (July 15.) The Count St. Julien, who had been sent by the Emperor Francis II. to Paris, having signed the preliminaries of peace without sufficient authority, the Court of Vienna refused to ratify them, as they had engaged not to make peace without the consent of England. Hostilities were to recommence in Germany in the month of September ; but the Archduke John, who commanded the Austrian army in Bavaria, having requested that the armistice should be prolonged. General Moreau consented, on condition that Philipsburg, Ulm, and Ingolstadt, should be given up to him. This arrangement was signed at Hohenlinden (Sept. 20,) and France immediately demolished the fortifications of these two places. Hostilities having recommenced about the end of November, General Mo- PERIOD IX. A. D. 1789—1815. 453 reau defeated the army of the Archduke John, at the memorable battle of Hohenlinden (Dec. 3 ;) after which he marched in all haste on Vienna. Austria being released from her engagements by the Cabinet of London, then declared that she was determined to make peace, whatever might be the resolutions of England; on which a new armistice was concluded at Steyr (Dec. 25.) Braunau and Wurtzburg were delivered up to the French. General Brune, who commanded in Italy, renewed the truce of Alessandria by the convention of Castiglione (Sept. 29,) and thus gained time to take possession of Tuscany, which they had forgot to include in the truce. Being reinforced by the army of Macdonald, who had arrived in Lombardy, he passed the Brenta; after traversing, by a perilous march, the lofty mountain of Splu- gen. In virtue of a new truce, signed at Treviso, the French obtained the recovery of Peschiera, the forts of Verona, Legnago Fermo, and Ancona. Meantime, negotiations for peace had been entered into at Luneville, between Joseph Bonaparte and Count Louis de Cobenzl. The First Consul having refused to ratify the armis- tice of Treviso, because it had left Mantua in the hands of the Avistrians, the Imperial plenipotentiary at Luneville signed an additional convention, by which that place was delivered over to the French. Peace between Austria and France was signed a few days after (Feb. 9 ;) and Francis II., at the same time, made stipulations for the Empire. He ceded the Belgic provinces, the county of Falkenstein and Frickthal. In Italy, the frontier line between Austria and the Cisalpine Republic was traced, so that the Adige should separate the two States, and the cities of Verona and Porto Legnago should be divided between them. The other conditions were, that the Grand Duke of Modena should have Brisgau in exchange for his dutchy ; that the Grand Duke of Tuscany should renounce his grand dutchy, and receive a free and competent indemnity in Germany ; that the Empire should give up all the left bank of the Rhine ; that the hereditary princes, who lost their territories in consequence of these ces- sions, should receive compensation from the Empire ; and lastly, that the Germanic Body should ratify the peace within the space of thirty days. By a secret article, Saltzburg, Berchtolsgaden, Passau, the bishopric and city of Augsburg, Kempten, and twelve other immediate abbeys, besides nineteen Imperial cities in Swabia, including Ulm and Augsburg, were secured to the Grand Duke of Tuscany. The Empire showed great anxiety to ratify this peace, which was the precursor of its annihilation The English had compelled General Vaubois to surrender the Isle of Malta. After the flight of Bonaparte from Egypt, Kleber 454 CHAFTER X. hud taken the command of the French army, which was thrn reduced to 12,000 men. A convention was concluded at El Arisch with the Grand Vizier who had arrived from Syria at the head of a formidable army, by which the French General engaged to evacuate the country. The English government having refused to ratify this treaty, unless Kleber would surren- der himself prisoner of war, that General immediately attacked the Grand Vizier, and defeated him at El Hanka (March 20 ;) after which he again subdued Cairo, which had raised the stand- ard of revolt. The English Government were willing to ratify the convention of the 24th January ; but General Menou having succeeded Kleber who had fallen by the dagger of a Turkish fanatic, was determined to maintain himself in Egypt, in spite of an evident impossibility. Sir Ralph Abercromby, the Eng- lish commander, who arrived with a British force, effected his landing at Aboukir (March 8, 1801.) Menou was defeated in the battle of Rahmanieh, near Alexandria (March 21,) which cost General Abercromby his life. But the French soon saw themselves assailed on all hands by the Turks and the English, who had been recalled from the East Indies, and had disem- barked on the shores of the Red Sea. General Belliard, who had the command at Cairo, concluded a capitulation (June 27,) in virtue of which he was sent back to France with the troops under his orders. Menou found himself obliged to follow his example, and capitulated at Alexandria to General Hutchinson (Aug. 30,) who consented to the safe conveyance of the French troops to their native country. Thus ended an expedition, which, had it proved successful, must have become fatal to the British Empire in India, and given a new direction to the com- merce of the world. Various treaties were concluded between the peace of Lune- ville and that of Amiens, which put an entire end to the war. (1.) General Murat, who commanded the army in Italy, having shown some disposition to carry the war into the kingdom of Naples, Ferdinand IV. concluded an armistice at Foligno (Feb. 18,) which he afterwards converted into a treaty of peace at Flo- rence. He gave up the State of Presidii, and his share of the island of Elba and of the principality of Piombino. By a secret article, he agreed that 16,000 French troops should occupy the peninsula of Otranto and part of Abruzzo, until the conclusion of peace with England and the Porte. (2.) Portugal, since the year 1797, had wished to withdraw from the first coalition, and even concluded a peace with the Executive Directory at Paris (Aug. 10 ;) but the English squadron of Admiral St. Vincent having entered the Tagus, the Queen refused to ratify that PERIOD IX. A. D. 1789 — 1815. 455 treaty. Portugal thus continued at war with France until 1801. The French army, which was already in Spain, having shown some disposition to enter Portugal, peace was concluded at Ma- drid between Lucien Bonaparte and M. Freire (Sept. 29,) the ministers of the two States at the Court of Spain. Portugal shut her ports against the English, and regulated the frontiers of Guiana, so as to prove advantageous to France. (3.) In Rus- sia Bonaparte had succeeded to a certain extent in conciliating the good will of the Emperor Paul. Nevertheless, at the death of that prince (Oct. 8, 1801,) there existed no treaty of peace between Russia and France. A treaty, however, was signed at Paris in the reign of Alexander, by Count Markoflf and Tal- leyrand (Oct. 11,) and followed by a very important special con- vention by which, among other things, it was agreed : That the two governments should form a mutual agreement, as to the principles to be followed with respect to indemnifications in Germany ; as well as to determine respecting those in Italy, and to maintain a just equilibrium between the Houses of Aus- tria and Brandeburg : That France should accept the mediation of Prussia, for the pacification with the Porte : That the inte- grality of the kingdom of the Two Sicilies should be maintained, according to the treaty of the 2Sth March, 1801 ; and that the French troops should evacuate the country as soon as the fate of Egypt was decided : That a friendly disposition should be shown to the interests of the King of Sardinia; and that the Elector of Bavaria and the Duke of Wurtemberg should be com- pensated for their losses, by a full indemnity in Germany. (4.) Immediately after General Menon had signed the capitulation of Alexandria, the preliminaries of peace between France and the Porte were concluded at Paris (Oct. 9 ;) but they were not confirmed into a definitive peace, until after the preliminaries were signed at London (June 25, 1802.) The free navigation of the Black Sea was secured to the French flag. When Mr. Pitt had quilted the English ministry, France and England came to terms of better accommodation. The first ad- vances were made on the side of the latter power. The preli- minaries were signed at London, between Lord Hawkesbury and M. Otto ; including their respective allies (Oct. 1, 1801.) Of ail her conquests. Great Britain was to retain only the Island of Trinidad, and the Dutch possessions in Ceylon. Malta was to be restored to the Knights of St. John, under the protection of a third power ; and Egypt was to belong to the Porte. The French troops were to abandon the kingdom of Naples, and the English to quit Porto Ferrajo. France was to acknowledge the Republic of the Seven Islands, which was composed of Corfu and the six other islands formerly belonging to the Venetians 456 CHAPTER X. For carrying these preliminaries into execution, a Congress was opened at Amiens, where Joseph Bonaparte appeared for France, Lord Cornwallis for England, the Chevalier Azara for Spain, and M. Schimmelpenninck for the Batavian Republic. Some unexpected difficulties arose with regard to Malta, as Great Britain had repented of having given it up in the preliminary treaty. They found means, however, to remove these obstacles ; and the peace of Amiens was finally signed after a negotiation of six months (March 27, 1802.) We shall only take notice here in what respects these articles differed from the preliminaries. With regard to the stipulation respecting the surrender of Malta to the Knights of St. John, several modifications were added, viz. as to the election of a new Grand Master ; the suppression of the French and English Langues, or class of Knights ; the institution of a Maltese Langue; the time for its evacuation ; and the future appointment of the garrison. Finally, it was said in the treaty, that the indepen- dence of that island and its present arrangement, were placed under the guaranty of France, Great Britain, Austria, Spain, Russia and Prussia. It may be mentioned, that Russia and Prussia declined to undertake that guaranty, unless certain modifications were added. This refusal furnished England with a pretext for refusing to part with that island ; and the war, as we shall soon find, was recommenced rather than give up that important possession. One article of the treaty of Amiens having promised the Prince of Orange a compensation for the losses he had sustained in the late Republic of the United Provinces, both in private property and expenses, another convention was signed at Amiens between France and the Batavian States, importing that that compensa- tion should in no case fall to the charge of the latter. There is one essential observation which we must make on the peace of Amiens. Contrary to the general practice, the for- mer treaties between France and Great Britain were not renewed by that of Amiens. It is not difficult to perceive the cause of this silence. At the time when the peace of Utrecht was con- cluded. Great Britain had an interest in having the principle ol free commerce for neutral States held sacred ; and she had con- sequently announced it in the treaty of navigation and commerce, which was concluded in 1713. All the following treaties, until that of 1783 inclusive, having renewed the articles of Utrecht, the silence on this subject at Amiens placed Great Britain, in this respect, on the footing of a common right, which, according to the system of the English, would not have been favourable to the principle of a free trade, — a doctrine which it was for their PERIOD TX. A. D. 17S9— 1815. 457 interest to suppress, since they had then the command of the sea. We have now brought down the history of the French Re\'<^- lution, from its commencement to the year 1802, when the French power began to preponderate in Europe. The influ- ence of the Eepublic was enormously great. The Netherlands and a flourishing portion of Germany, as well as Geneva, Sa- voy, and Piedmont, were incorporated with the territories which had been governed by Louis XVI. The Dutch and the Cisal- pine States, including the Milanois, a considerable part of the Venetian territories, the dutchies of Mantua, Modena and Par- ma, besides some of the Ecclesiastical provinces, had bowed their neck to the yoke of the First Consul. The Swiss, enslaved by the Directory, had not been able to recover their ancient inde- pendence. Tuscany and the Ligurian Republic durst not pre- sume to dispute the will of the conqueror ; while Spain, forget- ful of her ancient dignity, was reduced to a state of subservient and degraded alliance. It will be now necessary, according to the plan of this work, that we take a survey of the more remark- able events which happened in the course of the preceding thir- teen years, in the other States of Europe. Portugal had been a co-partner in the first coalition against France, and had furnished a body of 6000 troops to Spain, and some ships of war to England. We have already related how Mary I. was prevented from disengaging herself from the treaty of 1797. The Prince of Brazil, who had assumed the regency (July 15, 1799) in consequence of the infirm state of his mother's health, took a more decided part in the second coalition, by sign- ing an alliance with Russia (Sept. 28.) This alliance drew him into a war with Spain. The Duke of Alcudia, usually styled the Prince of Peace, seized several cities in Portugal without much difficulty ; as her army was in as bad condition as her fi- nances. A peace was speedily concluded at Badajos (June 6, 1801.) Portugal agreed to shut her ports against English ves- sels ; and ceded to Spain Olivenqa, and the places situated on the Guadiana. The engagement respecting English vessels was renewed by the peace of Madrid (Sept. 29,) which reconciled Portugal with France. In Spain, Charles IV. had succeeded his father Charles III. (Dec. 13, 1788;) Philip, the eldest son, having been declared incapable of reigning, on account of his deficiency of intellect. That prince, who had no pleasure but in the chase, gave himself up entirely to that amusement. He was the jest of the Queen and her favourites, to whom he abandoned the cares of govern- ment. In 1790 a difference which had arisen with England respecting the right of property to Nootka Sound in North Ameri- 458 CHAPTER X. ca, was on the point of interrupting the repose of this indolent monarch. But matters were adjusted by a convention signed at the Escurial (Oct. 28, 1790,) by which Spain renounced her rights over that distant possession. The chief favourite since 1790, had been Don Manuel Godoy, created Duke of Alcudia ; a weak minister, under whom every thing became venal, and the whole nation corrupt. The revolutionary principles Avhich had taken root there after the expulsion of the Jesuits, as suffi- cient care had not been taken to supply the place of these fathers with other public instructors of youth, were readily propagated under so vicious an administration ; especially after the publica- tion of the famous Memoir of Jovellanos (1795,) on the improve- ments of agriculture and the Agrarian Law ; a work which was composed by order of the Council of Castille, and written with clearness and simplicity. The author, no doubt, deserved credit for the purity of his sentiments ; but in his enthusiasm for the objects which he recommended, he overlooked all existing laws ; encouraged the spoliation of the church, the crowii, and the com- munity ; as well as the suppression of corporations, and condi- tionariegacies, or liferents ; in short, a total and radical subver- sion of the institutions of the country. This work may be said to have produced a revolution in Spain ; for the Cortes of Cadiz did no more than carry into execution the schemes of Jovellanos. If the Prince of Peace failed in conducting the administration of the interior, he was not more successful in making the crown of Spain respected abroad. By the peace of Basle (July 22, 1795,) Charles IV. renounced the Spanish part of St. Domingo. By the alliance offensive and defensive of St. Idlefonso (Aug. 19, 1796,) Spain identified herself with the French system. The war with Great Britain ruined her marine. Admiral Jer- vis defeated the Spanish fleet off Cape St. Vincent (Feb. 14 1797,) commanded by Admiral Cordova. It was in this engage ment that Captain Nelson, afterwards so famous, established his fame, by the courage and conduct which he displayed. Admiral Hervey conquered the important island of Trinidad (Feb. 18.) General Stewart without much difficulty took possession of Mi- norca (Nov. 7, 1798.) The alliance of Spain with France was also the reason why the Emperor Paul declared war against her, after his accession to the coalition (July 27, 1799.) The Porte followed the example of Russia (Oct. 1, 1801.) After the peace of Luneville, a reconciliation with the former power was signed at Paris (October 4.) The war which Spain was obliged to wage with Portugal, procured her the city of 01iven9a, which was ceded by the peace of Badajos (June 9.) By the treaty signed at St. Ildefonso, Spain surrendered Lou- PERIOD IX. A. D. 17S9— 1815. 459 isiana to Bonaparte ; and eventually the State of Parma (Ucto- ber 1, 1800.) She also surrendered to him five ships of the line, besides a considerable sum of money vi'^hich she paid him ; and all this on the faith of his promising to procure the Grand Dutchy of Tuscany, with the title of Royalty, to the King's son-in-law, the Infant of Parma. These stipulations were more clearly established by the treaty v/hich Lucien Bonaparte and the Prince of Peace afterwards signed at Madrid (March 21, 1801.) The peace of Amiens cost Spain no other sacrifice than the Island of Trinidad, which she was obliged to abandon to England ; en- tirely on the decision of Bonaparte, who did not even ask the consent of Charles IV. Spain had lost all sort of respect or consideration, both from the universal and contemptible weak- ness of her government, and because she had voluntarily placed herself under dependence to France. From the very commencement of this period. Great Britain had been preserved from the influence of the revolutionary prin- ciples, which had a great many partisans in that kingdom, by the firmness of her Prime Minister, William Pitt, and the splen- did eloquence of Edmund Burke, a member of the House of Commons. Pitt consolidated the sj^stem of finance, by extend- ing the sinking fund, which he had created in 1786. He gave vigour to the government, by obtaining the suspension of the Ha- heus Corpiis Act ; and by means of the Alien Bill (Jan. 4, 1793,) which allowed the magistrate an extensive authority in the sur- veillance of foreigners. The greatest number of malcontents appeared in Ireland, and these consisted chiefly of Catholics ; although an act, passed in 1793, had rendered the Catholics eligible to almost all official employments. That island never- theless was the theatre of several conspiracies, the design of which was to render it independent. Their leaders acted in unison with the French, who made attempts at difl^erent times to effect a landing in that country. Fifteen thousand troops, ac- companied by eighteen sail of the line, embarked for that pur- pose from Brest harbour in the month of December. But thia formidable armament had scarcely put '.o sea, when they were overtaken by a storm. Eight of these vessels reached the Irish coast, and appeared off Bantray Bay ; but they were forced from that station by another tempest, when they returned to France with the loss of two ships of the line, some frigates having nar- rowly escaped falling in with two squadrons of the English navy. At length, as a remedy for this political mischief, the union of Ireland with Great Britain was effected, so that both kingdoms should have one and the same Parliament ; and George III. as- 460 CHAPTER X. sumed the title of King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland (July 2, 1800.) Great Britain was the moving principle of the two first coali- tions against France, although she fought rather with money than with troops. She succeeded in ruining the marine and the commerce of hoth France and Spain ; and obtained the com- plete command of the sea. A short time before the death of Paul I., she was involved in a war with the powers of the North. The resentment of that Prince against the Cabinet of London, for refusing to put him in possession of Malta, which the English troops had seized, was the true cause of hostilities ; although a litigated question of public right was made the pretext. The point at issue was, whether the convoy granted to the merchant ships of neutral states by their sovereign, protected them from being searched by those of the belligerent powers, or not. Den- mark, with whom the discussion first arose, maintained the affir- mative, and England the negative ; although it was not till the end of the year 1799 that she maintained this doctrine. At that time there had been some misunderstanding between Ad- miral Keith, the commander of the British forces in the Medi- terranean, and Captain Van Dockum, who was convoying a fleet of Danish merchantmen. In the month of July following, the Danish frigate La Freya, which had attempted to defend her convoy against a search of the English cruisers, was taken and carried into the Downs. These acts of violence gave rise to a very warm discussion between the Courts of London and Copenhagen. The formei having sent a fleet to the Sound, commanded by Admiral Dick- son, Denmark was obliged to yield to the tempest, but in a man- ner very honourable. By a convention which was signed at Copenhagen (Aug. 29, 1800,) the decision of the question was remitted for further discussion. The English Government re- leased the Freya, and the King of Denmark promised to suspend the convoys. This accommodation did not meet with the approval of the Emperor Paul. That prince, who entertained lofty ideas, but who yielded too often to his passions, had determined to revive the principles of the Armed Neutrality, according to the treaty of 1780, and to compel England to acknowledge them. He in- vited Denmark and Sweden, in so very peremptory a manner, to join with him for this purpose, that these States could not refuse their consent without coming to an open rupture with him. This agreement Avith the courts of Copenhagen, Sweden and Berlin was finally settled by the conventions signed at St. Petersburg (Dec. 16, and 18.) As Great Britain could not find a more con- PERIOD IX. A. D. 17S9 1815. 461 venient occasion than that of her maritime preponderance, foi deciding- those questions on which she had maintained silenct in 1780, war was declared ; and hostilities commenced in course of a few months. A body of Danish troops occupied Hamburg and Lubec. The Prussians took possession of Bremen and Hanover (April 3.) An English flee'., consisting of seventeen sail of the line, commanded by Admirals Sir Hyde Parker and Lord Nelson, forced the passage of the Sound without sustain- ing much injury (March 30.) A squadron under Lord Nelson engaged the Danish fleet before Copenhagen (April 3,) which was commanded by Admiral Olfart Fischer. The action was spirited on both sides, and added a new wreath to the fame of Nelson ; and although the Danes were obliged to yield to the superiority of British valour, they acquitted themselves bravely and honourably. Within seven days after, an armistice was concluded. Admiral Parker continued his route by the Baltic and arrived before Carlscrona (April 19,) where he was on the eve of com- mencing hostilities against Sweden, when he was apprised of the death of the Emperor Paul. That event dissolved the League of the North, and put an end to the war. By a convention which the Emperor Alexander concluded at St. Petersburg (June 17,) the principles of maritime law which the English had professed were recognised. The other powers of the North ac- ceded to this convention. The Danes evacuated Hamburg and Lubec ; but Prussia continued in possession of Hanover until the conclusion of the peace between France and England. With regard to Holland, the twenty years which elapsed be- tween 1795 and 1814 formed an era of calamities and disasters. The Patriots, who comprehended the middle class of the Dutch community, had gained the ascendancy on the entrance of the French army ; one consequence of which was, the abolition of the Stadtholdership. But that party became sensible of their error, when they saw the ruin of their country. The indepen- dence of their Republic was acknowledged by the treaty of the Hague (May 16, 1795,) which, by giving it France for an ally, subjected it in effect to that power ; and reduced it to the con- dition of a province, — the more neglected, as it was not entirely united. The constitution which the Batavian Republic (the title which it assumed) had adopted, vacillated between two op- posite systems, the adherents of which could come to no agree- ment ; — namely, that of a United and that of a Federal republic. While these matters were under debate, the English, who had joined the Stadtholder's party, stripped the Republic of its colo- nies ; destroyed its marine, particularly in the action which Ad- 462 CHAPTER X. miral Duncan fought with De Winter near Camperdovvn (Oil n, 1797 ;) and annihilated her commerce and her navigation by blockading her coasts, — not excepting even her fisheries. The overthrow of the ancient Helvetic Confederacy, is un« doubtedly one of the high crimes with which history has to re- proach the Executive Directory of France. The constitution drawn up by MM. Ochs and La Harpe after the model of that of France, which excluded the federative system, was published by the French party (May 30, 1798,) in spite of the modifica- tions which the more judicious patriots had attempted to intro- duce ; and supported by the French army under General Schau- enburg. To compel the smaller cantons to submit to this yoke, it was necessary to have recourse to fire and sword. The Grisons found means, however, to evade it by receiving an Aus- trian army among them, in virtue of a convention which was concluded at Coire (Oct. 17 ;) and it was not till after the unfor- tunate campaign of 1799, that they were compelled to renounce their independence. France appropriated to herself the Swiss part of the bishopric of Basle, and the cities of Mulhouse and Geneva. The terms of subjection on which the Helvetic Re- public was to stand in future with France, were determined by an alliance, offensive and defensive, concluded at Paris (Aug. 19.) Switzerland henceforth renounced that neutrality which for centuries she had regarded as the pledge and safeguard of her liberties. The animosity which reigned between the Unionists and the Federalists, caused several revolutions in the government of that Republic. But as these intrigues were carried on, on a small scale, and have left few traces behind, it is unnecessary here to enter into any detail. If the Revolution in Switzerland did not produce a single man remarkable for great talents, or of a commanding character, the religious spirit of the country, the instruction of the people, and the diffusion of knowledge, at least preserved them from those crimes and excesses which stained the Revolutionists in France. At the peace of Amiens all Italy, with the exception of a part of the Venetian territory which was united to Austria, had yielded to the dominion of France. The King of the Two Si- cilies alone had still maintained a sort of independence. In no country had the revolutionary principles of the eighteenth century found more abettors among the higher classes than in Piedmont. The King of Sardinia was the first sovereign whose throne was undermined by their influence. Scarcely had Vic- tor Amadeus III., who ascended the throne in 1773, joined the league against France (July 25, 1792,) when the Republican PERIOD IX. A.D.I ^9 — 1815. 463 armies attacked, and made an easy conquest of Savoy and Nice. Great Britain granted him, by the treaty of London (April 25, 1793,) subsidies for carrying on the war with vigour. We have related above the disasters which he met with in the war against France. The peace of Paris cost him the sacrifice of two provinces. In vain did his son Charles Emanuel IV. hope to save the remainder of his estates, by becoming an ally of the French Directory at the treaty of Turin, (April 5, 1797.) His political influence was lost ; they knew they could command any thing from that ally. Their first request was the surrender of the city of Turin, by the convention of Milan (June 28, 1798.) The Directory afterwards declared war against that prince with- out any grounds; and he could not obtain permission to retire to Sardinia, except by signing a kind of abdication (Dec, 9 ;) against which he afterwards protested. Piedmont was thus governed entirely according to the pleasure of France ; and immediately after the peace of Amiens, it was definitively an- nexed to her territories. Austrian Lombardy (with the exception of Mantua,) the dutchy of Modena, the three Legatines ceded by Pius VI., and a part of the Venetian territory, formed the Cisalpine Eepublic, which Bonaparte declared independent, bv the preliminaries of Leoben (June 29, 1797.) He soon after "(Oct. 22,) added to it the Valteline, Chiavenna, and Bormio, which he had taken from the Grisons ; and at a later period (Sept. 7, 1800,) he added a part of Piedmont, viz. the Novarese, and the country beyond ihe Sesia. Mantua was likewise annexed to this Republic at the peace of Luneville. Its connexions with France had been de- termined by the aUiance of 1798, which were more servile than those in which the Batavian Republic, and afterwards that of Switzerland, were placed. In this pretended Republic, France exercised an absolute power; she changed its constitution at pleasure, appointed and deposed its highest functionaries as suit- ed her convenience. The victories of Suwarow put an end for some time to the existence of that State ; but after the battle of Marengo, matters were replaced on their ancient footing. The Republic of Genoa, distracted by innovations at home, and threatened from abroad by England and France, hesitated for some time as to the system v/hich they should adopt. But after the French had become masters of the Bocchetta, the Senate consented, by a treaty concluded at Paris (Oct. 9, 1796,) to give them a sum of money, and shut their ports against the English. After the preliminaries of Leoben, this Republic ac- cepted a democratic constitution from the hand of Bonaparte, according to the treaty of Montebello (June 6, 1797.) It paid 464 CHAPTER X. large sums of money, and was gratified by the Imperial fiefs which Bonaparte added to its territory. It then took the name of the Ligurian Republic (June 11.) We have ai)eady men- tioned how the Grand Duke of Tuscany was unjustly deprived of his estates, which Bonaparte made over by the treaty of St. Ildefonso to the hereditary Prince of Parma, son-in-law to Charles IV. of Spain. This young prince was proclaimed King of Etruria, (Aug. 2, ISOl,) and acknowledged by all the Euro- neaii powers; but during his brief reign, he was more a vassal of Bonaparte than an independent sovereign. Pius VI. had protested against the spoliation of the Church, which the Constituent Assembly of France had committed, by the union of Avignon and the County of Venaissin to the Re- public, (Nov. 3, 1791 ;) and from that time he was treated as an enemy. The truce of Bologna, (June 23, 1796,) cost him twenty- one millions of francs, and many of the finest specimens of art. He consented that such statues and pictures as might be selected by commissioners appointed for that purpose, should be conveyed to the French capital. Finding it impossible to obtain an equi- table peace, he set on foot an army of 45,000 men, which he placed under the command of General Colli, a native of Austria ; but Bonaparte, notwithstanding, compelled his Holiness to con- clude a peace at Tolentino, (Feb. 19, 1797,) which cost him fif- teen millions more, and the three Legatines of Bologna, Fer- rara, and Romagna. He renounced at the same time Avignon and the County of Venaissin. In consequence of a tumult which took place at Rome, in which the French General Duphot was killed, a French army under General Berthier, entered that city (Feb. 11, 1793,) and proclaimed the Roman Republic; which, as we have noticed, enjoyed but an ephemeral existence. The government was vested in five consuls, thirty-two senators, and seventy-two tribunes, called the Representatives of the people. Pius Vl. was carried captive to France, and died at Valence (Aug. 29, 1799.) The Conclave assembled at Venice, and elected Cardinal Chiaramonte in his place, (March 13, 1800,) who assumed the title of Pius VII., and within a short time after made his public entry into Rome. Bonaparte, then elected First Consul, allowed him to enjoy the rest of his estates in peace. Towards the end of 1792, a French fleet, commanded by Ad- miral La Touche, appeared off the port of Naples, and obliged the King to acknowledge that first of all sovereigns, the French Republic. This did not prevent him from entering into the coa- lition, (July 12, 1793,) by a treaty of alliance with England, which was concluded at Naples. After the success of Bona- Bonaparte crossing the Alps. P. 452. Fall of Kosciuszko. P. 472. PERIOD IX. A. D. 17S9 — 1S15. 465 parte in Lombardy, Ferdinand IV. averted the storm which threatened him, by signing first a suspension of arms at Brescia (June 5 1798,) and the peace of Paris a few months after, which he obtained on honourable conditions. We have already mentioned, that he was one of the first sovereigns who entered into the second coalition against France ; and that the precip- itancy with which he then commenced hostilities, proved pre- judicial to the success of the war, as well as disastrous to him- self. He did not regain possession of the kingdom of Naples till after the retreat of Macdonald in 1799 ; and he purchased peace (March 28, 1800) at the expense of receiving into his kingdom 16,000 French troops, who remained there until the conclusion of the treaty between Alexander and Bonaparte. The combined fleets of Turkey and Russia had subdued the islands that formerly belonged to the Venetians, viz. Corfu, Zante, Cephalonia, St. Maura, Ithaca, Paxo, and Cerigo. Ac- cording to a convention concluded at Constantinople between Russia and the Porte (March 21, 1800,) these islands were to form an independent State, although subject to the Ottoman Em- pire, under the name of the Republic of the Seven Islands This Republic, was acknowledged in subsequent treaties by France and Great Britain. By the peace of Basle, Germany had been divided into two parts ; the North, at the head of which was Prussia ; and the South, where Austria had the predominancy, in consequence ot her armies, and by the favour of the ecclesiastical Princes ; for the secular States abandoned her as often as they could do so with impunity. By a convention which Prussia concluded at Basle with France (May 17, 1795,) the neutrality of the North of Germany was recognised, on conditions which the Princes situ- ated beyond the line of demarcation were anxious to fulfil. Prussia afterwards concluded arrangements with these States for establishing an army of observation. This defection created no small animosity between the Courts of Berlin and Vienna, which the French dexterously turned to their own advantage ; especially during the sitting of the Congress at Rastadt. In vain did the Emperor Paul, who had determined to make war against the Republic, attempt to restore harmony between these two leading States. He was equally unsuccessful in his pro- ject of drawing Prussia into the coalition. Although Frederic n. had been deceived by France, who, after having promised him, in a secret convention concluded at Berlin (August 5, 1796,) a compensation proportioned to the loss which he had sustamed by ceding the left bank of the Rhine, entered into en- gagements directly opposite, by the secret articles in the treaty 30 466 CHAPTER X. of Campo Formio. Nevertheless Frederic William III., who succeeded his father (Nov. 16, 1797,) remained faithful to a neutrality which the state of the Prussian finances appeared to render necessary. The revolutionary doctrines which were transplanted into Germany by the French emissaries, had fallen on a soil well prepared, and in Avhich they speedily struck root. By the peace of Luneville, all the provinces situated on the left bank of the Rhine, were incorporated with France ; and the moment was approaching which was to witness the downfall of the German Empire. While the French nation, seized with a strange ma- nia, were overturning law and order from their very founda- tions, and abandoning themselves to excesses which appear almost incredible in a civilized country, in the North another nation, sunk into anarchy and oppressed by their neighbours, were making a noble effort to restore the authority of the laws, and to extricate themselves from the bondage of a foreign yoke. The Poles had flattered themselves, that while the forces of Russia were occupied against the Swedes and the Turks, as we have already mentioned, they would be left at liberty to alter their constitution, and give a new vigour to the government of their Republic. An extraordinary Diet was assembled at War- saw (178S,) which formed itself into a Confederation, in order to avoid the inconveniences of the Liberurn Veto, and of the unanimity required in ordinary diets. The Empress of Russia having made some attempts at that Diet to engage the Poles to enter into an alliance against the Porte, she was thwarted in her intentions by the King of Prussia, who, in consequence of his engagements with England, used every effort to instigate the Poles against Russia. He encouraged them, by offering them his alliance, to attempt a reform in their government, which Russia had recently guaranteed. A Committee of Legisla- tion, appointed by the Diet was commissioned to draw up the plan of a constitution, which would give new energy to the Re- public. This resolution of the Diet could not but displease the Em- press of Russia, who remonstrated against it as a direct infrac- tion of the articles agreed between her and the Republic in 1775. The Poles, who thus foresaw that the changes which they had in view would embroil them with that princess, ought to have considered, in the first place, how to put themselves into a good state of defence. But instead of providing for the melio- ration of their finances, and putting the army of the Republic on a respectable footing, the Diet spent a considerable time in dis- cussing the new plan of the constitution which had been submit- PERIOD jx. A. D. 1789—1815. 467 ted to them. The assurance of protection from Prussia, which had been officially ratified to them, rendered the Poles too con- fident ; and the treaty of alliance which the King of Prussia had in effect concluded with the Republic (March 29, 1790,) began to lull them into a profound security. Stanislaus Augustus, after having long hesitated as to the party he ought to espouse, at length voluntarily joined that party in the Diet who wished to extricate Poland from that state of degradation into which she had fallen. The new constitution was accordingly decreed by acclamation (May 3, 1791.) However imperfect that constitution might appear, it was in unison with the state of civilization to which Poland had arriv ed. It corrected several of the errors and defects of former laws ; and though truly republican, it was free from those extravagant notions which the French Revolution had brought into fashion. The throne was rendered hereditary in favour of the Electoral House of Saxony ; they abolished the law of unanimity, and the absurdity of the Liberum Veto ; the Diet was declared perma- nent, and the Legislative body divided into two Chambers. One of these Chambers, composed of Deputies whose functions were to continue for two years, was charged with discussing and framing the laws ; and the other, consisting of a Senate in which the King presided, were to sanction them, and to exercise the Veto ; the executive power was intrusted to the King, and a Council of Superintendence consisting of seven members or re- sponsible ministers. The inhabitants of the towns were allow- ed the privilege of electing their own Deputies and Judges, and the burgesses had the way laid open to them for attaining the honours of nobility. The latter were maintained in all the plenitude of their rights and prerogatives ; the peasantry, who had been in a state of servitude, were placed under the imme- diate protection of the laws and the government ; the constitu- tion sanctioned before-hand the compacts which the landed pro- prietors might enter into with their tenantry for meliorating iheir condition. The efforts which the Poles had made to secure their inde pendence, excited the resentment of Russia. The Empress had no sooner made peace with the Porte, than she engaged her par- tisans in Poland to form a confederacy for the purpose of over- turning the innovations of the Diet at Warsaw, and restoring the ancient constitution of the Republic. This confederation, which was signed at Targowica (May 14, I792,)was headed by the Counts Felix Potochi, Rzewuski, and Branicki. In support of this confederacy, the Empress sent an army into Poland, to wage war against the partisans of the new order of things. The 468 CHAPTER X. Poles had never till then thought seriously of adopting vigorous measures. The Diet decreed, that an army of the line should immediately take the field ; and that a levy should be made of several corps of light troops. A loan of thirty-three millions of florins passed without the least opposition ; but the Prussian minister having been called upon to give some explanation as to the subsidies which the King his master had promised to the Republic by the treaty of alliance of 1790, he made an evasive answer, which discouraged the whole patriotic party. The refusal of the Polish Diet to accede to a mercantile scheme, by which Dantzic and Thorn were to be abandoned to the King of Prussia, had disaffected that monarch towards Po- land. It was not difficult, therefore, for the Empress of Russia to obtain his consent to a dismemberment of that kingdom. The aversion which the sovereigns of Europe entertained for every thing that resembled the French Revolution, with which, however, the events of Poland where the King and the nation were acting in concert had nothing in common except appear- ances, had a powerful effect upon the Court of Berlin; and proved the cause of their breaking those engagements which they had contracted with that Republic. It was then that the Poles fully comprehended the danger of their situation. Their first ardour cooled, and the whole Diet were thrown into a state of the utmost consternation. Abandoned to her own resources, and convulsed by intestine divisions, Poland then saw her utter inability to oppose an ene- my so powerful as the Russians. The campaign of 1792 turned out entirely to the disadvantage of the Patriotic party. After a successful career, the Russians advanced on Warsaw ; when Stanislaus, who was easily intimidated, acceded to the confede- racy of Targowica, by renouncing the constitution of the 3d May, and the acts of the revolutionary Diet of Warsaw. That prince even subscribed (Aug. 25, 1792) to all the conditions which the Empress thought proper to dictate to him. A suspension of arms was agreed to, which stipulated for the reduction of the Polish army. In consequence of the arrangements entered into oetween Russia and Prussia, by the convention of St. Peters- burg (Jan. 23, 1793,) the Prussian troops entered Poland, and spread over the country after the example of the Russians. Proclamations were issued by the Courts of Berlin and St. Pe- tersburg, by which they declared the districts of Poland which their troops had occupied, incorporated with their own domin- ions. The adoption of the constitution of 1791, and the propa- gation of the democratic principles of the French, were the causes ol tms new dismemberment of Poland. PERIOD IX. A. D. 1789—1815. 469 Prussia took possession of the larger part of Great Poland, in- cluding' the cities of Dantzic and Thorn ; the town of Czensto- chowa in Little Poland was also adjudged to her, with its fron- tier extending to the rivers Pilica, Sterniewka, Jezowka, and Bzura. The left bank of these rivers was assigned to Prussia, and the right reserved to Poland. The portion awarded to the former, contained one thousand and sixty-one German square miles, and one million two hundred thousand inhabitants. Rus- sia got nearly the half of Lithuania, including the Palatinates of Podolia, Polotsk and Minsk, a part of the Palatinate of Wilna, with the half of Novogrodek, Brzesc, and Volhynia ; in all, four thousand five hundred and fifty-three German square mile? and containing three millions of inhabitants. The Poles were obliged to yield up, by treaties, those pro- vinces which the two powers had seized. The treaty between Poland and Russia was signed at the Diet of Grodno (July 13, 1793.) But that with the King of Prussia met with the most decided opposition ; and it was necessary to use threats of com- pulsion before it was consummated. On this occasion, these tv/o powers renounced anew the rights and pretensions which they might still have against the Republic under any denomina- tion whatsoever. They agreed to acknowledge, and if it should be required, also to guarantee the constitution which should be established by the Diet with the free consent of the Polish nation. After these treaties, came a treaty of alliance and union be- tween Russia and Poland (October 16, 1793,) the third article of which guaranteed their mutual assistance in case of attack ; the direction of the war was reserved to Russia, as well as the privilege of sending her troops into Poland, and forming maga- zines there, when she might judge it necessary ; while Poland agreed to enter into no connexion with foreign powers, and to make no change in her constitution, except with the approbation of Russia The portion that was left to the Republic, either m Poland or Lithuania, contained three thousand eight hundred and three square miles, with somewhat more than three mil- lions cf inhabitants. This State was divided into eighteen palatinates, ten of which were in Poland, and eight in Lithua- nia. To each of these palatinates were assigned two senators, a palatine, a castellain, and six deputies to sit in the Diet. These different treaties, and the grievances of which the Poles had just cause to complain, threw the public mind into a state of agitation, which in the following year broke out into a general insurrection. A secret association was formed at War- saw ; it found numerous partisans in the army, which was to have been disbanded according to the arrangements with Rus- 470 CHAPTER X sia The conspirators chose Thaddeus Kosciuszko for theii chief, in this projected insurrection against Russia. That gen- eral had distinguished himself in the American war under Washington ; he had very recently signalized his bravery in the campaign of 1792 ; and after the unfortunate issue of that war, he had retired into Saxony with a few other patriots, who were ready to exert their energy in the cause of freedom. The in- surgents reckoned with confidence on the assistance of Austria, who had taken no part in the last dismemberment of Poland , they flattered themselves that Turkey and Sweden would not remain mere spectators of the efforts which they were making to regain their liberty and their independence. Kosciuszko had wished that they should postpone the execu- tion of their plan, in order to gain more time for preparation ; especially as a suspicion was excited among the Russians. He even retired into Italy, where he remained until one of his ac- complices, who had been ordered, as a propagator of sedition, to banish himself from the Polish territories, informed him that his countrymen wished him to appear among them without de- lay, as a better opportunity might not soon arise. Madalinski, who commanded a brigade of cavalry under the new govern- ment, when summoned to disband them, refused ; and throwing oflf the mask, gave the signal for insurrection. He suddenly quitted his station, crossed the Vistula, and after having dis- persed some detachments of Prussians, whom he encountered in his route, he marched directly to Cracow, where he erected the standard of revolt. The inhabitants took arms, expelled the Russian troops who were quartered in that city, and pro- claimed Kosciuszko their General. A sort of dictatorship was conferred upon him (March 24, 1794,) which was to continue so long as their country was in danger. He took an oath of fidel- ity to the nation, and of adherence to the principles stated in the act of insurrection, by which war was declared against the invaders of their rights and liberties. The Russians and Prussians immediately despatched their troops to arrest the progress of the insurrection. The defeat oi a body of Russians near Raslavice, by Kosciuszko, inspired the insurgents with new courage. The inhabitants of Warsaw rose in like manner against the Russians, who had a garrison there of 10,000 men, under the command of General Igelstrom. It was on the night of the 17th April that the tocsin of revolt was sounded in the capital ; the insurgents seized the arsenal, and distributed arms and ammunition among the people. A brisk cannonade took place between the Russians and the Poles. The combat continued for two successive days, in which several PERIOD IX. A. U. 1789 1816. 471 thousands of the Russians perished, while 4500 were made pri- soners-. Igelsirom escaped from the city with about 3000 men. The same insurrection broke out at Wilna, from Avhence it ex- tended over all Lithuania. Several Polish regiments who had entered into the service of Russia, changed sides, and enlisted under the banners of the insurgents. In spite of their first success, it was soon perceived that Poland was deficient in the necessary resources for an enter- prise of such a nature as that in which they were engaged. The great body of the citizens were neither sufficiently numer- ous nor sufficiently wealthy, to serve as a centre for the revolu- tion which they had undertaken ; and the servitude in which the peasantry were kept, was but ill calculated to inspire them with enthusiasm for a cause in which their masters only were to be the gainers. Besides, the patriots were divided in opin- ion ; and the King, although he appeared to approve their ef forts, inspired so much mistrust by his weakness and timidity, that he was even accused of secretly abetting the interests of Russia. Lastly, the nobles who alone ought to have shown courage and energy, were found but little disposed to give any effectual support to the cause of liberty. Every contribution appeared to them an encroachment on their prerogatives ; and they were as much averse to a levy en masse as to the raising of recruits, which deprived them of their tenantry. They were, moreover, afraid of losing those rights and privileges which they exclusively enjoyed. Under these considerations, Kosciuszko was convincpd that it was impossible for him to organize an armed force equal to that of the Russians and the Prussians, who were acting in concert to defeat the measures of the insurgents. After some inferior operations, an important engagement took place on the confines of the Palatinates of Siradia and Cujavia (June 8, 1794,) where he sustained a defeat ; in consequence of which the King of Prussia made himself master of Cracow. That prince, supported by a body of Russian troops, undertook, in person, the siege of Warsaw. The main forces of the insurgents were assembled under the walls of that city. They amounted to about 22,000 combatants, while the enemy had more than 50,000. The siege of Warsaw continued nearly two months, when a general msur rection, which had spread from Great Poland into Western Prus sia, obliged the King to retire, that he might arrest the progress of the insurrection in his own dominions. The joy of the insurgents, on account of this incident, was but of short duration. The Court of Vienna, which till then had maintained a strict neutrality, resolved also to despatch an 472 CHAPTER X. army into Poland. This army was divided into two columns, one of which marched on Brzesci, and the other on Dowbno. On the other hand, the Russians under the command of Suwa- row, advanced into Lithuania, and pursued a body of the msur- gents, who were commanded by Sirakowski. Kosciuszko. who now saw the great superiority of the enemy, made a last effort to prevent the junction of the army of Suwarow with that of Baron de Fersen, the Russian General. Directing his march towards the latter, he fought a bloody battle with him near Matchevitz (Oct. 10, 1794.) The action continued from sunrise till beyond mid-day. Six thousand of the Polish army perished on the field, and the lest were made prisoners. Kosciuszko was himself dangerously wounded, and fell into the hands of the conqueror. He had endeavoured to escape by the swiftness of his horse, but was overtaken by some of the Cossacs; one of whom, without knowing him, run him through the back with his lance. Falling senseless from his horse, he was carried to a monastery ; when it was intimated, by one of his officers, that he was the Commander-in-chief. Surgical aid was immediately administered to him, and he was soon after conveyed to St. Petersburg. This disaster quite dejected the courage of the Poles. Their Generals, Dombrowski and Madalinski, who were carrying on the war in Prussia and Great Poland, abandoned these provinces, and marched with their troops to the relief of Warsaw. Suwa row likewise directed his march towards that capital, and was there joined by a considerable body of Prussians, under Dorfel- den and Fersen, in conjunction with whom he commenced the blockade of that city (Nov. 4.) The Russians, who amounted to 22,000 men, prepared for an attack of the entrenchments of Praga, one of the suburbs of Warsaw. The Poles, who had a body of between eight and ten thousand men, made a courage- ous defence ; but nothing could withstand the ardour and im- petuosity of the Russians, who were burning with rage to avenge the blood of their countrymen who were massacred at Warsaw. Three batteries had been erected in the night ; and the two first divisions, though harassed by a vigorous fire in every direc- tion except the rear, bravely surmounted every obstacle. In the space of four hours, they carried the triple entrenchment of Pra- ga by main force. Rushing into the place, they pursued their adversaries through the streets, put the greater part of them to the sword, and drove one thousand into the Vistula. In this scene of action, a regiment of Jews made an obstinate defence, and at length were totally extirpated. Thirteen thousand of the Poles, it is said, were left dead on the spot ; two thousand were PERIOD IX. A. D. 1789—1816. 473 drowned in the Vistula, and between fourteen and lifteen thou- sand were made prisoners. The suburb of Praga was pillaged, and razed to the foundation. Terror seized the inhabitants of Warsaw, and they determined to capitulate. Suwarow made his triumphant entry into that capital, and was presented with the keys of the city (Nov. 9.) The Polish troops laid dofv^i their arms ; the insurrection was quelled; and the greater pan of those who had distinguished themselves in it, were arrested by the Russians. The King of Poland retired to Grodno ; and the final dismemberment of that country was agreed upon by the three allied powers. The Court of Berlin having signified their intention of retain- ing Cracow and the neighbouring country, of which their troops had just taken possession, Austria, who was also desirous of pro- curing that part of Poland, took advantage of the discontent which the conduct of Prussia during the campaign of 1794, and her retreat from the ensuing coalition, had excited in the Em press of Russia, and entered into a separate negotiation with the Court of St. Petersburg. They arranged privately between themselves, as to the shares which were to fall to each. An act, in form of a declaration, was signed at St. Petersburg, between these two courts (Jan. 3, 1795,) purporting, that the Cabinet of Berlin should be invited to accede to the stipulations therein contained; in consideration of the offer which the two courts made to acquiesce in the reunion of the remainder of Poland with the Prussian monarchy, and the engagement which they entered into to guarantee that acquisition. A negotiation was afterwards set on foot with the Court of Berlin, which was protracted to a great length ; as that Court, who were ignorant of the engagement which Catherine had come under to secure Cracow to Austria, had always entertained the hope of being able to retain it themselves. It was only when the act of the 3d January was communicated to them, that they agreed to a- special convention with the Court of Vienna, which was signed at St. Petersburg (Oct. 24, 1795.) The city of Cra cow was abandoned to Austria, who, on her side, resigned in favour of the King of Prussia a portion of the territory which the declaration of the 3d January preceding had secured to her. It was settled, that the limits of the Palatinate of Cracow should be regulated between these two powers, under ihe mediation of the Court of St. Petersburg. Stanislaus had then no other al- ternative left, than to resign his crown into the hands of the Em- press of Russia. The act of his abdication was dated at Grodno (Nov. 25, 1795.) Tt was bv these diffcient conventions, that Russia obtained all 474 CHAPTER X. that remained of Poland and Lithuania, as far as the Niemen and the confines of Brzesci and Novogrodek. She likewise obtained the greater part of Samogilia, with the whole of Cour- land and Semigallia. She had besides, in Little Poland, that part of the territory of Chelm situated on the right bank of the Bug, and the remainder of Volhynia ; in all, containing aboui two thousand square miles, with one million two hundred thousand inhabitants. To Austria were assigned, in addition to the principal part of Cracow, the whole Palatinates of Sendomir and Lublin, with part of the district of Chelm, and the Palatinates of Brzesci, Podolachia, and Masovia, which lay on the left bank of the Bug ; comprising m all, about eight hundred and thirty-four thousand German square miles, with about one million of inhabitants. To Prussia, was assigned part of the Palatinates of Masovia and Podolachia, lying on the right bank of the Bug ; in Lithu- ania, she had part of the Palatinate of Troki and of Samogitia which lies on this side of the Niemen, as well as the small dis- trict in Little Poland, making part of the Palatinate of Cracow ; the whole consisting of about one thousand German square miles, with a population of one million. Finally, by a subse- quent convention which was concluded at St. Petersburg (Jan. 26, 1797,) the three co-participant Courts arranged among them- selves as to the manner of discharging the debts of the Ki«g and the Republic of Poland. They agreed by this same con- vention to allow the dethroned monarch an annuity of 200,000 ducats. At the commencement of this period, it was not yet perceived of what importance it was for Russia to get possession of the Crimea ; and it was not until the agriculture and industry of that country had begun to prosper under a wise administration, that they began to apprehend it might one day have a powerful influence on the balance of trade. The Empress Catherine, who had been flattered in her youth by the eulogies of the phi- losophers, so as to become a disciple of their new doctrines, was the first to perceive this danger. She then declared her- self a most implacable enemy to the French Revolution, and would gladly have armed all Europe to exterminate the Repub- lic. Nevertheless, she did not take up arms herself, and only joined the first coalition in an indirect manner, and by conclud- ing treaties purely defensive, such as that of Drontningholm with Sweden (Oct. 19, 1791,) and that of St. Petersburg with the King of Hungary and Bohemia (July 12, 1782,) and that which was concluded (Aug. 7,) in the same city with Prussia. Nevertheless, when Frederic had retired from the list, she re- PERIOD IX. A. 1). ITby — 1815. 475 solved 10 send into the field the sixty thousand men vvhich Eng- land was to take into pay. The treaty was on the eve of being • in his hand. I'ERIOD IX. A. D. 1802—1810. 485 This last act paved the way for Bonaparte to ascend the throne. France had scarcely recovered from the stupor in which elie had been plunged by the judicial murder of a Bourbon, when the Conservative Senate, who had perceived that the best way to please Bonaparte was not to wait till he should make his wishes known to them, presented an address, inviting him to complete the institutions necessary for tranquillizing the State (March 27.) At this signal of flattery, many of the Orders of the State were eager to express their desire that the power which was vested in Bonaparte, should be conferred on him by a hereditary title. One month was allowed to elapse, for pre- paring the public mind for the result. It was then that the First Consul, in replying to the address of the Senate, desired these Orders to explain themselves more clearly. The Tribunate took the merit of anticipating this explanation, by voting the re- establishment of hereditary monarchy in favour of Bonaparte and his family (April 30.) The Senate, not wishing to be be- hind in complaisance, acceded to the desire ; and a decree of that Body declared Bonaparte Emperor of the French (May 18;) conferring on him the Imperial dignity, to be hereditary ni himself, and his lawful or adopted sons, to the exclusion of his daughters ; and failing the males, to his brothers Joseph and Louis, and their male descendants. The same decree of the Senate made several important changes in the constitution, with the view of rendering it per- fectly monarchical. Bonaparte accepted the dignity which had been conferred on him. He only asked, that the nation should be consulted upon the question of hereditary right. Wishing to legalize this attempt in the eyes of the people ; he invited the sovereign Pontiff' to Paris to crown him. Tliis ce- remony took place in the Church of Notre-Dame (Dec. 2, 1804;) and contrary to the general custom, Bonaparte put the crown on his own head, after which he placed it upon that of his spouse. Some weeks afterwards, in opening the Session ol the Legislative Body, he solemnly declared, that, as he was satis- fied with his grandeur, he would make no more additions to the Empire. The base transaction of 21st March was followed up by an exchange of ver5^violent letters, between the Russian ambassador at Paris, and the minister of Bonaparte. In addition to the indig- nation which that event had excited in Alexander, and which the prevailing tone of the notes of the French minister were not calculated to diminish ; there was a dissatisfaction, on account of the non-execution of many of the conditions agreed to m the tieaty of 10th October 1801. Alexander demanded, that the 486 CHAPTER XI. French troops should be withdrawn f^om ihe kingdom of Naples , that Bonaparte should concert with him as to the principles upon which the affairs of Italy were to be regulated ; that with&ut de- lay he should indemnify the King of Sardinia, and evacuate Hanover (July 27, 1804.) To these, Bonaparte only replied by recriminations, when the two Courts recalled their respective ambassadors. The Emperor had not waited for this opportunity to employ means for setting bounds to the ambition of Bona- parte. By the declarations interchanged betwixt the Courts of St. Petersburg and Berlin (May 3, and 24,) it was agreed, that they should not allow the French troops in Germany to go be- yond the frontier of Hanover ; and that should this happen, each of these two Courts should employ 40,000 men to repel such an attempt. The Prussian declaration added, moreover, that there should be no dispute as to the countries situated to the west of the Weser. Not content with having thus provided for the se- curity of the North of Germany, the Emperor Alexander imme- diately concerted measures with Austria, with the view of opposing a barrier to the usurpations of Fraii?e. Declarations, in the shape of a convention, were exchanged between these two Courts before the end of the year ; and they agreed to set on foot an army of 350,000 men. The maritime war, like that of 1803, was limited to threats, and immense preparations on the part of Bonaparte, and on the part of Sir Sidney Smith, to attempt preventing the union of the French fleet, or for burning their shipping in their own ports. The English took possession of the Dutch colony of Surinam (May 4;) and towards the end of the year commenced hostilities against Spain. The first six months of the year 1805 were marked by new ag- grandizements on the part of Bonaparte in Italy. 1. A decree of the Estates of the Italian Republic assembled at Paris (Mar. 18,) firoclaimed Napoleon Bonaparte King of Italy ; and it was stipu- ated that he should remit that crown to one of his legitimate or adopted sons, so soon as the foreign troops should have evacuated the kingdom of Naples (where there were no foreigners except the French troops,) the Seven Islands and Malta; and that henceforth the crowns of France and Italy should never be united in the same person. Bonaparte repaired to IVlilan (May 26,) where he was crowned with the iron crown of the Emperors of Germany, who were kings of Italy. Eugene Beauharnais, the son of the Empress Josephine, was appointed his viceroy. 2. He conferred the principality of Piombino, under the title of a here- ditary fief of the French empire, on Eliza Bacciochi his sister, and her male descendants (May 25.) ' This completed the spolia- I PERIOD IX. A. D. 1802—3810. 487 tion of the House of Buoncompagni, to whom that title and es- tfite belonged, together with the greater pan of the Isle of Elba. 3. The Senate and people of the Ligurian Republic demanded voluntarily, as is said, to be united to the French Empire. Their request was agreed to (June 5;) and the territory of that Repub- lic was divided into three departments. 4. The Republic of Lucca demanded from Bonaparte a new constitution, and a prince of his family. By a constitutional statute (June 23,) that Repub- lic was erected into a principality, under the protection of France ; and conferred as a hereditary right on Felix Bacciochi, and his wife Eliza Bonaparte. 5. The States of Parma seemed destined to be given up by way of compensation to the King of Sardinia, together with the territory of Genoa ; but Bonaparte, finding himself involved with the Emperor Alexander, caused them to be organized according to the system of France. It was impossible for the sovereigns of Europe not to unite against a conqueror who seemed to apply to politics that maxim of the civil law, which makes every thing allowable that the laws do not forbid. We have already seen that Russia and Austria had concerted measures for setting bounds to these usur- pations. But it was William Pitt, who was restored to the British ministry in the month of May 1804, that conceived the plan of the third coalition. Disdaining the petty resources which the preceding ministry had employed for harassing France, he conceived the idea of a grand European League, for the pur- pose of rescuing from the dominion of Bonaparte the countries which France had subdued since 1792, and for reducing that kingdom within its ancient limits. With regard to the territories which were to be taken from France, he proposed arrangements, by means of which they might form a barrier against her future projects of aggrandizement ; and finally, to introduce into Europe a general system of public right. In fact, the plan of Mr. Pitt, which was communicated to the Russian government (June 19, 1805,) was the same as that which, ten years afterwards, was executed by the Grand Alliance. If this plan failed in 1805, it was only because they calculated on the participation of Prussia, as an indispensable condition ; which they did not give up when that power had declared her resolution to preserve her neutrality. By the treaty of April 11th, between Russia and Great Britain, it was agreed that the Emperor Alexander should make another attempt for arranging matters with Bonaparte, so as to prevent the war. M. de NovosilzofT, one of the Russian ministers, was sent to Paris. On his arrival at Berlin, he received the pass- ports which the cabinet of Prussia had procured for him at Paris ; but at the same time, he received an order from St. Petersburg 488 CHAPTER XL noi to continue his journey. The annexation of the Ligurian Republic to France, at the moment when they were making con- ciliatory overtures lo Bonaparte, appeared too serious an outrage for the Emperor to prosecute farther negotiations. War was consequently resolved on. The preparations for the invasion of England had been ear- ned on for some time with extraordinary vigour. Every thing seemed to announce, that Bonaparte meant lo attempt that peril- ous enterprise. Pan of his troops had already embarked (Aug 27,) when all of a sudden the camp at Boulogne was broken up. and the army directed to move towards the Rhine, which it pass- ed within a month after. Austria had set on foot three armies. The Archduke Charles commanded that of Italy, where it was expected a decisive blow was to be struck ; the second army, under the command of the Archduke John, was stationed in the Tyrol, to maintain a communication with the third army on the Inn, which was commanded nominally by the Archduke Fer- dinand the Emperor's cousin, but in reality by General Mack. The first Russian army under the command of General Kutusoflf had arrived in Gallicia, and was continuing its march in all haste. It was followed by another under Michelson. The Rus- sian troops in Dalmatia were to attempt a landing in Italy. The army of Mack passed the Inn (Sept. 8.) They had reckoned on the co-operation of the Elector of Bavaria ; but that prince, who was always distrustful of Austria, abandoned the cause of the allies, and retired with his troops into Franconia. The Electors of Wurtemberg and Baden were desirous of con- cluding treaties of alliance with Bonaparte, after he had passed the Rhine ; these treaties were signed at Ludwigsburg and Et- tingen (Oct. 4, and 10.) The plan of Bonaparte was to cut off the army of Mack who had entered into Swabia, from that of Kutusoff which was marching through Austria. In this he suc- ceeded, by presuming to violate the Prussian territory. Mar- mont who had come by way of Mayence, and Bernadotte who had conducted the army into Franconia, where they were joined by the Bavarians, traversed the country of Anspach, and came thus on the rear of the Austrian army (Oct. 6.) From that date scarcely a day passed without a battle favourable to the French. Several divisions of the Austrians were obliged to lay down their arms. Mack, who had thrown himself into Ulm, lost all resolution, and signed a capitulation (Oct. 17,) by which he pro mised to surrender if assistance did not arrive within eight days. He did not, however, wait for this delay. By a second capitulation two days after, he surrendered on the spot with 25,000 men. The army of Mack was totally destroyed, except 6000 caval- I'ERIOD IX. A. D. 1S02— ISIO. 489 ry, with which the Archduke Ferdinand had opened himself a passage through Franconia ; and 20,000 others with which Kien- mayer had retired to Braunau, where he was met by the van- guard of Kuiusofif. These two generals continued their retreat. The Russian army repassed the DanuLc near Grein (Nov. 9,) and directed their march towards the Moraa. A few days after (j\ov. 13,) Vienna, the capital of Austria, fell into the hands of the French. They passed the Danube near that city, and pur- sued the Russians. In the meantime General Buxhowden with ihe second Russian army, having joined KutusotTat Olmutz, on the same day that the Emperor Alexander arrived in the camp, they conceived themselves strong enough to encounter the ene- my, and immediately discontinued their retreat. The battle of Austerlitz, which Bonaparte fought (Dec. 2,) with the combi- ned army of the Auslrians and Russians, decided the campaign in his favour. Meantime Bonaparte found himself in a position which might become dangerous. When the Archduke Charles had perceived that the French had concentrated their forces on the Danube, he sent supplies to General Mack, and commenced his retreat from Italy, that he might be nearer the centre of hostilities. This retreat he could not effect, except by hazarding several engage- ments with Massena, who continued the pursuit. When near Cilley he formed a junction with the Archduke John, who had retreated from the Tyrol (Nov. 27.) The united armies of these two princes amounted to 80,000 men, with whom they marched towards Vienna ; while the Hungarians rose en masse to defend their sovereign. The next day after the battle of Austerlitz, the Russian army received a reinforcement of 12,000 men. An army composed of Prussians, Saxons, and Hessians were on the point of penetrating into Franconia ; and some corps of Prus- sians, Russians, Swedes, Hanoverians, and English, had joined a second army in the north of Germany, ready to invade Bel- gium. Moreover, the English and the Russians were preparing to effect a landing in the kingdom of Naples. It was in this critical moment that the Cabinet of Vienna signed an armistice at Austerlitz, by which they engaged to send back the Russian army, and to quell the insurrection in Hun- gary. Within twenty days after, peace was signed at Presburg between Austria and France (Dec. 26.) The former acknow- ledged all the claims of Bonaparte, and ceded to him, to form a part of the kingdom of Italy, the ancient states of Venice, with Dalmatia and Albania ; and tc his allies, the Elector of Baden and the new Kings of Bavaria and VVurtemberg, the Tyrol and all her hereditary possessions in Swabia. 490 CHAPTER XI. The violation of the Prussian territory in Franconia, had ex- cited the most lively indignation at Berlin. The King resolved, sword in hand, to avenge this outrage against his royal dignity. The Prussian troops occupied Hanover, which the French had just evacuated ; and that country was restored to its legitimate sovereign. A body of Russians, for whom they had till then vainly demanded a passage through Silesia, obtained permission to traverse that province to join the army of Kutusoff. The Emperor Alexander had himself arrived at Berlin (Oci. 25,) as well as the Archduke Anthony, Grand-Master of the Teutonic Knights. A convention was concluded at Potsdam (Nov. 3,) between Alexander and Frederic III. of Prussia. This latter prmce joined the coalition, with the reservation of a preliminaiy attempt to obtain the assent of Bonaparte to conditions extremely equitable. In case these were rejected, Frederic promised to take the field v/ith 180,000 men, who in fact, were put in a con- dition to march at the earliest notice. Count Haugwitz, who had been sent to Vienna as the bearer of overtures of peace to Bonaparte, accompanied with an energetic declaration, took it into his head that it would be prejudicial to the interests of Prus- sia were he to press the object of his commission ; he resolved, therefore, to wait the course of events. After the truce of Aus- terlitz, he took it upon him to change the system of his govern- ment. Without having any sort of authority, he concluded an alliance with Bonaparte at Vienna (Dec. 15,) for the guarantee of their respective states, and for those of Bavaria and the Porte. Prussia was to cede the principality of Anspach to Bavaria ; that of Neufchatel to France ; and that of Cleves to a prince of the Empire, whom Bonaparte might name. In return Prussia was to get possession of the Electorate of Hanover. When Count Haugwitz arrived at Berlin with the treaty, Frederic at first was inclined to reject it ; but the minister having represented to him the danger to which this would expose him in the present state of afl^airs, the King rc'ictantly consented to ratifj' the treaty ; provided a clause wasaQ 'id, that the occupa- tion of the provinces mutually ceded should only be announced as provisional, until the King of England should give his assent, by a future treaty, to the cession of Hanover. It was in this manner that Prussia, in effect, got possession of that Electorate (Jan. 27, 1806.) Meantime, Count Haugwitz, who had repaired to Paris, found it impossible to obtain the acceptance of Bona- parte to the ratification of the treaty so modified. He then signed a second convention (Feb. 15,) by which Prussia enga- ged to declare the occupation of Hanover definitive ; and to shut the rivers in the North of Germany against the English. The PERIOD IX, A. D. 1802 -1810. 491 King of Prussia, who had already disbanded his army, found himself in a situation that obliged him to ratify that arrangement. Bonaparte had made prodigious efforts to revive the French marine. The fleet at Rochefort, commanded by Admiral Mis- siessi, had taken the opportunity of sailing from that port (Jan. 11, 1805.) They had set out with the intention of levying con- tributions in the Little Antilles, belonging to the English ; and after throwing in supplies to General Ferrand who still kept possession of St. Domingo, they had returned without accident to Rochefort. The fleet at Toulon, consisting of fourteen ves- sels of the line, commanded by Admiral Villeneuve, and hav- ing on board troops under the command of General Lauriston, probably destined for Ireland, had repaired to Cadiz (April 9,) where they were joined by the Spanish fleet under Admiral Gravina. Next day the two combined fleets sailed from that port, but afterwards separated. That under Villeneuve had proceeded to Martinico ; but being apprised of the arrival of Lord Nelson at Barbadoes, Villeneuve again joined the Span- ish Admiral, when the fleet returned to Europe. An engage ment took place near Cape Finisterre (July 22,) which was honourable to Sir Robert Calder, the English Admiral, who captured two ships of the line. Being soon after considerably reinforced, and amounting to thirty-five ships of the line, they set sail for Cadiz, where a partial blockade was maintained for some time by Calder and CoUingwood. But Nelson, who had been invested with the command of the English fleet, induced the enemy, by means of a pretended retreat, to leave their sta- tion. An engagement took place off Cape Trafalgar (Oct. 21,) which cost the English Admiral his life, but which ruined the combined fleet. Villeneuve was made prisoner, and Gravina fled towards Cadiz with ten ships. This glorious victory se- cured to England the command of the sea. When Bonaparte had made preparations for marching against Austria, he resolved to reinforce his army in Italy by the troops which occupied a part of the kingdom of Naples. To ingrati- ate himself with Ferdinand IV., he concluded a treaty with that prince ^Sept. 21,) by which the latter, on obtaining the evacua- tion 01 his own states, promised to remain neutral. He did not depend, however, on that monarch's fulfilling his promise. It was a part of the plan of the allies, that the Russian and Eng- lish armies should land in the kingdom of Naples ; the one by the way of Corfu, and the other from Malta. The plan was carried into execution, and the foreign troops were received as friends. A decree of Napoleon, dated from Schoenbrun (Dec. 27,) had declared that the dynasty of the Bourbons had ceased 492 CHAPTER XI. to reign at Naples. After the battle of Austerlilz, the Russians and English abandoned Italy ; and Ferdinand IV. found him- self without defence, exposed to a French army, who were ap- proaching his capital. He embarked for Sicily, when the French entered Naples (Jan. 1806,) and Joseph Bonaparte, the brother of Napoleon, Avas created King of the Two Sicilies (March 30,) although his sway never extended farther than the kingdom of Naples. Those are probably in a mistake, who imagine they find in the conduct of Bonaparte, the gradual development of a great plan, conceived before-hand ; and springing from his head, so to speak, like the fabled Minerva from the brain of Jupiter. The circumstances in which he was placed, the success of his arms, and the weakness of foreign Cabinets, suggested to him one idea after another. It was when he was on his march against the Russians, that he received the news of the battle of Trafalgar, which had completely destroyed the labour of three years, and annihilated his hopes of reducing England by plant- ing his standard on her soil. His imagination then conceived the plan of opposing one combination of strength to another, and surrounding France with a number of states, independent in appearance, but subject to the direction of the head of the Empire. After the peace of Presburg, he had repaired to Munich, where he adopted his stepson, Eugeue Beauharnais, and de- clared him his successor in the kingdom of Italy. In announ- cing this elevation to the Senate, (Jan. 12, 1806,) he declared that he reserved to himself the right of determining the common tie which was to unite all the States composing the Federative System of the French Empire. This was the first time that this system was spoken of. In a short time after, he declared, that the whole peninsula of Italy made part of the Grand Em- pire. Finally, a constitutional statute of the Imperial family, which he published at that time (March 30,) may be regarded as the fundamental law of the Federative System he had lately announced. That statute granted to the Emperor of the French an absolute supremacy over all the sovereigns of his family ; and he no doubt had great hopes, that the time would arrive when no others would be found in any of the adjacent states. In annexing the Venetian provinces to the kingdom of Italj/, Bonaparte detached from them Massa-Carrara and Carfagnaua, which he bestowed on the Prince of Lucca. At the same time, he created within these provinces twelve dutchies, as hereditary fiefs of the Empire, and three within the states of Parma ; all of which he disposed of in favour of his generals and ministers. PERIOD IX. A. D. 17S9— 1815. 493 The dutchy of Cleves, ceded by Prussia, as well as that of Berg which had been ceded to him by the King of Bavaria, were conferred, together with the hereditary dignity of Admiral of France, on his brother-in-law Joachim Murat (March 30.) Alexander Berthier was created Prince of Neufchatel (June 5.) At a later period, he granted the dutchy of Benevento to M. Talleyrand Perigord, under the title of Sovereign Principality ; >and the principality of Pontecorvo to Jean Baptiste Bernadotte, the brother-in-law of Joseph Bonaparte. He took these two ter- ritories from the States of the Church, under the pretext that their sovereignty was an object of litigation between the Courts of Rome and Naples ; an allegation which was not true. The continuation of the History of Bonaparte presents us with a series of new usurpations and aggressions. Towards the end of January, the French troops entered into the free city of Frankfort, Avhere they levied four millions, to punish the in- habitants for their connexion with the English. Bonaparte was living at that time in the most perfect peace with the German Empire to which that city belonged, and which could not protect it. By the treaty of Presburg, the Bocca di Cattaro, in Dalma- tia, was to be restored to the French ; but the Russians, whose fleet was cruising off these coasts, immediately took possession of that place (Feb. 4.,) at the moment when the Austrians were about to surrender it to the French. Bonaparte made this a pretext for refusing to give up to the Court of Vienna the for- tress of Braunau, which he was to evacuate according to the stipulations of that same treaty, and for leaving a part of his army in Germany. He did more ; he ordered General Lauris- ton, who commanded the French army in Dalmatia, to occupy Ragusa (May 27,) a Republic placed under the protection of the Porte, with whom there subsisted a treaty of peace. It was not, however, until the 13th August 1807, that Ragusa was formally united to the kingdom of Italy. The Elector of Baden and the Princes of Nassau were oblig- ed to make cessions to France. The former surrendered Kehl, and the latter Cassel and Kostheim, opposite Mayence. Wesel, a fortress in the dutchy of Cleves was likewise occupied by the French troops. All these were so many violations of the peace of Luneville, and the treaty of Vienna in 180f5. In order to promote this federative system, the States-General of the Batavian Republic received a hint to petition Bonaparte for a King. A treaty was in consequence concluded at Paris (March 24,) by which Louis, the brother of Napoleon, was cre- ated Hereditary and Constitutional King of Holland ; the title to descend to his male issue. That young man accepted with 494 CHAPTER XI. reluctance a. crown which he had never coveted, and which ho wore with much dignity. William Pitt, whom history would have been proud to call the Great Pitt, had she not already given that title to his father, had died about the beginning of the year (Jan. 23.) Charles Fox, his former antagonist, succeeded him in the ministry. He im- mediately entered into negotiations for peace between France and England. This commission, on the part of the latter, was intrusted first to Lord Yarmouth and afterwards to Lord Lau- derdale. After the death of Fox (Sept. 13,) the negotiations ended without having produced any change in the relations be- tween France and England ; nevertheless they deserve to be placed among the important events of that year, as they were the immediate cause of the war with Prussia, as we shall have occasion to mention. The Emperor Alexander likewise made an attempt for a re- conciliation with Bonaparte. He sent M. D'Oubril to Paris, who, after a negotiation of ten days, concluded a treaty with General Clarke, the French plenipotentiary, (July 20, 1806,) by which it was agreed that the Russian troops should evacuate the Bocca di Cattaro, and the French troops quit Ragusa ; that the independence of the Republic of the Seven Islands should be acknowledged, as well as the independence and integrity of the Porte ; that in three months the French troops should evacuate Germany; that the two parties should use their joint influence to procure a cessation of the war between Prussia and Sweden; that Bonaparte should accept the mediation of Russia, in nego- tiating a maritime peace. A secret article secured to Ferdi- nand IV. the Balearic Isles, in compensation for the kingdom of Naples. It thus appeared that the King of Sardinia was the greatest sulTerer. The Emperor Alexander refused to ratify this treaty, whether it was that he considered the terms not alto- gether honourable, or that he was displeased with the conclu- sion of the Confederation of the Rhine, which took place at this time. The Confederation of the Rhine was undoubtedly the most important consequence of the peace of Presburg. That event which entirely changed the state of Germany, and placed so large a portion of that Empire under obedience to Bonaparte, was prepared by the article of the peace which recognised the sovereignty of the Kings of Bavaria and Wurtemberg, and the Elector of Baden ; as well as by several other irregular transac- tions which took place after that time. Such was the conduct of the Elector Arch-Chancellor, in arrogating to himself the right of appointing his own successor ; and nominating Cardmal itRiou IX. A. D. 1802—1810. 495 Fesch as such; who was Bonaparte's uncle. The Confedera- tion of the Rhine was concluded at Paris (July 12, 1S06,) be- tween Bonaparte and sixteen of the German princes, including the Duke of Cleves, who separated from the Germanic Em- pire, and formed a particular union among themselves, under the protection of Bonaparte. The declarations which the minister of France and those of the Confederated Estates, remitted on the same day to the Diet of Ratisbon, intimated to that assembly, that the German Em- pire had ceased to exist. The Chief of the Germanic body, who had been kept ignorant of all these measures, then published a spirited declaration (Aug. 6,) by which he resigned a crown which could only appear valuable in his eyes so long as he was able to fulfil the duties, and exercise the prerogatives which were attached to it. This transaction, v.rhich put an end to the German Empire, had been kept a secret from Prussia. Bonaparte, in announcing to Frederic William the result which it had produced, invited him to form a similar confederation in the North of Germany ; but at the same time, he negotiated privately with the Electors of Hesse and Saxony, to prevent them from entering into that union ; and declared, that he could never permit the cities of Bremen, Hamburg, and Lubec, to become parties to it. In his negotiations with England, he proposed to make over these ci- ties to Ferdinand IV. King of the Two Sicilies. He carried nis stratagems even farther. He several times offered to the English plenipotentiaries the same Electorate of Hanover w'hich, a few months before, he had almost compelled Prussia to claim as her own ; and he offered to the Elector of Hesse the princi- pality of Fulda, which had been granted to the House of Orange, then in strict alliance with that of Brandeburg. All these un- derhand manosuvres opened the eyes of the Cabinet of Berlin, which immediately resolved to declare war. Unfortunately for Prussia, she commenced hostilities without Avaiting the arrival of the supplies which Russia owed her, in virtue of the alliance between the two States by the treaty of Peterhoff" (July 2S, 1800;) and she had to take the field against an active enemy, whose warlike troops were already in the heart of Germany. General Knobelsdorff, whom the King of Prussia had sent to Paris, gave in the demands which were to be considered as his ultimatum : — Bonaparte treated his propositions as extravagant and insulting, and accordingly commenced hostilities. The campaign was decided by the battle of Jena, or rather by two battles which were fought on the same day (Oct. 14, 1806.) Bonaparte in person gained the one near Jena over Prince Ho- 496 CHAPTER XI. henlohe; Marshal Davoust gained the other near Auerstadt over theJ)uke of Brunswick, Commander-in-chief of the Prus- sian army. The rout was complete. For a short time the troops retired without confusion. The approach of the enemy's cavalry, however, extinguished all remains of order, and the most precipitate dispersion of the vanquished army ensued. About 20,000 were killed and wounded in the battle and pur- suit ; and the prisoners formed at least an equal number. The scattered remains of the troops who united after the action, were either defeated or obliged to surrender as prisoners of war. The King, with the wreck of his army, marched back to Prussia. Berlin, his capital, fell into the hands of the conqueror. The carelessness, the unskilfulness, or the treachery of their com- manders, and the want of means of defence, were the causes why several fortresses, and whole battalions of troops, surren- dered after a slight resistance. There were some who were even obliged to capitulate in spite of their bravery. At Erfurt, Field-Marshal Mellendorff capitulated with 14,000 men (Oct. 16.) Spandau fell on the same day that the enemy entered into Berlin (Oct. 25.) Prince Hohenlohe, after a brave defence, ca- pitulated at Prentzlau (Oct. 29,) with a corps originally consist- ing of 16,000 infantry, and sixteen regiments of cavalry. Stettin and Custrin opened their gates after a slight resistance (Nov. 1.) At Lubec, 21,000 men, with General Blucher, laid down their arms (Nov. 7.) Magdeburg capitulated next day with 22,000 men. Immediately after the battle of Jena, Bonaparte took posses- sion of the principality of Fulda. He also sent a message to the old Duke of Brunswick, that none of his family should ever reign after him. That prince died of the wounds he had received at Auerstadt ; and his lifeless body was not permitted to be deposi- ted among the ashes of his ancestors. The Elector of Hesse, who had remained neutral, was declared an enemy to France, and his territories seized. Bonaparte, in return, granted neu- trality to the Elector of Saxony, whose troops had fought against him at Jena. The King of Prussia had tried to allay the storm which threat- ened his monarchy. The Marquie de Lucchesini and General Zastrow entered into a negotiation with Marshal Duroc at Char- lottenburg (Oct. 30.) Bonaparte refused to ratify the prelimi- naries which were signed there, because the idea had occurred to him in the meantime of exciting the Poles to insurrection. An armistice was then signed (Nov. 16,) on conditions extremely rigorous, by which Breslau, Glogau, Colberg, Graudentz and Dantzic, were delivered up to the French. Frederic, who had PERIOD IX. A. D. 1802—1810. 497 resolved to throw himself on Russia, whose forces were approach- ing in all haste, rejected that armistice. From Berlin Bona- parte repaired to Posnania, where he concluded a treaty with the Elector of Saxony (Dec. 11.) That prince then assumed the title of King, joined the Confederation of the Rhine, and got possession of the Circle of Cotbus, belonging to Prussia. By a treaty signed at the same place (Dec. 15,) the Dukes of Sax- ony, of the race of Ernest, were likewise received into the Con- federation of the Rhine. A Russian army of 90,000 men had arrived in Prussia in the month of November. Frederic William, on his side, formed a new army of 40,000 men. Several actions took place without any decisive result; but after the battle of Pultusk (Dec. 26,) where the victory was claimed both by the French and Rus- sians, each party retired to winter quarters. During Bonaparte's stay at Berlin, he conceived the idea of the Continental System ; or at least reduced its elements into shape. The purport of this system was to ruin the commerce, and by consequence, the prosperity of England, by excluding from the Continent of Europe the importation not only of her own manufactures, but the productions of her colonies ; the use of which had become, through long habit, one of the necessaries of life to all the nations of Europe ; and for which, moreover, no substitute could be found in home manufactures. This chi- merical scheme, and the Federative System, which we have already mentioned, were the two scourges which Bonaparte in- flicted on the Continent of Europe. The abuse, it was alleged, which the English made of their superiority by sea, had provo- ked Bonaparte to this measure. The right of blockade, that is, the right of a belligerent power to station a force before a hostile port sufficient to prevent any neutral vessel from entering, is founded in principle. But England pretended, that if a port were declared to be under blockade, it must be considered as actually blockaded ; and accordingly, she had declared all the ports between Brest and the Elbe under blockade (May 16.) An order issued by Bonaparte, known by the name of the De- cree of Berlin, declared the whole British Islands in a state of; blockade, by way of reprisals (Nov. 21.) He commanded all British subjects to be arrested, who might be found in the coun- tries occupied by his troops, or those of his allies. He ordered' their property, and every article of British or colonial produce on the Continent to be confiscated ; and excluded from his ports all vessels which should come directly from Britain, or any of its dependencies. The development of this system w« shall notice afterwards. 32 498 CHAPTER XI. The repose of the armies did not continue longer than a month. General Bennigsen, who had the chief command of the Russians and Prussians, undertook to relieve the cities of Graudeniz Dantzic, and Colberg. After a number of petty engagements, which claim no particular notice, the campaign was terminated by the battle of Eylau in Prussia (I'eb. 8, 1807.) Bonaparte, or rather Davoust, was successful against the left wing and the centre of the allies ; but Lestocq, the Prussian General, having arrived on the field of battle, near the right wing of the Prus- sians which had never been engaged, marched instantly to sup- port the left wing which was giving way, and snatched the vic- tory from the hands of Davoust. Bennigsen, who was in want of ammunition, retired towards Koningsberg, leaving Bonaparte on the field of battle, which was covered with 30,000 of the French slain, and 12,000 wounded. The Russians had lost 17,000 men. After this carnage, Bonaparte announced that he had defeated the Russians, and retired behind the Passarge. Hostilities were then suspended for some months. In the month of February, negotiations for peace were re- newed. Bonaparte, who was at Osterode, sent General Bertrand to the King of Prussia at Memel, to try to detach him from Russia. When the King had declined this proposal, some de- liberation took place as to the terms of an armistice ; but the Emperor Alexander, who had also arrived at Memel, saw that this was only a mancEUvre of Bonaparte, who merely wished to gain time to repair his losses. The negotiations, accordingly, were broken off. Baron Hardenberg, who had been placed by the King of Prussia at the helm of foreign affairs, then resumed the project of Mr. Pitt, which had failed in 1805, because Count Haugwitz, the former minister, had dissuaded Frederic William from entering into the alliance. The basis of a new coalition was laid by the convention of Bartenstein, between Russia and Prussia (April 21,) in which Austria, Great Britain, Sweden and Denmark, were invited to join. The same day a conven- tion with the King of Sweden was likewise signed at Barten- stein, in consequence of which Prussia promised to send a body of troops into Pomerania. Austria was disposed to enter into this project, but before coming to a decision, she tried the scheme of mediation ; and in the month of March, new pro- posals for peace were made, which proved unsuccessful. Sup- plies were promised to Prussia by a convention signed at Lon- don (June 27,) but which a change of circumstances prevented from being ratified. While the armies continued in a kin^l of inaction, Marsha] Lefebvre pressed the siege of Dantzic. After several attempts I'KRioD IX. A. D. 1802— 1810. 499 lo blockade the place, General Kalkreuth obtained a capitulation on very honourable terms (May 24.) Neisse, Kozel and Glatz, likewise capitulated in course of the following month. These two latter places were not to be restored by the French. Hostilities recommenced in the month of June. Skirmishes were daily taking place, until the battle of Friedland decided the campaign (June 14.) General Bennigsen defeated the divisions of Lan- nes and Mortier, when the Russians, thinking the battle was gained as they no longer saw the enemy, slackened their exer- tions ; but towards the evening Bonaparte arrived on the field of battle with guides, and the corps of Marshals Ney and Vic- tor ; and taking advantage of the confusion which appeared in the Russian army, he put them completely to the rout. In consequence of this defeat, Koningsberg opened her gates to the conqueror. The Russian and Prussian armies passed the Nie- men (June 18 ;) and next day Bonaparte entered Tilsit. Meantime the Cabinet of Vienna, with whom negotiations were still carrying on to obtain their accession to the convention of Bartenstein, had sent General Stutterheim to the head-quar- ters of the two monarchs, with power to sign a defensive al- liance ; but the war had then recommenced with new vigour, There was a party in both Cabinets, and even among the allied Generals, who wished to prevent this alliance ; and this party succeeded in their designs. A Russian General appeared at Tilsit on the part of Bennigsen to negotiate an armistice, which was concluded on the spot (June 21,) without including the Prussian army. Four days after, an interview took place be- tween Alexander and Napoleon, on the invitation of the latter, who wished to exert all his address to seduce the Northern Au- tocrat from the alliance into which he had entered. This me- morable interview took place on a raft in the middle of the river Niemen. Each prince, accompanied by five generals and cour- tiers, reached the raft from the opposite bank at the same mo- ment, and embraced each other with all the appearance of per- fect cordiality. They conversed for two hours in a pavilion, and the ambitious ruler of France displayed in such glowing colours the joys of arbitrary power and unlimited dominion, and held out such an attractive prospect of the advantages which he might derive from a union of councils and co-operation, that Alexander listened with pleasure to his new adviser, and was ready to rush into a new alliance. On the same day, Field- Marshal Kalkreuth signed an armistice on the part of Prussia. The next day he had a second interview, at which the King of Prussia assisted, who, when he objected to some parts of the proposed treaty, was insulted with a hint of his not being enti- 500 CHAPTER XI. tied 10 the honour of consultation, as he had been so conipletely conquered. It was on this occasion that Bonaparte demanded that the Emperor Alexander should dismiss his minister Baron Budberg, and the king of Prussia Baron Hardenberg. The Prince Kourakin, and Count de Goltz were substituted in their place. The treaty with Russia was first signed (July 7.) The Em- peror Alexander obtained from Bonaparte the spoliation of his former ally, or according to the form which was given to it in that transaction, That the King of Prztssia should recover one half of his estates. The provinces which Prussia had obtained by the second and third division of Poland were ceded to the King of Saxony, under the title of the Dutchy of Warsaw, with the exception of the fortress of Graudentz, which remained in the possession of Prussia, and the city of Dantzic, which was to regain its independence, with the exception of the department of Bialystock which was annexed to the Russian Empire. Alex- ander acknowledged the Kings created by Bonaparte, including the King of Westphalia. He likewise acknowledged the Con- federation of the Rhine, and ceded to Bonaparte the Seignory of Jever, which he inherited from his mother. He promised to withdraw his troops from Moldavia and Wallachia ; and to make common cause with Bonaparte against England, should the lat- ter refuse to make peace by submitting to the principles of free commerce by sea. It appears, moreover, by certain secret arti- cles, that Alexander promised to surrender to Bonaparte the Bocca di Cattaro, and the isles of the Ionian Republic ; which took place in the month of August following. The peace which was signed between Russia and Bonaparte two days after (July 9,) included nearly the same stipulations. A special convention was required for executing the articles of the treaty, which related to the evacuation of the States of the King of Prussia. This was negotiated and signed at Konings- berg (July 12,) with unpardonable precipitancy, by Field-Marshal Kalkreuth, who forgot to insert certain stipulations so essential and so obvious, that it must have appeared to him superfluous to mention them. Bonaparte took advantage of these omissions to ruin the provinces which were left in possession of Prussia. It may be justly said, that the convention of Koningsberg did nearly as much mischief to Prussia as the peace of Tilsit itself. It occasioned the necessity of signing a series of subsequent con- ventions, by each of which Prussia had to submit to some new sacrifice. Some of the more important of these we shall after- wards have occasion to mention. The 'King of Sweden, who was attacked in Pome ran ia by Marshal Mortier, had concluded an armistice at Schlatkorv PERIOD IX. A. D. 1802—1810. 501 (April 18.) Gustavus Adolphus IV. projected an attack on Mar- shal Brune, while a body of 10,000 Prussians were to make a descent for blockading Colberg. To carry this project into exe- cution, he was so eager to declare against the armistice, that, on the signature of the peace of Tilsit, he found himself alone under arms, and exposing his troops to great danger. This unseason- able zeal obliged him to evacuate Stralsund and the Avhole of Pomerania (Sept. 7.) In erecting the Dutchy of Warsaw, Bonaparte had given it a constitution modelled after that of France, without paying atten- tion to the difference of manners, customs, and localities of the inhabitants. The King of Saxony was put in possession of that State ; but the new dutchy was nothing else than a province of the French Empire. The city of Dantzic was again plunged into a state of the most abject dependence ; and until the yeai 1814, it remained under the orders of a Governor-general ap- pointed by the French. The throne of Westphalia was destined by Bonaparte for his younger brother Jerome. That monarchy was composed of the greater part of those provinces ceded by the King of Prussia ; of nearly all the estates of the Elector ol Hesse and the Duke of Brunswick ; of a district belonging to the Electorate of Hanover ; of the principality of Corvey, and the county of Rittberg — containing in all about two millions of in- habitants. Only a small part of this kingdom was situated in Westphalia ; and it is not known by what chance the name of that country was selected for the new monarchy. Deputies from that kingdom were summoned to Paris, where they received from the hands of Bonaparte a constitutional charter (Nov. 15,) in the construction of which they had never once been consulted. As to the other districts which Bonaparte had taken possession of in Germany, or of which he had deprived their rightful sove- reigns, viz. the Electorate of Hanover, the principalities of Erfurt. Fulda, Baireuth, and Munster, with the counties of Catzeneln- bogen and Hanau, they were governed entirely to his own inter- est, and disposed of at his convenience. While the armies of Bonaparte were occupied in Prussia, Spain formed the resolution of shaking off the yoke which the Emperor of France had imposed upon her. Charles IV. soli- cited privately the mediation of the Emperor Alexander, to bring about a peace with England. By a proclamation of October 30th 1806, a levy of 40,000 men was ordered for the defence ot the country, without mentioning against what enemy. This imprudent step, which they had not courage to prosecute, ruined Spain. At the commencement of 1807, a French army was as- sembled in the vicinity of Bayonne. A trap was laid for Charles 502 CHAPTER XI. IV. ; and he had the misfortune to fall into it. According to a convention signed at Fountainbleau (Oct. 27,) between his pleni- potentiary and that of Bonaparte, for the partition of Portugal, that kingdom was to be divided into three lots. The most north- erly part was destined for the King of Etruria, (who was to sur- render up Tuscany to Bonaparte,) and to be called the kingdom of Northern Lusitania. The southern part, comprising Aigarves, was to form a principality for Don Manuel Godoy. The pro- vinces in the middle part were to be disposed of at the general peace, when the King of Spain was to assume the title of Em- peror of the two Americas. Immediately after the signing of this treaty, Bonaparte an- nounced to the Queen-Dowager of Etruria, who was Regent for her son Louis II., that the kingdom no longer belonged to him; and that a new destiny awaited him in Spain. In course of a few days, the French troops occupied Tuscany. Maria Louisa resigned the government, and retired to Madrid. All this took place after Bonaparte had obtained orders that the 15,000 Span iards, who were in Etruria, should^ be sent to the islands of Denmark. A decree of the French Senate, of August 18th 1807, though not published till a month after, suppressed the Tribunate, and introduced other changes, intended to extinguish all traces of the Republic. By a treaty signed at Fountainbleau, Bonaparte made over to his brother Louis, the principality of East Friesland and the territory of Jever, in lieu of the city and port of Flushing. In terms of the treaty of the 27th October, 30,000 French troops, under the command of Junot, crossed the Pyrenees in two divisions ; and took possession of Pampeluna, St. Sebastians, Figu^ras, and Barcelona. The two divisions united again at Salamanca, and being reinforced by 13,000 Spaniards, they marched upon Lisbon ; while 40,000 others assembled at Bay- onne, under the pretence of supporting their companions if it were necessary. The Prince Regent of Portugal embarked with all his treasures (Nov. 29,) and departed for Brazil. The whole of Portugal was taken possession of; and General Junot pro- claimed that the Hou:,e of Braganza had ceased to reign in Eu- rope ; but the French never executed their scheme of partition. We have already observed, what progress the Federative system of the French Empire had made in 1807, by the founda- tion of the kingdom of Westphalia and the dutchy of Warsaw, and by the occupation of Portugal ; and we shall next advert to the measures adopted during the same year by Bonaparte, for consolidating the Continental system, and by Great Britain for counteracting its effects. An order was issued by the British £KioD IX. A. D. 1802—1810. 503 Cabinet (Jan. 7,) declaring that no neutral vesse. would be per- mitted to trade with any port belonging to France or her allies, or occupied by their troops, or under their dependence. A de- cree, published at Warsaw (Jan. 25,) ordered the confiscation of all English merchandise in the Hanseatic towns, which had been occupied by the order of Bonaparte. An order of the Brit- ish Cabinet (March 11,) again prescribed a rigorous blockade of the mouths of the Elbe, the Weser, and the Ems. A declara- tion was made by Bonaparte (Oct. 14,) in presence of the foreign ambassadors at Fountainbleau, purporting that he would permit no connexion, either commercial or diplomatic, between the Continental powers and England. An order of the British Cabinet (Nov. 11,) declared, that all the ports and places in France, and the countries in alliance with them, or any other country at war with England, as well as all other ports and places in Europe where the British flag was excluded, though not actually at war with Great Britain ; and all other ports and places of the colonies belonging to her enemies, should hence forth be subjected to the same restrictions as if they were really under blockade ; and, consequently, that the vessels destined for these ports should be subjected to examination by the British cruisers ; and required to stop at a British station, and pay a duty proportioned to the value of the cargo. Another order of the British Cabinet (Nov. 25,) modified the preceding declara- tion in favour of neutral vessels, which should come to discharge either English merchandise or Colonial produce in the British ports. A decree of the 17th December, called the decree of Milan, because it was issued at that place, declared, that all ships which should be searched by a British vessel, or pay any tax whatever at the requisition of the English Government, should be denationalized, and regarded as English property ; and having thus forfeited their original and national rights, they might be lawfully captured wherever found. The same decree declared the British Isles to be in a state of blockade both by sea and land. Having thus established the Continental system, Bonaparte used every endeavour to make all the Continental Powers ac- cede to it. Prussia and Russia adhered to it, after the peace of Tilsit. Denmark soon entered into this French system. Spain acceded to it (Jan. 8,) Austria (Feb. 18, 1808,) and Sweden (Jan. 6, 1810 ;) so that, for some years, the Continent of Eu- rope had no other medium of communication with England than by way of Constantinople. There was one prince in Christen- dom, who refused his accession to the Continental system, and that was Pius VII. This sovereign Pontiff declared, that an 504 CHAPTER M. alliance which prohibited all intercourse Avith a nation from whom they had suffered no grievance, was contrary to religion. In order to punish his Holiness for this resistance, General Miol- lis had orders to occupy Rome (Feb. 2, 1808.) This was the commencement of a series of aggressions and attacks, by which Bonaparte vainly hoped to bend that great personage. To gratify his resentment, he stripped the States of the Church, by a decree issued at St. Cloud (April 2,) of the provinces of Urbino, Ancona, Macerata and Camerino, which were annexed to the kingdom of Italy. In order to add lustre to his crown, and to attach his servants to him by the ties of interest, Bonaparte resolved, not to re- store the noblesse — though there was no reason known why he should not — but to create titles of nobility which should pass m hereditary succession to their descendants. These titles were those of Princes, Dukes, Counts, Barons, and Chevaliers or Knights. They were constituted by an Imperial statute, which he transmitted to the Senate ; for the decrees of the Se- nate were seldom used, except in declaring the union of territo- ries, or ordering levies of conscripts. The spoliation of the Church appeared but a trivial violence compared with that masterpiece of intrigue and cunning by which the House of Bourbon was deprived of the throne of Spain. The second French army formed at Bayonne, passed the Pyrenees about the beginning of the year, under the com- mand of Joachim Murat, and advanced slowly as if it only waited an order to seize the capital. A popular insurrection broke out at Madrid, directed against Godoy, the Prince of Peace ; and Charles IV., who, from the commencement of his reign, had been disgusted with state affairs, abdicated the crown in favour of his son, the Prince of Asturias (March 19, 1808,) who assumed the title of Ferdinand VII. The intrigues of the Queen-mother, who was unwilling to quit the throne, and the plots concerted by Murat, soon embroiled the Royal family in disputes. The French troops entered Madrid (Mar. 23.) Ta- king advantage of the inexperience of the young monarch, they inveigled him into an interview with Bonaparte at Bayonne, where Charles IV. and his Queen, allured by promises of fa- vour and friendship, likewise presented themselves. This weak prince there retracted his abdication, and ceded his dominions over to Bonaparte by a formal treaty (May 5.) By threatening Ferdinand VII. with death, they extorted from him a similar de- claration (May 10.) Charles IV. his Queen, and the Prince of Peace were conveyed to Compeigne, and afterwards to Mar- seilles. PERIOD IX. A. D. 1S02- 1810. 505 Ferdinand VII. and his brothers were imprisoned in the cas- tle of Valencay. Bonaparte conferred the throne of Spain on his brother Joseph (June 6,) who was then King of Naples. A Spanish Junta, assembled at Bayonne, received a constitution from the hands of Napoleon. On obtaining the crown of Spain, Joseph made over the kingdom of Naples to his brother, who in his turn resigned it to Murat, by a treaty concluded at Bayonne. Murat then gave up the dutchies of Cleves and Berg. Bonaparte found himself deceived as to the character of the Spanish nation, when he supposed they would tolerate this out- rage with impunity. A tumult of the inhabitants of Madrid was quelled by Murat, who ordered his troops to fire upon the crowd (May 2,) when upwards of 1000 people lost their lives. Towards the end of the same month, a general insurrection broke out in all those parts of Spain not occupied by the enemy. This was a great annoyance to Bonaparte during the rest of his reign, and prevented him from subduing that peninsula. It served as an example and encouragement to other nations to shake off his yoke. The Portuguese rose, in imitation of their neighbours. The English sent supplies to both nations ; and it was beyond the Pyrenees that Bonaparte experienced those first disasters which were the harbingers of his downfall. One event, more remarkable for the pomp with which it was accompanied, than for the consequences which it produced, was the interview which took place at Erfurt (Sept. 27,) be- tween the Emperor Alexander and Bonaparte. What negotia- tions might have been agitated there, are not known with cer- tainty ; but publicity has been given to the measures concerted in common between Bonaparte and Alexander for making over- tures of peace to England, although they must have foreseen that the attempt would prove fruitless. From that time an in- timate friendship subsisted for two years between the Courts of Russia and France. The inconsiderate haste with which Field-Marshal Kalkreuth had concluded the convention of Koningsberg, and the defects or omissions of that act, furnished the agents of Bonaparte with numerous pretexts for oppressing the Prussian States by per- petual aggressions ; and for continuing not only to occupy the country, but to impose taxes for the service of France, without deducting- their amount from the usual contribution which that kingdom had to pay. To extricate themselves from so harassing a situation. Prince William, the King's brother, who had been sent to Paris to negotiate for the evacuation of Prussia, signed a convention there (Sept. 8,) by which the King engaged to pay, at stated terms, the sum of 140 000,000 francs. The Em 506 CHAPTER XI. peror Alexander, during the interview of Erfurt, gol this suir. reduced to one hundred and twenty millions. In consequence ot this, a new conA'ention was signed at Berlin (Nov. 3,) ac- cording to which, Stettin, Custrin, and Glogau, were to remain in the hands of the French, as security for payment of the sti- pulated sum ; the rest of the Prussian states were evacuated. Austria was on the point of entering into the fourth coalition, when the peace of Tilsit was concluded. From that moment the Cabinet of Vienna resolved to prepare for war by slow and successive operations, which might appear to be merely mea- sures of precaution ; more especially by organizing her armies on better principles, and training all the citizens to arms, by the institution of a militia called Landioehr, that they might be in condition to act on the spur of the moment. The Archduke Charles, who was appointed Generalissimo, superintended all these preparations, and succeeded in reviving the courage of the nation. Although these armaments could not escape the notice of the French agents, and although in the course of the year 1808, and especially in the beginning of the year 1809, they had several times asked for explanations on this subject, never- theless. Count Stadion who was at the head of the department for foreign affairs, and Count Metlernich the Austrian minister at Paris, dissembled so well, that Bonaparte never dreamt of war till it was on the very point of breaking out. The time chosen for this was when the French armies were occupied in Spain and Portugal- Reasons — or it may be rather said pretexts — were not want- ing to Austria ; for undoubtedly her true motive was, to raise herself from that state of abasement into which she had sunk. Violations innumerable of the peace of Presburg, the organiz- ing of the Confederation of the Rhine, the compelling her to accede to the Continental System, and the spoliation of the Bourbons in Spain, were causes more than sufficient to justify her havingf recourse to arms. The war which Austria under- took in 1809, has been called the war of the fifth coalition. It is true that Great Britain, Portugal, Spain, and the King of Sicily, were her allies ; but, with the exception of the descent which the English made on Zealand, she had to support alone the whole burden of the war. On opening the campaign, she made an appeal to the German nation, which was answered by the Kings of Bavaria, Wurtemberg, and Saxony, by a declara- tion of war. The Austrians had divided their forces into three armies ; two hundred and twenty thousand men, under the Archduke Charles, were destined to act in Germany ; the Archduke Fer- PERIOD IX. A. P. 1802—1810. 507 dinand of Este, with thirty-six thousand men, Avas to penetrate through the dutchy of Warsaw into Prussia, where he expected to be joined by the troops of that country. The Archduke John, with eighty thousand men, was to enter Italy. The campaign was opened, on the part of the Austrians, by the in- vasion of Bavaria (April 10, 1809.) Bonaparte at first beat the Archduke Louis and General Hiller, who commanded two divi- sions, at Abensberg (April 20,) and thus cut them off from the grand army under the Archduke Charles. The latter was him- self defeated at Eckmuhl and Ratisbon, three days after, and effected his retreat along the left bank of the Danube. Bona • parte then pursued Hiller, who was defeated at Ebersberg (May 3,) and retired to Krems, on the left bank of the Danube. Vi- enna in consequence was left defenceless, and surrendered by capitulation (May 13.) It was there that Bonaparte passed. the Danube, and fought with the Archduke at Eberdsorff, Aspern and Essling, two most sanguinary engagements (May 21 — 22,) in which the French lost 30,000 men. He then retired to the Isle of Lobau, where his army, cut off from provisions and supplies, passed forty-eight hours in great distress, until they had succeeded in reconstructing the bridges which the floods of the Danube had carried away. In Italy the Archduke John had defeated Eugene Beauharnais, who commanded the French army, at Sa^ile ; but being informed of the defeat at Ratisbon. he commenced his retreat, and was defeated near the Piave (May 8,) after which he retired on the Raab, where he was again defeated (June 14.) Beauharnais then joined the army of Napoleon. The Archduke Ferdinand took possession of Warsaw, and marched as far as Thorn, where he took from the Prussians one hundred pieces of cannon. But an insurrection which happened in the rear of his army, obliged him to retreat, when the Polish troops took possession of Cracow (July 14.) About the beginning of July, Bonaparte passed over to the left bank of the Rhine. The battle of Enzersdorff, where Ber- nadotte and the Saxons distinguished themselves, was bloody, but not decisive : next day (July 6,) the Archduke Charles was defeated at Wagram, and retreated in good order into Moravia. An armistice was then concluded near Znaym (July 12,) on conditions very oppressive for Austria. But the negotiations for peace were long protracted ; as both parties were waiting the result of an expedition which the English had made to Zealand ; and as Austria hoped that Prussia, and perhaps even Russia, would declare in her favour. The inhabitants of the Tyrol ; who were very much attached to the House of Austria, from whom they had been separated at 508 CHAPTER XI. the peace of Presburg, had taken up arms umler the conduct ot an innkeeper, named Hoffer. By the armistice of Znaym. Ans-- tria was compelled to abandon this brave people, whom the Bfi- varians and the French together had great difficulty in reducmg to submission. We cannot pass in silence the bold expedition made by the Duke of Brunswick, the son and heir of him who had command- ed at Jena. At the head of a body of volunteers which he had formed in Bohemia, he had entered Saxony when the armistice was concluded. Not being disposed to accede to it, he traversed the dutchy of Brunswick and the whole of Lower Saxony ; beat the Westphalian General Rewbel, who had attempted to stop his march ; and reached the mouth of the Elbe in safety, where he found transports which took him and his army on board, and conveyed them to England. An English fleet, commanded by Sir Richard Strachan, with thirty-eight thousand' troops, under the command of the Earl of Chatham, the brother of Mr. Pitt, was despatched to Zealand, with the intent of destroying the shipping, dockyards, and arse- nals at Antwerp and Flushing, and for occupying the Island of Walcheren. They landed in that Island (July 30,) of which they took possession, and made themselves masters of Flushing, after a siege of fifteen days. But Lord Chatham found it im- possible to execute his commission with regard to Antwerp, on account of the activity of Marshal Bernadotte, who had formed there an army of 35,000 men. The whole expedition was badly conducted, and in about four months Lord Chatham returned to England. The English destroyed the fortifications of Flushing, which they were unable to retain. Russia, as the ally of France, likewise took part in this war. A body of troops, commanded by Prince Galitzin, had entered into Galicia ; but it was merely a display, by which Alexander meant to fulfil an engagement that he had contracted with re- luctance. The peace between Austria and France was signed at Schoenbrunn (Oct. 14, 1809,) which regulated the territorial cessions made by the former to Bonaparte, the King of Saxony and the Emperor of Russia. The very day on which the peace was signed, Bonaparte united the territories which had been ceded to him directly into a single State, under the name of the Tllyrian Provinces, which he governed on his own separate ac- count, without annexing them to France. A decree of the Senate, of the 2d March 1809, erected the government general of the Tuscan departments into a grand dignity of the Empire, to be conferred on a Princess of the Im- perial blood, under the title of Grand Dutchess. This lady was PERIOD IX. A. D. 1802— ISIO. 509 iVTadam Eliza Bacciochi, Princess of Lucca and Piombino, who was next day decorated with the Arch-ducal title. On the same day, Napoleon ceded the Grand Dutchy of Berg to his nephew, the son of the King of Holland ; taking the government on him- self during the minority of that child. No outrage had been able to overcome the perseverance cf Pius VII. Bonaparte published a decree at Schoenbrunn (May 17,) by which the States of the Pope were annexed to the French Empire, and the city of Rome declared a free Imperial city The union of the States did take place ; but Rome had no ap- pearance of a free city. When the decree was put in execution (June 11,) the Pope published a Bull of excommunication against Bonaparte and his adherents, counsellors, and coadjutors. From that moment the venerable captive was more closely imprisoned. On the night of the 5th of July, he was forcibly removed from Rome by order of Napoleon, and transferred to Grenoble, and thence to Savona, where he was detained three years under rigorous supervision. The year 1809 proved disastrous for the French arms by sea. The captain of an English vessel, and Marques, a Portuguese colonel, took possession of the Island of Cayenne and French Guiana (Jan. 12.) Lieutenant-General Beckwith and Rear-Ad- miral Cochrane took Martinico by capitulation (Feb. 12.) Ad- miral Gambier and Lord Cochrane destroyed a French fleet, commanded by the Vice- Admirals Villaumez and L'Allemand (April 11,) in Basque Roads, by means of Congreve rockets. The French fort of Senegal fell into the hands of the English in the month of June following. General Carmichael, and a body of Spaniards who had arrived from Portorico, expelled the French from St. Domingo (July 7.) Admiral Collingwood and General Oswald took possession of the Ionian Islands (Oct. 8.) Bonaparte had now arrived at the summit of his grandeur, but Providence had denied him a family by his wife Josephine Tascher de la Pagerie. With the consent of both parties, a de- cree of the Senate pronounced the dissolution of that marriage (Dec. 16 ;) which the ecclesiastical court of Paris confirmed. Another decree of the Senate (Feb. 17, 1810,) conferred on the eldest son of the French Emperor the title of King of Rome ; and ordained, that the Emperor of the French should be crowned a second time at Rome within the ten first years of his reign. Bonaparte soon after (April 1,) espoused the Arch-dutchess Ma- ria Louisa, eldest daughter of the Emperor of Austria. By a treaty of peace concluded at Paris, between Bonaparte and Charles XIII. of Sweden, this laiter prince regained posses- sion of Swedish Pomerania on condition of accedmg to the Con 510 CHAPTER XI. titiental system, though under certain modifications. Had Charles executed this engagement, his kingdom would have been ruined beyond resource. The part of the Hanoverian States belonging to the King of England which Bonaparte had still reserved in his own possession, was ceded by a treaty concluded at Paris (Jan. 14,) to his brother Jerome, to be incorporated with the kingdom of Westphalia. Besides the dutchy of Lauenberg, Bonaparte reserved to himself a landed revenue of four millions five hundred and fifty-nine thousand francs, for bestowing in legacies and endowments. Louis Bonaparte had reluctantly accepted the crown of Hol- land ; but from the moment he had placed it on his head, he de- voted himself to the interests of the country ; and resisted, as far as prudence would allow, the arbitrary orders of his brother, when he judged them prejudicial to the welfare of Holland. This gave rise to frequent broils, accompanied sometimes with threats. Bonaparte reproached the Dutch Government, more especially for not earnestly and rigorously enforcing the Con- tinental system, so pernicious to their commerce. At the be- ginning of the year ISIO, things had come to such a state, that it Avas expected Napoleon would cancel the kingdom of Holland from the list of European States. To avert this calamity, Louis signed a treaty at Paris (March 16,) by which a body of 12,000 Dutch and 6000 French were to be stationed at the mouths oi all the rivers, to protect the French revenue-officers who were superintending the execution of Bonaparte's orders. Louis ceded to him Dutch Brabant, Zealand, and a part of Gueldres. of which the Waal was henceforth to form the frontier. In vain did that excellent man hope, by so great a sacrifice, to repur- chase the independence of his kingdom. Under pretext of cer- tain insults which the French agents had received at the hands of this exasperated people, Bonaparte sent a French army to occupy the whole country. Then Louis resigned a crown which he could no longer wear with honour ; he abdicated in favour of his son (July 3.) But Napoleon, indignant at a mea- sure on which he had not been consulted, annexed the kingdom of Holland to the French Empire, by a decree dated at Ram- bouillet (July 9.) Some months afterwards, the Republic of Valais, which, since the year 1802, had formed an independent State, was united to the iFrench Empire by a decree of Bonaparte (Nov. 12.) But the most important of his usurpations in 1810, and that which was instrumental in working his downfall, w«s the union of the Hanseatic countries situated on the coasts of the North Sea, viz. certain districts of Westphalia, and the Grand Dutchy of Berg PERIOD IX. A. D. 1S02— 1810. 511 some possessions of the princes of Salm-Salm, and Salm-Kyr- burg, part of the dutchy of Oldenburg, the free cities of Brerien and Hamburg, as well as the city of Lubec and the dutchy of Lauenburg. By a decree of the Senate (Dec. 13,) these places were declared united to France ; the necessity of which Bona- parte had stated in a message addressed to these pliant and sub- missive bodies. France still retained possession of Guadaloupe, the Isle ol Bourbon, and the Mauritius. The year 1810, in which the greatness of Bonaparte in Europe reached its summit, deprived him of these possessions. General Beckwith and Admiral Cochrane, attacked and seized Guadaloupe. An expedition sent by Lord Minto, the English Governor-General in India and a thousand men from the Cape, reduced the Isle of Bour- bon (July 7,) and that of the Mauritius some months after. It will now be necessary to point out some of the modifica- tions which the Continental system underwent. The English had shown some disposition to put an end to that unnatural state of commerce which preceding measures had established. They first modified the Orders of 1807 regarding America; so that the Americans were permitted, under certain conditions, to carry on trade in all ports subject to French influence, which were not actually under blockade ; and the law of blockade was even restricted to the ports of Holland and France, and those of the northern part of Italy, between Pesaro and Orbitello. The clause in the decree of 11th November, relative to the payment of a compulsory duty in England, was abolished. A new era in the Continental system began with a decree ol Bonaparte (Aug. 7,) known by the name of The Decree or Tariff of Trianon. A second, by way of supplement, was issued from St. Cloud (Sept. 12.) Making a distinction between the trade and the produce of the colonies ; and availing himself o) the universal custom which had rendered the latter among the necessaries of life, he resolved to take advantage of this cir- cumstance to replenish his treasury, by permitting their impor- tation on paying an ad valorem duty of 50 per cent. A third decree, signed at Fontainbleau, ordered all English merchandise, found in France or her dependencies, to be seized and burnt. At that time, France, Switzerland, Italy, and Germany, were covered with bonfires, which destroyed the property of native merchants, and opened a new prospect for English manufactures one day to replace the articles that wore thus wantonly consumed. We shall now give a short outline of the most remarkable events that took place in the rest of Europe, during this period of French preponderance. 512 CHAPTER XI. For more than six years Portugal, by means of the pecuniary sacrifices v/hich she had made to the French crown, had main- tauied her neutraUt)^ between France and England. But as she had betrayed her predilection for England during the Prussian war, her ruin was determined on ; and as she could no longer conceal from herself the danger of her position, the Prince Ke- peni entered into a strict alliance with Great Britain, by a con- vention signed at London (Oct. 22, 1807.) General Junot had uiken possession of the country after the Royal family had em- barked for Brazil ; and solemnly declared, that the House cf Braganza had ceased to reign in Europe (Feb. 1, 1808.) Fol- lowing the example of the Spaniards, the Portuguese soon shook off the yoke of the oppressor. The city of Oporto gave the first signal of insurrection (June 6 ;) an English army, commanded by Sir Arthur Wellesley, landed in Mondego Bay (July 31,) and defeated Junot at Vimeiro (Aug. 21.) The French General, whose army was reduced to a most distressing state, obtained from General Dalrymple, who had taken the command of the English troops, a capitulation on very honourable terms, which was concluded at Cintra (Aug. 30.) Junot, and his troops, were conveyed to France in English vessels. The Russian Admiral Siniawin was not so fortunate. He was then lying in the Tagus with a fleet of nine ships of the line, and a frigate, which had been employed in the war against the Turks in the Archipelago, and found himself under the ne- cessity of surrendering his fleet to Sir Charles Cotton the Eng- lish Admiral (Sept. 3,) which was not to be restored to the Em- peror until the conclusion of a pacific treaty between Russia and Great Britain. The convention of Cintra, of which the true circumstances are not well known, excited so great a discontent in England, that Sir Heu Dalrymple and Sir Arthur Wellesley were called home, that an investigation might be made into this unpopular measure. During their absence, and after the affair of Corunna, Soult received orders to attempt the conquest of Portugal, where there were not more than 8000 English troops, under the command of General Craddock, and an army of the natives. At the head of 23,000 men he marched towards Chaves, and took possession of that place (March 7,) which is one of the frontier fortresses of the kingdom. But on his arrival at Oporto he encountered the Portuguese army, who for three days disputed with him the possession of the place. Here he remained a full month before he durst proceed on his march. Meantime General Wellesley had landed at Lisbon with a new English army. He manceu- vred so well that by the end of May, Soult was obliged to retire PERIOD IX. A. D. 1802—1810. 513 into Galicia, with the loss of his artillery and baggage. NexJ yeai the French sent a third expedition to Portugal, but as this belongs more properly to the war in Spain, we shall take occa- sion to notice it afterwards. After the retreat of Soult, the Por- tuguese acted a considerable part in the liberation of Euroj)e General Wellesley, who was intrusted with very extensive powers, organized their army, and augmented it to 40,000 m'^n, wiih the assistance of 600,000^. Sterling, which England fur nished for that purpose. The connexion between Great Britain and Portugal, became stiU more intimate by the treaty of alliance which was conclu- ded at Rio Janeiro (Feb. 19, 1811.) George III. there promised never to recognise any King of Portugal but the heir and legiti- mate representative of the House of Braganza. The Regent granted Britain the right of building ships of war in Brazil, and of supplying themselves with timber for the purpose from the forests of that country ; and by abrogating certain former stipu- lations, he agreed to receive into his ports as many British ves- sels as chose to enter. The Regent likewise promised to co- operate with England for the abolition of the Slave Trade ; and this is the first example of a stipulation of the kind. Together with this treaty there was also concluded a treaty of commerce, Towards the end of 1810 Portugal became the theatre of war, as we shall observe when we come to speak of Spain. Charles IV. King of Spain, had flattered himself that by sub- >nitting to the payment of subsidies to France, according to the treaty of October 30, 1803, he would be exempted from the ne- cessity of taking part in the war which had broken out between Bonaparte and England ; and it was on the faith of this that the latter power had commenced hostilities. Four Spanish ships returning to Europe, loaded with treasures and valuable merchandise from South America, were seized off Cape St. Mary (Oct. 5, 1804,) by an English squadron. After that act of hostility, which, but for the negotiation that had preceded it, might have been regarded as a violation of the law of nations, Charles IV. declared war against England (Dec. 12 ;) and the following year he had the mortification to see his marine totally destroyed by the battle of Trafalgar, which Admiral Nelson gained over the combined fleets of Gravina and Villeneuve. In 1806 the English made an attempt to get possession of the Spanish colony of Buenos Ayres. The expedition sailed from St. Helena under the command of Admiral Sir Home Popham. The troops were commanded by General Beresford. Buenos Ayres capitulated on the 2d July ; there the English found m> mei-ous treasures which were transported to Europe ; but t.n 3a 514 CHAPTER XI. insurrection of the inhabitants, headed by a Spaniard named Pueridon, and Liniers a native of France, obliged General Beres- ford to surrender himself and his troops prisoners of war (Aug;. 12. ^ Admiral Popham took possession of Maldonado (Oct. 29,} where he remained in expectation of the supplies which he ex- pected to come from England. General Auchmuty landed at Maldonado in the beginning of the following year, and took ihe town of Monte Video by assault (Feb. 2.) New reinforcements having arrived from England, General Whitelocke again attack- ed Buenos Ayres, and penetrated into the town (July 5 ;) but Liniers, at the head of the Spaniards, made so able a defence, that the English General signed a capitulation, by which he ob- tained the restitution of all British prisoners ; and the English promised to evacuate Monte Video within the space of two months. Charles IV. and his minister, during the war with Prussia, had shown a desire to shake off the yoke of Bonaparte. By signing at Fontainbleau the partition of Portugal, they opened a way for the French armies into Spain, who took possession of St. Sebastian, Pampeluna, Figueras, and Barcelona ; and were even masters of Madrid while one part of the Spanish army were occupied in Portugal, and the other in Denmark. The con- sequences of these imprudences were, the overturning of Spain, and the dethronement of the House of Bourbon, as we have noticed above. When the Spaniards rose in rebellion against the royal intru- der, they formed themselves into Juntas, or directorial commit- tees, in every province. That of Seville, which was composed of enterprising men, took the lead in the insurrection, declared war against Bonaparte in the name of Ferdinand VII., and con- cluded an armistice with England. Their authority was not acknowledged by the Provincial Juntas, each of which had set on foot an army of their own. All these armies engaged the French troops wherever they met them, and were very often vanquished. The insurrection did not come to a head till after the battle of Baylen (July 20, 1808,) where 14,000 French troops, under Generals Dupont and Vidai, laid down their arms. Castanos, to whom this success was owing, was then appointed Generalissimo ; and the Junta organized a Regency, at the head of which they placed the old Cardinal de Bourbon. There were two other events which greatly encouraged the Spaniards; the one was the expulsion of Le Febvre from Saragossa by General Palafox, and the other the arrival of the Marquis de la Romana at Corunna with 7000 men, who had been conveyed to the is- land of Funen for invading Sweden, but had embarked, m <«pile of the French, to come to the assistance of their country PERIOD IX. A. D. 1802—1810. 515 Joseph Bonaparte having abandoned Madrid and retired to Burgos (Aug. 1,) a Central Junta was established at Aranjuez. This Junta raised three armies : that of the North, under Blake and Romana ; that of the Centre, under Castanos ; and that of Arragon, under Palafox. Immediately after the interview at Erfurt, Bonaparte placed himself at the head of his army, which had been increased to 180,000 men ; and after gaining several advantages over the enemy, he sent back his brother Joseph to Madrid. Meantime, two divisions of the English army having arrived, the one from Lisbon, and the other from Corunna, they formed a junction in the province of Leon, under the command of Sir John Moore. Bonaparte marched against them, but they thought it prudent to retire. Having arrived at Astorga, he re- ceived intelligence of the preparations of the Austrians, when he set out for Paris, leaving the command of the army to Soult, who obliged the English to embark at Corunna, after a severe engagement in which Sir John Moore lost his life. A treaty of peace and alliance was signed at London between England and the Supreme Junta, acting in the name of Ferdinand VII. (Jan. 14, 1809.) England sent into Portugal a new army, under the command of Sir A. Wellesley. The second siege of Saragossa, which was undertaken first by Junot, and continued by Lannes, vas one of the most extraordinary events in modern war. The garrison, commanded by Palafox, and the inhabitants of the place who were completely devoted to him, performed prodigies of valour. When the French took the city (Feb. 21,) it presented nothing but a mass of ruins. It was calculated that above 100,000 men perished in that siege. Marshal Victor defeated Cuesta at Medellin (March 28,) and Suchet defeated General Blake at Belchite (June 16 :) but Soult, «vho had penetrated into Portugal, was repulsed by Wellesley; who fought the bloody battle of Talavera with Marshals Jourdan and Victor, which turned to the disadvantage of the French. The misconduct of the army of Cuesta, which had been con- joined with that of Wellesley in this battle, determined the latter henceforth to carry on a defensive war with the English and Portuguese alone ; and to leave to the Spaniards the care of occupying the French, by harassing their troops incessantly, destroying their convoys and magazines, and surprising their entrenchments. The battle of Ocana (Nov. 19,) which Cuesta fought with General Mortier and lost, was the last pitched bat- tle which the Spaniards fought. From that time they confined themselves to a Guerilla warfare, by which they did infinite damage to the enemy In 1809, the Central Junta retired to Seville. Towards the 516 CHAPTER XI. end of the year, they were replaced by an Executive Directory of nine members ; and next year these were superseded in their turn by a Regency of five members, which was established at Cadiz. An assembly of the Cortes was summoned to meet there, the members of which were nominated, not by the clergy, the nobility, and the cities, which composed the legitimate States of Spain, but by the great body of the inhabitants. That assem- bly, who could do no more for the defence of their country, em- ployed themselves in establishing a democratic constitution in Spain, destroying by degrees all the institutions of the monarchy. Soult, who was commander-in-chief of the army of the South, conquered the whole of Andalusia in 1810, with the exception of Cadiz, which Victor had in vain attempted to besiege. The principal efforts of the French were then turned towards Portu- gal ; and on this occasion Massena was ordered to undertake the reduction of that country, at the head of 70,000 men. Junot laid siege to Ciudad Rodrigo, which surrendered after a vigorous defence (July 10.) Almeida was likewise obliged to capitulate a few weeks after (August 27.) These conquests were made, without any apparent wish on the part of the English commander, recently created Lord Wellington, to prevent them. He had then begun to carry into execution the plan of defensive warfare which he had conceived after the battle of Talavera. In the spring he was stationed on the Coa, and began to retreat after the fall of Ciudad Rodrigo ; nor did he stop till he had reached Torres Vedras. Four months were employed in effecting this slow tetrograde march. Massena followed him every step, suf- fering from continual fatigue and daily skirmishes ; and strug- gling against famine, as the English army had destroyed every thing that lay in their way. Towards the end of October, Lord Wellington took up an impregnable position, where for four months the French General found all his manoeuvres unsuccess- ful Lord Wellington took advantage of this interval to secure considerable reinforcements which arrived from Lisbon. He was thus prepared to fall upon his adversary, when the impossibility of subsisting longer in an exhausted country should at length compel him to retreat. When giving a summary of the history of France, we spoke of the renewal of hostilities between Bonaparte and Great Britain in 1803, as well as of the part which the latter took in the Con- tinental wars of 1805, 1807, and 1809. The efforts which she had made to support these expenses, added a frightful increase to her national debt ; but the constantly increasing progress of her commerce furnished her with the means of meeting this enormous expenditure In vain had Bonanarte expected to rain FERior IX. A. D. 1S02— 1810. 517 the industry of England by the Continental system. In the Flench, Spanish, and Dutch colonies which she conquered, she found new channels to supply the place of those which were shut against her on the Continent of Europe. The Empire of the sea still remained in the possession of the British; and. in 1807, they annihilated the marine of Denmark, the only king- dom which then retained any maritime power. But of this cir- cumstance we shall speak hereafter. The year 1806 is remarkable for the abolition of the slave trade in the English colonies. Since 1785, the Blacks had found zealous advocates in the British Parliament, amongst whom Fox, Wilberforce, and Pitt, were the most distinguished. But the British Government, too sagacious to enter precipitately into a measure which might endanger the fortune of the planters, and even the tranquillity of the colonies, wished first to consult ex- perience on the subject, and to leave the proprietors time to pre- pare themselves for a different order of things. For twenty years they had refused to adopt the bill which Mr. Wilberforce regularly laid before the Parliament, to demand restrictive laws against the trade. It was not until Mr. Fox and Lord Grenville entered into the ministry, that this question occupied their serious deliberations. An Act of Parliament, ratified by the King (May 16, 1806,) forbade the exportation of slaves from the English colonies, and conveying them into foreign colonies. A Bill of the 6th February 1807, which was ratified by the King on the 17th March following, enacted, that the slave trade should ac- tually cease from the date of May 1st ensuing ; providing, how- ever, that vessels already departed rn the trade should be allowed to import slaves into the West Indies until the 1st January 1808 Of all the countries which were brought under the yoke of Napoleon, the most unfortunate without dispute was Holland. Her commerce, the only resource of her numerous inhabitants, was annihilated by the Continental system ; her finances were in such a state of disorder, that, in spite of all their economy, the annual deficit was regularly about twenty millions of flo- rins : her inhabitants were harassed as much by the soldiers of Bonaparte as by his revenue officers ; and as if nature, in con- cert with political oppression, had conspired her ruin, her soil was laid waste, and her industry destroyed by periodical inun dations, fires, and other calamities. Such is the picture which that wretched country presented up to the moment when Bona- parte extinguished the feeble remains of independence which it enjoyed. After various alterations, that Republic obtained a constitution similar to that which had existed in France since 1804. M. Schimmelpennink was placed at the head of the go 518 CHAPTER XI. vemment (April 1805,) under the title of Grand Pensionary, and vested with such powers as the last Stadtholders had never exercised, even after the revolution of 1788. We have already observed how this power, together with the Royal title, were rendered hereditary in favour of Louis Bonaparte ; and how the Dutch monarchy vanished at the fiat of Napoleon. Switzerland, with the exception of some partial commotions which are scarcely worthy of remark, had remained tranquil under the system of government which Bonaparte had pre- scribed in the act of mediation (Feb. 19, 1803.) The Conti- nental System, and the prohibition laid on the greater part ol Swiss commodities in France, paralyzed their industry and their commer(;e ; and caused many of the inhabitants to emi grate, who for the most part directed their course towards North America. A treaty which General Ney ha. 1815, to the Revolution in Poland, A. D. 1830. France had undergone a complete change since the Revolu- tion, which the Bourbons, on their return could not understand. Their unfitness to reign over this people, was immediately per- ceived, and gave rise to a prevalent saying, that '* the Bourbons, in their misfortunes, had learned nothing, and had forgotten nothing.'* The open acknowledgment, made by Louis XVIII., that he owed his throne to the Prince Regent of England, was a dis- honor, and a source of deep mortification, to the pride of France ; and the country was farther humiliated, by the presence of the Allied troops, occupying two-thirds of its territory to enforce tranquillity. By the treaty of Paris,* concluded November 20th, 1815, be- tween Louis XVIII. and the three Allied powers, France was to pay 700 million francs, give up seventeen citadels for a pe- riod of three to five years, and support one hundred and fifty thousand foreign troops, within her territories ; besides satisfy- ing all public and private claims, to the countries belonging to the Allied sovereigns, and restoring the productions in the arts, and the treasures of literature, with which as spoils, Napoleon had enriched the capital. This last requisition was enforced, while the Allied troops were in possession of Paris. Richlieu, the new minister, signed this treaty in September, 1815, which occasioned great dissatisfaction to the French na- tion. The King opened the new chamber, November, 4, 1816, with a speech which disclosed the unfavorable condition of France. February 5, 1817. The liberals and independents obtained the law of election ; and, on March 6, 1818, the recruiting law ; but were not successful in their attacks on the laws of excep- tion, which prevented the complete operation of the charter. The machinations of the ultras, led to troubles in Grenoble, In * See pages 28*9 oaa 289, vol. ii. 582 CUAPTER XIII. 1816, and in Lyons 1817. July, 1818, their intrigues were discovered, which were nothing less than to engage the Allies to assist them in abolishing the charter. The ministry then inclined towards the liberals, and national party. A loan of 24 millions was required to effect the evacuation of the Allied troops stationed in France, in the autumn of 1818, which was deter- mined upon by the congress of Aix-la-Chapelle, October 9, 1818 ; and for the payment of foreign claims for the expenses of the war, and claims of individuals. Here was a successful exhibition of French diplomacy : in these settlements, in the matter of liquidations, the payment of the debt acknowledged by the treaty of 1815, reduced from 1600 to 1390 millions was postponed till the year 1818 — when, in payment of these 1390 millions, a rent of 16,040,000 francs, equivalent to a capital of 275 million francs, was accepted. This was about a seventh part of the lawful claim ; and a rent of three millions was grant- ed, in a separate article, to satisfy the claims of British subjects. The remaining 280 millions were farther reduced at Aix-la-Cha- pelle, to 265 million francs. November 12. France was admitted into the Quadruple alii ance of the great European powers. The prime minister. Rich- lieu, declared himself against the existing mode of election, and against the operation of the constitutional system, which led to a division in the ministry, when in December, Decazes was vie- torious over the ultras, in the law of election, and liberal princi- ples. A new ministry was named by Louis XVIIL the third since 1815. The Marquis Dessoles was made president of the ministerial council, which was overthrown, Nov. 19, 1819 ; Des- soles, St. Cyr and Louis, the defenders of the charter, resigned. Decazes now became prime minister. In the controversy res- pecting the construction of the charter and the censorship of the press, Benjamin Constant, Comte, and Dunoyer, were writers for the liberals ; Chateaubriand, Bonald, and Fievee for the ultras. The session from 1819 to 1820, was one of continued conflict of the most violent kind; the influence of the royalists succeed- ed in excluding Gregoire from the chamber : Decazes, presi- dent of the ministry, attempted to follow a moderate course, by several judicious bills. In the midst of these agitations, Febru- ary 13, 1820, the Duke of Berry was assassinated. A new law of election, and two of exception were lost, and Decazes resign- ed. A fifth ministry, with Richlieu as president was formed, Feb. 20, 1820, The royalists gradually increased their powei and influence, mainly indebted after 1822, to the talents of Villele. A. D. 1815 1830. FRANCE. 583 Attempts were made for continuing restrictions of the press, till the close of the session of 1826, and to impose further rep. irictions, which met with decided opposition, and ended in the resignation of the ministry, December 17, 1821, when a sixth Ministry was formed in which ultra-royalism was triumphant. The censorship of the press ceased February 5, 1822. A conspiracy in favor of young Napoleon, was discovered in 1821, and the following year several revolts were projected in different garrisons. Villele, minister of finance, displayed great adroitness in the management of affairs, and was appoint- ed president of the ministry, having great influence over public opinion. The ultras were dissatisfied with his moderation ; he is represented to have perfectly seen that France could no longer be governed by an absolute monarchy. The most important events of the session of 1822, were relative to the new tariff, and the foreign policy in regard to Greece and Spain. The liberal party were defeated on the great question, whether France should by force suppress democratic principles in Spain On the 28th January, 1823, the King announced in the opening of the session, the march of an army of 100,000 French troops for Spain. This expedition evinced the determination of the fanatic party, to put down liberal principles, and restore Ferdi- nand to despotic power. In this attempt, they were but too suc- cessful. A Loan of 100 millions was required for the extraordinary expenses of 1823. The Spanish campaign of six months tended to strengthen legitimacy, and cost France 207,827,000 francs. In 1824, the estimate of expenditure amounted to 900 mil- lions. This was owing to the payment by government of the clergy, now become dependent upon the state. The greatest efforts were now made by the ecclesiastics, to regain for the church its former splendor, in spite of the feelings and habits of the people. They wielded their immense power, in the most arbitrary and bigoted manner ; but with all their zeal, were un- able to check the diffusion of knowledge — and so far from re- tarding the march of liberty, they hastened the overthrow of despotism and bigotry, and eventually brought on their own downfall. Louis XVIII. died September 16, and was succeeded by his brother, Charles X. We have now hastily sketched the events during the reign of Louis XV III., enough to show the temper of the French people, and the obnoxious measures which tended to bring about a new revolution in France. Charles X. commenced his reign by a declaration of his inten- 584 CHAPTER XIII. tions of confirming the charter. He appointed as a member of the ministerial council, the Duke d'Angouleme, and suppressed the censorship of the journals, Sept. 29. Appointed the Count de Clermont-Tonnere, minister of war. Villele gained the con- fidence of the King, by his prudent measures, while Chateau, briand proved, in the Journal des Debats, (his paper,) a power- ful and eloquent opponent. In the session of 1825, Villele was triumphant : a bill granting 1,000,000,000 francs in rents, as an indemnification to the emigrants, proved a source of great dis- satisfaction to the nation, which became opposed to the course now pursued. The civil list of the King was established at 25,000,000 francs, annually, for life, and that of the royal fami- ly at 7,000,000. On the 29th May, the splendid coronation of Charles X. took place at Rheims, at which time he took the oath to govern according to the charter. In the session of 1826, thirty-one new peers were created to strengthen the ministry. In August, 1824, General Lafayette landed in New York, upon an invitation of James Monroe, President of the United States, and was received with the warmest expressions of grati- tude, a nation could bestow ; and passed through the twenty, four states of the union, with more them the splendor of a tri- umphal procession. He sailed hence, in the Brandywine, a United States ship, September 7, 1825, and arrived at Havre, where every demonstration of attachment and respect was shown him. The following particulars respecting the " Nation's Guest," on his return to France, in 1825, cannot fail to be interesting. It shows that the affectionate and enthusiastic welcome of him by his countrymen, on his return to France, and portrays the sullen hatred of the Bourbons to every thing that partook of liberty. At Rouen, the " Guest of the American people," the veteran defender of liberty in the two hemispheres, was honor- ed with a public dinner, accompanied by his family and friends. In the evening, a great concourse of citizens, among whom were many females, repaired to the house of M. Cabanon, where Lafayette appeared on the balcony, and the greatest tranquillity reigned. Notwithstanding the crowd, a serenade, given to the General, was heard with perfect silence. At this juncture there arrived, from two opposite directions, a detachment of the guard royal, and a detacliment of gendarmes. The former conduct- ed itself with moderation ; the latter proceeded to disperse the peaceable citizens, whose meeting had occasioned no distur- bance, and made a charge upon the populace, treating them as rioters ; when many were thrown down and murdered ; and the whole assembly was put to flight, by the sabres and bayonets of the gendarmes ; and by them many were arrested. To justify A. D. 1815 1830. FRANCE. 585 this proceeding, the Prefect at Rouen issued, in a public journal, a note, in which he said, " That the citizens groaned to see the tranquilhty menaced by the presence of a man whose sad celeb- rity connects itself with the most disastrous period of the Revo- lution !" On the return of Lafayette to La Grange, the villagers united in a public festival on the occasion; and addresses were pre- sented although the government took every opportunity to pre- vent any demonstration of respect being shown to him. Not less than 6,000 persons assembled on this joyous occasion, to commemorate the return of him, wiiom they designated the "American Nation's (luest." The Jesuits commenced prosecutions against two of the libe- ral papers. This led to much hostility between the liberals and the royalists ; and soon after, a law against the Jesuits was at- tempted to be passed, and the liberty of the press was carried, April 27, 1827. The national guards of Paris, 45,000 in num. ber, were disbanded, a. measure highly obnoxious to the people. This was followed by a rigorous censorship of the press, (June 24, 1827,) which tended still more to irritate the state of public feeling against the ministry. The papers of the opposition fre- quently appeared with whole columns blank. A war commenced this year with Algiers, said to have arisen from a controversy respecting a debt lor corn, purchased for the French government in 1739. The ministry dissolved the cham- ber which had still three years to run. In the new chamber, a majority was gained by the liberals ; out of 8,000 votes in Paris, only 1114 were on the ministerial side; the same decided result took place in the different depart/nents. This occasioned great joy in Paris, and led to some disasters : about fifty persons were killed by the gendarmes. By an ordinance of November 5, 1827, seventy-six new peers were created. Of these scarcely any, Soult excepted, were entitled by services, to the honor. Three others were added, Jan. 4. 1828 — these were Villele, Peyronnet, and Corbiere. On opening the session, February 5, 1828, Charles X. con- gratulated the nation on the occasion of the victory of Navari- no. In 1828, the French troops rc'urned from Spain ; and in August, (shortly afterwards,) an expedition was fitted out for the delivery of Greece from Turkish thraldom. The command of the expedition was given to General Maison. The numbe? of troops amounted to 14,000. {See Revolution in Greece.) The appointments announced, August 9, 1829, were the foi. lowing : Prince Jules de Polignac, minister of foreign affairs ; M. Courvoisier, keeper of the seals, and minister \i( justice ; 586 CHAPTER XIII. Count Bourmont, minister of war ; Admiral Rigny, minister of marine ; Count de la Bourdonnaye, minister of the interior ; Baron de Montbel, minister of ecclesiastical affairs and public instruction ; Count Chabrol de Crousol, minister of finance. Admiral Pugny declined the offered port folio, which was given to M. d'Haussez, Prefect of the Gironde. This was an ultra- royalist ministry. Bourmont had been a soldier under Napo- leon, declared for Louis XVIII. — again took office under Napo- ieon, and deserted him at the battle of Waterloo, fled to the Bourbons at Ghent, was elevated to the peerage, and entrusted with the command of the army of occupation in Spain, after the return of the Duke d'Angouleme. Prince Polignac was one of the old royalists, and was early attached to Charles X. He, with his brothers Armand, was implicated in Pichegru's conspiracy, and received the pardon of Napoleon. Since 1823, he had been ambassador at the British court, and his elevation was said to have been through Eng- lish influence, more especially that of the Duke of Wellington. He professed a great fondness for England ; but however this may be, certain it is, he was no favorite with the French peo- ple. The minister of the interior. La Bourdonnaye, had distin- guished himself for his violence, and active measures for the ul- tras. No sooner was the ministry formed, than La Bourdonnaye was disposed to dissolve the chamber, as Villele had done to secure a majority ; trusting for success, to the activity of the royalists, and the aid of the clergy. When this hazardous proposition was rejected. La Bourdonnaye resigned, and Polig- nac was made president of the ministerial council. Baron Mont- bel was transferred to the department of the interior, and Count G. de Rainville was made minister of ecclesiastical affairs. An ordinance to this effect was issued on the 17th November, 1829. Such was the organization of the ministry at the end of that year. The efforts of the Bourbons to build up aristocracy and abso- lute monarchy, had failed — their measures having had an oppo- site effect ; and the poverty of the nobles having impaired their former influence, they now followed instead of leading the nation. The French were now too much enlightened to suffer them- selves to be deprived of their privileges. The country was, at this time, in a state of prosperity. The struggle that followed, was for the protection of their liberties, and not the result of suffering and want. This noble regard for the cause of free- dom, gave new glory to France, and to liberty, a fresh impulse throughout the world. 1830, March 2. The speech from the throne announced that A. L. 1815—1830. FRAKCE. 587 war nad been commenced with Algiers, and ended with thesp words : " Peers of France, deputies of the departments, I do not doubt your co-operation in the good I desire to do. You will repel, with contempt, the perfidious insinuations which ma- levolence is busy in propagating. If guilty intrigues should throw any obstacles in the way of my government, which I can- not and will not anticipate, I should find force to overcome them, in my resolution to preserve the public peace ; in the confidence I have in the French nation, and in the love which they have always evinced for their kings." As soon as this speech was made public, the funds fell, and the ministers had a decided majority opposed to them in the chamber of deputies. Royer-CoUard was re-elected president. On the 18th, a deputation of the chamber presented an answer to the King's speech. This address respectfully but frankly informed him, " That a concurrence did not exist between the views of the government, and the wishes of the nation ; that the administration was actuated by a distrust of the nation ; and tha» the nation, on the other hand, was agitated with apprehension^, which would become fatal to its prosperity and repose." " Sire, (continued the address,) France does not wish for anarchy, any more than you wish for despotism." This was a firm and pru- dent warning here given to the King ; who, in reply expressed his regret, that the concurrence which he had a right to expect from the deputies, did not exist. He declared his resolutions were fixed, and that the ministers would make known his inten- tions. The answer of the peers to the King's speech, on the 10th, was a mere echo of the same. Chateaubriand made a bold attack on the ministers. Both chambers were convoked for the 19th, when they were declared to be prorogued to the 1st of September of the same year — a measure that was immediately productive of great public excitement throughout France. Roy- alists and Jesuits blindly exulted in this measure ; while the liberal journals increased their activity, and boldly predicted the course of events that speedily followed. Prince Polignac and the ministry were contemned for their imbecility. In Paris, a society furnished the printing of journals, where they were destitute through the efforts of the government ; and in Brittany an association was formed, determined to refuse the payment of taxes, not regularly granted by the chamber of deputies. But it is now time to turn to the war with Algiers, a city that had long been the seat of the most extensive piracy. The main object, however, of the ministry in prosecuting this war, was evidently popularity. Knowing the inordinate fondness of the nation for military- glory, it was anticipated that the subjugation 588 CHAPTEE XIII. of Algiers would establish Charles X. and his ministry in the affections of the people, and secure a favorable majority in the chamber. In this hope they were disappointed ; for though the success of the army was announced during the election, it did not silence the opposition : a strong majority being elected. The army, commanded by Count Bourmont, consisting of 37,577 infantry, and 4,000 horse, embarked on the 10th of May, at Toulon. The fleet consisted of 97 vessels, of which eleven were ships of the line, and 24 frigates. On the 14th of June, the army began to disembark at Sidi Ferrajh, on the African COEist ; and on the 5th of the following month, Algiers surren- dered. This event was made known in Paris on the 9th of July, by a telegraphic despatch. The treasure found in Algiers amounted to 90,000,000* of francs in money, and 10,000,000 f in gold and silver bullion and plate ; besides about 25,000,000 :j. not in the inventory, stated subsequently in the Journal du Commerce, to be 43,000,000 francs. Having given very briefly the successful issue of the French arms, over barbarism in Africa, we now return to our narrativ*> of the events in France. The success attendant on the French arms in Africa, occa- sioned great exultation in France ; but it did not divert the pub- lic from struggling for their liberty, against a detested ministry. The chamber was dissolved on the 17th of May, by a royal ordinance, and new elections ordered ; and the two chambers convoked for August 3d. The elections for the new chamber took place in June and July. The opposition displayed great activity and talents, in this momentous struggle ; and it was soon seen, by men of intel- ligence, that a change of ministry would be the result. They, however, were determined not to yield, and had the infatuation, i-ather to violate the charter, and expose France to civil war, than to retire. The King appears to have been blinded by a bigoted priesthood, and the ministers utterly regardless of the sacred rights of the people, expressed by their representatives. In the new chamber 270 were liberals, 145 for ministers, and 15 undecided. In consequence of this result, the ministry made a report to the King, July 26, on the dangers of a free press. In the chamber of deputies, convoked March 2d, there were 221 members hostile to government, on which account the King had prorogued both chambers, and had appointed the 23d of June, and third of July, for the election of new members, to assemble on the third of August. The elections were not all finished, till the 19th of July ; before which time, it was sufficiently appa- * $16,655,000. t $1,874,100. i $8,058,630 A. D. 1830. FRANCE. 589 rent, how the elections would terminate. When the list was completed, the opposition, was found to have increased from 221. to 270. It will now be seen, how affairs stood in France between me crown and the people : the ministry represented the former, and the chamber of deputies the latter. The ministers whose auty it was to have withdrawn, resolved upon the mad project of eietting the voice of the nation, and the constitutional charter at defiance ; in other words, of annulling the late elections. This plan seems to have been arranged about the middle of July. It was subsequently stated on the trial of ministers, that these measures were concerted between the 10th and 15th of that month. M. Montbel in a pamphlet which he has published, says the ordinances were presented to the King, in a council held on the 21st. They were signed at the next council held on Sunday the 25th, the day previous to their public appearance. The report made to the King, signed by seven ministers and published at the same time with the ordinances, was intended to justify themselves for the course they had resolved upon. In this flimsy document they called for the suspension of the press, remarking, " At all epochs, the periodical press has only been, and from its nature must ever be, an instrument of disorder and sedition." By the first ordinance, the liberty of the press was suspended. By the second ordinance the chamber of deputies was dissolved. And a third ordinance abrogated the existing law of election itself, reducing the number of members from 430 to 258, and sweeping off" three-fourths of the former constituency, abolishing the ballot and nearly extinguishing the representative system. In defiance of these ordinances, the conductors of all the liberal journals determined to publish their papers. The only papers allowed by government to appear were the Moniteur Universal, Quotidienne, Gazette de France, and Dra- peau blanc. The seizure of the liberal journals on the morning of the 27th July, was the commencement of the revolutionary drama. These ordinances were nothing less than a determi- nation on the part of the crown to deprive the nation of its liberty, and to establish despotism. The audacious attempt however failed. Had the French ministry succeeded in silencing the press, and bringing the representation to a state of subser- viency, they might for a time perhaps have succeeded in their mad projects. Nothuag shows more strikingly the rashness and entire want of discernment of the ministry, at the time of which we are speaking, than the issuing of ordinances so obnoxious, without even anticipating resistsmce of £iny kind, much less a re\«lution. 590 CHAFTEB XIII. h was on Sunday, the 25th of July, the fatal ordinances were signed by Charles the Tenth and his ministers, and at 11 P. M. M. Sauvo, principal editor of the Moniteur, received from Chautelauze, and Montbel, at the house of the former, the manuscript for publication on the following morning. As Sauvo glanced over the contents, Montbel remarked, he seemed agitated ; his reply was, *' God save the King, God save France." M. Montbel and Chantelauze answered, " we hope he will." At an early hour on Monday morning the 26th, the obnoxious ordinances appeared in the Moniteur, and Bulletin des Lois. The prefect of the Seine was astounded at seeing them, about 5 o'clock, not having apprehended any thing of the kind, nor does Marshal Marmont, appear to have had any knowledge of these measures : the first intimation he received of the fatal ordinance was by Komierowski, one of his aids, while he was breakfasting at St. Cloud. He exclaimed that it was not possible the report could be true. At half past seven, he set out for Paris, not having seen a newspaper till his arrival in the city. He then went to the Institute where he met his friend M. Arago — " Well," said he to him, " you perceive that things are proceeding as I had foreseen ; the fools have driven matters to extremities. You have only to mourn in your capa- city of a citizen and a good Frenchman : but how much greater cause have I to lament, who as a soldier shall perhaps be obliged to throw away my life for acts which I abhor, and for people who seem for a long time to have studied only how to overwhelm me with disgust." The ordinances spread but slowly in Paris, among the pub- lic : this however was owing to the Moniteur being principally read by those connected with government. For several hours no unusual excitement was manifested. That class who first felt its effects were the journalists. It has been stated, that at this period thirty thousand persons were engaged in printing in Paris. The effect of the ordinances was to throw them out of employment. The conductors of journals represented to their workmen, that they had no longer any employment for them, they must go and ask it at their good King. The jour- nalists, on this emergency, displayed great courage : seeing the ordinances would be ruinous to their business, and destroy their rights, they fearlessly set them at defiance, by publishing second editions of their papers, the same afternoon, in order to make them more generally known. At five o'clock, the prefect of police, Mangin, issued injunctions to the printing offices, to stop any further publications, except in conformity to the new law ; and caused a printed proclamation to be circulated and FRENCH REVOLUTION, MONDAY, JULY 26, 1830. 591 parted on the walls with the penalties to the keepers of reading rooms, (Sjc. The journalists assembled and drew up in great haste an address to their countrymen ; this was signed and published, it was a noble display of courage and patriotism : they stated, " as they were first called on to obey, so they ought to give the first example of resistance to authority, now that it had stripped itself of the character of law. This day, the government has violated all law, we are set free from obedience ;" and declared their determination to publish their journals, regardless of the ordinances. " We will do our endeavors, that for one day more, at least, th^y may be circulated over all France. It be- longs not to us to point out its duties to the chamber, which has been illegally dissolved. But we may supplicate it in the name of France, to take its stand on its manifest rights, and resist, as far as it shall have the power, the violation of the laws. Its rights are equally certain, with those on which we ourselves rest. The charter (article 50,) says the King may dissolve the chamber of deputies, but for that power to be exercised, the chamber must have met and been constituted — nay, must surely have done something to warrant its dissolution. Before the chamber has met and been constituted, there is no chamber to dissolve. There are only elections to annul : now no passage m the charter gives the King the right of doing this. The ordi- nances which have this day appeared, do only in fact annul the elections, and are therefore illegal ; as doing that which the charter does not authorize. " We assume the attitude of resistance in so far as we are ourselves concerned ; it belongs to France to consider to what extent she will adopt the same course." This address was signed with the names of forty-four of the journalists. In the mean time, the agitation had already begun in the streets ; the crowd assembled at the Palais Royal, to hear the papers and news discussed, was continually increasing, till their increased numbers, and violence of language, alarmed the authorities, who sent a party of gendarmes to watch over them. By 3 o'clock in the afternoon, the crowd spread from the square of the palace, to the adjoining streets. They then began to assail the gendarmes, who kept their stations, making as yet no attempt to drive the people back. About 8 o'clock, there was a great addition to the crowd about the Palais from the printing and manufacturing establish- ments. Their masters, in dismissing their hands, after their day's work, had notified them they should have no further em- ployment for them. Here then was a great addition of men 592 CHAPTER XIII. under high excitement, determined upon resistance, which waa now spoken of openly. The fearless began to harangue the people, drawn together by sympathy, and each speech was received with loud cries of bravo, clapping of hands, and cries of " down with the minis- ters" — " The charter forever." The shops were now closed, and a sudden alarm spread through the throng. The police and gendarmes advanced upon the crowd in the Palais, and succeeded for a moment in clearing it, without inflicting any wounds. The mob proceeded to the hotel of Prince Polignac, on the Boulevard des Capuchins, who was at this time at St. Cloud. On learning this fact, many went on purpose to intercept him ; but mistaking his carriage, he was enabled to return without injury, under the escort of two gen- darmes. The windows of his hotel were broken, and his carriage assailed with stones. As he entered the court, the mob threatened to return with reinforcements to set fire to his hotel. During the night, the lamps in several of the streets were demolished, and the lights extinguished, and the windows of some public buildings broken. All these acts sufficiently indicated the preparation for the morrow. This day the King had passed in the amusements of the chase at Rambouillet, and did not return till late to St. Cloud. The whole effective military force stationed at Paris, the Sun- day previous to the publication of the ordinances, was 11,550 men, 8 cannon, and 4 howitzers ; 1850 men of this number, includes the guards and gendarmes daily stationed at the posts in the Capital, St. Cloud, and other places near. These were all seized and disarmed in detail. The disposable force, there- fore, did not at most exceed 9,700 men, and of this number, but three regiments of guards, two of cavalry, and a few artillery, 4,200, were all that could be depended upon. There were besides, 1000 cavalry, and .300 infantry, belonging to St. Cloud, Versailles, and St. Germain, but these were never engaged. A staff" officer of the guards, who was engaged during the conflict, stated if suitable precautions had been taken a fortnight previous, that it would have been easy to have assembled from thirty to forty thousand men, with fifty cannon, in Paris. On the morning of the 27th (Tuesday) several of the jour- nals were printed and distributed, so determined were the jour- nalists to discharge their duty to the public. The Constilutionel was prevented from the distribution o-f its papers by the police having stationed a sentinel at the door of the office. The National, the Temps, and the Figaro, were printed at an eariy hour and thrown from the windows among the people, and Street fighting before the Church of St. Roch, July 2Sth, 1830. Place du Chatelet, July 28, 1830. P. 596. FRENCH REVOLUTION, TUESDAY, JULY 27, 1830. 593 rapidly dispersed through the city. These papers contained ihe ordinances, and the noble protests of the journahsts. The authorities commenced their operations against the printing offices that had set the ordinances at defiance, and part of their printing presses were taken away, so as to render them useless. The National distributed to the crowd 7,000 copies in less than an hour. Thus far the journalists had manfully discharged their duty. This day a considerable number of the newly elected members of the chamber of deputies assembled at 2 P. M. at the house of M. Casimir Perrier ; when a protest was drawn up and signed. The King this morning appointed Marshal Marmont, com- mander in chief of the forces in Paris. He immediately esta- blished his head quarters at the Tuileries. At half past four, an order was issued at the barracks for several regiments to march to different stations. One battalion of guards, and two pieces of artillery, were stationed on the Boulevard des Capu. chins, in front of Polignac's hotel, the interior of which was protected with soldiers of the 5th regiment of the line. A squadron of lancers protected this part of the Boulevard. Several battalions of the line occupied the portion of the Boule- vards from the porte St. Martin towards the place de la Bastile, and also the place Vendome. Three battalions of the guard were placed in the Carrousel, and the place of the Palais Royal : and two battalions of the guards, with two cannon, were sta- tioned in the place Louis XV. While these dispositions of the troops were making, the streets were filled with the multitude, as yet unarmed : they now began to supply themselves with arms from the shops of gunsmiths; and were soon in actual conflict with the military. The battalions of the regiments of the line, stationed in front of the Palais Royal, were received by the crowd with cries of, " the line forever, the line does not fire, the line is on our side." Both men and officers, were averse to firing upon the people. But the guards considered themselves obliged to remain faithful to the government. The mob had already begun in several instances to attack the soldiers with stCMies, and every kind of missile : these they carried to the upper stories, and roofs of houses, and hurled them on the soldiers beneath. They now began to barricade the streets, and thus sheltered, they were enabled to oppose the patroles. This night the remaining lamps were demolished, a judicioua precaution and not proceeding from mere wantonness ; as it enabled them to erect barricades during the night, and rendered their operations more secure from the vigilance of the mili- 38 594 CHAPTER XIII. tary. Marshal Marmont had written to the King, informing him that public tranquillity weis restored, and therefore made no preparations during the night, nor sent dispatches for more troops. He did not even guard the great depots of arms and ammunition. During the night, the greatest activity prevailed on the part of the people. The inhabitants were enrolled into bands, and arrangements made for supplying them with muskets, ammu- nition, &;c. The telegraphs had been rendered useless in the night ; — this was an effectual means of preventing signals for further succors. Bands of men supplied themselves freely from the gunsmiths shops, and the arms used at the different theatres, and in fact, every kind of offensive weapon was seized and pressed into service. Wednesday, 28th. — At an early hour, the throng assembled in the streets, and directed their march upon the Hotel de Ville, soon filling the square in front of that building. This morning the national guard appeared in their uniform, among the throng. Measures were soon taken to organize this favorite corps ; a commission was nominated to proceed to Gen. Lafayette, and receive his orders. He did not however assume the command of the guards, till the morning of the 29th. The re-organiza- tion of the national guard went on promptly during the day : the number that appeared was considerable, mostly in uniform, and with them appeared the famous Tri-colored flag, so dear to the hearts of all Frenchmen. By nine o'clock it waved on the pinnacles of Notre Dame, and at eleven, it surmounted the central tower of the Hotel de Ville, which was taken possession of by the populace, and who immediately stationed themselves at the windows with fire-arms. The tocsin had been ringing from the bells of Notre Dame, and the church of St. Gervais, with all other means that could be devised, to give the greatest pub- lic excitement; and to fill the populace with courage, vehement speeches were made, and placards, with imprecations against the ministry, were stuck up in all the public thoroughfares. At eight o'clock this morning, the different regiments left the barracks, and at nine took their stations at the following places : six battalions of French guards, about 1320 men, with three squadrons of lancers, of 100 men each, and 8 guns, were drawn up in the place du Carrousel. 500 cuirassiers were quartered in the barracks, near the Bastile, and were in communication with the 5th, 50th, and 53d regiments of the line, who occupied nearly the whole extent of the northern Boulevards and place Vendome. — The 15th light infantry, were ordered to the place de Greve, Pantheon, and Palais de Justice. The place de Greve FRENCH REVOLUTION, WEDNESDAY, JULY 28, 1830. 595 had, from an early hour, been filled with the armed populace ; a detachment of soldiers no sooner arrived there, than, accord. ing to the testimony of Lieut. St. Germain, seven or eight hun- dred persons, most of whom bore fire-arms, rushed upon them, with a loud outcry, and fired a volley, by which two men were killed, and most of the detachment wounded, with the officer in command. The soldiers then fired, and several of the people fell. They immediately retreated, pursued by the crowd. At the place de Chatelet, which was also filled with people, a body of soldiers were draAvn up in the order of battle : here the har-^ rassed detachment of Lieut. St. Germain, found a reinforcement in a platoon of grenadiers, a few shots from whom drove back the assailants. A heavy fire was now commenced upon the batta- lion, from the Pont au Change, from the adjoining quay, and from all the windows near. Many of the soldiers were wound- ed, and forced to retire to the other side of the river, and got to the Tuileries at three-quarters past 10, where some addi- tional troops had arrived from St. Dennis, Vincennes, and Ver- sailles. It does not appear, that Marshal Marmont had formed any regular or effective plan of proceeding : the troops were marched and countermarched, about the streets and quays, assailed by every kind of missile, thrown from windows and the tops of houses : the time was lost, when any thing effective could be accomplished. The warfare had now became general, and the events are so confusedly related, that it is difficult to give to them a systematic arrangement. We shall therefore endea- vor to describe the most prominent facts, as related by the different writers at this memorable epoch. Wherever the mil- itary took their stand, the increasing crowds that surrounded them, and the constant accession of arms, rendered the situation of the soldiers extremely galling ; barricades were also thrown up on every side, which rendered their situation still more dis- heartening. A column consisting of a battalion of guards, half a squadron of lancers, with two pieces of cannon, was sent to occupy the Hotel de Ville. Their force was joined by one of the battalions of the 15th regiment ; this column then crossed the bridge, Pont Neuf, and advanced along the Quai de I'Horloge, &c., and pre- pared to recross the river to march upon the Hotel de VHle, by the Pont Notre Dame, a few hundred paces west of the Greve. The people now advanced in great force, and tolerable order, with drums beating, on the opposite end of the bridge, to oppose their passage. The two cannon were now planted on the centre of the bridge ; a field officer of the guards here advanced and 596 CHAPTER xm. warned the people of their danger, by pointing to the guns, and assured them they were marching to certain destruction. This had the effect of causing the people to withdraw ; but while so doing, some shots were fired, and an adjutant killed. The can- non firetl one shot each, and the column passed over and occu- pied the Quays de Greves and Pelletier on the north side of the river. In the mean time, a smaller force attempted to pass the new suspension bridge, directly opposite the Greve, where they were received with a galling fire, from the house-tops, windows, and quays along the Seine. The rest of the column coming up to their assistance, the place was taken. The guards had no sooner taken their position, than they learned with deep conster- nation that a battalion of the 15th light infantry stationed along the quays had revolted. The general in command of the guards was soon apprised of this, by the falling of his men. The Quai de Citi was filled with sharp shooters of the insui'gents, who pro- tected by the presence of the 15th regiment, kept up a continued fire upon the guards in the place. By this time the 50th regiment, stationed in the morning at the Boulevards, and afterwards marched to the place de Greve, determined to lay down their arms : they wished to return to their barracks, but finding these were already in possession of the people, they joined 40 cuirassiers, then departing from the Bastile, for the Hotel de Ville. The latter had many difficulties to encounter, marching through back streets, and at length reached the Hotel, but the 50th regiment took no part in the fighting, by which the cuirassiers made their way. On their arrival at the Hotel de Ville, the officer commanding the guards was apprised that he could not depend on receiving the reinforce- ment from the Bastile, as he fully expected ; and what rendered his situation more trying, his cartridges were now about spent. Two detachments were sent in quest of ammunition, but did not return. A message succeeded in gaining the Tuileries ; this was by a party of cuirassiers ; 200 Swiss were sent to the place de Greve ; when they arrived there, the guards 220 strong, had been engaged five hours, and had forty men liors de combat, (about 5 o'clock,) and had gained an entrance, with a part of their forces, ijito the Hotel de Ville. The populace having now returned, the cavalry and artillery sheltered themselves in the stable yards from the severe fire, directed against them, from the opposite bank of the river. The 50th regiment was also protected in the inner court of the Hotel. The hardest fighting yet, had been at the entry of Rue du Mouton, a street that opens into the place de Greve, from the north. When the troops had established themselves in the place FRENCH REVOLUTION, WEDNESDAY, JULY 28, 1830. 597 de Greve, a severe fire was kept up against them frorr. both angles of the street, and Irom behind a barricade there thrown up, but which was soon taken and retaken, on the arrival of the Swiss, during a movement ill executed ; its loss led to the severest conflict of the day, from the determination of the sol- diers to regain this post, in which they finally succeeded, and drove the popular forces away. The troops at length were withdrawn into the Hotel de Ville, except a detachment of light infantry, that held the barricade in the Rue du Mouton. The sharp-shooters of the guards, kept up a destructive fire from the windows of the Hotel, having now received a supply of cartridges from the regiments of the line, which refused to fire upon the people. After the Hotel was taken possession of by the troops,* they kept it during the day's fight. Wednesday was the usual day on which the King held a council ; but the state of affairs in Paris, prevented the routine of business, and the ministers for safety, had taken up their quarters at the Tuileries. The celebrated M. Arago, of the Academy of Sciences, who was on terms of great intimacy with Marmont, sought an inter- view : for this purpose, he exposed himself, in company with his son, to all risks, to gain the palace of the Tuileries. It was 2 o'clock, P. M. when he arrived, where he was ushered into the presence of Marmont, in a saloon looking towards the Carrousel. He found him with many officers, and other per- sons not in uniform. M. Arago, taking the Marshal aside, in a conversation insisted on the rights of resistance on the part of the people — that the ordinances should be immediately with- drawn — and the dismissal of the ministers, &c. During this discussion, an aid-de-camp brought intelligence that General Quinsenas could no longer maintain his position, which put an end to this interview. Immediately after, the arrival of several members of the chamber of deputies was announced ; and these were introduced to the presence of the Marshal. These deputies were M. M. Lafitte, Casimir Perrier, General Gerard, Lobau, and Mauguin. They represented the dangers which threatened the throne ; the convulsed and frightful state of the Capital ; and demanded that the ministers should be dismissed, and the ordinances withdrawn, as the only means to stop the effusion of blood. The Marshal communicated the substance * There appears to be some discrepancy in the statements of different writers about the taking and holding the Hotel ; but the fact, as stated above, is established by the narration of the staff-officer and others, given during the trial of the ministers 598 CHAPTER XIII of this message to the ministers. The reply of M. Polignac was, it was useless for him to see them. They immediately withdrew. Lafitte, the chief speaker, said, the question could only be decided by the chance of arms ; and henceforward, the deputies determined to exert themselves in the revolutionary cause — seeing there was no hope of an accommodation. In the conflict maintained this day, in the place de Greve, the populace displayed the utmost perseverance, and the most unshrinking courage. The rapidity and excellent judgment of their movements, the readiness to seize on every advantage to annoy the enemy, shows, they must have had leaders possessed of much practical military knowledge. Nor did they shrink from the sanguinary contest, where any thing could be gained by the sacrifice of life. It should be borne in mind, that this struggle was also carried on, under a most oppressive heat, Fahrenheit's thermometer ranging at 95°. The iron suspension-bridge was the theatre of many daring feats of valor ; and has since been called, in commemoration, the bridge of Arcole, {le Pont d' Arcole.) The wounded, during the day, were carried in carts and lit- ters, to the hospitals ; and the dead to the Morgue, amidst the most respectful silence of the crowd. The royal troops, though they were in possession of the Hotel de Ville, without any hopes of receiving further reinforce- ments, were now exceedingly anxious to quit it. They accord- ingly effected a retreat, during the stillness of the night, to the Tuileries. Of wounded men, they had between 50 and 60 — though another statement makes the number much higher, these they carried with them. The people had generally left the streets and windows, during the night. The troops at length reached the Tuileries, without any obstruction except a barricade they had to take down, to get their cannon &long : this made some noise, and occasioned some shots to be fired about them. In the Boulevard St. Denis, a great crowd had assembled at an early hour, and among these was seen the uniform of the national guard. This crowd was not generally armed with muskets. About 8 o'clock, a detachment of cuirassiers made a charge upon the crowd, at full gallop. They were then en- gaged in tearing up the j>avement, and carrying the stones to the top of the Port St. Denis. They stood firm, and with long poles threw the cuirassiers from their saddles at the first encoun- ter, and seized their arms, suffering none to escape. With these new equipments, the offensive was now assumed by them. At 9, a guard of 20 soldiers of the line surrendered their arms ; FRENCH REVOLUTION, WEDNESDAY, JULY 28, 1830. 599 the guard-house was demolished, and of the materials, a bai ri- cade was constructed across the Boulevard. A furious encoun- ter took place with the guards, at the gate, where stones were hurled, and a brisk fire kept up. The people now commenced erecting barricades on a great scale, along the Boulevard, at the suggestion of Ambrose Meno- ret, a carpenter : for this purpose, the fine trees, planted by Louis the Grand, were levelled by the axe. It was done with expedition and great science, under the direction of Menoret, who supplied them with tools from his shop. This was a most fortunate idea. These barriers were so numerous, as to be insurmountable, and cut off all communication with the troops. This line of barricades extended from the Rue du Temple, in the east, to the Rue de Richelieu, west. An eminent architect, Mr. Crecy, had a large quantity of timber, scaffold poles, pick-axes, crow-bars, &c. carried away ; all these were afterwards returned with scrupulous exactness. From a subsequent report, it appears that during the revo- lutionary struggle, 4055 barricades were thrown up, consisting of trees felled, carriages of every description overturned, and the pavements taken up. The number of paving stones torn up, for this purpose, were 3,125,000. The expense of paving the streets again, was 250,000 francs. Paris is paved with large square stones. The gutters are in the middle of the streets, and they flowed with blood during these sanguinary conflicts. The immense- importance of these numerous barricades, thrown up with such unparalleled rapidity, will be best illus- trated by the following details. A strong column arrived at the Bastile, and began to fire upon the people ; these discharges were kept up without intermission, and returned by the people, who were forced to retire ; and were pursued by the troops, as far as the Rue de Reuilly, which meets the Rue du Faubourg, St. Antoine. Here the troops were again assailed with a sharp fire, and had several barricades to overcome. The column remained in the Rue Faubourg St. Antoine, till half past three, and when about to retire, were again assailed with firing, and missiles from the houses. On the return of this body of troops to the Bastile, the commander, M. St. Chamans, found he could not return by the northern Boulevards,* from the numerous bar- * The total number of streets in Paris, exclusive ofCuls de Sac, are 1142, mostly narrow. The 18 Boulevards are broad streets, planted on both sides with trees, and forming beautiful promenades. Those outside of the walls are called the exterior Boulevards, The interior Boulevards are divided into the old, or northern, and the new, or southern, and are of great length, with many streets running into them. — Enc. Am. Vol. IX. p 524, a work from which we have derived many important facts 600 CHAPTEH XIII. ricades, that had risen as if by magic. The attempt to force a passage to the Hotel de Ville, by the Rue St. Antoine, also failed, from the same cause ; while the troops were exposed to a heavy fire from all the windows, and their ammunition was now exhausted. Under all these dangers, M. St. Chamans returned as well as he could, with his column, over the bridge of Austerlitz, and by a circuitous way to the Tuileries, by the southern Boulevards. The column arrived at the place Louis XV. between 10 and 11 at night. After this, no more troops were seen in the place de la Bastile or neighborhood. The 28th closed with the retirement of the royal forces frorr, every position in which they had attempted to establish them, selves during the day. During the night, the citizens did not cease from their exertions, but availed themselves of this respite, to complete the erection of barricades, in every part of the city. In this great work, all ranks of citizens, the aged and the young, were alike ardently employed. These barriers were erected at about forty or fifty paces asunder, breast high, and four or five feet in thickness, the work was carried on by torch light, the lamps having been broken. The dreadful tocsin con- tinned ringing during the night. In the vicinity of the Louvre, and the Tuileries, a patrol of guards, continued to walk during the night, and fired upon all who came within reach of their muskets. Thursday, 29th, the drums beat the reveille, and the hurrying crowds as they assembled, cried, " To arms, to arms /" Several distinguished military characters, were this day to act as lead- ers. Among them were Generals Gerard and Dubourg. The entire failure of the plans of Marmont had induced him to adopt this day a different mode of warfare. Instead of marching his troops through the streets to no purpose, he had sent for further reinforcements, and now intended to concentrate all his strength in the Tuileries, and keep up a communication with St. Cloud. The following places were in possession of the royal troops, this morning : the Tuileries, Carrousel and Garden, the Louvre, the Bank, and Palais Royal, place Vendome, the Champs Elysees, Rue St. Honore, and several streets. There was an addition to the royal forces of 6,700 men, that had arrived since yesterday, so tliat the total number of the guards amounted to 11 battalions of infantry, and 13 squadrons of cavalry, in all 4,300 men. The eight battalions of the line, amounting to 2,400, were of no service to the royal cause — one battalion of guards occupied the military school. It will be seen that the military were this day to be put on the defen- sive : it remained therefore with the popular forces, to make the FRENCH REVOLUTION, THURSDAY, JULY 29, 1830. 601 attack, who were this day strengthened by the students of the celebrated Polytechnic school, about 60 of whom scaled tlip walls, and headed the civic columns by whom they were hailed ivith the greatest enthusiasm. The bands from the Faubourgs had poured into the Rue St. Honore, by its eastern extremity, and a fiece and murderous warfare was carried on, and here, the Polytechnic scholars led the citizens to the charge. The battle began to rage fiercely at several points near Rue St. Honore. But before any important engagement had occurred, to decide the fate of the day, the defection of troops occupying important stations, led to important results. About half past eleven, the troops of the line, at the place Vendome, and the Palais Bourbon, negotiated with the leaders of the populace, when new barriers rose in all directions round these stations. The 5th and 53d regiments of the line, stationed in the place Vendome, fraternized with the people : this ceremony was per- formed by taking off their bayonets, and shouldering their muskets, with the butts in the air. Marshal Marmont was immediately apprized of the defection of the troojjs, and sent a battalion of Swiss guards from the Louvre, to supply their posts. By some strange oversight, the battalion was withdrawn, that defended the whole position, the Colonnade and gallery of the Louvre. The populace soon found their way into the garden, called L'Enfant, in front of the Louvre, and there meet- ing with no obstacles, entered the lower windows, and glass doors, and took -immediate possession of the interior of this noble pile. From the windows of the inner court the Parisians fired upon the battalion beneath, and soon every window in the great gal- lery of paintings was filled, whence they fired on the troops in the place du Carrousel, and soon drove the Swiss guards away in great disorder. There were also two squadrons of lancers in the inclosure of the Tuileries, exposed to the fury of the popu- lace. The Swiss rushed to the Triumphal Arch, and getting through it with great irregularity, threw themselves among the lancers. The egress from this railed space was blocked up by the latter, but through it the troops escaped as soon as possible. It is said, two platoons of firm soldiers might have driven the popular forces away, who were not numerous at this time. It was at this spot (the Triumphal Arch) that Marshal Marmont had established his head quarters ; and so unexpected was the attack that he retreated precipitately, leaving behind him 120,000 francs (5,000?.) in bags. His retreat was by the Rue de RevoJi, and thence round into the garden of the Tuileries. From the 602 CHAPTER XIII. terrace, two cannon shot were fired on the Parisians. The Swiss formed again, but only to retire immediately, by order of the Marshal, upon St. Cloud. Thus terminated the capture of ihe Louvre and the Tuileries. In this attack on the Louvre, the strongest column was com- (iicmded by General Gerard ; while the pupils of the Polyteclmic school served under him, advancing at the head of their respec- tive companies. It was one of these youths that led the attack on one of its gates and drove it in, when the forces rushed im- petuously on the guards. Many interesting facts are related, showing the courage and noble bearing of these youths, whose services were so conspicuous during the revolution. It was about 1 o'clock when the Tuileries were captured. In the famous gallery of the Louvre, the splendid coronation picture of Charles X. with another painting, was instantly destroyed. The rest of this precious collection of paintings was left un- touched. This fact reflects the highest honor on the Parisian multitude. No sooner was the palace o£ the Tuileries in pos- session of the populace, than every thing relating to the Bour- bons met with immediate destruction. A splendid painting of the Duke of Ragusa, (Marmont,) was torn into a thousand pieces, and every bust and painting of the royal family destroyed with the exception of a bust of Louis XVIII., to whom France* was indebted for the charter. Upon the whole, the populace, even to the poorest of the working classes, displayed a remark able degree of forbearance from pillage when in possession of the riches of the royal palace. The Swiss barracks, in the Rue Babylone, had been taken possession of before the capture of the Tuileries. Finding this place defended with great obstinacy, it was set on fire with straw and turpentine. Major Dufay, the commander of these quarters, was killed ; when the flames and smoke forced the soldiers to make a desperate sortie, when great numbers fell. Major Dufay was an officer of great distinction, and had served under Napoleon in his celebrated campaigns. The archbishop's palace, in the He de la Cite, was assailed under the command of several Polytechnic scholars. Finding there, unexpectedly, ammunition and newly sharpened poinards, the multitude were so exasperated that the work of destruction immediately commenced. Costly articles of furniture and books in gorgeous bindings were torn to pieces, scattered, and thrown from the windows into the river. A sanguinary combat was kept up in Rue St. Honore with the Swiss, after the Louvre and Tuileries were taken. This incensed the people greatly — the soldiers almost to a man pe- FRENCH REVOLUTION, THURSDAY, JULY 29, 1830. 603 nshed — the carnage there was horrible, about nine hundred dead bodies being found. About half past 3, P. M. the last of the mihtary posts in the city of Paris surrendered. The royal troops retreated towards St. Cloud, not without meeting with obstructions on the way, and being somewhat harassed. The bridge at Neuilly had been blocked up with heavy carts and wagons at the suggestion of Lafayette ; and the people still continued to fire upon the exhausted and dispirited soldiers. Thus ended the three days' hard conflict, in which the citizens of Paris had fought and bled, and at last achieved a glorious victory. The number of citizens killed and wounded in these three days' fight, has been variously stated. From the report of the committee of national rewards, appointed to investigate the claims of the wounded and of the relatives of the slain, it ap- pears that the number of killed and those who died from wounds, was 788 ; and of wounded about 4,500. On the 31st of July, the deputies published a proclamation, declaring that they had invited the Duke of Orleans to become Lieutenant-General of the kingdom. At noon on the same day, Louis Phillippe d'Orleans issued a proclamation declaring that he hastened to Paris, wearing the " glorious colors" of France, to accept the invitation of the assembled deputies — to become Lieutenant-General of the kingdom. A proclamation of the same date appointed provisional commissaries for the different departments of government : these were, M. Dupont de I'Eure, for the department of justice ; Baron Louis, of finance ; General Gerard, of war ; de Rigny, of marine ; M. Bignon, of foreign affairs ; M. Guizot, of public instruction ; M. Casimir Perrier, of the interior and public works. The same day, (31st,) Charles X. and his household fled from St. Cloud to Rambouillet. Three commissioners were sent to treat with him : these were, Messrs. De Schonen, Marshal Maison, and O'Dillon Barrett. The national guard advanced towards Rambouillet, which brought about a speedy delivery of the crown jewels from Charles X. and hastened his depar- ture. August 2d, the abdication of Charles X. and the Dau- phin, Louis Antoine, was put into the hands of the Duke of Orleans ; and a letter from Charles, appointing the Duke regent, and ordering him to proclaim the Duke of Bordeaux King, with the title of Henry V. The chamber of deputies met on the 3d of August. On the 6th, the throne of France was declared vacant by the chamber of deputies (de jure et de facto.) On the 7tli, some changes in the charter were adopted, when by vote, the Duke of Orleans 604 CHAPTER XIII. was invited to become King of the French, on condition of his accepting the changes made in the constitution. The vot<;a were 219 in favor, 33 against : the whole number of deputies is 430. On the 8th, the chamber in a body went to the Duke of Or. leans and offered him the crown, which he accepted ; and on the 9th, Louis Phillippe took the oath to support the new charter. In these measures, a majority of the chamber of peers present, concurred. On the 12th of August, the Moniteur announced the names of the new ministry, from the moderate Hberal party, as follows : Count de Mole, foreign affairs ; General Gerard, war ; Baron Louis, finance ; Guizot, interior ; Gen. Sebastian*, marine ; Dupont de I'Eure, keeper of the seals and minister of justice ; Duke de Broglie, president of the ministry. Lafitte and Casimir Perrier were also appointed ministers of state, without any special departments. Charles X. was permitted to retreat unmolested from France. He, with his household, took passage in two American ships for England, where he was received merely as a private individual, and took up his residence at Holy rood- House, Edinburgh, where he had formerly resided during the sway of Napoleon. Many changes were made in the officers of the French government, in accordance with the spirit of the times and for the better establishment of harmony in the government. Out of 86 prefects, 76 were removed ; and of sub-prefects, 196 out of 277. In the army, 65 general officers out of 75 were changed, 65 colonels removed, and almost all the governors of fortresses. 74 procureurers were dismissed. Special missions were sent to the different courts of Europe, which were well received by all of them except Russia. The greatest activity W£is exerted in the army to put it on a footing to meet any inva- sion, and the organization of the national guard was provided for. Of the late ministry, Polignac, Chantelauze, and Guernon de Ranville, underwent a trial and were declared guilty of trea- son and sentenced to imprisonment for life, with the penalty of civil death to Polignac. He and his colleagues were transferred to the prison at Ham. Nov. 3d, the ministry was changed, and Lafitte advanced to the presidency of the council and minister of finance. March the 14th, Casimir Perrier succeeded him in office. On the 18th of October, 1831, a bill passed the chamber of deputies for abolishing the hereditary rights of the French peerage : to ensure its passage in the chamber of peers, Louis Phillippe created thirty -six new peers. FRENCH REVOLUTION, THURSDAY, JULY 29, 1830. 605 The most prominent events which marked the reign of Louis Phillippe, during the year 1832, were the siege of the citadel of Antwerp, and its surrender by the Dutch, after a long and vig- orous resistance— the arrest of the Duchess of Berri, at Nantes, and an attempt to assassinate the King, During the succeeding twelve months, the country was comparatively quiet. In the year 1834, a treaty formed by the Duke de Broglie, and General Sebastiani, with the American Minister, was annulled by the refusal of the Chamber of Deputies to grant 25,000,000 francs to the United States as an indemnity for injuries received by American ships and commerce during the last European war. In April, of this year, a treaty, termed the quadruple alliance, was concluded between Great Britain, France, Spain and Por- tugal, the object of which was to secure the peace of the last two countries, under their existing constitutional government. On the 10th of April, 1835, the Chamber acknowledged the propriety of the American claims, and provided for the payment of the indemnity in annual installments. On the 28th of July, of the same year, the anniversary of the revolution of 1830, as the king was reviewing the troops, an infernal machine from an adjoining house exploded. Many were wounded, and some lives lost, but Louis Phillippe, and three sons then with him, escaped unharmed. Fieschi, the conspirator against the King's life, was arrested and condemned to death. On the 25th of June, 1836, a third attempt was made to take the King's life. He was fired at while taking a drive, but the ball lodging in the carriage, no injury was done. The guilty actor, a young man, named Alibaud, was arrested and guil- lotined. On the King's birthday, Oct. 6th, the ex-ministers of Charles X., imprisoned in the Castle of Ham, were released from confinement ; indignation towards them having given place to pity. In October, an insurrection was attempted by Louis Napoleon Bonaparte, at Strasburg, but it v^as at once suppressed, and he was exiled to America. In September of this year, as the King was proceeding to open the session of the Chamber of Deputies, with his three sons, he was again shot at — the ball barely missing him, passing through the back of his carriage. Meurice, a workman, by whom the pistol was fired, was appre- hended and condemned to death, but afterwards banished for 10 years. In the spring of 1838, a model was discovered of a new "in- fernal machine," made by Huber, a pardoned republican, who designed constructing a machine for the destruction of the royal family. He was tried and banished. In 1840, 1,000,000 francs was appropriated for the purpose of 606 CHAPTER XIII. bringing to France the remains of Napoleon, and interring them with pomp. Louis Napoleon having returned from America, and again attempted to rally a party in his favor, was arrested and imprisoned for life in the Castle of Ham. In October, while reviewing the National Guards, the King was fired at with a musket with six balls, but escaped for the fifth time. The as- sassin, named Darmes, was afterwards executed. In 1842, the Duke of Orleans, heir apparent of the King, lost his life by being thrown from a carriage. In consequence, it was decided that should Louis Phillippe die before the young Count of Paris, son of the Duke of Orleans, came of age, the regency should devolve on the next individual, in the order of succession to the throne, who should reach the age of 21 years. During the last few years of this period, nothing of further moment than the capture of the Marquesas and Society Islands, in the Pacific Ocean, and the interchange of friendly visits be- tween Queen Victoria and Louis Phillippe occurred in the history of France, until the eventful dawning of 1848. REVOLUTION IN BELGIUM. 607 Revolution in Belgium. The Belgians soon followed the example of the French, m the career of revolution, by rising and expelling a king that had been forced upon them against their wishes. The congress of Vienna, it will be recollected, in 1814 and 1815, severed the Netherlands from France, with which it had been incorporated since 179.5, and constituted it with the United Provinces, into one political body, under William, Prince of Orange, having the title of King of the Netherlands. This was done with a view of giving to Germany greater security against the power of France. The consent of the Southern Netherlands was never asked or given ; it was disposed of by the great powers as a conquered province or district. William attempted to unite two million of Dutch Calvinists, engaged principally in commerce, with four millions of Belgian Catholics, employed in agriculture and manufactures — whose interests, language, and manners, were widely opposed to the Dutch, and whose language was disagree- able to the Belgians, who have much the habits and feelings of Frenchmen, and who are also greatly influenced by a priesthood decidedly hostile to all innovations, more especially when coming from the Dutch ; so that the attempt to blend these discordant feelings and conflicting interests entirely failed. And the policy of William's government was by no means calculated to con- ciliate the proud and rich Belgians, whom he treated more as vassals than subjects. The Belgians had many just causes of complaint against the arbitrary measures of William's govern- ment ; they were burdened with heavy taxes, and the education of their children was taken out of the hands of the natives. This state of dissatisfaction led to several demands contained in an address for this purpose ; the grievances ennumerated were fifteen. They demanded an equitable division of public offices between the two countries, liberty of language, instruction, and the press, and the responsibility of ministers. After various struggles, an insurrection at Brussels broke out in August, 1830, and the Belgians made a formal declaration of their indepen- dence on the 4th October, 1830. The representatives of the European powers, viz : Austria, France, Great Britain, Prussia, and Russia, assembled at Lon- don, and there agreed to a protocol in favor of an armistice, and directed that hostilities should cease between the Dutch and Belgians. The acknowledgment of the independence of Bei- gium was announced December 27th, 1830, to the national con 608 CHAPTER xin. gress at Brussels, the Belgians having decided upon a constiiu tional monarchy February 3d, 1831 — the Duke of Nemours, the second son of Louis Phillippe, king of France, was elected to fill the throne. On the 17th, the King of France declined the proffered throne on behalf of his son. February 24th, M Sulet de Chokier was elected regent of Belgium. January 4th, the Belgium congress-elected Prince Leopold of Saxe Coburg for their king, by a vote of 152 to 34, which was sanctioned by the five great powers. The new king made his entrance into Brussels July 21st, and took the oath to support the constitution. September 8th, Leopold, king of Belgium, opened his first par- liament. November 1st, the chamber of representatives of Belgium agreed to the terms of settlement between Belgium and Holland, prescribed by the London conference, and on the 8d, the senate agreed to the same by a vote of 35 to 8. Revolution in Poland, The spirit of Poland has never been crushed. The sword of Suvaroff and the snows of Siberia had diminished the num- ber of her brave sons, but they who clung to the soil of their country and they who devoted their lives to the service of for- eigners alike breathed vengeance on their oppressors and ardent aspirations for the restoration of Poland. They expected much from Napoleon — they spent their best blood in his service, and spent it in vain. Napoleon rejected the opportunity of creating a barrier nation, a camp of devoted soldiers, which would for- ever have secured his empire on its weakest side. Still the Poles did not despair. The moderation of Alexander made their servitude more endurable ; but no sooner had Nicholas ascended the throne of Russia, and sanctioned the barbarities of his brutal brother, Constantino, than the old spirit revived, if indeed that spirit had ever slept. The successful example of France, followed by Belgium and Brunswick, roused them to action and inspired them with the liveliest hopes. The day of vengeance and liberation seemed to have arrived. France well knew that Poland alone stood between her and the already ad- vancing' legions of Russia, and her emissaries offered every encouragement to the patriot Poles. Lashed to fury by her own wrongs, listening to the voice of hope, and encouraged by pro- mises of support, Poland stood in the gap, encountered the first onset, and bore up against it manfully and well. But every KEVOLUTIOW IN POLAND. 609 Victory weakened lier strength — the delusive hope of assistance vanislied, and Poland has sunk in iron-bound despair. How will France, saved perhaps by the sacrifice of Poland, answei to man and to God for her ingratitude and perfidy ! It was on the 29th of November, 1830, that the insurrection at Warsaw burst forth. Secret societies had existed in that city since 1818, for the express purpose of securing the liberty and nationality of Poland. It was a noble design of her patri- ots to unite again under one government those portions of their unhappy country which had been torn assunder and despoiled by the rapacity of Russia, Prussia, and Austria. As early as 1821, Russia had commenced a system of pro- scription against these secret societies ; and in 1825, a conspi- racy was kindled into flame at Petersburg, which it was thought could be traced to Warsaw. The societies had members throughout Poland and Lithuania, Podolia and Volhynia, and even the old provinces of the Ukraine, which it might be sup posed had long since lost all recollections of Polish glory. These associations were formed during the reign of the Empe- ror Alexander, to whom some of the patriots had vainly looked for a better state of things. After the death of Alexander, his successor, Nicholas, was crowned King of Poland at Warsaw, May, 1829. The diet assembled in 1830, and in spite of all the endeavors of the Emperor, many patriots were elected. Nicholas opened this assembly in person, but failed to overawe the liberals from impeaching ministez's for violating the charter. This liberal diet was closed June 28th.* Such freedom of discussion could not be endured by a despotic monarch, whose unvarying aim has been to tread out every spark of liberty in the northern parts of Europe. The Arch-Duke Constantino was made viceroy of Poland, and by his monstrous atrocities became universally detested by the brave and generous Poles. The ardent hopes and wishes of the Polish patriots at length burst forth into flame. At 7 in the evening, the hour agreed upon, fifteen intrepid youths sallied forth determined to seize on Constantino, whose residence was about two miles from Warsaw. They rushed into the palace of the Belvider, where the usual guard consists of sixty men, first wounding the director of police, who fled. They next killed General Gendre, a Rus- * The constitution of Poland, issued by Alexander, Emperor of Russia, m 1815, contained many important provisions. The diet, composed of two houses, was to be assembled once every two years ; yet in violation of this provision, none was convoked from 1820 to 1825, and only one under the Emperor Nicholas. 39 610 CHAPTER XIII. sian infamous for his crimes. The struggle alarmed Constan- line, who instantly rose from his bed and escaped undressed by a secret door, that was closed after him by his valet just as they were on the point of reaching him, and had supposed themselves secure of their victim. Constantine instantly fled to his guards. Thus disappointed, this band retired to their companions in arms, who awaited, at the bridge of Sobieski, the result of this movement. In returning to the city they had to pass the bar- racks where the guards, though already mounted, were unable to attack them on account of a precautionary measure of Constantine in surrounding the barracks with a deep and wide ditch, passed only by narrow bridges. The guards fired upon the insurgents ; but the latter were so advantageously situ ated, and returned the fire so well, that they killed three hun dred of the guards, and retreated with the loss of only one o[ their number. By this time the streets of Warsaw were filled, some houses had been set on fire, and the cry resounded " To arms, to arms, Poland is up, God for our country !" The inhabitants rushed to arms. The state prisoners were liberated ; the students oi the university and the school of engineers joined the insurrec- tion ; the arsenal was forced, and in an hour and a half from the first cry of liberty, 40,000 men were in arms. Soon the fourth Polish regiment joined the populace, and presently the rest of the Polish soldiers. When Constantine heard of this, he fell back with two Polish regiments of guards, and was per- mitted to retire by the magnanimous Poles unmolested to the frontier. Chlopicki was appointed general in chief, and four days afterwards declared dictator by the provisional govern- ment. Although a soldier of undisputed bravery, he has been blamed for suffering the grand duke to escape when he might have captured him, and for losing time in trying to negotiate with the Emperor Nicholas. The diet that assembled in twenty days after the breaking out of the revolt, confirmed Chlopicki dictator ; but on his refus- ing assent to the manifesto of January 9th, 1831, in which the wrongs of Poland were so feelingly portrayed, he was deposed. Instantly a supreme national council was formed, and Prince Adam Czartor}^ski appointed president, when a spirited procla- mation was issued, informing the Polish soldiers that Chlopicki had resigned the glorious task of conducting them to combat. It was unfortunate for the cause of Poland that Chlopicki was made dictator. He issued an order, *' that whoever should cross the frontiers of the kingdom, and attempt to raise the old pro. vinces, should be punished with death." Such an order might REVOLUTION IN POLAND. 611 have been issued in respect to Prussian and Austrian Poland ; but not to those provinces that had risen to shake off the Rus- sian yoke, and Lithuania, where the revolt had begun, and where thousands impatiently waited the signal from old Poland, to rise and join the struggle for liberty. This order of Chlopicki was regarded by the patriots, not only as a severe check to the enthu- siasm of those provinces waiting to rise on the signal being given, but as almost traitorous to their cause. That time was lost in fruitless negotiation that should have been devoted to kindling, far and wide, the spirit of revolt ; and in the most active prepa- ration to meet the vast resources of Russia, which had refused all terms but absolute submission ; and the preparations in the army were strangely neglected. These proceedings at length caused so much dissatisfaction against Chlopicki, as to lead to his dismission. After two months delay the inevitable conflict began ; when the Poles marched into the field, " with half the force which under an energetic administration it would have wielded." They ought to have been ready to have commenced offensive operations with their enemy at a distance, instead of waiting for him on their own soil, exposed to his insults and outrages. Russia had now brought into the field against Poland 200,000 men, while Poland had but about 50,000 equipped for the fight — a fearful disparity in numbers. Through the influence of the aristocracy, the command of the army was given to Prince Radzvil. The Russian invading 'army rendezvoused, on the 20th of January, at various points of the western frontier of the empire. It was composed, according to the report of Field Marshal Diebitsch, of 105 battalions of infantry, 135 squadrons of cav- airy, with 396 pieces of artillery, and 11 regiments of Cos- sacks. The army crossed the Polish frontiers on the 5th of February. The advance of the Polish army was at Biala, the right near the high road to Warsaw, the left at Lomeza on the Narew. On the advance of the Russians, the Polish corps fell back, the right on Warsaw, and the left on Modlin and Pul- tusk. On the 18th of February, the Russian head-quarters were established at Minsk, ten miles from Warsaw, and their advance pushed to Melisna, within five miles of that city. The Russian left rested on the Vistula above Warsaw, and the right on the Buo- near its junction with the Narew, its centre protected with woods and artillery. On the 18th, the Polish army of 50,000 men had its right on Grokow, with Praga in the rear, and the left thrown back oppo- site the right wing of the enemy. 612 CHAPTER XIII. The reconnoissances of the 19th and 20th, were resisted by the Holes and led to a severe battle. According to the Russian account, the heat of the battle was during the early part of the day confined to the left, Count Pahlen's advanced guard, which was attacked as soon as it had cleared the defile near Grokow, and compelled to retreat two miles. The advanced guard, under General Rosen, was attacked at the same time, advancing from Okanief. On the arrival of Diebitsch, he sent a reinforce- ment under General Toll, with several battalions and 20 cannon, lo the relief of Count Pahlen. A furious charge was now made by the Russians, with Diebitsch in person, which changed the fortune of the day, and at 4 o'clock the Russian wings united, when the Poles were driven from the field of battle. For three days after this action the Russians made no onward movement, but asked an armistice for the burial of the dead, which was granted. Early on the 25th, the Russians having received a reinforce- ment of 25,000 men, felt prepared for action. They dj-ew forth their whole army in front of the forest, and commenced an attack on the Polish left wing, near Jublonna. General Uminski received this attack with great bravery, and repulsed the enemy, taking six cannon, which he spiked, and drove the Russians to the forest. He then attacked the Russian centre with dreaaful slaughter, and drove them from their position. Diebitsch had calculated, with the great strength of his left wing, to crush the Polish right, situated near Grokow, under the command of Chlopicki and Skrzynecki. The Russians made six tremendous charges, and were as often repulsed with great loss ; a seventh charge made against a new regiment, put it in disorder, and caused it partially to retreat. Two regiments of cuirassiers were then sent against the faltering regiments : the latter being aided with the Polish lancers, rallied, rushed on the regiments of cuirassiers, and cut them to pieces, of which only forty escaped, twenty prisoners only being taken, mostly officers, and among them the commander of one of these regiments. This affair decided the day, when the Russians were obliged to withdraw from the field of battle into their strong holds in the forest of Milosna. This battle was fought with great fury. General Chlopicki, who was in the centre, had two horses killed under him, and was wounded. Forty thousand Poles here withstood the shock of one hundred and fifty thou- sand of their enemy ; and at the close of the battle, nearly 15,000 Russians lay weltering on the plain, and several thousand prisoners were taken. After the battle. Prince Radzvil gave up the command of the REVOLUTION IN POLAND. 613 army ; when Skrzynecki, who had displayed extraordinary bravery and skill, was chosen commander in chief. But this step led to the rankling enmity of Krukowiecki, the second in command to Chlopicki, who thenceforward meditated revenge, plotted, and afterwards proved a traitor to his country. The first step of Skrzynecki was to attempt to negotiate with Diebitsch. When he found his advances repelled, he prepared for the unequal struggle. The ice in the Vistula had now broken up, and the swamps were filled from the melting of the snow, and the roads were almost impassable for artillery and cavalry. Skrzynecki now determined to act on the offensive. On learning that Diebitsch had divided his forces, he led the Polish army of 25,000 men to Praga, and on the 31st, favored by the darkness of the night, approached the Russian camp, and fell upon the advanced guard of General Geismar, at Wawar, consisting of 8,000 men, intrenched in a very strong position, which force he nearly destroyed, capturing 4,000 prisoners, and taking a number of cannon. General Uminski had previously been despatched towards Ostrolenka, to keep in check the corps of General Sacken and the guards who were advancing there. ^ While the Polish advanced guard was engaged in combat at Wawar, General Rybinski, with his division, attacked the enemy's right, and carried it by the point of the bayonet; destroyed one entire regiment, and forced another to lay down their arms. The combat lasted two hours. Colonel Romarino's brigade here also distinguished itself. Skrzynecki next fell upon the corps of General Rosen, posted at Dembe Wielski with 20,000 men, who were unable to withstand the impetuous attack of the Poles. The Russians fled by way of Minsk, and made several efforts to sustain their positions as they received reinforcements, but were unable to sustain them. It was at .5 o'clock, P. M. when they arrived at Dembe Wielski, a position strongly fortified, and the resistance was obstinate. But the force of the artillery from the centre, and the vigor of the assault, completely routed the Russians, who fled with precipitation. By this masterly movement of the Polish commander in chief, 20,000 Russians were thrown hors-de-combat, and many superior officers were captured during this day, so glorious to the Polish arms, besides taking two standards, fifteen wagons filled with ammunition, some thousand muskets, and fifteen pieces of can- non This victory occasioned but small loss to the Poles, owing to the rapidity and surprise with which their movements were executed. The regiment of scythemen (leucheurs) having demanded arms, the muskets left on the field of battle were 614 CHAPTER XJU assigned them. The combat lasted till 10 at night. The army had then been actively engaged, fighting and marching, twenty hours. On the 9th, the Polish army gained a considerable victory, taking several cannon, and from 3,000 to 4,000 prisoners ; among them were 300 officers of different ranks. The head- quarters on the 10th were at Seidlec ; and on the same day, at that place. Marshal Diebitsch succeeded in uniting all his forces. From this time the Polish cause appears to have de- clined. General Dwernecki with a valiant corps entered Volhynia, surrounded by Russian corps under Generals De Witt, Keuts, and Rudiger. Dwernecki passed the Bug on the 10th, and on the 11th routed some Russian forces, took a number of prison- ers, some transports, and baggage. The left wing of the Rus- sian army, stationed at Kock, upon Veprez and Rudjew, fell back, and Marshal Diebitsch, baffled in his attempts, retired with the army across the river Bug, alarmed for his safety. Insurrections spread in his rear, in the provinces of Lithuania and Volhynia. A violent insurrection broke out at Wilna on the 28th of March. General Chrzanowski, with 8,000 men, cut his way through the Russians, and penetrated as far as the fortress of Zamosc. The greatest enthusiasm now spread through the Polish province of Samogitia. This expedition of Chrzanowski, by forcing his way through the enemy's detachments, was one of great daring. In three days he defeated the Russissiis three times, and took 800 prisoners. These movements in Volhynia occasioned great uneasiness to the Russians, and obliged them to change their plan — that of attempting Warsaw in front by Praga. On the last days of April, Diebitsch retired with the Russian army beyond the river Bug. The barbarities of the Russians during this warfare against the patriots in Lithuania, were of the most revolting kind. April 26th, General Dwernecki surrendered his force, con- sisting of 4,000 men and 17 pieces of cannon, to the Austrians. He had been pursued by a superior force, and was under the necessity of passing into the Austrian dominions. Diebitsch, with the principal Russian army, retreated in the direction of the Bug and Narew, to gain the Prussian frontier, to relieve the suf- fering state of the army. At Thorn there was a great supply of provisions, ammunition, &c., waiting his approach. The Polish government issued a manifesto against Prussia for her shameful violation of the principle of non-interference. This conduct of Prussia destroyed all the advantages gained by REVOLUTION IN POLAND. 615 Polish valor. The Prussians furnished supplies of every kind, and constructed bridges over the Vistula for the passage of the tlussian army. In many instances when the Russian troops Were forced by the Polish soldiers into the Prussian dominions, they were suffered to return with their arms, while the Poles in ail similar cases were retained prisoners. The conduct too of Austria was most outrageous. While the brave Dwernecki, the " cannon provider," was withstanding a greatly superior force on the Austrian frontier, the Russians passed over neutral ground to outflank him. He was followed in his retreat by the Russians who were allowed to retire, while tl.e brave, patriotic, and devoted champions of Poland were obliged to surrender themselves prisoners of war to the Austrian forces stationed on the frontier. While a Polish corps was at Minsk, Skryznecki united all his corps on the left, crossed the Bug, and forced his way to Ostro- lenka, a flank movement of 80 miles, and defeated the Russian guards at Tychosin. He then sent forward 300 Polish officers to Lithuania, there to organize the patriot forces. The sanguinary battle of Ostrolenka was fought on the 26th May, in which 20,000 Poles were opposed to 60,000 Russians. This battle was fought with an inveteracy unexampled — quarter was out of the question. The Poles having succeeded in pass- ing to the right bank of the Narew, they attempted to destroy tlie bridge. This they were unable to effect, as the Russians were protected by a numerous artillery placed on the opposite bank. Several regiments of Poles, under a most galling fire, attempted to arrest the progress of the Russians. The combat was for a long time one of slaughter ; they fought man to man, and thousands were killed by being thrown into the dyke which passes along the marshy shore of the Narew. The battle did not end till 12 o'clock at night, when the exhausted Russians retrograded as far as the bridge, and the PoHsh army commenced a retrograde movement unmolested, and fell back on Praga. The loss of the Poles in this battle has been stated at 4,000 men. The Russians suffered very severely and had three generals killed. The Russian guards are said to have displayed great bravery in the action. It was the object of Diebitsch to cut off the retreat of the Poles. The second Polish corps under General Lubienski displayed great gallantry on the 25th : it forced its way, at the point of the bayonet in a retreat from Chirchnowiec, through 40,000 Russians. It was subsequently ascertained that a correspondence had been kept up by traitors and Russian agents in Warsaw, through whose means Diebitsch was informed of the plans of the Polish 616 CHAPTER XIll. commander m chief, and led to the disastrous battle of Ostro- lenka. On the same day that the battle of Ostrolenka was fought, General Chlapowski gained a victory over the Russiaas at Mariampol, commanded by General Sacken. The Russian commander in chief, Diebitsch, died suddenly at. Klfcchewo, June 19th, at that time the head-quarters of the Rus- sian array. He had been superseded a short time previous to his death by Paskewitch, who had greatly distinguished himself in the war against the Persians. Shortly afterwards, the Arch Duke Constantino died very suddenly. The Russian arms under Diebitsch in the campaign against enfeebled and distracted Turkey, acquired a fictitious celebrity ; but Russia has been entirely shorn of this fame by a handful of Polish patriots. Had it not been for this untoward war against Poland, Diebitsch's name might have descended to posterity as a renowned warrior. Poor Diebitsch became the laughing stock of all Europe ; and the botisted prowess of Russia has since been viewed in a very different aspect. Russia, in the height of her pride and in the full confidence of her strength, was about to march her legions upon France ; when the breaking out of the Polish revolution afforded her sufficient employment nearer home. If Poland, at the commencement of the revolution, had succeeded in establishing an energetic government, and possessed a leader fully competent to direct her valiant soldiers, the over- Dearing power and haughty pride of Russia might have been humbled to the dust. General Gielgud was sent with a force of 8,000 men into Samogitia, a district of Lithuania, and was for a time success- ful ; but was defeated in an attack on Wilna, and forced to retreat. On the 13th of July, the remains of the corps of Giel- gud and Chlapowski, reduced to 2,500 men, passed over into the Prussian territory, when General Gielgud was shot by a Polish officer. General Dembinski had entered Lithuania at Olitta, about 55 miles west of Wilna, with corps to aid the insurgents. The failure of Gielgud before Wilna obliged him to retreat — he forced his way through the Russians, and arrived safely in Warsaw. This retreat was a masterly display of generalship. June 29th, a conspiracy was tliis day timely discovered in Warsaw, which was to set the Russian prisoners, thirteen thou- sand in number, at liberty. Several disaffected officers attempted to bring about a counter-revolution to favor the Russians. It was to be accomplished as follows : the prisoners having been allowed to go at large, they were to be supplied with arms ; and on a signal being given the powder mill was to be blown up, REVOLUTION IN POLAND. 617 when a general attack was to be made on the citizens and national guard. General Janowski, one of the traitors, to save himself, made the discovery of this horrid conspiracy just in time to save Warsaw. • On the 14th July, General Chrzanski was attacked by Gene- ral Rudiger's corps, on this side of Minsk, five miles from War- saw ; when the Russians were defeated and forced to retreat, having 3,000 men killed, 900 prisoners taken, and 1000 muskets. On the 12th, the main army of Paskewitch was encamped be- tween Sisno and Kikal, and on the same day a great part of it passed the Vistula between Warsaw and the Prussian frontier, having received from Thorn a great number of barges and materials for bridges. The Prussians, to facilitate the passing of the Russians, had constructed a bridge over the Vistula at Drewenca. On the 13th of August, General Skryznecki resigned the command of the army to General Dembinski, compelled, by the force of circumstances, to do so, in order that faction might have no further pretext to injure his country. His letter of resignation on this occasion, is full of generous devotion to the cause of his country. The patriotic club, irritated with the measures of government and dissatisfied at not seeing General Janowski condemned, determined to take violent measures. To these acts they were instigated by the base Krukowiecki. On the 15th August, at 8 A. M. the club formally demanded that Skryznecki should be ordered to Warsaw. They then pro- ceeded to the castle, that was protected by 200 of the national guard, who made scarcely any resistance. On the same day, the patriotic club demanded the death of Janowski ; and on the 16th, the state prisoners concerned in the conspiracy for a counter-revolution, were murdered in their rooms by the clubists. Thirty-five persons were thus put to death without ceremony ; among them were Generals Janowski, Bulkowski, Hurtig, Salacki, and Benthouski, the Russian chamberlain, Fus- tiane, &c. During the night. General Krukowiecki was appomted governor of the city. He sent for a reinforcement, and his first measures were to put a stop to these horrors. August 17th, the government was dissolved, and Krukowiecki was placed at the head of the new government, with very extended powers. He caused the arrest of the president and ten of the club, and appointed General Prondzynski to the chief command in the army. From the time that Krukowiecki came into power, he took measures to deliver Warsaw to the Russians, and made every 618 CHAPTER XIII. attempt to induce the diet to demand an amnesty, and sent the main part of the Polish army to the right side of the Vistula, when the thunder of the Russian artillery was breaking over the devoted cif^. The proposals of Krukowiecki were repelled by the diet with indignation, who declared to the suspicious deputies, " rather will we die here in our places than stain the honor of our country." The traitor was deposed at midnight and a new governor of the city named, which gave new vigor to the faint- ins^ defenders of Warsaw. On the 6th of September, at daybreak, the Russian army of 100,000 men and 300 pieces of cannon, advanced to storm War- saw, which was defended with great heroism. On the 8th, aftei two days hard fighting, it surrendered to Field Marshal Paske- witch. The Russians had 20,000 slain in storming Warsaw. The Poles lost about half that number in its defence. The government and the most distinguished citizens retired with the main body of the army, under the new commander in chief, Rybinski, upon Modlin and Plozk. The army, however, kept in three divisions instead of uniting, which could thus offer but a feeble resistance to the Russian forces. As a last resource, the Poles crossed the frontiers into the Austrian and Prussian dominions. Upwards of 1500 of the most distinguished leaders of the Polish revolution were arrested and imprisoned at War- saw ; and to complete the measures of oppression and vengeance, the Russian troops fired upon the prisoners confined in one of the wings of the prison, under the pretence of a revolt among the prisoners, though it was known that three-fourths of these were imprisoned for political offences. Of twenty-two Polish generals that became, in a manner, pri aoners under the amnesty, the greater part were sent to distant parts of the Russian empire, and but four returned to Poland. The soldiers were marched by thousands to Siberian exile, linked together by the wrists to bars of iron. The nobles were treated in the same ignominious manner, with their heads shaved, and consigned to the dungeons and mines of Siberia ; and the chil- dren were torn from their mothers, and carried off" to glut the vengeance of the Autocrat of all the Russias. Numbers of the patriots that escaped after the fall of Warsaw, when the army passed the frontiers, have gone into voluntary exile, and are now mourning over the calamities of their country, the loss of their homes, their wives, and their children. The Prussian government treated the Polish refugees that fled into her territory with horrible brutality, in order to force these now miserable and heart-broken outcasts into the iron fangs of Russian despotism. GREEK REVOLUTION. 619 The recital of the barbarous deeds perpetrated by insatiate and {'aithless Russia on completing the subjugauon of Poland, cannot fail to fill with sorrow the breast of every friend to hu- manity : and it sickens the heart to think, that these wretched and trodden-down Poles are now perhaps for ever beyond the reach of all human aid. The French government, during the Polish struggle, a period of intense interest to the fervent and sympathizing Frenchmen, showed the blackest ingratitude and perfidy towards the chivalrous Poles. It was in vain that the good Lafayette lifted up his imploring voice in their behalf to the citizen King. It would seem, indeed, as if the nationality of Poland was now for ever blasted ; and the survivors of this once noble race of warriors and patriots were destined, by seve- ral of the arbitrary governments of Europe, to be hunted down like beasts of prey. Russia is at present erecting a citadel at Warsaw, intended to overawe the Poles for the future. The cost of the building, 20,000,000 florins, is to be extorted from the oppressed citizens of Warsaw. CHAPTER XIV. Greek Revolution. War between Russia and Turkey. England, from A. D. 1816, to the passing of the Reform Bill, A. D. 1832. Among the extraordinary events of the 19th century, there is none that occasioned more thrilling interest at the time, than the protracted and fearful struggle made by the modern Greeks to gain their independence. The classic soil of Athens and Sparta, Thebes and Corinth, for the last four centm-ies had been profaned by Turkish despot- ism. It was the same soil that, 2500 years ago, was the seat of learning and the abode of free institutions. It was the land of Homer and Demosthenes, Solon and Pericles, that, after the slumber of ages, was awakened to new life. The struggle, of which we are about to give a faint and rapid sketch, is the one made by the modern Greeks to achieve their country's independence, and elevate Greece to an equal rank with civilized nations. And though this people had been so long under the most debasing slavery, they nevertheless displayed, during this momentous struggle, numerous deeds of valor worthy their renowned ancestors. Before entering on this eventful revolution, which began in the Morea, March 23, 1821, it will be necessary, in order fully to understand its origin, to state, that some years before the 620 CHAPTER XIV. commencement of hostilities the patriots of Greece founded, iri 1814, an association called the Hetaria. There was a society established at Vienna the same year, of which Count Capo d'Istrias was one of the first members ; but it did not publicly avow any political designs. The head-quarters of this society were at St. Petersburg, whither many of the most distinguished Gi'eeks repaired under the pretext of having commercial busi- ness to transact. The Greeks it appears had, at different times, been called upon by Russia to shake off the Turkish yoke, namely, in the years 1769, 1786, and 1806 ; and a society, avowedly for the liberation of Greece, was formed in Paris in 1809. It was found that the beginning made in 1814, was too early to insure suc- cess. A people who had long been kept in an abject state of slavery, needed first a due preparation and a general diffusion of knowledge ; and the plans for such a weighty undertaking required to be well matured. The intercourse kept up with France, was of great conse- quence in forwarding the cause of liberty in Greece ; and the revival of literature and the spread of science, brought with it an ardent desire for their country's freedom. This was further promoted by giving them the works of Goldsmith, Franklin's Poor Richard, Fenelon, and Montesquieu, which were translated into modern (rreek at Athens, Saloniki, Smyrna, &c. ; and schools were established, that were subsequently swept away by the war. The Hetaria, or society of friends, kept up an active corres- pondence with the Greeks in different parts of Europe, who hastened to join it ; while some men of the highest standing visited St. Petersburg to further their designs, and even looked to Russia for aid. When this hope was found to be fallacious, the Greeks resolved to begin themselves. The first movement was made by Czemi George, in 1817, an exiled chief of Servia, who was suddenly to appear in Servia, his native province, while Galati, and other Grecian chiefs, were to raise the stan dard in the south of Greece, and the Morea. Czerni George, the Servian, was treacherously betrayed and murdered on hia way by Milosh, a relative and former friend, and his head sent to Constantinople. Count Galati retired to Bucharest, and there shortly afterwards died. The next attempt was arranged for 1825. In the mean time some chiefs, burning with desire for the glorious cause of freedom, began the revolution. These were M. Suzzo, hospodar of Moldavia, one of the Hetarists ; Alexan- der Ypsilanti, a major general in the Russian army, and Prince GREEK REVOLUTION. 621 Catacuzene. Ypsilanti was to begin hostilities beyond the Danube, while all Greece was to be summoned with a procla- mation ; and to render their measures more certain, an explosion was to take place at Constantinople. Ypsilanti began before Moldavia was prepared to co-operate. His proclamation was energetic, and called on all Greece to shake off the Turkish yoke. It roused the Moldavians, and Ypsilanti took possession of Bucharest, the capital of Walachia. containing 80,000 inhabitants. But Russia disclaimed all parti- cipation in a manifesto which she publishod. Suzzo gave up the command in Moldavia, and the plot at Constantiiiople was frustrated. A chieftain who joined Ypsilanti, was suspected of treachery. He was arrested and beheaded. This was Vladi- miresco ; and the price of his correspondence with the Porte was, that he was to be made hospodar. Ypsilanti was now forced to retire from Bucharest before 10,000 men, who entered the city without firing a shot. The Hetarists who fell into the hands of the Turks were impaled alive, and numbers of children hung up by their feet along the roads. The monasteries were entered, and the inmates butch- ered. Prince Ypsilanti retreated to Tergovist, followed by the Turks. A battle was fought at the monastery of Dragachan, on the morning of June 17th. The Turkish infantry charged with loud shouts, but were repulsed with the bayonet. A second charge was repelled with equal firmness. At this juncture, the cowardice and treason of Caravia, an officer of cavalry, changed the fate of the patriot army. He turned round and fled, and immediately the whole army was in confusion. Gior- gaki, with his corps, displayed great firmness during the route. The sacred band of about 400 or 500 young Greeks stood firm, while the rest fled and crossed the Oltau ; these sustained the shock of 1500 Turkish cavalry. They sold their lives nobly, determined to fall rather than yield. The disparity in numbers was too great for success, when about 400 fell. Such an exam- ple of patriotism had a most salutary effect on the Greeks. The army of Prince Ypsilanti being annihilated, he repaired to Trieste, intending to rejoin his countrymen in the Morea. The Austrian government seized him, and imprisoned him at the castle of Montgatz, in Hungary. When the intelligence of the insurrection in Moldavia reached Constantinople, the Sultan issued immediate orders to disarm all the Greeks in the empire, and a war of extermination at the capital commenced. The Greek patriarch, Gregorius, was mur- dered on the 22d April, the day of the greatest festival of the Greek church, and his body dragged by Jews through the streets 622 CHAPTEE XIV. of Constantinople. Several other ecclesiastics shared the same fate, and a number of Greek churches were destroyed, which exasperated the Greeks to a degree of desperation, who saw that nothing short of extermination awaited them. The priests in the islands of the Morea, from the atrocious acts at Constan- tinople, saw themselves doomed to certain destruction. They therefore exerted themselves strenuously, to inspire the people to resistance and vengeance. By the 1st of April, the excitement became general. The mhabitants of Patras were disaffected by the exorbitant levies of the Turks. Mutual distrust began between Greeks and Turks — each prepared for the worst. Hostilities were first opened by the inhabitants of Suda, a large village near Cala- vrita, in the northern part of Arcadia. At Patras, the Greeks refused to give up their arms, when the Turks fired with cannon upon the place from the forti'ess, and soon took possession of it. Germanos, archbishop of Patras, assembled an army of 4,000 peasants, and took the city from the Turks. The scene that followed ended in the destruction of three hundred houses and pillage. In the islands of Hydra, Spezzia, and Ipsara, the greatest activity was displayed in fitting out ships of war, the united force of which was eighty or ninety vessels of 10 or 12 guns each ; and fifty or sixty smaller vessels were supplied by other islands. The flag hoisted by the Greeks, consisted of eight blue and white horizontal stripes. The superior activity of the Greek navy was soon shown. The first Turkish fleet left the Dardanelles on the 19th of >fay, and was followed by the Greek fire-ships. On the 8th of June, they burned a ship of the line, ashore near Tenedos — compelling the Turkish fleet to put back to the Dardanelles. The Ipsariots landed on the coast of Asia Minor, and took possession of Cydinia, which was soon after retaken by the Turks, and the inhabitants murdered and driven away to the number of 35,000. It must be kept in mind during this strug- gle, that the islanders displayed higher traits of pacriotism and valor than the Moreots ; in which the women took part in this struggle for liberty. The Turks next disarmed Candia, and executed the archbishop and several clergymen. The pejusants in the mountains and suburbs of Candia would not give up their arms : they united and succeeded in driving the Turks back into the towns, though they were thousands strong. In the month of November, the island of Cyprus was disarmed, and nearly all the inhabitants of Larnica murdered. The pea- siintry for uniting in their defence, had, in the month of August, GREEK REVOLUTION. 623 1822, their villages, sixty -two in number, burned. In the mean time the great Turkish fleet supplied their garrisons in the Mo- tea with arms, ammunition, &c. The cause of Greece received a new impulse by the arrival of Demetrius Ypsilanti, and Prince Alexander Cantacuzene. After some difficulty, Ypsilanti was appointed commander in chief, July 24, 1821, of the Peloponnesus, the Archipelago, and all the liberated provinces. There was at this time dissensions amongst the Greek leaders. Tripolizza, the chief fortress of the Turks, was besieged by Demetrius Ypsilanti, and 8,000 Turks perished. It was in this fortress the Greeks obtained their first heavy cannon ; and it became the seat of government till it was transferred to Argos. In Thessaly, Ulysses with several other leaders or capitani, defeated near Thermopylae, a Turkish army which had advanced from Macedonia. Prince Mavrocordato received the chief command of the Albanian forces ; when the government began to acquire some form, after much difficulty and dissention. Prince Mavrocordato succeeded, Jan. 13, (Jan. 1,) 1822, in establishing an approximation to a federative con- stitution at Epidaurus, until the second national assembly in Astro, March 14, 1823. At this convention more than 60 depu- ties attended. The western part of Greece, Arcania, iEtolia, and Epirus, sent 30 deputies to Missilonghi, who, under the presidency of Alexander Mavrocordato, formed a government consisting of ten members. The eastern part of the main land sent 33 deputies to Salona, under the presidency of Theodore Negris, forming the Areopa- gus of 14 members, November 16 ; and the Morea, or Pelopon- nesus, with the islands of Hydra, Ipsara, Spezzia, &c. sent to Argos 60 deputies, who assembled, December 1st, under the presidency of Prince Demetrius, and established the Peloponne- sian Gerousia of 20 members. These three governments, Missilonghi, Salona, and Argos, were to prepare a permanent constitution. With this view, 67 deputies from all the Greek provinces, formed the first national assembly in Epidaurus, Jan. 10, 1822, under the presidency of Mavrocordato ; and on the 13th, proclaimed the constitution, (which was provisionary) and on the 27th, the congress of Epi- daurus issued a manifesto, in which they pronounced the union of the Greeks, under an independent federative government The central government was fixed at Corinth, and some time after at Argos. We are obliged to pass over many of the movements, till the arrival of the great Turkish fleet, April 11, when 15,000 624 CHAPTER XIV. barbarian Asiatic troops were landed at Scio : and soon tiiis delightful and flourishing island was changed into a scene of fire and blood. Down to May 25th, the Turks, according to their own lists, sold into slavery, 41,000 Sciots, mostly women and children. The Capudan Pacha was next prepared to desolate Ipsara. Tine, and Samos ; but the Ipsariots, with 70 small vessels and fire-ships, hovered round the Turkish fleet, and in the night- lime, rowed among their ships, while yet they lay in tlie road of Scio, and attached fire-ships to the Capudan Pacha's vessel, which blew up with 2,286 men ; and the Pacha himself, mor- tally wounded, was carried ashore, where he died. Another ship of the line narrowly escaped. These daring acts of the Ipsariots stupified the Turks ; from which, when they had reco- vered, they destroyed the lust traces of cultivation. The savage fury of the Turks about this time may be judged by the fact, that they bought the wretched Sciots at Gonstanti. nople, merely for the pleasure of putting them to death. The Pacha of Saloniki, (Abbolubut.) boasted that he had destroyed 1500 women and children in one day. 150 villages and 5,000 Christians experienced the fate of Scio. While all these horrors were taking place, Mavrocordato, president of the executive council, was organizing the government, which met with resist- ance from the avariciousness of Coloctroni and others. It had now become important to cover Missilonghi, the strong hold of western Hellas, from the weakened state of the army. Mavrocordato, with 300 men, and Marco Botzaris, with 22 Suli- ots, on the 5th of November, threw themselves into Missilonghi ; while 11,000 Turks advanced against it. Another force of 25,000 under Khurshid, principally cavalry, passed Thermopylse, and as they advanced through Livadia, laid every thing waste, and occupied Corinth. In attempting the passes of Larissa, Khurshid was repelled three times by Ulysses. Khurshid died Nov. 26. Most of this cavalry perished for its rashness in the defiles of the Morea ; and the remainder formed a junction with 5000 men, of Jussaf Pacha's army, and sent reinforcements to Napoli di Romania. The Greek fleet kept the great Turkish fleet from affording relief to this place. Ulysses, Coloctroni, and Ypsilanti, now prosecuted their operations with great zeal, and drove the Turkish forces out of the Morea. Niketas fell upon them in the defiles of Tretes, and only 2,000 escaped to the Isthmus of Corinth, where Ypsilanti fell upon and destroyed them. More than 20,000 Turkish soldiers perished in less than four weeks. In Greece, there were yet some thousand Turks, Storming of Warsaw. P. 620. Fall of Missolonghi. P. 634. GBEEK REVOLUTION. 625 that held the Isthmus and the Acrocorinthus, that were soon after dispersed and destroyed. I'he Turkish fleet left the Gulf of Lepanto, where it had failed against Missilonghi. It was unable to break the line of 57 Greek ships blockading Romania, and at last came to anchor off Tene- dos. Nov. 10, a small number of Ipsariots carried fire-ships among the fleet, and fired the ships of^ the admiral and the capi- tan Bey. The latter was blown up with 1800 men. Three frigates were wrecked on the coast of Asia, and a vessel of 36 guns captured. Of 35 vessels, 18 only returned much injured to the Dardanelles. The 17 Ipsariots who had done these exploits, arrived in safety at Ipsara, and Kanaris and Mniauly were rewarded, by the Euphori, with naval crowns. Again the Greeks were masters of the sea : it enabled them to blockade the Turkish forts, which was acknowledged by Great Britain. The change of ministry in England was most fortunate for Greece. With Canning as premier, and Maitland lord commis. sioner of the Ionian Isles, they had less hostility directed against them. Omar Vrione was repulsed by Mavrocordato and Bot- zaris, before Missilonghi, where he lost his cannon. Napoli di Romania was taken from the Turks Dec. 12, (new style.) A proclamation to the European powers was issued April 15, 1822, which the Holy Alliance considered incompatible with their viev/s on legitimacy, though disposed to be lenient towards the suffering state of Greece. The dissensions among the Greek leaders, had an unfavorable influence on their cause with the European cabinets. Coloctroni meditated a division of the Morea into hereditary principalities. The central government called a second national assembly at Astro, Jan. 1823, which averted a civil war ; while the judicious measures of Mavrocordato tended to bring about concord. When the national assembly opened, March 14, at Astro, it consisted of 100 members. Mavromichalis was elected president ; Theo- dore Negris, secretary ; and the perfidious and avaricious Coloc- troni submitted to the assembly. Condurioti was chosen president of the legislative, and Petro Mavromichalis, Bey of Maina, of the executive council. Both legislative bodies resolved to raise about 50,000,000 piasters, to levy and equip 50,000 men, and 100 large men of war. The French military code was adopted. This assembly proclaimed the new constitution of Astro, April 23d, 1823. Several changes took place in the ministry. Mavrocordato was made president, and Coloctroni, vice president. This year the Sultan had determined upon exterminating tho suffering Greeks. Mavrocordato was placed at the head of 40 626 CHAPTER xrv. the army, and Orlandi, a Hydriot, organized the navy, now consisting of 403 sail, with cannon. The largest ship carried 26 guns, and Miaulis was admiral ; M. Tumbasis of Hydra, George Demitracci, of Spezzia, and Nicholas Apostoles, of Ipsara, vice admirals. The financial department met with much dif- ficulty. In March, the fleet had gained a victory over the Egyptian flotilla, destined for the invasion of Candia, though it was unsuccessful in its attempt to prevent the landing of Turk- ish troops. M. Botzaris, the Suliot, now commanded the forces in western, and Ulysses in eastern Greece. The battles fouglit during this year, were not less fierce and sanguinary than those in 1822. M. Botzaris surprised the Turkish camp at Carpinissi, at mid- night, with 500 Suliots, and penetrated to the tent of the Pacha of Del vino ; but in the moment of victory received a mortal wound. The victory, however, was^ completed by his brother Constantine. The noble Botzaris as he expired, exclaimed — " How sweet it is to die for one's country." The defeat of the Turks was complete, all their baggage and artillery being taken, and the Pacha made prisoner. The members of government wen, at Argos, in November, 1823. About this time the campaign was finished, though a partizan warfare continued in Thessaly and Epirus. Societies in England aided the Greek cause by means of loans, and by supplies of arms. The illustrious poet. Lord Byron, took a deep interest in the struggle made by the Greeks to throvv ofl" the Mohammedan yoke. His zeal led him to offer his personal and pecuniary aid in their cause. He embarked August, 1823, with five or six English friends, in an English vessel he had purposely hired, and arrived in Greece at the beginning of the third campaign, where he was received with marked distinction. On his arrival at Cephalonia, where he first established himself, he addressed a letter to the Greek government, and was induced by the infor- mation he received, to advance 12,000Z. for the relief of Missi- longhi, where he afterwards, with Col. Stanhope, took an active part in organizing the artillery. Byron himself established printing offices and schools in Missilonglii. He also took 500 Suliots into his pay ; but found them very refractory and unwil- ling to march with him as he designed upon Lepanto. Tliis preyed greatly upon his spirits, and he soon after became dangerously ill, and died at Missilonghi, April 19, 1824. His death was solemnized by a general mourning of twenty-one days. The Turks began the campaign of 1824 with much more vigor than it had previously been carried on. Peace being concluded GREEK KEVOLUTiON. 627 witli Persia, July 28th, 1823, and a rebellious Pacha of St. Jean d'Acre, having yielded voluntary submission to the Porte, it was enabled to send forces from Asia, and those that had been sta> tioned in Moldavia and Walachia now evacuated. The preceding campaign nad taught the Turks, that the de- struction of the Greek navy was their only means of succeeding in subduing Greece. The Capudan Pacha, Khosru, sailed from Mitylene, July 3d, with two ships of the line, eight frigates, four corvettes, forty brigs, and smaller vessels to the amount of 200. Among the latter were a number of neutral transport ships, belonging to the Russians, Austrians, and others, hired by the Capudan Pacha, that sailed from the Dardanelles, April 28th. The Pk-ussians were now on the most friendly terms with the Grand Seignior, and aided the Turks with transport ships. There were besides, Austrian, Italian, and Spanish vessels, en- gaged against the liberties of Greece. To oppose the armament of the Capudan Pacha, the Ipsa- riots had 2,500 men, the entire male population, and a corps of Albanians and fugitive Sciots, about 1,500 in number, divided into four companies. Their forces were provided with batte- ries, ammunition, &c. The Turks landed silently in the night, in spite of the vigilance of the islanders, and advanced in three columns. One advanced upon the town, and two proceeded to the batteries, taking them in the rear, when the most horrible butchery was perpetrated. Five hundred Albanians shut themselves up in fort St. Nicholas, which defended the town. Wretched and afflicted mothers first flung their children from high precipices, and then cast themselves into the sea. The Albanians in the fort barricaded the gates, and killed half of the first assailants. The Turks concentrated their forces to reduce the fort, and during the night made a dreadful assault upon the Christians, who in defence performed prodigies of valor ; but unable longer to withstand the overwhelming force of the barbarians, they threw open the gates, suffered 2,000 men to rush into the fort, till it was entirely filled, and on a concerted signal, in an instant all were blown up, and buried amidst its ruins. This took place on the fourth of July. By the disasters of Ipsara, 4,000 Christians perished, besides the total destruction of all property ; with 100 vessels of different sizes, belonging to the islanders. Admiral Miaulis, with the Greek fleet, arrived before Ipsara, on the 8th of July, when the Turks immediately put to sea, and numbers were captured. The Greeks, on landing at Ipsara, found nothing but ruins and heaps of putrid corpses ; but the 628 CHAPTER XIV. dreadful stench obliged them to retire from this scene of horror The atrocities perpetrated at Ipsara by the barbarians, at once roused up all the energies of Greece with dire revenge. The next attempt of the Capudan Pacha, was upon Samos. Kanaris, the brave Ipsariot, with a fire-ship destroyed a 40 gun frigate under sail ; and several transports shared a similar fate, besides a Tunisian brig of war, and a large Tripolitan corvette. On the 21st, another fleet of transports destined for Samos, were dispersed and partly destroyed. The following day, the Turkish fleet attempted to make the passage from Cape Tro- gilium to the opposite shore ; but the appearance of two or three fire-ships caused such terror in the Ottoman fleet, as to drive it in disgrace on the Asiatic coast. Some time afl;er, a junction took place between the Egyptian vessels and those of the Capudan Pacha, intending to return to Samos. The skill and boldness of the Greeks destroyed a number of these with their fire-ships, and thus astounded the Turks with their deeds of valor, who were glad to effect a retreat to the Dardanelles. In November, the Egyptians sustained severe damage froni their enemy on the northern coast of Candia. The forces of the Greeks successfully repelled their barbarian invaders by land, so that the campaign of 1824 was glorious for Greece, and its prospects more cheering than had appeared at any time pre- vious. This gladdening prospect continued up to the beginning of February. The government of Greece now began to assume harmony and strength, and commerce revived. Their army was attempted to be organized after the European tactics ; justice was regularly administered, and freedom of the press allowed. In Missilonghi four newspapers were issued twice a week. In the midst of these cheering prospects for Greece, an Egyptian fleet which had been delayed some months, sailed on the 19th July, from Alexandria, consisting of nine frigates, four corvettes, forty brigs and gal- liots, with 18,000 troops in 240 transports. This armament, under Ibrahim Pacha, was designed to subdue and desolate the Morea. The Egyptian and Turkish fleets united in the gulf of Bodroun, Sept. 4th, where a naval action ensued. Kanaris blew up a 44 gun Egyptian frigate and a brig. The fleets tnen separated ; the Turkish fleet returned to Constantinople, and Ibrahim's fleet to the gulf of Bodroun. Soon after, Miaulis attacked it off" Candia, and destroyed a frigate, 10 small vessels, and 15 transports ; when he retired to Rhodes, further weak- ened by the plague on board his ships, and frustrated in his plana of conquering the Morea. GREEK REVOLUTION. 629 Notwithstanding the critical situation in which Greece waa now placed by the power of l^gypt being exerted against her, we find the peninsula in the most distracted state by the dissen- sions and broils of the capatani. In October, the election for the third term commenced. The executive council at Napoli di Romania, consisted of 63 members. The president, Mavrocor- dato, resigned, and Panuzzo Notaras was chosen his successor. Coloctroni was disappointed in his ambitious views. Some other disaffected chiefs raised the standard at Tripolizza, under the command of Panes Coloctroni. Troops were sent thither, by the command of Condurioti, and after several battles, the rebels were defeated and dispersed, and Panes Coloctroni killed. About this time the famous Amazon Bobolina, a follower of Coloctroni, was assassinated. Ulysses entered into a secret treaty with the Turks, but was defeated and captured. In attempting to escape from a tower he received a fall, and died in consequence thereof. Coloctroni, the father, finding himself deserted, surrendered him- self up in December, 1824. Several other leaders of this rebel- lion fled, and the rest were seized. The government now exerted itself to carry into effect the provisions of the law, and keep up discipline in the army. The annual revenue the Porte received, from the Peloponnesus alone, amounted to 3.5,000,000 Turkish piastres. In the campaign of 1825, Ibrahim Pacha landed his troops in the Morea ; and Missilonghi was besieged by Redschid Pacha, aided by the fleet of the Capudan Pacha. This calamitous event was owing to the treachery and dissensions of the Greek chiefs, which permitted Ibrahim to land between Coron and Mordon, February 22, 1825, an army of 4,500 men ; and the next month his force was augmented to 12,000, drilled with French officers, after the European tactics. He had besides, an excel- lent body of cavalry. Ibrahim besieged Navarino, which soon fell into his power. He next pressed on to Tripolizza. Old Coloctroni was pardoned by the government, which received his assurances of fidelity ; and in May, 1825, the command of the Peloponnesus was entrusted to him. A third siege of Mis- silonghi was commenced April 22d. The Pacha's fleet lost several ships in an engagement with the Greek admiral, Sac- touri, near Cape d'Oro. Calamata and Tripolizza were taken by Ibrahim, who went on destroying every thing till he reached Argos. He then received a severe check from Coloctroni's army, which caused him to fall back to Tripolizza. When Ibrahim found that the Greeks would not obey him or submit to his authority, he put the men to death, carried the women 630 CHAPTER XIV. and children slaves to Egypt, and desolated every place within his reach. Missilonghi, defended by Noto Botzaris, the first among the brave, was now closely besieged by the Turks, having before it 35,000 land forces, and 4,000 by sea. After a severe contest of several days they were totally defeated, August 2d, 1825. The Turks lost 9,000 men. During this siege the brave and active Miaulis arrived with his fleet, and burned several of the enemy's ships, and forced the rest to retire. The siege of Mis- silonghi was raised October 2d, 1825, four months and a half from its commencement. In the mean time, Ibrahim was carrying terror with his arms, and desolating the Morea more widely ; and the government was in great danger, having entirely lost the confidence of the auxiliary societies in England, whose loans had been improperly laid out. At last the Greeks sent deputies to England, resolved to throw themselves on the protection of Great Britain. Before the arrival of their deputies, the English government had issued (Sept. 30,) a declaration of neutrality. But the alliance of the powers of Europe prevented the interference of any single power in behalf of Greece. Sir Stratford Canning, the English ambassador to Constant!, nople, set out in January, 1826, and on his way had a long inter- view at Hydra with Mavrocordato, and other Greek statesmen, with a view to inform himself respecting the state of Greece. He then proceeded to Constantinople, where he arrived the last of February. About the same time, (March,) the affairs of Greece were discussed at St. Petersburg, by Lord Strangford, the British resident minister there, and who had formerly been minister to Constantinople, and the Duke of Wellington, envoy extraordinary, who had been sent thither by Canning. A hope now began to be cherished, that the independence of Greece would be acknowledged by the Christian powers of Europe. The Pacha fully bent on reducing Missilonghi, had landed more troops in the Morea, in order to carry on a winter cam- paign. The affairs of Greece were, at this time, in the most gloomy state, having scarcely 6,000 men under arms to with- stand this rapacious foe ; while the money furnished by the friends of Greece for the equipment of the army, was squandered by the capitani. The French, at this time, were busy intriguing against the English agents, to the great injury of Greece. In the midst of all these disasters, the Greeks succeeded, Novem- ber 24th, in throwing into Missilonghi, besieged for the fourth time, a supply of ammunition and provisions for this garrison, which had so gallantly repulsed an attack, both by sea and land GREEK REVOLUTION. 631 A. body of troops sent by Ibrahim against Corinth, was destroyed by Niketas. In December, the Greeks fitted out another naval equipment at Hydra, for the safety of Missilonghi ; where Miaulis, January 8th, put to flight the Capudan Pacha's fleet ; which some time after returned, when another attempt made to throw supplies into the place, failed. On the 28th, Missilonghi was summoned to surrender, which was bravely set at defiance. The fleets had an engagement in the gulf of Pati'as, when Canaris destroyed with his fire-ships, a frigate and several smaller vessels. Ibra- him, dissatisfied with the Capudan Pacha, caused his dismission. The success of the battle enabled the Greeks to furnish Mis- silonghi with some farther supplies ; but they failed in attempt- ing it again, Feb. 12th, then blockaded by the Turco- Egyptian fleet. The siege of Missilonghi was carried on with vigor by Ibra- him Pacha alone, who had before it 25,000 men, and of these, 9,000 were regular troops. He had before it forty-eight cannon, that had been sold him by the French ; and he was aided by Pierre Boyer, a general, (a Bonapartist,) notorious for his cru- elties in Egypt, Spain, and St. Domingo. The frequent over- tures made by Ibrahim to the garrison to surrender, during its bombardment, were rejected. The assault continued from Feb. 28, till March 2d, when it was attacked by sea and land, with a loss to the besiegers of 4,000 men. The valor of the garri- son had sustained it for a fifl;h time, though it was nearly desti- tute of provisions. In a short time, the sufferings of the garrison became extreme, and the surrounding country was devastated by the barbarian forces. Their sufferings and heroic defence gained for Greece, many ardent and active friends in Europe ; and funds were immediately raised for the heroic sufferers. Mr. Eynard, of Geneva, made them a liberal donation, in addition to 50,000 francs he had before given ; and it was on his repre- sentation respecting the Greeks, that the committee of Paris voted 60,000, and that of Amsterdam 30,000. With these means supplies were sent, and the Greeks were successful in throwing some of them into the place, in the face of great dif- Acuities. From April 15th, Ibrahim directed all his attention to prevent supplies being sent from Zante in small boats. The situation of the besieged had now become truly deplorable. On the 17th and 18th they began to die of hunger ; the four follow- ing days, their horrors hourly increased. Mines were now pre- pared in various parts of the city to blow it up, as they were determined not to surrender. On the 21st and 22d, the Greek fleet under Miaulis, made an 632 CHAPTER XIV. attempt to relieve the sufferers that proved unavailing. His ships were too small to contend with the overwhelming fleet of Ibrahim, consisting of 6 ships of the line, 8 or 10 frigates, and 90 vessels of different sizes. Missilonghi, at length reduced to a heap of ruins, fell April 22d, 1826. At midnight, about 2,000 men, accompanied by women and children, rushed out on the batteries of the enemy ; 500 Greeks fell on the spot, while the rest, amounting to 1,800, under Noto Botzaris and Kitzos Isa- vellas, reached Salona, and afterwards fought at Athens. Those that remained in the city, about 1,000 in number, mostly women and children, with old men, blew the /n.' selves up by the mines that had been purposely prepared. At daybreak, the barbari- ans entered the city. Thus fell Missilonghi, which had so long been the strong hold of western Greece. The plain between Missilonghi and the mountains was covered with the dead bodies of the Suliots, who had been its most valiant defenders. Many escaped to the mountains. More than 3,000 pair of ears were cut off the dead, and sent as a precious trophy to Constantinople ; and above 5,000 women and children were made slaves. The annals of history can furnish but few instances of such ardor, firmness, and perseverance, as was exhibited by the Greeks, during this memorable siege. Mr. Meyer, a Swiss editor, in a letter he wrote a short time before the fall of this place, says — " A few days more, and these brave men will be angelic spirits, who will accuse before God, the indifference of Christendom for a cause which is that of religion. We are drawing near our final hour ; history will render us justice ; posterity will weep over our misfortunes. May the relation of the siege of Missilonghi, which I have written, survive me. I have made several copies of it." Lord Byron, who died at Missilonghi in April, had resided in that place since the begin- ning of January, of the same year. Missilonghi was fortified in 1823, under the superintendance of English officers ; and partly at the expense of a patriotic Eng- lishman, whose name, (Murry,) deserves to be handed down to posterity. It had been made the strongest hold in Greece. Ibrahim was now in possession of Modon, Coron, Navarino, and Patras ; and had already removed three pachas. It only remained for him to gain posaession of Napoli di Romania, to be master of the islands of the Archipelago. This fact at once opened the eyes of the European powers, who now looked with distrust on Ibrahim. Great exertions by societies in France, Germany, Switzer- land, and England, were made in behalf of the suffering Greeks, and many new societies were formed, when a change of me«- GREEK REVOLUTION. 633 sures in the English ministry had a most decided influence on their destiny. By order of Canning, the Duke of Wellington, at St. Petersburg, had signed the protocol for the interference of the three great powers in behalf of Greece. It was the wish of Canning to adjust the difficulties between Greece and Turkey, without any reference to Russia ; but death, at this period, sealed his noble designs. While these measures were slowly advancing among the diplomatic corps, Ibrahim was desolating the Morea ; and the struggling Greeks, a prey to every kind of horror, were dying of hunger. June 17th, 1827, Athens capitulated to Redschid Pacha. Lord Cochrane now arrived witli steam vessels from England, to aid the Greeks ; and General Church had the command of the land forces. New dissensions arose at Napoli di Romania, and Pal- mades began to cannonade the city to force the payment of arrears. The executive fled to iEgina. In this state of des- peration, the Greeks looked to Russia, and chose Count Capo d'Istria as their president, who entered on his office January 22d, 1828. In the mean time, a treaty for the settlement of Greece was signed July 6th, 1827, at London, by the plenipotentiaries of England, France, and Russia. This treaty was communicated to the ambassadors of the three powers residing at Constantino- ple ; and on the 16th August, their joint note was sent to the Reis Effendi. The Porte refused to admit the interference of the three powers, and further attempts to induce the Porte to listen to the mediation of the allied powers, proved unavailing. The Greek government proclaimed an armistice on the 25th, in conformity with the treaty of London. September 9th, the Turco-Egyptian fleet arrived at Navarino ; and on the 13th, a British squadron under Admiral Codrington, reached this bay. By the 22d, the French squadron, commanded by Admiral Rigny, and that of Russia, under Count Heyden, united. The admirals had an interview with Ibrahim Pacha on the 25th, and informed him of their determination to establish an armistice de facto, between Greece and Turkey. On the following day, Ibrahim attempted to sail from Navarino, but was prevented. When he found he would not be suflfered to remove his fleet, he commenced the work of destruction by burning houses, destroying vineyards, and the most wanton massacre of women and children. In consequence of these atrocious deeds the combined fleet entered the port of Navarino, to compel Ibra, him to desist from these brutal outrages. October 20th, the combined fleet passed the batteries, and bj 634 CHAPTER XIV. 2 p. M. were ready for action. The Turco-Egyptian fleet was drawn up in the form of a crescent ; their large ships presented a broadside, and between these small vessels intervened. The Allied squadron was led by the Asia, the ship of Admii-al Cod- rington, and was followed by the Genoa and Albion, and an- chored alongside a ship of the line, bearing the flag of Capitana Bey, and a large double-banked frigate ; while Moharem Bey, the commander of the Egyptian fleet, was on the other side of the Asia. The Turks brought on the action, by killing two Englishmen ; and it soon became general, raging furiously for four hours. It ended in the destruction of the Moorish fleet, that, a short time before, had consisted of 3 ships of the line, 84 guns each ; a razee ; 16 frigates ; 27 large corvettes, from 18 to 24 guns ; and the same number of brigs, with 6 fire-ships. Of this armament there remained afloat, after the action, but 20 corvettes and brigs ; and these were abandoned. The intelligence of the destruction of the Moorish fleet at Navarino, was received with the liveliest joy by all the friends of Greece, both in Europe and America. This arose from the conviction that this blow had decided the freedom of the Greeks, who, during six years of extreme suffering, had been a prey to the most dreadful horrors. There was now an involuntary suspension of hostilities. Soon afterwards, the Greek pirates began to infest the seas,, which caused the admirals of the united squadron, to send a warm remonstrance to the legislative council of the Greeks. Aft;er some punishments had been inflicted upon the offenders, safety was restored in those seas ; but not until the British had destroyed the head-quarters of the pirates in Candia, February 28th, 1828. The Porte was exasperated, in the highest degree, with the annihilation of its fleet at Navarino; and forthwith seized and detained all the vessels of the Franks at Constantinople, where they were kept from November 2d, till November 19 ; and even stopped all communication with the ministers of the Allied powers, till indemnification should be made for the destruction of the fleet. The Sultan, in the height of his rage, prepared for war, and used all the means in his power to inflame the pas- sions of the Moslems. In December, the ministers of the three powers lefl; Constantinople, when the Porte adopted conciliatory measures. In the mean time, all the Moslems from the age of 19 to 50, had been called to arms. On the 30th, the Sultan Mahmoud heard that Persian Armenia had fallen into the power of Russia, where Paske witch had achieved a series of splendid victories. GREEK REVOLUTION. 635 By this time, Capo d'Istria, the president of Greece, had appointed the able Tricoupi his secretary of state ; and had established a high national council, called Panhellenion. Feb. 4th, at Napoli di Romania, he also established a bank, and re-or- ganized the military. France and Russia each lent 6,000,000 francs to aid the new state. In consequence c f the death of Canning and a change of the English ministry, the battle of Navarino was called an untoward event. The Porte continued to reject every proposal for settle- ment with Greece, and during this time, Ibrahim was carrying away the Greeks into slavery. A war broke out, March, 1828, between Russia and Turkey, so that the Porte had, with this power alone, quite business enough to attend to. The French cabinet, in concert with England, now sent an army to the Morea, under the command of General Maison, which arrived August 29th, in the bay of Coron, near Petalidi ; and Admiral Codrington concluded a treaty with the viceroy of Egypt, Aug. 6th, for the evacuation of the Morea by Ibrahim Pacha, and for the liberation of the Greek prisoners, while those who had been carried away, were to be freed or ransomed. October 4th, Ibrahim sailed from Navarino with 21,000 men, for Alexandria, with the wreck of his fleet, leaving 2,500 in the Messinian fortresses. The French took undisputed possession of Navarino, and attacked and took the fortresses in Messina, so that Navarino, Modon, and Coron, were soon in their possession. Patras, with 3,000 men, capitulated October 5th, and the flags of the three Allied powers, with the national flag of Greece, waved undis- puted over these cities. Admiral Rigny conveyed the Turks to Smyrna. To defend the Morea from any new attacks of the Turks, a manifesto was issued by the ministers of the three powers, Nov. 16, 1828, declaring — " That they should place the Morea and the Cyclades under their protection, till the time when a definitive arrangement should decide the fate of the provinces, which the Allies had taken possession of; and that they should consider the entrance of any military force into this country, as an attack upon themselves." A French agent carried this note to Constantinople;, to which an immediate answer from the Porte was required. But during this time, the Greeks continued active hostilities. Demetrius Ypsilanti, having under him Coloctroni and several leaders, and 5,000 men, marched into Livadia, and defeated the Turks, Nov. 2d, at Lomotico, and Dec. 3d, took Salona ; then in succession, Lepanto, Livadia, and Vonizza. The Greeks commenced fitting out a great number of privateers 636 CHAPTER XIV. In consequence of these measures, the Sultan banished 25,000 persons, Greeks and Armenians, not born there, from the city of Constantinople ; and the Sultan still declined to recall his barbarous edict of extermination. Through the energetic measures of Capo d'Istria, Greece began to recover herself after a long period of distraction. He divided the states of Greece into 13 departments, seven of these formed the Peloponnesus, with 280,000 inhabitants, and 8,543 square miles ; the eighth, the Northern Sporades, 6,200 inhabitants, 106 square miles ; the ninth, the Eastern Sporades, 58,800 inhabitants, 318 square miles ; the tenth, the Western Sporades, with 40,000 inhabitants, 169 square miles ; the eleventh, twelilh, and thirteenth, the Cyclades, (north, central, and south,) 91,500 inhabitants, 1176 square miles. Total inhabitants, 476,500; square miles, 10,312. The Brititsh plenipotentiary presented his credentials to the president of Gi-cece, Nov. 19, 1828; and Colonel Fabier, after his return from France, took upon him the organization of the Greek army. On the delivery, at Constantinople, of the protocol of the three powers, in January, 1829, a verbal answer was given by the Reis Effendi, that the Porte wished for peace. In July, Sir Robert Gordon, the British amba'ssador, and Count Guillimont, from France, arrived at Constantinople. The sue- cesses of Diebitsch, who had crossed the Balkan mountains, and was on his way towards Constantinople, compelled the Turkish plenipotentiaries to sign a treaty, which recognized formally, in the sixth article, the treaty of July 6, 1827. Peace between Russia and the Porte was signed at Adrianople, Sept. 14, 1829, and was ratified by the latter, six days afterwards. Having brought down the affairs of Greece to the cessation of hostilities, it only remains to add a few particulars respecting the death of Capo d'Istria. This individual became exceedingly unpopular with the Greeks, from his supposed attachment to Russian interests, and the jealousy and impatience of restraint of the Greek chiefs. In the spring of 1831, the islands and province of Maina were in open resistance to the government. Miaulis, Mavrocordato, and Condurioti, demanded a convoca- tion of the national assembly, the liberty of the press, and that certain state prisoners should be liberated. The insurgents took possession of Poros, and the Greek fleet lying in the harbor. In August, the troops of the president attacked the town, while the Russian fleet was standing in to attack the Greek fleet in the harbor. Admiral Miaulis then blew up his ships, rather than suffer them to fall into the hands of the Russians. The city of Poros, deserted by its inhabitants, was reduced to ashes. In the GSEEK REVOLUTION. 637 ntean time, the Mainots were actively engaged by land againat the government. The Russian fleet now appeared in the gulf of Coron ; when Miaulis, who had been co-operating with the Mainots with a small squadron, destroyed it lor the same reasons he had done with the ships at Poros. October 9th, 1831, as the president was going to attend ser- vice at the church, he was assassinated by two men, who had repaired purposely to Napoli di Romania. One fired a pistol at the head of Capo d'Istria, and the other stabbed him with a Turkish dagger, when he fell dead on the spot. These persona were George the son, and Constantine the brother of Mavromi- chalis, who had been imprisoned since January. Constantine was immediately killed by the guards of the president, and George was detained in custody. In 1832, the three powers obtained from the Grand Seignior a much more advantageous northern boundary line for Greece, than had been granted in 1830. The line is to run from the gulf of Volo, in the iEgian Sea, along a range of mountains, to the gulf of Arta, in the Adriatic. By tliis arrangement, Acarnania and iEtolia, chiefly inhabited by Greeks, are included in the kingdom of Greece — an acquisition of great importance, as it adds nearly 100,000, inhabitants, and almost 3,000 square miles to the new state. Besides the frontier line is more strongly marked, and will be easier of defence. This accession to Greece was obtained from the Grand Seignior for 50,000,000 of Turkish piasters ; which are to be deducted from the sum he had undertaken to pay to Russia. The present population of Greece is estimated at from 635,000 to 900,000 souls. Its territory, including Acarnania, ^tolia, and the islands, is about 18,000 square miles, equal to about two- fifths of the state of New York, and about equal to it iu popula- tion. The Morea, or Peloponnesus, comprises 7,227 square miles, and nearly equivalent in extent to the state of Massachu- setts. The same treaty which fixed the boundary line, raised Otho, a Bavarian youth of seventeen years of age, to the throne of Greece ; who carried with him 3,500 Bavarian soldiers, when, as stipulated, the French troops were to be withdrawn. In the maintenance and aid of the new government, England, France, and Russia, have provided, and become responsible for, a loan of $3,750,000 ; and have further agreed to furnish, at two instalments, an equal amount, should it be required for the good of the country. This loan is to be refunded in due time, and the payment of the interest is provided for. King Otho, the new monarch of Greece, arrived at Napoli 638 CHAPTER XIV. di Romania, Feb. 6, 1 B33. There were, at this time, in the port of Napoli di Romania, several ships of war belonging to England, France, and Russia. On the following day, Kmg Otho issued a proclamation, declaring his good intentions and well wishes for his adopted country, and engaging to protect tlie religion of the Greeks. War between Russia and Turkey. Hostilities between Russia and Turkey commenced at a most fortunate period for the safety of Greece. The Porte breathing vengeance, and intent on exterminating the entire Greek popu- lation, would listen to no terms of accommodation offered by the Allied powers. The battle of Navarino had, for the present, paralyzed the operations of Ibrahim Pacha ; and after such a signal chastise- ment of the infidels by the Allied powers, they could not honor- ably withdraw their future protection to the Greeks, who had so long been left to contend alone against their cruel oppressors and murderers. The Porte was led to consider that Russia secretly favored the Greek cause, and therefore took possession of Moldavia and Walachia, and put restrictions upon its maritime commerce. This was an open violation of the peace of Bucharest, on which, after an exchange of notes, the Russian minister left Constan- tinople ; but through the exertions of the ministers of Austria and England, and the desire of the Emperor Alexander to pre- serve peace, the commencement of hostilities was avoided. Still the Porte refused to give any satisfaction to the Russian court Things remained in this state till the Emperor Nicholas issued his ultimatum. May 14, 1826, when the Porte granted all the demands of the court of Russia, and promised that Moldavia and Walachia (where the Porte had derived, in three years, a revenue of 37,000,000 of piastei-s, to aid the prosecution of the war against Greece,) should be restored. October 6, 1826, at Ackerman, the Russian ultimatum was accepted. The Porte also surrendered all the fortresses in Asia to Russia. This treaty was executed in 1827. The Sultan Mahmoud had now nis hands full of other business. Having determined to reform his army, he began by exterminat- mg the corps of Janisaries, which he effected after a bloody battle, in June, 1826 ; when he formed his army on the Euro- WAR BETWEEN RUSSIA AND TURKEY. 639 jiean system. The Sultan himself wore the European dress, and prohibited, throughout his empire, the calling of Christians, •' dogs." This new system of reform led to a violent insurrec- tion, and the loss of 6,000 houses in Constantinople. In June, 1827, the Porte refused the intervention of Russia, France, and England, for the settlement of Greece ; and seemed to bid defiance to the powers of Europe, by attempting to rally together all his subjects for war. Russia declared war against Turkey, April 26, 1828. In that document the emperor declared, that he would not lay down his arms till he had obtained the following results, namely : the payment of all the expenses of the war ; the acknowledgment of past treaties ; inviolable liberty of the commerce of the Black Sea ; the free navigation of the Bosphorus ; and lastly, the fulfilment of the convention of July 6th, for the pacification of Greece. The campaign opened May 7th, 1828, by the Russian army of 115,000 men passing the Pruth, under Count Wittgenstein, commander in chief. On the 19th, the Emperor's staff arrived before Brailow, of which Diebitsch was chief. June 15th, in attempting to carry this place by storm, the Russians lost 640 men killed, two major generals, and 1340 men wounded. June 20, Brailow surrendered to the Russians, on condition of the garrison being permitted to retire to Silistria. Two hundred and seventy-three cannon, besides a great quantity of balls and ammunition, were taken. Up to July 2d, the Russians had taken seven fortresses — Brailow, Matschin, Toultscha, Hirsova, Kus- tendji, Keuzgon, and Managalia. Toultscha was defended by 91 cannon, and 2,000 men. August 7th, the Russian flotilla before Varna, attacked that of the Turks, and captured 14 vessels. On the 20th August, the Grand Vizier left Constantinople for the army. September 20th, the Seraskier of Widdin was defeated by General Geismar, with great loss, and compelled to retreat. About the same time, a Russian manifesto issued at St. Petersburg, ordered a new levy of four men out of every 500 of the population. Varna was carried by assault after a siege of two months, October 11th. Its garrison originally amounting to 22,000 men, was reduced to 6,000. This was the most important fortress of the Turks ; and gave the Russians the command of the western coast of the Black Sea. On the 15th October, the blockade of the Darda- nelles was announced officially by Admiral Heyden. In July, the Turks retired into the strongly fortified mountain position of Shumla, where they had more than 40,000 men, under the com- mand of Hussein Pacha. 640 CHAPTEH XI /. The principal Russian force, 45,000 men, under Field Marshal Wittgenstein, with the Emperor, approached Shumla, while the operations were going on before Varna. The Grand Vizier cau- tioualy avoided giving battle to the Russians before Shumla. A-fter the fall of Varna, the Russian army fell back from Shumla, October 15. Silistria was besieged in September, and raised November 10th. The heavy artillery of the Russians was abandoned. While these operations were going forward. Gene- ral Paskewitch, after signal success in Persia, was advancing through Asiatic Turkey with a victorious army, and had gained a series of briUiant victories. By the 21st of September, the whole pachalic of Bajasid, as far as the banks of the Euphrates, was conquered. The approach of winter put an end to Ihis campaign, in which the Russians lost many men by disease and want of supplies. The loss of horses was great. The results of the campaigns in Europe and Asia, were, two Turkish prin- cipalities taken, three pachalics, fourteen fortresses, and three castles. Notwithstanding these losses of the Turks, the Porte refused the terms of accommodation offered, before and during this campaign, by the Emperor Nicholas, through the British ambassador, Lord Heytesbury, viz. indemnification for the ex- pense of the war, and security against future injuries and viola- tions of treaties. The Sultan prepared for a new campaign. General Diebitsch was appointed commander in chief of the Russian forces, Feb. 21, 1829. The siege of Silistria was renewed on the opening of the campaign, under the direction of Diebitsch, May 17th. The Turkish army, commanded by the Grand Vizier, attacked the Russians posted near the village of Eski Arnaoutlar, at three in the morning. The battle lasted till 8 in the evening, when the Turks retired with the loss of 2,000 killed. On the 17th of June, a great battle was fought at Koulevtcha, near Shumla — the Turks commanded by the Grand Vizier, and the Russians by Diebitsch. The battle was fought with great obstinacy ; when European tactics prevailed over Turkish courage. The Turks lost 5,900 killed, a great number of pri- soners, 43 pieces of cannon, 6 standards, all their ammunition Wagons, baggage, dec. June 30th, Silistria surrendered to the Russians. The garri- son consisted of 8,000 men, and the armed inhabitants that were made prisoners of war ; 220 pieces of cannon, 80 stand of colors, and 2 three-tailed pachas, were also taken, besides the whole of the Turkish flotilla. Immediately after the surrender of the fortress of Silistria, Diebitsch commenced preparations to pass the river Kamtchick Massacre of the Greeks. P. 636. Battle of Navarino. P. 636. WAR BETWEEN RUSSIA AND TURKEY. 641 and the Balkan mountains. On the 17th of July, the camp before Shumla was left, and by the 22d, Diebitsch had attained the summit of the Balkan. In descending these mountains, the Russians encountered a Turkish force of about 7,000 men, under the Seraskier Abduhl Rahman, and defeated him, takmg 4U0 prisoners, 12 cannon, and 7 standards. On the 23d, Mesem- bria was captured, with 20 standards, 15 cannon, and 2,000 pri- soners ; and on the same day Achioli was captured, containing 14 pieces of cannon, ammunition, &c. When the Russian army reached the shores of the Black Sea, it was able to co-operate with the fleet under Admiral Greig. On the 24th of June, Bourgas was taken, with ten pieces of cannon, and abundance of military stores. On the 25th, Aidos was captured, with the whole Turkish camp, 600 tents, 500 barrels of gunpowder, 4 standards, &c. August 19th, the Russians approached Adrianople, and the next day took unresisted possession of the place, where nego- ciations commenced. Sept. 14, a treaty of peace was signed. Russia agreed to the restoration of Moldavia and Walachia, and all the towns occupied by them in Bulgaria and Rumelia. Mol- davia was to have an independent administration and free trade ; and the Russians freedom of commerce throughout the Ottoman empire, agreeably to former treaties ; and free commerce and navigation of the Black Sea, to all nations at peace with Tur- key. The Porte stipulated to pay as an indemnification to Russia, 1,500,000 ducats of Holland, for the losses of Russian subjects : and a further sum, as should be agreed upon, as an indemnity for the expenses incurred in the war. And the Porte acceded to the terms of Russia, Great Britain, and France, for the settlement of the affairs in Greece. The indemnity for the expenses of the war, was arranged in a subsequent act, to be paid in instalments. On the first pay- ment, the Russian troops were to retire from Adrianople ; on the second, to repass the Balkan ; and on the third, to repass the Danube ; and on the fourth payment to evacuate the Turkish territory. So far, the Emperor Nicholas fulfilled his declara- tion and pledges to the Allies, on the commencement of the war — after having gained the objects for which it was undertaken. In this campaign, it has been stated, that the Russians lost 200,000 men and 20,000 horses. It was stated in the papers at the time, that the Russian forces, at the commencement of the present campaign, amounted to 541,731 regular troops, and 146,601 irregulars, making a total of 688,332. 41 642 CHAPTER XIV. England, from A. D. 1816, to the passing of the Reform Bill, A. D. 1832. The course of policy pursued by the British cabinet, mainly brought about the restoration of Louis XVIII. to the throne of France, Its accomplishment loaded England with an enor- mous debt, as much in opposition to the wishes of the majority of Englishmen, as the restoration of the Bourbons was con- trary to the desire of the French nation. Since that event, the French have expelled the Bourbons ; and the people of England have succeeded, after an arduous struggle, in the overthrow of toryism, or more properly speaking, of military despotism. The glaring corruptions in the representation, and the abuses which existed in the " rotten-borough system," had long ago been clearly shown, by writers of great political knowledge ; and many of England's best and purest patriots had labored to correct the abuses which existed in their representation. The liberal journalists exerted themselves incessantly to effect this object, and it was repeatedly urged in parliament with great force of eloquence. The accession of WiUiam IV. who soon became the most popular monarch that had reigned in England, proved favorable to the cause of liberty. After the overthrow of the Duke of Wellington and his cabinet, William called a whig ministry, with Earl Grey at its head ; and this eminent statesman, with his colleague, Brougham, carried through the long and ardently desired reform, which, eradicating the " rotten boroughs," pro- vided for the free and equal representation of the people of Eng land in ])arliament. The measures of the English government having a njosi important bearing on the general policy of Europe, it will be requisite here to take a hasty glance at the public measures of British statesmen, more especially of those who have so essen- tially aided the new and more enlarged line of policy, in accord- ance with the spirit of the age, and opposed to the " slavish and despotic monarchies of Europe." In the 1820, George III. died, January 29th, at the age of 82, after a reign of three-score years, the longest in the British annals ; when George IV. who had been regent since February 3, 1811, succeeded to the throne of Great Britain. Earl L'ver. pool was nominated by the prince regent, first lord of the treasury, Jan. 9, 1812, and ccaitinued in office till 1827. His ENGLAND. 643 prudence and moderation at home, were strikingly contrasted with the course pursued by Castiereagh, minister of the foreign department. This latter minister destroyed himself by sui- cide, August 12, 1822. On his interment in Westminster Abbey, popular indignation against his memory was strongly exhibited. And that this was not without reason, will appear by a reference to his many unfeeling and tyrannical measures, and his violations of the constitution. We are here constrained to offer a passing remark, on the public character of this minis- ter, whose true reputation is not generally known in this coun- try. Castiereagh was hated for his tyranny ; he was the dupe of courts, and the betrayer of the people. The part he took in the congress of Vienna, in parcelling out and trafficking away the rights of weaker states, to build up a military despot- ism throughout Europe, loaded him with the execrations of all those people whom he had so basely sold. His death was con- sidered in England as a happy event for the cause of liberty, which his measures had for so many years crushed. It will be seen, that the foreign policy of England underwent a complete change after his death. In 1816, the income tax was taken off from personal estate, capital, and colonial possession. This was but shifting the bur- den of taxation from landholders to the working classes, those great consumers of the necessaries of life ; who were now reduced to the greatest state o[ suffering. England for a time, surmounted all these difficulties, and even greatly increased her foreign trade. This V ept the manufacturing districts quiet, as long as they were well employed. In the month of August, 1816, a British squadron of five sail of the line and five frigates, under the command of Lord Ex- mouth, bombarded Algiers, and destroyed the Algerine shipping, batteries, and magazines : when the Dcy agreed to the total abolition of Christian slavery, and the release of all Christian captives in his dominions. A few months after this defeat the Dey was strangled, when piracy again flourished, till the French afterwards conquered this piratical city. The distresses in England led the populace to offer public iiisult, and assail the prince regent, in 1817, on his return from parliament to Carlton House. February 3, a royal message and accompanying documents were communicated to parlia- ment, giving information of the existence of societies, combi- nations, &c. in the metropolis, and throughout the kingdom, dangerous to the constitution ; and that insurrections had been planned. In consequence of this information, which was greatly exaggerated, the ministry took a high-handed course. Lord 644 CHAPTER XIV. Sidmouth introduced a bill into the house of lords, for the sus- pension of the habeas corpus act, which passed into a law ; and Castlereagh was successful in carrying one to suppress debating societies, and unlawful organizations ; and a third bill waa passed, for punishing, with severity, all attempts to corrupt the army and navy. Sir F. Burdett, May 20th, again brought forward the ques- tion of parliamentary reform, in which he was aided by Sir Samuel Romilly. It was, however, lost, the votes being 265 against 77. 1818. One of the first measures, after the opening of par- liament, was the restoratien of the liberties of the people, by the repeal of the habeas corpus suspension act, accompanied by a bill of indemnity to screen the ministers for such a high- handed act. Sir Samuel Romilly declared, on the second reading of the indemnity bill, " that it annihilated the rights of individuals, and took all legal remedies from those who had suffered by an irresponsible and unconstitutional exercise of authority." In August, 1819, there was a meeting at Manchester, to dis- cuss the question of parliamentary reform. It should here be stated that spies, in the employment of government, had gone about the country, inflaming the minds of the people ; and these same wretches, when detected, were shielded behind the power of the ministry. This meeting at Manchester was of a peace- able character, and was estimated at 50,000 souls, including the wives and children of the petitioner?. There was no ap- pearance or intention of riot, nor were .here any arms among them. Mr. Hunt was the chairman, and during his speech, the assembly was charged by the military, and many lives were sacrificed in a most inhuman manner. This nefarious trans- action roused the indignation of the British populace. The distresses about this time, in the manufacturing districts, were heavily felt. The national debt, by a continuance of twenty, three years' war, had increased to about 900,000,000 pounds. Strong measures were taken to prevent public discussions. Ireland, at this time, presented nothing but a scene of conflict and misery. Earl Grey, in the house of lords, moved for an inquiry into the conduct of the Manchester magistrates, but was defeated ; and a similar attempt was made in the house of commons, and this also was voted down. The subject was renewed before the recess of parliament ; but these false guardians of public liberty refused to inquire into this most flagrant outrage on the rights of tlie people : instead of which, the minister intro- ENGLAND. 645 duced several bills that became laws, to be continued five years. These have gone by the designation of the six acts. They were : 1st, a bill to take away the right of traversing, in cases of misdemeanors. 2d, for punishing any person found guilty, on a second conviction of libel, by fine, imprisonment, or banishment for life. 3d, for preventing seditious meetings. 4th. to prevent private military trainings. 5th, the application of the severe stamp system to pamphlets under two sheets, and a more rigorous punishment of libels and seditious writings. 6th, a bill giving magistrates the power of entering houses by night, or by day, for the purpose of seizing arms believed to be collected for unlawful purposes. 1820. The death of George III. this year, produced no dif- ference in the public measures ; although the aspect of England was quite changed by the great increase of trade, and the dimi- nution of taxes, and by better harvests. The renewal of specie payments, and the increasing value of paper currency, was highly favorable to manufactures. The country was now reco- vering from the heavy burden of war, in which she had so long been engaged. A daring conspiracy to assassinate ministers, called the Cato street conspiracy, was detected, for which Thistlewood and four of his companions paid the forfeit of their lives, and four others concerned were transported for life to Botany Bay. July 19, 1821. The splendid coronation of George IV. took place at Westminster Abbey. On the death of the Marquis of Londonderry, better known as Lord Castlereagh, Mr. Canning was called to the cabinet, as secretary of foreign afiairs, Sept. 16th, 1822. One of the first measures of Canning, was to check the fanatic influence of the French in Spain. In 1823, England allowed her subjects to aid the Greeks, and even acknowledged their right of blockade. With the republics of South America, she formed treaties of alliance ; and in 1825, formally acknowledged the independence of the South American states. In the years 1825 and 1826, the commercial difficulties were great, occasioned by the speculation in foreign loans, and in the most costly undertakings, which led to bankruptcies, and gave an unusual shock to men of business. " Bankruptcies spread like a vast fog over England, America, France, and Germany, at the same moment. But the vigor of England is incalculable."* Seventy-five banks broke in the same number of days ; and 255 joint-stock companies, that, a week before, » Crol/s Life of George IV. 646 CHAPTER xir. were in high credit, and ready for vast undertakings, were in the Gazette. And yet after such sweeping desolation, m an- other year confidence was re-established, commerce revived, and public business went forward with renewed activity and confidence. The numerous failures of banks, threatened the laboring classes with ruin, from the derangement of the currency. To remedy this alarming state of things, government immediately ordered the coinage of sovereigns with all possible despatch. These were struck off at the rate of 100,000 a day, and sup- plied to the country. Such was the activity of the mint on this occasion, that for one week, 150,000 sovereigns per day were coined. The bank of England issued temporarily, two pound notes. Thus the distress of the country was in a great measure relieved. In 1826, April 4th, England united with the court of St. Peters, burg to compel the Porte to cease hostilities with the Greeks. Mr. Canning was appointed prime minister April 12th, 1827, and died in the month of August of the same year. His policy was crowned by the recognition of the South American states, the maintenance of the independence of Portugal, and the treaty signed at London, July 6th, for the settlement of the war in Greece, which treaty led to the battle of Navarino.* Lord Goderich succeeded as first lord of the treasury. He retired from office January 8th, when the Duke of Wellington was made premier, although the duke had declared in parliament, the year before, his entire unfitness for high civil office. In April, a Catholic relief bill was passed. George IV. King of Great Britain, died June 26th, 1830, and was succeeded by his second brother, the Duke of Clarence, under the title of William IV^. The administration of the Duke of Wellington was overthrown, November 16th, and a few days after, a new ministry was formed, with Earl Grey at its head, and Brougham lord chancellor. The Duke of Wellington's overthrow was ascribed to his resistance of retrenchment, and his apprehension of popular riots, and opposition to parliamentary reform. The political obstinacy of the Duke arose out of his ignorance and contempt of the people, and a blind confidence in his own supremacy and power, and a thorough Disregard of public opinion, while * Mr. Brougham said of Mr. Canning, in the British house of commons, fanuary 29th, 1828, " That great man fell a premature sacrifice to his struggles for the establishment of a noble system of policy ; and it was 10 be hoped, that the efforts he made, crowned as they were with success, might be followed up." ENGLAND. 647 events at home and abroad perplexed him. The continental inonarchs of the Holy Alliance had looked to the tory ministry, with Wellington at its head, for security and protection. What must have been the sensation in the courts of those countries, when intelligence was received of the Duke's overthrow and resignation ? The whig ministry, with Earl Grey at its head, was pledged to support the reform bill.* This ministry took upon them a great task — an arduous responsibility. That gross abuses abounded in the British government, no one could deny ; and reform was demanded by the united voice of the nation. Mr. Brougham was pledged to parliamentary reform, the reduction of expenses and sinecures, and against negro slavery. The ministerial plan of reform, by Earl Grey and his cabuiet, was brought forward by Lord John Russell, on the 1st of March ; and after a debate of seven days, leave was given to bring in three bills for reforming the representation of England, Scotland, and Ireland. The bill was carried, after a debate of two days, to a second reading, March 22d, by a vote of 302 to 301 ; but was lost on the third reading, the vote being 291 for the minis- try, 299 against it. The King dissolved the parliament in person, on the 22d of A.pril. In the speech delivered on that occasion, William said, " I have been induced to resort to this measure for the purpose of ascertaining the sense of my people," &;c. The new parliament, of which a large number was pledged to support reform, assembled June 14th, 1831, and was opened by the King, who recommended the question of a reform in the representation, to their earliest and most attentive considera- tion. On the 24th, the reform bill was again brought forward by Lord John Russell, in the house of commons, and passed its second reading July 6th, by a vote of 367 to 235, and to a third reading Sept. 22d, by a vote of 349 to 236. The bill was car- ried up to the house of lords, and on October 8th, rejected by a vote of 199 to 158. Parliament was prorogued on the 20th of the same month. The rejection of the reform bill in the house of lords, on the 8th, led to strong manifestations of popular fury against the nobility, especially those who had voted against the bill. At Nottingham and Derby, as well as other parts of the kingdom^ riots commenced soon as intelligence of the defeat of the bill * In 1797, Lord Grey made a motion for reform. Its failure caused that great statesman, Fox, to withdraw from parliament, which was by some jvidged to be a dereliction of duty. 648 CHAPTER XIY. was received. On the 29th, 30th, and 31st, dreadful riots took place at Bristol — many of the public buildings and an immense amount of property were destroyed ; ninety persons were k-lled and wounded at that time ; afterwards five were executed, and many were sentenced to transportation. The total damage done, during this riot at Bristol, was estimated at 300,000 pounds sterling. Parliament was opened again, December 6th, by the King ; and on the 12th, Lord John Russell, (a third time,) introduced a new bill for reform, very similar to the former, and declared to be "equally efficient." It was read the second time, on the 18th, by a vote of 324 to 162. On March 23d, it was brought up for a third reading, and passed by a vote of 355 to 239. The bill passed to a second reading, in the house of lords, April 13th, by a vote of 184 to 175. An amendment to defeat the bill was introduced by Lord Lyndhurst, which passed May 8th, by a vote of 151 to 116 ; and on May 12th it was lost by a majority of 40. Earl Grey advised the King to create a suffi- cient number of new peers to secure the success of the bill, ten- dering his resignation as the alternative, which was accepted. On the resignation of ministers, great public excitement followed. The political unions, organized throughout the country, deter, mined to refuse the payment of taxes, and demanded that the ministers should be reinstated. Earl Grey had stated, that he would stand or fall by this bill ; and that nothing less efficient should be supported by him. The excitement was so great in Birmingham, that 100,000 persons assembled suddenly and spontaneously, and forwarded an immediate express to London. There was a firm determina- tion to have the reform bill carried, or pay no taxes ; and this determination was echoed from every part of the kingdom. There was no riot ; the people had risen in their collective strength, to assert their just rights. Bursts of indignant feel- ings were directed against the bishops and nobility. The Duke of Wellington failed in his attempts to form a ministry ; when Earl Grey and his colleagues were reinstated in office May 18th, with the assurance from the King, of having a suffi- cient number of peers created, to secure the passing of the bill. When the lords were apprized of this fact, they resolved to let it pass. June 14th, the bill passed a third reading, by a vote of 106 to 22, and the royal assent was given by commission, on the 17th of the same month. It is worthy of remark, that not one of the bishops was present on the final passage of the bill. In answer- ing the forebodings and objections made to it by the lords, Eai i ENGLAND. 649 Grey said — " That the peace, power, and prosperity of England would all be increased by the reform." By it, 22 new boroughs, in England, are to send two new members each ; 19 new boroughs, one each ; 62 new members are added to the English county members ; three to the county members, and two to the borough members of Wales ; five to the Scotch members ; and five to the Irish members. By this reform bill, 56 of the old boroughs, called rotten or decayed boroughs, have been wholly disfranchised ; and 30 boroughs, that before sent two members each, are to send but one. The united borough of Weymouth and Melcombe Regis, which before sent four members, is to send but two. County members under the reform act. — Formerly, each county sent two members, except Yorkshire, which returned four — total 82. The counties in Wales, one each — total 12. By the reform act, the number of the county members of England is raised to 144; those of Wales to 15. And 26 English counties are divided, and return four members each ; 7 counties three each ; the ridings of Yorkshire, two each ; and the six remain- ing counties, two each ; and the Isle of Wight, one. Of the 12 Welch counties, three send two members each ; the remaining nine, one each. The reform act also extends to the right of voting, in the elec tion of members for cities and boroughs, to every male person of full age, not subject to any legal incapacity, who occupies, as owner or tenant, any house, warehouse, shop or building, of not less than ten pounds yearly value : provided such person pays assessed taxes and poor rates. And in the election of county members, the elective franchise extends to every male person who shall be in actual occupation of a freehold for life, or of lands or tenements of copyhold, of the clear yearly value of not less than ten pounds. In England, a county member of parlia- ment must possess real property to the amount of 600 pounds per annum ; and a borough member, 300 pounds. But in Scot- land, no such qualification is requisite. Lord John Russell, in his speech on introducing the first reform bill, (March 1, 1831,) made the following statement respecting the number of voters that would be added by that bill : number added in towns and boroughs in England already sending members, 110,000 ; electors of towns in England sending mem- bers for the first time, 50,000 ; electors in London, who will obtain the right of voting, 95,000 ; increase of electors in Scot- land, 60,000 ; in Ireland, perhaps 40,000 ; increase in the coun- ties of England, 100,000. " It is my opinion, therefore," said Lord Russell, " that the whole measure will add to the constitu- 650 CHAPTER XIV. ency of the commons house of parHament, about half a million of persons, and these all connected with the property of the country, having a valuable stake amongst us, and deeply mte- rested in our institutions." A sufficient number of booths are to be prepared, so that not more than 600 electors are to poll at one compartment. The polling to continue, if required, for two successive days only ; for seven hours on the first day, and for eight hours on the second : but the poll is not on any account, to be kept open later than 4 o'clock, on the second day. July 13. The Scotch reform bill passed to a third reading in the English house of lords ; and on the 30th of the same month, the Irish reform bill passed in the English house of lords. August 13th, the Irish tythe composition bill was read a third time and passed, in the English house of lords. On the 16th of August, the parliament of England was prorogued to the 16th of October. The successful issue of a reform in parliament has been achieved mainly through the perseverance, wisdom, and stern consistency of Henry Brougham, who was, for many years, the leader of the opposition in the house of commons, — a firm and decided enemy to the measures of the aristocrats and leagued despots. The passing of the reform bill was followed by a general election, which resulted in favor of the ministry. The first ses- sion of the new parliament was opened by the king, in person, on the 5th of February, 1833. During this session, the charters of the Bank of England and Ireland expired. The former was renewed, but while the political government of the British terri- tories in Hindostan was again vested in the East India Com- pany, the trade of India and China was thrown open to British enterprise. This session is further rendered memorable by the passing of an act for the entire abolition of slavery in the West Indies. The sum of jC20,000,000 was granted to the proprie- tors by way of compensation, and the slaves were placed in a state of apprenticeship, which has since expired and invested them with complete liberty. The condition of Ireland was brought before parliament, and in connection with the Irish coercion bill, a measure investing the executive with extraordinary powers for the suppression of disturbances, various bills were introduced for the amelioration of the grievances of that country. A provision of one of these, which had for its object the reform of the Irish Protestant Church, involved the appropriation of Irish titles, after due pro- vision for the Protestant Clergy, to the general purposes of ENGLAND. 651 education. In the session of 1834, the Irish coercion bill, which was to have expired in August, was renewed, and ren- dered more stringent, but before it was passed, the administra- tion of Earl Grey was dissolved. Upon the resignation of Mr. Littleton, the Irish secretary. Lord Althorp and Earl Grey, Lord Melbourne became premier, all the other members of the cabinet retaining office. One act was carried by the Melbourne admin- istration, which has proved of great importance to all classes. This act had for its object the entire re-organization of the poor laws. Great difference of opinion exists, regarding its merits, but it is clear that it has relieved the owners and occupiers of lands from heavy burdens, and raised the moral character of the English peasantry. Under the old poor-laws, they unblushingly sought the pittance of charity : now they are mainly solicitous to subsist by honest industry. The rule of the Melbourne administration was brief. Before the prorogation of parliament, its weakness had been apparent, and its want of intrinsic power had rendered it dependent on O'Connell and his party. At the same time, the public press denounced its incapacity to carry on government on any iixed principles. Certain of its members gave high oflence to the king, who availed himself of an opportunity, afforded him by the death of Earl Spencer, to dismiss the whole ministry from his service. To Sir Robert Peel was committed the task of form- ing a new cabinet, which was accomplished towards the close of the year. This change in the administration was followed, in 1 835, by a general election. In England the new government obtained a majority in the elections, but in Ireland and Scotland, public opinion was decidedly against them. When parliament assem- bled, they were left in the minority, in the first subject of debate, that of the choice of a speaker. Upon several subsequent divi- sions they were equally unsuccessful, and on being defeated in a measure, concerning the appropriation of the surplus of the revenues of the Irish church. Sir Robert Peel resigned. The Melbourne cabinet, with the exception of Lord Brougham, were now recalled, and during this session they succeeded in passing bills for the reform of the English corporations, and for the solemnization of the marriages of dissenters in their own chapels. These measures were followed in the session of 183G, by laws for the better registration of births, marriages and deaths ; for the commutation of English tithes, and the nearer equalization of episcopal sees. Upon Irish questions, the house of lords was still opposed to the views of the cabinet, and the majority of the house of commons. The lords refused 652 CHAPTER XIV. to pass an Irish tithe bill with the appropriation clause, and the commons rejecting the measure without it, there was once more a collision between the two houses. At this time, the affairs of the Canadas had forced themselves on the attention of the legislature. The house of assembly in Lower Canada had recently carried its opposition to the mother country, to the extent of refusing the supplies. An attempt at reconciliation was made, through the intervention of commis- sioners, but this failing, in 1837, the two branches of the British legislature agreed to oppose, by force, the refractory spirit dis- played by the colonists. Subsequently, Lord Durham was appointed lord-high-commissioner of the Canadas, with the most comprehensive powers for the suppression of revolt, the amelio- ration of grievances, and the re-organization of the institutions of that country. Since his accession to the throne, the king's health had, in general, been good. In the course of the present spring, symp- toms of decline manifested themselves, increasing rapidly, until, on the 19th of June, his majesty expired without a struggle. Few monarchs of England ever possessed the love of their sub- jects in a greater degree than William IV. Alexandrina Victoria. A. D. 1837. Alexandrina Victoria, who now succeeded to the British throne, was the daughter of the late duke of Kent. Her accession, which took place when she was 18 years of age, was hailed with more than ordinary enthusiasm. One effect of the descent of the crown to a female, was the separation from it of Hanover, after a union of more than a century. The queen's uncle, Ernest, became King of Hanover. Parliament completed its formal business with all possible dispatch, and, at the close of the session, was dissolved. The country, at this time, was in a state of perfect tranquillity. The popularity of the ministers had been declining, but the death of the king promised an increased stability to their power. Queen Victoria was believed to have been educated by her mother in principles favorable to their rule, and her countenance and support were expected to secure the government and make it popular. In the new elections, it was proclaimed that she espoused their political creed. Ministerial candidates traversed the country, inviting electors to exhibit their loyalty to her ENGLAND. 653 majesty by supporting her ministers. This appeal to the people failed to accomplish its object, the triumphs of the political parties, after a keen trial of their strength, being nearly balanced. In the autumn of this year, the corporation of London distin- guished itself by a demonstration of its loyalty to the queen, in a magnificent entertainment given to her in Guildhall, on the 9th of November. The utmost enthusiasm prevailed on this occa- sion. The queen opened the new parUament on the 20th of November. The motions relative to vote by ballot, and slavery, which occupied their attention during this session, were nega- tived. A bill which had for its object the education of the people, without reference to creed, was brought in by Lord Brougham, but the difficulties it encountered were insurmountable. A disaffection arose among the working classes in the manu- facturing districts, during the autumn of this year, excited by the poor laws and the price of provisions, but. by the exertions of government, order was restored. In the session of 1839, a bill was passed for the regulation of municipal corporations in Ireland. At this time disputes existed between the British government and the Jamaica legislature, arising from an act, which empowered her majesty in council to make rules for the government of the West India prisons, to appoint inspectors, and to regulate other matters of discipline. This was resisted by the Jamaica assembly, as a violation of their rights ; resolutions condemnatory of the act were adopted, and the members resolved to forego the exercise of their legisla- tive functions, until it was repealed. In consequence of this, a bill was brought into parliament for the suspension of the exist- ing constitution of Jamaica, for five years. Before this the minis- try had lost some of their supporters, and others now voting against them, the result of the debate brought about their resignation. Sir Robert Peel having failed to form a new cabinet, the Mel- bourne administration again resumed office, and measures were taken by them for the advancement of education, not, however, commensurate with the wants of the people. Every section of the religious community opposed each other on this question, which rendered it difficult for ministers to adopt any enlarged or enlightened educational measure. A bill, for the healing of the breach between the British parliament and the Jamaica assembly, was passed, which had the desired effect. Acts were passed for the better ordering of prisons, for the suppression of the Portuguese slave trade, and for the disposal of waste lands in the colonies ; but this session was particularly signalized by the reduction of the rates of postage, a measure, promotive of the . interests of trade and commerce, and of individual benefit. 654 CHAPTER XIV. A motion to take into consideration a "National Petition," presented to parliament, signed by 1,200,000 of the working classes, demanding universal suffrage, vote by ballot, annual parliaments and remuneration of members for their attendance in ihem, and the abolition of the property qualifications, was rejected. Its rejection was cotemporaneous with various riots at Birmingham, arising out of the proceedings of the chartists, but which were suppressed by the action of parliament. An announcement was made, at the opening of the session of 1840, that her majesty was about to be married to Albert, prince of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. A bill was consequently brought in and passed, for the naturalization of his royal high- ness ; jGSOjOOO per annum, was also voted him, out of the con- solidated fund, to commence on the day of his marriage with her majesty, and to continue during life. The marriage took place on the lOth of February. A bill was this year brought into parliament and passed, for the union of the two Canadas. During the last year, a serious collision took place between the Chinese authorities, and the British subjects at Canton. The Chinese government had pro- hibited the introduction of opium into their country, and an imperial commissioner demanded that every particle of this article, on board the British ships, should be delivered to the Chinese authorities, and be destroyed. This was refused, and hence arose a series of hostilities, which led the British govern- ment to interfere, and to engage in war with the Chinese empire. The British captured Chusan, and, for the first time, British cannon wrested from the emperor of that vast empire a portion of his dominions. The policy of government, with reference to the afllairs of China, was made the subject of a series of con- demnatory resolutions, and they were only negatived by a small majority. At this period, Sir Robert Peel moved a resolution, to the effect that her majesty's ministers did not possess the confidence of the house sufficiently to enable them to carry any measure of essential importance to the public welfare, and that their continuance in office, under such circumstances, was at variance with the spirit of the constitution. This resolution was adopted, but, the ministry not resigning, parliament was dissolved, and an appeal was made to the country by a general election. Great effx)rts were made by both parties on this occasion, but at the opening of the new parliament, the results of the elections were manifestly unfavorable to the administration. An amend- ment to the address from the throne, representing to her majesty the necessity that her ministers should enjoy the confidence of ' ENGLAND. 655 the country, and that it was not possessed by the present admin- istration, was carried against them by a large majority. In reply, her majesty stated that she would take measures for the formation of a new cabinet, and Sir Robert Peel was charged with the task, in executing which, he was successful. The principal members of the new administration were the Duke of Wellington, the Duke of Buckingham, the Earl of Haddington, Sir James Graham, Lords Ellenborough, Stanley, Wharncliffe, Lowther, and Lyndhurst ; the Honorable H. Goulburn, Sir E. Knatchbull, and Sir H, Hardinge. The only measures of importance, brought forward by the new ministry, were bills for the better administration of justice in the court of chancery, and for the continuance of the new poor law commission. This year, the differences which had arisen between the courts of Great Britain and the Chinese empire, were, for a time, adjusted. After the forts, surrounding Canton, were cap- lured, the Chinese emperor purchased peace by indemnification. The island and harbor of Hong Kong were ceded to the British crown ; an indemnity of 6,000,000 dollars was to be paid to the British government, and the trade and commerce between the two countries renewed. Further important concessions were made by the Chinese empire, and the result of the war was highly favorable to Great Britain. It must be mentioned, to the honor of the British nation, that great exertions have been made, and are still making, for the Christianizing of the Chinese people. An important treaty was this year signed between France, Austria, Prussia, Russia, and Great Britain, whereby the former powers agreed to adopt the English laws relative to the slave trade. Several important measures were passed by parliament in the session of 1842 : one of these was a new corn-law, on the principle of a graduated scale, to which great opposition was made, but which finally passed, in its original state. The next important measure was an income tax bill, by which all persons, having an income of more than £^150 per annum, were subjected to a tax of seven pence in the pound : personal property was also taxed to the same amount. The passing of this measure was followed by extensive alterations in the tariff, or customs' duties. The duties on numerous articles of trade and commerce were either greatly reduced, or wholly repealed by a bill, enti- tled the "Customs' Act." The repeal of the corn-laws was demanded, but still opposed by government. Another bill was passed, by the exertions of Lord Ashley, which had for its object the restraining of the employment of children in mines and collieries, which had been a cause o( great moral degrada- 656 CHAPTER XIV. tion, and much human suffering. An attempt having been made upon the queen's life by an insane person, named Bean, a bill for her majesty's protection was passed with perfect unanimity. A bill was also passed, renewing the corn-law commission for five years, and forming districts for the purposes of education, with various minor matters. The proceedings of the session were closed by a debate, taking a retrospective view of its opera- tions ; a practice which had of late years been adopted by both parties, and which gave rise to much strife. Plostilities with China had recently been renewed, but in this year the war was finally concluded. A treaty was. signed on the 26th of August, by which the Chinese now engaged to pay 21,000,000 dollars, and by which several ports were opened to the British merchants. The islands of Chusan and Kolang-soo were to be held by the Briti.sh till the money payments were made and arrangements for opening the ports completed. The British arms were also successful this year, in a war with the Affghans, in the East Indies. At the commencement of this war, the British arms had sufl'ered several reverses, but they were now every where victorious. Several fortresses were stormed, and some of them levelled with the dust, while thousands of the Affghan troops were slain, and the whole country, in the line of march of the British troops, devastated. The Affghans had, for several centuries, been adverse to the British rule in India ; but when the British troops evacuated their country, they left behind them a name which still inspires that people with terror. At the opening of the year 1843, the aspect of public affairs created great disquietude and anxiety. In every branch of trade and industry there was great depression. There was a con- siderable decrease in the excise, stamps, customs, and taxes. To remedy the distress which prevailed, some suggested the repeal of the corn-laws, and others pointed to emigration, as the only means to relieve the universal pressure. A lengthened debate took place on a plan, brought forward by government, to promote the education of the poor, but such was the animosity displayed against it, that it was abandoned. A bill brought in, for the endowment of additional churches and the augmentation of small livings, was unanimously passed. The funds for these purposes were to be derived, in part, from Queen Anne's bounty and in part from the revenues of certain bishoprics, cathedrals, and other ecclesiastical establishments. Several reforms in the law were made this session ; one of which materially altered the registration act, and another made several changes in that relating to defamation and libel. ENGLAND. 657 Great commotions took place this year in Ireland. A loud cry for the repeal of the union, was heard throughout the coun- try. Mr. O'Connell and his coadjutors were arrested on charges of conspiracy, sedition, and unlawful assemblage. Their trial occurred in 1844, when they were fined and sentenced to be imprisoned for twelve months, but parliament soon after reversed their sentence, and they were liberated. There was some com- motion also, at this time, in South Wales. A war was raised against the turnpike system, arising from the vexatious tolls to which the peasantry were subjected. The toll-gates were every where demolished, and no sooner were they re-erected than they were again destroyed. In order to quell these disturb- ances, government sent a large body of troops and many of the London police, into Wales. In a short time, some of the most active in these tumults were captured, and towards the close of the year Wales became more quiet. This year witnessed another war in the East Indies. It was discovered that the ameers of Sinde were preparing to attack the British, and Sir Charles Napier was sent against them. A great battle was fought at Meeanee, the result of which was that the six ameers who governed that country were captured, and that the whole of Sinde was annexed to the British domin- ions in the East. The Sindian population every where expressed their satisfaction at the change of masters. Sir Charles Napier was appointed Governor of Sinde, and was empowered to take such measures as might appear best calculated to suppress the slave trade, which had long existed in that country, and to abolish all duties of transit, which had been imposed by the ameers. In the course of this year the British troops gained two decisive victories over the Mahratta forces. In the Autumn, queen Victoria, accompanied by Prince Albert,, visited Louis Phillippe, late king of France, in his own domiur- ions. This was an interesting event, as it tended to increase- the harmony existing between the two countries. After receiv- ing a most cordial reception from his majesty, the queen and; prince Albert proceeded on their voyage to Ostend. In the session of 1844, were passed several important acts ; one having for its object the regulation of railways ; another, containing salutary provisions for the regulation of joint-stock companies, and a third, entirely remodelling the system of turn- pike-road management in South Wales. A further alteration was made in the Poor Law Amendment Act, having for its chief object the preservation of morality among the poor. Another act permitted sugar, not being the produce of slave labor, to be imported into the country at diminished duties. A 42 658 CHAPTER xrv. bill was also passed for the abolition of a number of penal acts, retained in the Irish statute book, but generally obsolete. The important measure of the session was an act for the regulation of the Bank of England, and the administration of banking con- cerns in general. The great principle of this bill concerned the establishment of a gold standard of money ; the makers of prom- issory notes were not to issue more than they would be able to pay, on demand, to the same amount, in solid gold. During this year, Mr. Davis, who had resided many years at Macao, as chief-superintendent of the East India Company, was appointed governor-general to the recent acquisitions in China. Lord Ellenborough was recalled from the government of India, and Sir Henry Hardinge was appointed his successor. The income tax was to have ceased in 1845, but on the meet- ing of parliament, contrary to the wishes and expectations of the people, was renewed. A bill was passed, with great opposition, for improving and increasing the grant to Maynooth college, for the ediication of the Roman Catholic priesthood. Other acts relieved the Jews from certain tests, which had previotisly been required from them, upon their election to municipal offices ; regulated juvenile labor in calico print works ; provided for the better care of lunatics ; regulated banking in Scotland and Ire- land, on principles similar to those ol' the bank charter of England, and facilitated the inclosure of commons in England and Wales. Towards the close of this year, the British dominions on the left bank of the Sutlej, were suddenly invaded by the Sikhs. This invasion was considered as a formal declaration of war, and a terrible battle was fought at Moodkee, in which the British obtained a complete victory. Those of the Sikhs who had escaped the slaughter, now recrossed the Sutlej ; and early in the year 1846, the victorious British followed them, and pressed forward to Lahore. Terms of peace were agreed on, and one of the stipulations was the disbandment of the Sikh army. Earlier in the year 1845, Sir Charles Napier was employed in military operations against the mountain tribes on the right bank of the Indus, north of Shikarpoor. In these operations he was completely successful ; the power of the robber tribes, which had been long a terror to Sinde, was utterly broken. The moral effect of this conquest was more important than the phy- sical, as it demonstrated to the people of Sinde the power of the British to protect them. For many years, a repeal of the corn-laws had been demanded, and, in order to obtain it, a corn-law league had been set on foot, the agents of which had been sent to every part of the ENGLAND. 659 country, to enlighten tlie people on this question. Hitherto, Sir Robert Peel had been decidedly opposed to such a repeal, but the utter failure of the potato crop, which had created great distress throughout the United Kingdom, and rendered some measure necessary for its alleviation, induced him to alter his opinion. In the session of 1846, a bill was brought in by the premier and carried, which made a great and an immediate reduction of duties on corn, and provided for its free importation at the end oi' three years. Connected with this measure was another, by which customs' duties were wholly repealed, or con- siderably reduced. These enlightened measures procured the downfall of Sir Robert Peel as premier. At the same time with these, he brought in a protection life bill for Ireland, and the agriculturists, ofl'ended by his free trade movements, united with the whigs, who were adverse to coercion, and this bill was rejected. Sir Robert Peel now resigned ; and to his cabinet succeeded a whig ministry, Lord John Russell being created premier. Sir Robert Peel carried to his retirement the sympathy and admiration of the people. The wisdom of these measures was seen in the autumn, in the failure of the potato crop, which had promised to be abundant. The visitation was felt by England, Ireland and Scotland. So great was the distress, that parliament was convened for the purpose of opening the ports for the admission of corn, free of duty. By this measure, ships arrived from all parts of the world, laden with corn, and the impending famine was averted. Yet in Ireland, where, for ages, the people had depended upon the potato crop for food, famine and its consequent disease had swept away thousands of its inhabitants. The year 1847 was marked by great commercial distress in England, and numbers hitherto living in affluence, were plunged into poverty. Various causes gave rise to this distress^ one of the most prominent was the dangerous spirit of speculatiou, which had for some time pervaded the whole community. The principal measures of public policy which engaged the attention of the British parliament, during the session of 1848, were the navigation laws and the sugar colonies. A bill for rendering Jews eligible to parliament, which was introduced, was lost in the House of Lords by a majority of thirty -five. The success of the French revolution of February, 1 848, and the outburst of popular feeling which ensued in almost every part of Europe, gave a new stimulus to the friends of reform in Great Britain and Ireland. In England, for about ten years, there had existed a political association, denominated Chartists, whose object it was to secure universal suffrage ; vote by ballot ; 660 CHAPTER XIV. annual parliaments ; pay to the members, and no property quali- fication to eligibility. For the purpose of making a demonstra- tion of their strength, and of promoting the objects of their association, the chartists proposed a general meeting hi London, on the 10th of April. Their number having been much exag- gerated, the government fortified the public buildings, enlarged the civil force to an unprecedented extent, and took every pre- caution against the construction of barricades. On the day appointed, about ten thousand assembled in Fitzroy Square, marched quietly to Blackfriar's Bridge, which they were permitted to cross, and thence to Kensington Common, their place of rendezvous for the day. The number of chartists and spectators here was not far from fifty thousand. They again crossed the Thames, delivered their monster petition to parlia- ment, and dispersed. The result of this afl!air afforded to the friends of the Constitution and of order an evidence of their own strength, and of the weakness of the chartists. Of late the chartists have renewed their assemblages with increased ardor, but they seem to create no alarm. On the 6th of July last, six of their number were convicted of sedition, and sentenced to two years imprisonment. In Ireland, sympathy with the French in freeing their nation from the shackles of monarchy, stimulated the friends of repeal to renewed and greatly augmented efl^orts, and inspired in many hearts the hope that the day of the desired separation from Great Britain was at hand. Clubs were extensively formed, and rebellion against the authority of government was openly counselled and vindicated by their leaders. In May last, John Mitchell, a prominent agitator, and editor of the " United Irishman," was arrested and convicted on a charge of treason. The types of his paper were seized by the government, and Mitchell was sentenced to transportation for fourteen years. A new journal, entitled the "Irish Felon," was immediately issued, the editor of which, Mr. Martin, was arrested on a charge of treason, in July, and sent to Newgate. O'Brien, Meagher, Dillon and Doherry, engaged most actively in organizing and inspiring the clubs, preparing, meanwhile, for an active resistance. Fearing that a crisis was at hand, the government adopted the most vigorous measures. Viscount Hardinge was sent into Ireland to take command of the troops. Every available soldier was despatched from England to Ireland, and large rewards were offered for the arrest of the leaders of the insurgents. On the 25th of July, parliament passed a bill authorizing the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland to apprehend and detain until the FKANCE. 66 1 1st of March, 1849, any person suspected of conspiracy against her Majesty's government. He accordingly proclaimed the cities of Dublin, Cork, Waterford, and the town of Drogheda, to be under the act, instructing the police to search for arms, and to take into custody all persons found to be in the possession of them without a license. On the 29th of July, the insurgents came in conflict with the police of Ballingarry, in the county of Tipperary. They were armed with muskets and pikes, and commanded by Smith O'Brien, but were dispersed after a short fight. Seven were killed. O'Brien, Meagher, and others, fled from the officers of justice, but they, with the principal leaders, were subsequently arrested. At present, the agitators of Ireland seem to have yielded to the formidable preparations and energetic forces of the govern- ment, and that unhappy country is, for the time, in a state of tranquillity. On the 5th of September, the queen prorogued parliament in person, by a speech from the throne, recapitulating the most important events of the session, and immediately after, took her departure for Scotland. The French Revolution of February^ 1848. The revolution accomplished in Paris, on the 24th of Febru- ary, 1848, is without a parallel in history. At once the most bloodless and the most complete of modern times, it was the spontaneous, unpremeditated act of the unarmed people of Paris. No long-matured and widely-ramified conspiracy preceded the outbreak, as in 1830. The whole work was accomplished by the people in the brief space of three days. A general feeling of discontent with the measures and policy of the government, suggested the holding of political reform ban- quets throughout France. No fewer than sixty-two of these were held in different towns, and attended by the leading oppo- sitionists. The omission of the King's health from the list of toasts, on almost all these occasions, was a circumstance that gave pecu- liar poignancy to the irritation with which such displays were regarded by the government. It having been announced that reform banquets were to be held throughout France on the 22d 662 CHAPTER XIV. of February, the birth-day of Washington, the administration determined to put down that which was to take place in Paris. Military preparations were made on an extensive scale ; guns were mounted on the fortresses around the city ; large stores of ammunition were provided, and nothing seemed wanting to enable the government to crush any attempt at insurrection. On the evening preceding the 22d, proclamations were posted about the streets by the police, announcing that no banquet or procession would be permitted, and cautioning the public against tumultuous assemblages in the streets. In the Chamber of Deputies, an intimation to the same effect was received during the early part of the sitting, and at once put an end to the discussion of all other business. Some differ- ence of opinion arose among the members of the banquet com- mittee and the deputies of the opposition, whether the procla- mation of the government should be obeyed. A minority were inclined to form the procession at all hazards ; but it was finally agreed that the meeting should be given up ; that the public should be urged to maintain a peaceable attitude, and that the late discussion of the question in the chambers should be renewed in a form that would lead either to a dissolution, and so bring it before the electors, or to a change of cabinet. Articles of impeachment were therefore to be moved against the ministry by Mr. Odillon Barrot. In the morning a formal announcement that the banquet was deferred appeared in all the opposition papers, and the orders to the troops of the line to occupy the ground, and all the avenues leading to the place of meeting, were countermanded. Picquets only were stationed in places where crowds might be expected to assemble, sufficient, it was presumed, to disperse the mob ; but no serious disturbance was anticipated, either by the minis- try or its opponents. The proclamations, however, of the prefect of the police, and the announcement of the opposition journals, came too late. At an early hour, the Place de la Madeline, the Place de la Con- corde, and the Champ Elysees, were thronged by the working classes. At noon, the multitude around the Church of the Made- line, whence the banquet procession was to have set out, became formidable in numbers, though manifesting no symptoms of dis- order, and at one time could not have numbered less than thirty thousand persons. The regiment, which had arrived, was drawn up in line along the railing of the church. Soon after, several squadrons of the municipal cavalry arrived, and the popu- lace were desired to disperse. This order being disregarded, the charge was sounded, and the dragoons rushed on the people. FRANCE. 663 At first an effort was made to disperse the crowd by the mere force of the horses, without the use of arms, and the dragoons did not draw. This, however, proving ineffectual, several charges with drawn swords were made, the flat of the sword only being used. By these means, the multitude was at length dispersed without any loss of life, or other serious casualties. At one o'clock the main thoroughfares were clear. During the remainder of the day, the principal streets were patrolled by cavalry of the municipal guard, the infantry of the line keeping clear the footways. At the Chamber of Deputies, three impeachments against the cabinet were handed to the president, who, without reading them, ordered that they should be taken into consideration on Thursday. One of the impeachments was presented on the part of M. Odillon Barrot, and signed by fifty-three deputies; another on the part of M. Duvergier d' Hauranne ; the third on the part of M. de Genoude, deputy for Toulouse. In the evening, the disturbances were renewed, and now began to wear a threatening aspect. Gunsmiths' shops were broken open ; barricades were formed in the neighborhood of the principal markets ; lamps were extinguished ; posts of the municipal guards were attacked ; the streets were filled with troops ; and at night, anxiety for the result of the sanguinary contest on the morrow, which had become inevitable, spread throughout Paris. At an early hour on Wednesday, February 23d, crowds began to. assemble and to busy themselves in the formation of new bar- ricades. These were attacked and partially destroyed as fast as formed, by the municipal guard, or the troops. The morning passed in skirmishes, in which some were killed, and success was generally on the side of the authorities ; the people, how- ever, when dispersed in one place, assembled instantly in another, and rapidly increased in numbers. Considerable bodies of the National Guards appeared in the streets, but although at first wavering as to the course they would follow, it soon became evident that they would yield to the contagion of popular enthu- siasm, and act with, rather than against, the movement. About one o'clock, a portion of the National Guards having declared for reform, their ofl^cers held a council, and agreed to depute their Colonel to the King, to acquaint his Majesty with their wishes. Their requests being signified to Louis Phillippe at the Tuileries, through General Jacqueminot, they were at once acceded to. Reform and the dismissal of the Guizot cabinet were promised, and Count Mole was entrusted with the charge of forming a new ministry. The news of this change 664 CHAPTER XIV. was immediately carried to the Chamber of Deputies by M. Guizot himself, which soon after rose in great agitation. The dismissal of the ministry produced a momentary calm. But the streets continued to be crowded with rioters, who, as even- ing drew on, compelled the inhabitants to illuminate, and when- ever they found themselves in sufficient force, attacked the piquets of the municipal guard, and often succeeded in disarming them. Between ten and eleven, the somewhat subdued excitement of the populace was changed into rage. A crowd passing the Hotel of Foreign Affairs, which, as the residence of M. Guizot, had been repeatedly threatened, and was now occupied by the 14th regiment of the line, was suddenly fired upon by the troops with fatal effect. Many fell, some dead, others desperately wounded. The people fled in consternation, but fear soon gave way to indignation, and thirst for vengeance. The cry then burst forth from every lip — " To arms ! Down with the assas- sins ! Down with Louis Phillippe ! Down with all his race ! Barricades, barricades !" and these cries were speedily re-echoed through all the streets of Paris. The attempt to establish a Mole administration having failed, the King sent, late at night, for M. Thiers to the Palace of the Tuileries, and asked him to form a ministry. M. Thiers under- took to do so, provided he might be permitted to join with him, as one of his colleagues, M. Odillon Barrot. To this the King acceded. Marshal Bugaud was, during the night, appointed Commander-in-Chief of the National Guard, but finding he was not to have a carte blanche, he resigned almost as soon as ap- pointed, and the appointment was given to General Lamoriciere. During the night the egress of the mails had been stopped, and the railways around Paris had been damaged or destroyed at every point at which troops were expected to arrive. Early in the morning of Thursday, Feb. 24th, a placard was posted about the streets to the effect that, at 3 o'clock, A. M., M. Thiers and Odillon Barrot had been appointed ministers. Subse- quently, the following proclamation was posted at the Bourse : " Orders have been given to cease firing every where. " We have just been charged by the King to form a new ministry. " The Chamber will be dissolved, and an appeal made to the country. " General Lamoriciere has been appointed commandant of the National Guards. " Thiers, ^ " Odillon Barrot, " DUVERGIER De HaURANNE, " Lamoriciere." FRANCE. 665 The orders issued to the troops were, it appears, not only to cease firing, but to retire to their quarters. Accordingly, about 11 o'clock, the trumpets sounded a retreat, and most of the important positions which, up to that hour, had been occupied by the infantrj^ cavalry, and artilleiy, were abandoned to the people and the National Guard. Marshal Bugeaud protested against the orders given, and resigned. Whole regiments marched to their barracks, and allowed themselves to be quietly disarmed by the mob. There was now no want of arms among the insurgents, and the number of working men and others engaged in eflbrts to expel the royal family, exclusive of the National Guards, was swelled to an estimated force of twenty thousand men. Between eleven and twelve o'clock, this army directed its course to the Palais Royal and the Tuileries. At the Palais Royal, some severe fighting took place between the people and a company of the 14th regiment of the line in charge of the state apartments, who refused to surrender their arms, and main- tained a contest of nearly two hours before they were finally overcome. The noise of the firing was heard in the Tuileries, and combined with the unfavorable reports reaching the court from every part of the city, produced a panic among the inmates of the chateau, and all there assembled. In the court yard of the Tuileries were 3,000 infantry with six pieces of cannon and two squadrons of dragoons. These might have swept the space before them (the Place du Carrousel,) clear of combatants, but it would have been of little avail, for they were surrounded by an armed populace and six legions of the National Guard, demanding the abdication of the king, and ready to close in upon them, if rendered desperate by their position. It was represented to Louis Phillippe, that abdication would alone secure the interests of his family, and that his disposal of the crown in favor of his grandson, the young Comte de Paris, with the appointment of his mother, the Duchess of Orleans, as Regent, would satisfy all parties — few voices having, as yet, been openly raised for a republic. In the course of this day, the king signed an act of abdication, presented to him by Emile de Girardin, but before this fact could be known in Paris, the troops of the line were summoned to quit the court-yard of the Tuileries. Not knowing whom to obey, the commander-in- chief having resigned, and the goA'ernment having been dissolved, they agreed to yield their post. The Chateau was to be pro- tected by the National Guards, but the armed populace rushed by them and entered in triumph. Bonfires were made of the royal carriages and furniture, at the Palais Royal and Tuileries. 666 CHAPTER XIV. The throne of the state reception room was carried in triumph through the streets, and finally burned in the Place de la Bas- tille. The plunder and destruction of property was chiefly con- fined to the insignia of royalty, and speedily checked. Sentinels were placed at the entrance of the Tuileries by the leaders of the people, and no person allowed to leave the Chateau, with- out a vigorous search. Meanwhile, the ex-King and Queen had passed out at a private door into the gardens, and demanded an escort of the National Guards through the crowd beyond. A troop of National Guards on horseback, and about thirty persons in different uniforms attended them, to ensure their safety. The Queen walked with a firm step, casting around looks of mingled assurance and anger. She was dressed in full mourning : the King wore a black coat, with a common round hat. Arriving at the Place de la Concorde, they drove off to St. Cloud with so much rapidity that the coach appeared carried rather than driven away. They pursued their way to Versailles, and thence to Dreux, where they passed the night with a friend, who procured disguises for the royal fugitives. That of the king was a green blouse, with a sailor's frock coat over it, a red and white comforter and a casquette, or peasant's cap. The queen concealed her former dress by a woollen cloak of black and white plaid. From Dreux they proceeded to Honfleur, where they remained concealed for some days, the boisterous weather not allowing their embarkation until Thursday of the next week, when they were conveyed in a French fishing boat to Havre, thence sailing for England, and arriving at New Haven that evening. About half past one of the day on which the Royal pair left Paris, it was rumored in the Chamber of Deputies that the Duchess of Orleans, and the two young princes, her sons, were about to arrive. Shortly after, the Duchess and her sons entered, followed by the Due de Nemours and the Due de Montpensier. The Comte de Paris, led by one of the Deputies, entered first, his way being made with difficulty through the crowd of officers and soldiers of the National Guard. His presence and that of the rest of the royal party, created a great sensation. A moment afterwards, the Duchess of Orleans seated herself in an arm- chair, with her sons on either side of her. Immediately every vacant place was filled with such of the populace as had suc- ceeded in crowding themselves in with the National Guard, a number of men forcing their way under the tribune. The Duchess then arose and retired with the young princes, to one of the upper benches of the Centre, and opposite to the Presi- FRANCE. 667 dent's bureau. The Due de Nemours and the Due de Mont- pensier placed themselves in the last line of seats, directly behind the princess and her sons. The greatest agitation prevailed. M. Dupin then ascended the tribune, and, amid deep silence, said, that in the present situation of the capitol, it had been found necessary to re-assemble the Chamber without loss of time. The King had abdicated the crown in favor of his grand- son, and devolved the regency on the Duchess of Orleans. This announcement was greeted with applause from all the benches of the centre, and from some of the public tribunes. Disapprobation was expressed on the benches of the left, and one voice was heard, exclaiming, " It is too late." The scene of confusion that ensued, it is impossible to describe. A num- ber of deputies and the National Guards hastened to surround the royal family. M. Marie then ascended the tribune, and after silence was restored, reminding the Chambers that a law existed giving the regency to the Due de Nemours, and which could not be abro- gated by an act of the King in favor of another, demanded the nomination of a provisional government. M. Cremieux and the Abbe de Genoude, supported the proposition. Odillon Barrot then declared himself in favor of the regency of the Duchess of Orleans, a ministry of tried liberal opinions, and an appeal to the country. The Duchess then arose and addressed some words to the Chamber, but was advised by those about her to be seated. Odillon Barrot resumed his discourse, appealing to all parties to defend the crown of July, now committed to the custody of a child and a woman, as the only means of averting a civil war. A majority of the deputies signified their assent, but their tokens of approbation were drowned in murmurs from the galleries, and cries of " Vive la Republique." M. Cheval- lier, editor of the " Bibliotheque Historie," ascended the tribune, amidst cries of " you are not a deputy," " you have no right to be there." He cautioned the Chamber against proclaiming the Comte de Paris, without the consent of the people, into whose hands the real sovereignty had again fallen. The Marquis de Larochejaquelin rose to speak, but had only uttered a few words when a crowd rushed into the Chamber, some armed with swords, lances, muskets, spears, and tri-colored flags ; others unarmed, in blouses, with dragoons' helmets on their heads, or with cross belts and infantry caps. These persons at once seized on such deputies' seats as were unoccupied, several ascending the tribune and stationing themselves there. A number of the deputies, appearing to consider their position 668 CHAPTER XIV. perilous, began to withdraw, and as they abandoned their places, the crowd took them. The tumult was tremendous, and many deputies looked with anxiety towards the Duchess of Orleans and her children, but she sat calm amidst the uproar. After M. Ledru Rollin and M. Lamartine had succeeded in making themselves heard for a few moments, a violent and imperative knocking arose at the door of one of the tribunes. It being opened, a crowd of armed men rushed in. Several of them forced their way to the front seats, and pointed their muskets at the deputies below. Some of these weapons were turned in the direction of the royal party. Immediately the persons near the Duchess of Orleans seemed to address her energetically, and at once, with her sons and the two princes, she quitted the Chamber by a door on the extreme left. M. Sauzet left the chair, and a great number of deputies>^ rose from their places. The greatest disorder was visible. Shortly after, silence being somewhat restored, M. Ledru Rollin said, "According as I read out the names, you will say ' Yes,' or 'No,' just as they please you ; and in order to act officially, I call on the reporters of the public press to take down the names and the manner in which they are received, that France may know what has been done here." The honorable deputy then read the names of M. M. Dupont (de 1' Eure) Arago, De Lamartine, Ledru Rollin, Gamier Pages, Marie and Cremieux, all of which were received with acclamations. Cries of "To the Hotel de Ville," here arose, followed by a cry of " No civil list," and another of " No King !" Some one having directed the attention of the crowd to the picture of Louis Phillippe swearing obedience to the charter, cries of " Tear it down !" arose. A workman, with a double-barrelled fowling piece, who was standing in the same circle, cried out, " Just wait until I have a shot at Louis Phillippe!" and at the same moment both barrels were discharged. Great confusion ensued, amidst which, two men jumped on the chairs behind the Presi- dent's seat, and prepared to cut the picture to pieces with their sabres. Another workman ran up the steps of the tribune and exclaimed, " Respect public monuments ! respect property ! why destroy the pictures with balls ? We have shown that the peo- ple will not allow itself to be ill-governed : let us now show that it knows how to conduct itself after victory." (Great applause.) The next instant, M. Dupont (de 1' Eure) was placed in the chair. M. de Lamartine and Ledru Rollin attempted to obtain a hearing, but were unsuccessful. Several of the guards and some of the people made a similar vain effort. A cry then FRANCE. 669 arose in one of the tribunes, " Let Lamartine speak ;" and " Lamartine" resounded from all quarters. M. de Lamartine. " A provisional government is about to be proclaimed." (Cries of Vive Lamartine ! " Names, names !") The noise not ceasing, the names were written on a slip of paper, and carried round the chamber on the top of a musket. In the midst of shouts Ledru Rollin read the names. Nearly all the deputies had, by this time, departed, and the National Guards and the people had the chamber to themselves. :\L Rollin continued, " We are obliged to close the sitting in order to pro- ceed to the seat of government." (From all sides shouts, " To the Hotel de Ville !" '* Vive la Republique !") The crowd then dispersed at four o'clock. Another terrible scene now took place at the Hotel de Ville, where, on adjourning from the chamber, the members of the provisional government sat to decide upon the course to be adopted. Suddenly the doors of the Salle de Conseil were violently shaken, and the people loudly demanded the commu- nication of the first act of the government. The great majority of the members were opposed to the establishment of an unmiti- gated democracy, but the populace were resolved that a purely democratic Republic should be formed, and that every male above a certain age should be eligible to the National Guard, and empowered to carry arms. Every attempt to oppose this was the signal of renewed shouts. In vain it was attempted to adjourn the question till minds should become calm. The popu- lar will prevailed, and resolutions -were passed in accordance with it. The provisional government at once issued the following proclamation : " TO THE FRENCH PEOPLE, " A retrograde and oligarchic government has been overturned by the heroism of the people of Paris. This government has fled, leaving behind it traces of blood which will forever forbid its return. The blood of the people has flowed as in July, but happily, it will not have been in vain. It has secured a national and popular government, in accordance with the rights, the pro- gress, and the will of this great and generous people. A Provi- sional Government, chosen by the acclamation and at the call of the people, and some of the Deputies of the departments in the sitting of the 24th of February, is for the moment invested with the care of organizing and securing the national victory. It is composed of MM. Dupont (de I'Eure,) Lamartine, Cremieux, Arago (de ITnstitut,) Ledru Rollin, and Gamier Pages. The 670 CHAPTER XIV. secretaries to this government are MM. Armand Marrast, editor of the ' National ;' Louis Blanc, Ferdinand Flocon, editor of the ' lleforme,' and Alhert. These citizens have not hesitated for an instant to accept the patriotic mission which has been imposed on them by the urgency of the occasion. When the capital of France is under fire, the mission of the Provisional Government is that of public safety. All France will understand this, and will give the assistance of its patriotism. Under the popular govern- ment now proclaimed by the Provisional Government, every citizen is a magistrate. Frenchmen, give to the world the example which Paris has given to France. Prepare yourselves, by order and confidence in yourselves, for those strong institu- tions which you are about to be called upon to give yourselves. The Provisional Government desires a Republic, subject to the ratification of the French people, who are to be immediately consulted. Neither the people of Paris nor the Provisional Government desire to substitute their opinion for the opinions of the citizens at large, upon the definite form of government which the national sovereignty shall -proclaim. The unity of the nation, formed henceforth of all classes of the people which compose it; the government of the nation by itself; liberty, equality, and fraternity for its principles ; the national device and pass-word to be ' The People ;' — Such is the democratic government which France owes to herself, and which our efforts will assure to her. Such are the first acts of the Pro- visional Government. (Signed,) " Dupont (de I'Eure,) Lamartine, Ledru RoUin, Bedeau, Michel Goudechaux, Arago, Belhmont, Marie, Carnot, Cavaignac, Garnier Pages. " The Municipal Guard is disbanded. The protection of the city of Paris is confided to the National Guard, under the orders of M. Courtais." This proclamation was followed by another, appointing a Pro- visional Ministry, as follows : — M. Dupont (de I'Eure,) Presi- dent of the Council, without portfolio ; M. de Lamartine, Minister of Foreign Affairs ; M. Cremieux. Minister of Justice ; M. Ledru RoUin, Minister of^ the Interior ; M. Michel Goudechaux, Min- ister of Finance; M. Francois Arago, Minister of Marine; General Bedeau, Minister of War ; M. Carnot, Minister of Public Instruction and Worship; M. Bethmont, Minister of Commerce ; M. Marie, Minister of Public Works ; General Cavaignac, Gov- ernor of Algeria. To these decrees succeeded : *& "The Municipal Guard is dissolved. M. Garnier Pages is FRANCE. 671 named Mayor of Paris, and to him are given as adjoints. MM. Guinard and Recurt. M. Flotard is named Secrelary-general. All the other Mayors of Paris are provisionally maintained. The Prefecture of Police is under the dependence of the Mayor of Paris. In the name of France, the Provisional Government decides that the Chamber of Deputies is dissolved. The ex-Chamber of Peers is forbidden to meet. A National Assem- bly will be convoked as soon as the Provisional Government shall have regulated the necessary measures of order and police." Further appointments followed in rapid succession. General Subervie was substituted for General Bedeau, as Minister of War ; General Bedeau taking command of the first military division ; Admiral Baudin was appointed Commander of the Fleet; the Police department was entrusted to the citizens Caussidiere and Sobrier ; and M. Arago was appointed to the Direction-General of the Post-ofHce. A notice also advised the bakers, or furnishers of provisions of Paris, to keep their shops open to all those who might have occasion for them. The people were expressly recommended not to quit their arms, their positions, or their revolutionary attitude. It was further announced that the liberation of all who had been imprisoned on political grounds had been effected ; but, at the same time, all who had been convicted of crimes against persons and prop- erty were detained. The revolution was now consummated ; royalty had vanished like a dissolving view, and its place was already filled by a new and totally different spectacle. The day after the battle was one of strange, tumultuous ex- citement, but passed without any infraction of the peace. The streets were crowded, during the whole of Friday, with men and women, and wore the appearance of a festival. The people had not dismissed from their minds all apprehen- sion of an attempt to rally on the part of those favoring the claims of the Duchess of Orleans and her son, and maintained a jeal- ous attitude towards the soldiers of the line, who were still in arms. Yet they displayed the most frank and generous forgive- ness towards their vanquished foes. Disarmed Municipal Guards and soldiers of the regiment, who had fired on the people, were seen walking about the streets, and no one insulted or molested them. Among the scenes of the late conflict, none attracted more painful curiosity than the space before the Hotel of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, where the fatal volley had been fired on the 672 CHAPTER XIV. night of the 23d. Pools of blood, fifty paces long, stagnated horriblv on the asphalte pavement. The Boulevards presented a terrible proof of that reckless- ness of destruction common to all kinds of battle. The trees, which were the ornament of the splendid streets, were all cut down. They were severed about three feet from the ground, and ibrmed a line of posts, neither useful nor ornamental. The mu- tilated stumps remained standing for some days, when they were removed by a large body of laborers. All the detached posts around Paris surrendered this day with- out resistance. A large body of the National Guards and of the crowd, had marched against the fort of Vincennes, but their presence proved unnecessary, for the soldiers of the line had tacitly joined the revolt. By Friday evening, order was to a great extent restored ; one proof was the re-opening of the Bank of France, which was chiefly due to the admirable conduct of the National Guard, and the intrepidity, energy and good sense of the Provisional Gov- ernment. 'I'o M. Lamartine especially belongs the renown of having, that day, saved his country from the most bloody an- archy. Among the earliest resolutions adopted by the Provisional Government, were the abolition of capital punishment for politi- cal olfences, and the re-adoption of the tri-colored flag. Both these measures were proposed by M. Lamartine, and owed their success to his extraordinary eloquence and courage. Five times on Friday, he addressed the people, still tierce with ex- citement, assembled under the windows of the Hotel de Ville. On Saturday, the restoration of order was complete. The public departments resumed their duties, and among them the department of Finance. It was only on the previous Monday that the notice to pay the city taxes had been issued. The whole of the coming year's taxes, derived from per-centage on rents of the apartments and shop keepers' licences, would thus fall into the hands of the new Government— an enormous fund with which to begin. The million a month had already been confiscated, or, as the ordonnance has it, "restored to the people," a handsome addition to the fund applicable to the relief of dis- tress. The streets being partially cleared of the barricades, under the scientific direction of the students of the "Ecole Polytech- nique," in such a way as not to compromise the security against a surprise afforded by these popular fortifications, the country people were enabled to bring in their provisions, of which there was an abundant supply. The vast number of cabmen and FRANCE. 673 coachmen were thus allowed to resume their occupation. The law-courts again commenced their sittings ; the shops were opened, and every thing was done to calm apprehension. On this day, Lamartine declared the Republic. He presented himself, with the other members of the Government, on the steps of the Hotel de Ville, and thus addressed the multitude : " Citizens ! The Provisional Government of the Republic has called upon the people to witness its gratitude for the mag- nificent national co-operation, which has just accepted these new institutions. ^ " The Provisional Government of the Republic has only joy- ful intelligence to announce to the people here assembled. Royalty is abolished. The Republic is proclaimed. The peo- ple will exercise their political rights. National workshops are open for those who are without work. " The army is being re-organized. The National Guard in- dissolubly unites itself with the people, so as to promptly re- store order with the same hand that had only the preceding mo- ment conquered our liberty. " Finally, gentlemen, the Provisional Government is anxious to be itself the bearer to you of the last decree it has resolved on and signed in this memorable sitting ; that is, the abolition of the penalty of death for political matters. This is the noblest decree, gentlemen, that has ever issued from the mouths of a people, the day after their victory. It is the character of the French nation, which escapes in one spontaneous cry from the soul of Government. We have brought it with us, and I will now read it to you. There is not a more becoming homage to a people, than the spectacle of its own magnanimity." He then read the following noble proclamation : "The Provisional Government, convinced that greatness of soul is the highest degree of policy, and that each resolution, effected by the French people, owes to the world the consecra- tion of an additional philosophical truth ; considering that there is no more sublime principle than the inviolability of human life ; considering that in the memorable days in which we live,, the Provisional Government has remarked, with pride, that not a single cry for vengeance or for death has dropped from the mouths of the people, declares — That, in its opinion, the pun- ishment of death for political offences is abolished, and that it will present that wish to the definitive ratification of the National Assembly. The Provisional Government has so firm a con- viction of the truth, that it proclaims, in the name of the French people, that, if the guilty men who have just caused the blood of France to be spilt, were in the hands of the people, it would^ 4^ 674 CHAPTER XIV. in their opinion, be a more exemplary chastisement to degrade them, than to put them to death." Probably, the abolition of the punishment of death for politi- cal offences tended, more than any other act of the Government, to produce the unparalleled unanimity of the entire nation, in accepting the new men, as the necessity of the time. The mid- dle classes in Paris and in the provinces, as well as all the press, yielded without a moment's hesitation, to the Government. Marshal Bugeaud, on the part of the army, and the Archbishop of Paris, on the part of the clergy, gave in their adhesion to the new Republic. Sunday was a high festival. The barricades had all been removed, and the streets were thronged. At two o'clock, the Provisional Government reviewed the vast body of National Guards, before the Column of July, on the steps of which, the celebrated astronomer, Arago, proclaimed the Republic, amidst the wildest enthusiasm. General Comtais, with his white head uncovered, harangued every group he met, along the Boulevards to the Foreign Office, recommending order and tran- quillity. In the evening, the capital was brilliantly illuminated. Venetian lamps, so disposed as to render the tri-color transpa- rent, were abundantly used, and the Boulevards were exceed- ingly gay. People at all the windows, and under the lamps, were devouring the journals. Hawkers were calling on every body to purchase little tri-colored cockades, the national color, to distin- guish it from the red, which the Communists had adopted. Never was the capital freer from outrages against private persons and property, than during the wild turmoil of the Revolution, but it must not be supposed that no crimes were committed. There were desperate malefactors in Paris, who thought they saw in the confusion of that period, safe opportunities for rapine, but their misdeeds were terribly suppressed and punished by the most summary executions. Beyond the walls of the capital, there was much wanton de- struction of property. The ex-King's beautiful chateau at Neuilly was burned on Saturday ; but most of its valuable contents were carefully removed, and sent to the public treasury, before the work of conflagration began. Among the most interesting items saved, were two volumes of the manuscript memoirs of Louis Phillippe, terminating at the period when the Commissioners of the Con- sulate proclaimed the Republic in presence of the armies of the enemy. There also passed into the hands of the new Govern- ment, various private papers of the ex-King, among which was an autograph list, headed, Hommes a moi — "Men 1 am sure of" Jfhe splendid mansion of Baron Rothschild was burned on ruANCE. 675 Sunday, under the impression that it belonged to the King. The greatest destruction was that committed on the Northern Railway, the damage done to which amounted to no less than ^ -£400,000. Repairs were quickly made, sufficient to render the line practicable to a certain extent ; but the effect of the mis- chief was not confined to the heavy loss of capital ; three fourths of the traffic of the line were annihilated. .v^ ^ The Revolution of February, 1848, in Paris, is, in some respects, a continuation of the Revolution of July, 1830, while in other points, it is entirely new. The old principle combined with the new to overturn the throne of Louis Phillippe, and to proclaim the republic, but as soon as the monarchy was abolished, the old and new principle.s commenced a war against each other. The old principle included the right of self-government, and civil and religious liberty, and merely attempted what the American people have realized under a republic. Louis Phil- lippe invaded this principle, and fell. The new principle, which aided in his overthrow, went much further, insisting not merely upon civil and religious liberty, and upon a share in government, through the suffrage, for the adult male population, but upon the establishment of new social relations between wealth and labor. It was in fact Socialism, or Communism ; ^ and affirmed that the State collectively can and must supply food and labor for the whole population. The one principle was purely political and philosophical ; the other was social and unphilosophical. Both were active in France during the reign of Louis Phillippe ; both desired a change ; the one, that France might become a great republic like the United States — the other, that France might work the mighty problem of Communism, and show to the world, by a new distribution of wealth, and by the destruction of individualism, that every man might have more than enough for his wants, and poverty and crime be altogether banished from society. The first acts and proclamations of the Provisional Govern- ment were looked to with great interest throughout Europe. It was announced that tVie constituent National Assembly was con- voked for the 20th of April, a date afterwards postponed to the 4th of May. It was decreed that the electoral colleges should meet on the 9th of April, and that every Frenchman, without respect to property, being of the age of twenty-one years, should have a vole, under the protection of the ballot — the Assembly, so elected, to consist of 900 members, or one member to every 40,000 of population, each member to be twenty-five years of age, or upwards. The principle of the payment of members was affirmed, and the indemnity for each was fixed at 25 francs a day during the session. 676 CHAPTER XIV. The interment of the victims of the revolution was the first great ceremony of the republic : though somewhat theatrical in its general aspect, as suited the character of the people, it was nevertheless grand and imposing. The official returns gave 150 killed, and 500 wounded in the fighting, but it was believed that the number was really much larger. All the members of the ministry were present at the ceremony of interment, except M. Lamartine, whose absence was accounted for on the ground of excessive fatigue. For the first few weeks after the revolution, the people were kept in good humor. They planted trees of liberty to amuse themselves, and marched from street to street with uprooted poplars, seeking vacant plots of ground in which to plant them. They marched in procession, with banners flying, and with a priest at their head, to bless the trees in the name of God, and in the cause of liberty. Occupied with their amusement, and favored with gratuitous admission to the theatres, the people did not think of mischief. The government, taking a lesson from the history of the first revolution, imitated its gorgeous fete, and brought large assemblages of the people together to inaugurate the republic with spears, swords, and banners, the firing of artil- lery, and the shouting of enthusiastic multitudes. The " People," however, were jealous at times. The first occasion upon which they thought it expedient and necessary to show their power, was upon a matter of uniform among the National Guards. The officers of one favorite division insisted upon a distinction of habiliment, which the working classes looked upon as an infringement of the principle of " equality." Early on Friday morning (17th of March,) the emissaries of the clubs proceeded to all the suburbs, to invite the laborers to rendezvous on different points, and to proceed from thence in bodies to the Hotel de Ville. About eleven o'clock the laborers poured down in masses into the city, forcing all their comrades who were working, to join them. Those who assembled in the Champs Elysees exceeded 30,000. The Pont d'Arcole was covered. From twelve o'clock till two, the crowd remained on the Place, cheering and shouting, at intervals raising the chorus of the " Marseillaise," or beating the rappel on their drums. There was no sign of opposition to this manifestation of feeling ; the guard on duty was even less numerous than usual. Towards two o'clock, the crowd began to disperse, though very slowly. The demonstration was considered a triumph over an attempted re-action, a success gained by the mass over those who, it is said, wished to impede the progress of the republic. J FRANCE. 677 The succeeding night passed in perfect tranquillity, though the demonstration continued to a late hour. Bodies of men, marc'hing nine and ten abreast, continued to defile along the Boulevards from four till seven o'clock. As night fell, crowds collected in different spots, but principally about the Porte St. Denis and Porte St. Martin. The inhabitants in this quarter illuminated their houses, and about eight o'clock an immense body of the people began to move slowly along the Boulevards in the direction of the Madeleine, singing and calling on the shopkeepers to light up ; the citizens were taken by surprise, and whenever a delay occurred, cries of " Des lampions .'" were raised : as soon as lamps were fixed to the balconies, the crowd gave a round of applause, and marched on. In this way they advanced in comparative darkness, leaving a blaze of light behind them. They were in a very good humor, and not the slightest damage was done : not a single pane of glass was broken, nor did the shopkeepers exhibit any alarm, though neither police nor military were to be seen. By ten o'clock the throng began to diminish, and by midnight everything was quiet again. The Minister of War addressed a circular to all the chiefs of corps, directing them to present in future for promotion none but candidates entitled to it by their military service. After their demonstration at the Hotel de Ville, the workmen of Paris proceeded to the ministry of the interior to salute M. Ledru RoUin personally, and the different trades succeeded each other without interruption from four to seven o'clock, P. M. Not less than 100,000 men presented themselves at the Hotel during that interval, and M. Ledru Rollin stood constantly under the porch receiving addresses and replying to them. The position of the armed force of France, in relation to the people, was singular. The army, notwithstanding many re- assurances, had not recovered from the disgrace inflicted by the general disarming ; the public were not sufficiently reassured of its disposition to permit the introduction even of two regiments into Paris without a murmur. The National Guard was tainted with anti-revolutionary tendencies ; the Garde Mobile was imperfectly armed and quite undisciplined, and the njilitary and political systems seemed alike disorganized. The Mint was encumbered with an enormous mass of silver plate, brought there to be coined into pieces of five francs each. A number of silversmiths, despairing of selling their second- hand articles, resorted to this expedient to render their dead stock available ; others announced a reduction of 10 per cent, on their goods, in order to ensure such a sale as might keep their workmen employed. 678 CHAPTER XIV. The arming and equipment of the newly enrolled Garde Mobile was urged on with the utmost rapidity. A decree in the Moniteur authorized the Minister of War to issue from the slores of the army such clothing, &c., as could be spared without in- convenience to the service. In the face of financial embarrassment, the Government was compelled to find the means of supporting an army already too large for the necessities or resources of the country. The Garde Mobile enlisted in the service of the republic the young men of the " people," paid them at a much higher rate than the troops of the line, and bore lightly on them in the manner of dis- cipline. As it afterwards appeared, they formed the greatest bulwarks against anarchy the government could have raised. All able bodied men in Paris, from 20 to 55 years of age, were invited to enroll themselves in the National Guard. The Government undertook to arm them all, to provide clothing at the public expense, for those who were not able to equip them- selves, and in a short time 200,000 citizens were enrolled in the guard of Paris and its vicinity. A discount office, under the title of " Endowment for Small Traders," was directed to be established for their relief, by giving facilities for pecuniary accommodation. The suppression of stamp duties on journals and other periodical publications was directed. Another decree, dated 3d March, ordered that the duration of effective labor in Paris and in the suburbs, should be fixed at ten hours a day, for all professions. Slavery was abolished in all the French colonies and possessions. The French "people" no sooner saw the Provisional Govern- ment installed at the Hotel de Ville, than they began to manifest the hopes which they expected the revolution to transform into realities. Every grievance, real or imaginary, was laid at the feet of Messrs. De Lamartine, Marrast, and Arago, with a view to a remedy. Carpenters, builders, shoemakers, tailors, semp- stresses, purse-knitters, jewellers, flower-sellers, shoe-cleaners, grooms, waiters, cooks, and nursery maids, formed deputations, day after day, and marched in procession through the streets to detail to the government the hardships they suffered in their respective callings. Mingling in the throng were dwellers in the town and in the country ; hand-workers and head-workers ; those who administered to the legitimate wants of society, and those who flourished on its vices ; Frenchmen and Englishmen, Swiss, Poles, Germans, Italians, the haters of slavery, the friends of peace and progress, the benevolent, the patriotic, the enthusiastic, the Fourierist, the Owenite, all ranks, classes and degrees of men. FRANCE. 679 They sought relief in every form, possible or impossible ; fewer hours of labor, better wages, and more holidays. All these were but a small portion of the tasks it was expected that the Government would accomplish in behalf of " the people." In the way of business, things continued deplorable. Money became scarce, misery increased, and anxiety as regarded the present, alarm as regarded the future, did not diminish. The rich families who left Paris during the revolution, did not return, and the few who remained continued to emigrate. The elections for the National Assembly caused great ex- citement throughout all France, and there was, or appeared to be, reason to believe that in the Provinces the Republic was not quite so popular as in Paris. The danger here, the Provisional Government deemed fit to provide against ; for it was justly felt that if by any combination of circumstances, an assembly should be elected, /containing a majority of anti-republicans, a state of anarchy and bloodshed would most probably be the con- sequence. The Republicans, if proved to be in a minority, would show themselves a continual source of alarm and mischief, a minor- ity that never would submit, and that would change itself into a majority, by dint of its zeal, energy, and strength of conviction. To prevent this renewal of a struggle, of which the only possi- ble result could be the triumph, at a somewhat later period, of republican principles, M. Ledru RoUin and M. Carnot issued cir- culars to their agents, which excited much indignant remark. That of M. Ledru Rollin was the most bold, and attracted the greatest blame. It expressly declared that the agents of the Government should use all means at their command to secure or forward the return of Republican candidates. The circular of M. Carnot took the same ground, and insisted that it was better to choose an uneducated Republican from the ranks of the peas- antry or the workmen, than an educated Royalist, however great his reputation, or pure his character. The object of this procla- mation was somewhat misunderstood, as meaning, that in all cases an uneducated was better than an educated representative. This, however, he never stated ; but, on the contrary, appealed to the teachers in the public schools throughout the country to offer themselves as candidates, showing them the career that was opened to talent and learning by the Republic, and merely insisting that Republicanism was the first requisite for a seat in the Assembly. Republicanism with education, if possible — but on no account education without Republicanism. This was his meaning ; and, his advice was generally acted upon. Can- didates were found in sufficient numbers combining both requi- 680 CHAPTER XIV. sites, by which the Assembly was saved from the scandal that would most undoubtedly have resulted had men been elected with the one qualification only. The number of operatives out of employment increased at so rapid and alarming a rate, that at the close of one month they were expected to number 75,000. The expense of paying them at If 50c. a day would amount to 112,500f. and even Louis Blanc admitted that it would be impossible for the Government to continue such an outlay unless the labor performed should be- come really useful and productive. On Saturday, the 15th of April, the various Communist clubs, whose organization was complete and extensive, gave orders to the working classes for a grand demonstration upon the following day. On Sunday, the 16th, the first outbreak oc- curred. From an early hour in the morning, groups of workmen assembled in the Champ de Mars, where it had been fixed that the elections of the Captains of the Staff of the National Guard, destined to represent the working classes, were to be held. These elections passed off quietly enough ; but it soon became known that the party of Blanqui, the Communist, and otlier men of extreme opinions, were anxious to induce the workmen to make a demonstration in their favor, which caused the greatest alarm among the middle classes, and led to the most extravagant reports. Although these rumors were not credited by reasonable people, it was deemed prudent that the National Guard should be called out. Accordingly, the rappel was beaten in every quarter ; and, in a few minutes after, shops were closed, and the National Guard might be seen hurrying to the different places of rendezvous of their respective companies. For some time the town presented the appearance of the memorable day of the 24th of February ; houses were closed, women and children stood at the doors in anxious discussion, armed men hurried to and fro, anxiety depicted on every countenance ; but there was one great difference between that day and that of the Revolution — there were no barricades. Meanwhile, the crowd on the Champ de Mars continued to increase, and it soon amounted, according to most calculations, to one hundred thousand men, whilst the multitude looking on was nearly as great. After the workmen of the different trades had elected their respective officers, they made a collection among themselves, which they destined as a patriotic gift to the Government, and moved in procession to the Hotel de Ville. All the afternoon the National Guards and the Garde Mobile were under arms, and occupied all the principal places — the FRANCE. 681 Place de la Bourse, the Place du Carrousal, the Place de la Con- corde, &c. Patrols of them also traversed the streets. The manner in which the National Guard acted, excited un- bounded admiration among the middle and respectable classes of society, struck the Communist parties with dismay, and great- ly strengthened the moderate section of the Provisional Govern- ment. This section, though forming the majority, was continu- ally kept in check by the dread of the immense physical power which it was supposed that the minority — Ledru Rollin, Flocon, Albert, and Louis Blanc — had at their command ; but this dem- onstration proved that the real physical power of Paris, consist- ing of the National Guard, the Garde Nationale Mobile, and other forces, were not only in favor of the moderate party, but ready and even anxious to crush their enemies, who were also the en- emies of law and order. To this force the moderate section of the Government could have added from 20,000 to 30,000 regu- lar troops, who were stationed within easy reach of Paris. On Tuesday morning, the ] 8th, at six o'clock, the rappel for the assembling of the National Guards was beaten in all quarters of Paris, in consequence of information that the Communists, and most violent of the Clubs, had determined on another attempt to overthrow the Provisional Government, to establish a commit- tee of public safety, and to attack the Hotel de Ville. During the night, great numbers of the Communists assem- bled in the neighborhood of the Hotel de Ville and the Tuil- eries, uttering threats against the moderate members of the Gov- ernment. The intentions of the " people" being made somewhat clear by these events ; and the danger to society being somewhat more manifest than before, the Government became anxious to dis- cover whether it could with safety resort to a step so bold as the re-introduction of the troops of the line to Paris. The National Guard was worn out and harassed, and would hail the return of the troops as the greatest boon that could be offered them. But the working classes and Communists might be mistrustful. To inquiries, made both openly and secretly by the emissaries or employes of the Government, a satisfactory reply was obtained, and at length it was decided that the troops should be recalled. It was not wise, however, to allow the real secret of their recall to be promulgated ; and a scheme was adopted to throw the peo- ple off their guard, and flatter their national and proverbial love of grand spectacles, by one which should cast into the shade by its magnificence all the previous spectacles of the Revolution. The Grand Festival of Fraternity was devised, and passed off in the most brilliant manner. As early as five o'clock on the 1 682 CHAPTER XIV. morning of the 20th of April, the drums were beat for the assem- bling of the different legions of the National Guards ; by eight, all Paris seemed to have poured down into the street. The day was dull, drizzly, and dreary, but the ardor neither of the actors in the mighty show, nor of the crowds of spectators, was to be damped. Countless throngs poured along the Champs Elysees to the chief point of interest. The immense estrade erected beneath and before the Arch of Triumph, with its ascending galleries and tribunes, and decora- tions of Roman and Grecian attributes, was not without a cer- tain grandeur of effect. Upon this estrade were assembled all the generals, the courts, and the tribunals, the wounded of the days of February, delegates from the schools, the commissions and associations of the working classes, and from the clubs. On either side, and in the galleries behind, was a crowd of priv- ileged spectators and ladies, admitted by tickets. The ceremonies were announced to commence at nine o'clock ; at eight the tribunes had been filled, but it was past ten before the main body of the members of the Provisional Government made their appearance. An address to the armed force was read by M. Arago, as Minister at War. About eleven o'clock began the display. Nothing could be more imposing than the flood of bay- onets, as it poured up the long avenue of the Champs Elysees, towards the Arch of Triumph. The different troops were min- gled in the order of their approach — now a legion of the Garde Mobile, now a regiment of the line ; a legion of the National Guards, the schools, the associations of artisans, then cavalry and infantry. Across the Place de la Concorde, down the ex- Rue Royale (now called the Rue Nationale,) and along the line of the Boulevards, the scene was the same. The ferment of the returning troops, and the swarming crowds, continued until long after midnight. The whole city was brilliantly illuminated. It was expected that during the night, when all the National Guards were exhausted by fatigue, a fresh attempt would be made by the Ultras ; but nothing of the kind took place. The number of men under arms during the day amounted to 400,000. At night the illumination in the Champs Elysees presented a fairylike scene. Lights, festooned from tree to tree, were hung from the Place de la Concorde all the way to the magnificent trium- phal arch, and then the vista was terminated by a splendid display of various colored lamps. All the public buildings, of course, shone resplendent; and the Chamber of Deputies, and the noble edifices on the Place de la Concorde glared with lights, and added to the glories of the scene. In the midst of all this, hosts of PRANCE. 683 Republicans, male and female, sang their songs, with that light- heartedness peculiar to the Parisian. In the meantime, the elections for the Assembly had com- menced, and were conducted for the most part with great tran- quillity, regularity and order. It was remarked as a singular thing in Paris that not more than one third of all the persons entitled to vote exercised the fran- chise. The working classes hung back — a fact greatly lament- ed. It proved that the French, though skilled in eflecting rev- olutions, were so little alive to the value of liberty, as to be indif- ferent to the right to vote, the great privilege of the freeman ; and, on the other hand, it created the apprehension that it was not by peaceful constitutional means, but by actual violence, that the working classes were disposed to cause their wishes to prevail. Late on Monday night, the 24th of April, the ballot-boxes were closed, and the elections terminated. The general examination of the votes was fixed for Friday, the 28th of April, by an order of the Mayor of Paris, who also laid down the regulations to be followed on the occasion. Candidates, who obtained more than 2000 votes, according to the order of suffrages given to them, were proclaimed " representatives of the people" by the Mayor. The elections throughout France, generally, showed a large majority in favor of the moderate party. Some Monarchists, but few, found their way to the Chamber. The Assembly met on the day appointed, and an immense multitude assembled on the Place de la Concorde, on the Bridge, and in all the places commanding a view of the National Palace, as the building formerly known as the Chamber of Deputies was called. On the demand of General Courtais, the Commander of the National Guard, the Assembly showed itself bodily to the people upon the peristyle of the building ; and the "Republic" was proclaimed, amid the waving of innumerable banners, the firing of artillery, and the shouts of the delighted multitude. All the preliminaries having been gone through, powers veri- fied, a president (M. Buchez,) and vice-presidents, secretaries, &c., appointed, the members of the Government proceeded to lay before the Assembly an account of their ministries since the es- tablishment of the Republic. On Saturday, May 6, Minister Lamartine ascended the tri- bune, and read a document, which purported to be a report of the acts of the Provisional Government in the restoration of order, the organization of the National Guard, Mobile Garde, the army, &c., enumerating what had been done in the midst of two months of a crisis during which not a drop of blood had been shed. Many portions of this report were much applauded. 684 CHAPTER XIV. He was succeeded by Ledru Rolin, the minister of the Inte- rior, who read a report of the acts of his administration, with great vehemence. The Minister of Justice (M. Cremieux,) next ascended the tribune, and proceeded to read a report of his official acts, in which he recounted all the ameliorations applied to the adminis- tration of justice, the abolition of capital punishment for politi- cal offences, abolition of the pillory,