mmm 1H I ■I J wHBm HHi WmBm MB™ Hi A HISTORY OF ENGLAND HIGH SCHOOLS AND ACADEMIES I!^M o ■N fl ^ -O HISTORY OF ENGLAND HIGH SCHOOLS AND ACADEMIES KATHARINE COMAN, Ph.B. PROFESSOR OF ECONOMICS IN WELLESLEY COLLEGE AND ELIZABETH KIMBALL KENDALL, MA. PROFESSOR OF HISTORY IN WELLESLEY COLLEGE Heto fforfe THE MACMILLAN COMPANY LONDON: MACMILLAN & CO., Ltd. I907 All rights reserved LIBRARY of CONGRESS Two Cnoles Received SEP 23 I90T CooynrM Entry oa^ 2-3 iqcn CL/fesA xxc, Ko. fS7 20_2 5- imposed. Besides the usual money tribute levied upon the provinces, Britain was obliged to furnish a fixed quota of corn for the maintenance of the imperial armies. Customs duties were collected at every port, and the flourishing trade with the Continent was made to pay toll to the imperial treasury. Estates were assessed to the full amount of their revenue, and prompt payment was extorted. The visit of the tax-gatherer furnished the occasion for more than one insurrection. 1 This was not all. The Britons complained that they were forced to pay " a yearly tribute of their bodies." The men annually drafted into the army and navy were sent abroad for service, " as if they might die for every country but their Tacitus own." It was part of the imperial policy to break down national feeling in the provinces by such interchange of troops. An African serving in Gaul, or a Briton serving in the Pyrenees, lost his provincialism and learned to consider himself the servant of Caesar. Britain was doubtless civil- ized by the Roman occupation, but at heavy cost. The steady drain of money, blood, and patriotism reduced the people to impotency. A source of weakness, more insidious but no less sure, was the demoralization consequent on contact with Roman life. Few barbarous peoples are able to retain their race integrity in the presence of a higher civilization. As they imitate alien customs, they are prone to abandon their own moral standards. In the case of the Romanized Celts, the civilization they adopted was fundamentally corrupt. The Roman rulers gave to Britain a strong government and encouraged advanced methods of commerce and industry, but they introduced at the same time enervating luxuries l e.g. the rising under Boadicea, 61 A.D. 26 Race Elements of the English Nation and unmanly vices. The inhabitants who came under the influence of Rome lapsed slowly into sloth and cowardice. Christian missionaries, it is true, came from Rome, — the Apostle Paul himself, tradition would have us believe ; but not until the fourth century, not until Constantine had placed the cross upon the imperial banner, was the church established in Britain. Its hold upon the people was slight. In many of the towns, Christian temples were built 1 and the clergy obtained considerable influence, but in the rural districts, spite of the many mission monasteries dedicated to the conversion of the Britons, the superstitious practices of Druidism lingered. The Barbarian Invasions. — When the power of Rome began to wane and it was found necessary to withdraw the imperial troops from this remote province, the Celts were become " an indolent and slothful race " with no capacity to govern themselves or to defend their land against invasion. Enemies multiplied apace. Picts (Iberi- ans from Scotland) swarmed over the unprotected wall, Scots (Celts from Ireland) crossed the Irish Sea and made their way up the Solway, the Dee, and the Severn into the interior. These were old foes, but worse was to come. Along the east and south coasts, for centuries exempt from war, appeared the Saxons. These were daring pirates, who, crossing the North Sea in their long galleys, sought plunder in Britain. Beaching their boats where occasion offered, they forced a landing and preyed upon the helpless inhabit- ants. Desperate attempts were made to ward off the in- vaders. Watch-towers were built on every navigable river aiong the coast from the Wash to Beachy Head. The de- fence of the south was entrusted to a commander entitled " the Count of the Saxon shore," while a " Duke of the Britons " was appointed to hold the Scots and Picts at bay. All was of little avail. The attacks of the barbarians grew more frequent, more persistent, and the resistance less ef- fective every year. "They levelled, trampled down, and 1 e.g. St. Martin's at Canterbury. 6 5 East 1 IOBM»YiCO.,tNGH'! 28 Race Elements of the English Nation swept off whatever came in their way, as if they were reap- ing corn ripe for the harvest." The emperor could give no adequate assistance, for barbarians threatened not Britain only but every frontier province. The Vandals invaded Gaul and severed the of 1 the rawa communication between Britain and Rome. The imperial Romans. city was itself pillaged by the Goths (410) and had need of all her legions. In 411 Honorius sent letters bidding the Britons look to their own defence. One last appeal the abandoned province addressed to Rome. "The barbari- ans," they said, " drive us to the sea ; the sea throws us back on the barbarians : thus two modes of death await us, we are either slain or drowned." 1 The withdrawal of the Roman officials gave opportunity for the tribal chiefs to assert their authority. One after another assumed the title " Duke of Britain," but no one was strong enough to unite the several tribes under his leadership. Rival ambitions led to demoralizing strife, and Britain was a kingdom di- vided against itself in the day when it had most need of strength. The Saxon Conquest. — The newcomers were Teutons — a race akin to Roman, Celt, and Iberian alike — tall and blond, with fierce blue eyes and speaking an unknown tongue. Green, They came from the low peninsula that lies between the PP- 1 ~7- Baltic and the North Sea : the Jutes from the land we now Source-Book, ca 'l Denmark, the Angles from Schleswig-Holstein, the pp. 4-11. Saxons from the valleys of the Weser and Elbe rivers. The region they abandoned was wild swamp-land and forest. To their unaccustomed eyes, the cultivated fields and popu- lous cities of Britain were marvels of wealth and a tempting prey. They crossed the sea in war-bands, each chief ac- companied by his gesiths, warriors pledged to fight by his side to the death and entitled to a share in the booty. The object of the first expeditions was pillage. Later, as they proved their prowess, the invaders grew more ambitious, 1 Quoted by Gildas from the " Groans of the Britons," an appeal ad- dressed to Rome in 446 a.d. 30 Race Elements of the English Nation Jutes. Green, pp. 7-12. Source-Book, pp. 12, I 3 . Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. Deorham, 577- and bringing with them women, children, and cattle, fought with a view to securing settlements. Fearing to be worsted in the unequal contest, the Britons employed a Roman device and bribed one set of barbarians to drive out another. In 449, a band of Jutes, under Hen- gist and Horsa, 1 was engaged to lend aid against the Picts and was thereupon allowed to occupy the Isle of Thanet. But the strange allies soon became troublesome. Com- plaining that the supplies provided them were insufficient, they ravaged the adjoining country, driving the terrified inhabitants to take refuge in the churches, in the forest, in the walled city of London. " The people fled from the Saxons as from fire." Villas were burned, temples pillaged, fields laid waste, while all who made resistance were put to the sword. By 473, the Jutes were in full possession of Kent. Four years later, a company of Saxons under ./Ella and Cissa landed at Selsey, and, storming the fortified places, conquered the south shore east to Anderida, and settled as South Saxons. In 495 other bands of Jutes and Saxons, led by Cerdic and Cymric, entered at Southampton Water, pushed west and north, and founded the kingdom of Wes- sex. The advance of the invaders seemed resistless, but they met a British force in pitched battle at Mt. Badon (516) and received a sudden check. The Saxons were forced back below the stretch of upland forest that then divided the Thames valley from the southern slopes of the Hampshire downs. The reviving courage of the Celts, and the praises of the hero king who led them to victory, were expressed in the legends of Arthur. For the moment, the fate of Britain seemed averted, but the respite was brief. In 552, the strong walls of Old Sarum gave way, and by 577, the West Saxons had pushed their conquests to the Severn. At the battle of Deorham, three British kings were slain and three strong cities, Gloucester, Cirencester, and Bath, fell into the hands of the invader. This victory was 1 Hengist and Horsa, Cerdic and Cymric, ^Ella and Cissa, may be legendary heroes. The Saxon Conquest 31 decisive, for the Saxon conquest drove like a wedge be- tween the Celts of Devon and Cornwall and their kinsmen of Wales and the north, thus rendering concerted resistance impossible. Meantime, along the east coast, other barbarians, having Green, possessed themselves of the country from the Stour to the PP- I2 ~ l 7- Thames, settled as East Saxons in the land we call Essex, and as Middle Saxons farther west, where the fortified city of London fell to their portion. The third race of invaders, the Angles, making straight across the Channel, forced their Angles way into the inlets of the east coast and dispossessed the Britons in like fashion. They seem to have assumed new names, geographical rather than tribal. Between the Stour and the Wash, the East Anglians settled as Northfolk and Southfolk. Farther north, about the Roman fortress of Lindum, lay the Lindiswaras. Beyond the Humber, the Angles were called Deirans and Bernicians from the Celtic names of the lands they held. The Mercians were the men of the mark, or border, who held the English frontier against the unconquered Celts of the western highlands. Here the remnant of the Britons, whom the English called Welsh, or " strangers," stubbornly stood their ground, and succeeded in maintaining for centuries to come their tribal independence, cherishing with fervent patriotism the lan- guage, customs, and traditions of their race. The Roman- ized Gauls to the south and east made no such resistance, but sullenly submitted to the superior strength of the in- vader. How far they were exterminated is an open ques- tion. The towns doubtless suffered severely, and the populous river valleys ; the chieftains and fighting-men fell in battle ; but there is good reason to believe that the mass of the conquered, notably the women, were spared to serve their conquerors in house and field. Thus, over the greater part of England the Celts were reduced to subjection on the lands that they had once wrested from the Iberians. An interesting evidence of their degradation is the fact that the few Celtic words surviving 32 Race Elements of the English Nation in English speech are the names of household furniture and farm implements. 1 Nothing of Celtic usage survives in English institutions. Effects of the Saxon Conquest. — Bred in the forests of north Germany, remote from the Roman frontier, the Anglo- Saxons knew nothing of the Latin language, law, or religion. Hence the conquest meant reversion to barbarism. On the Continent the Teuton invaders, Visigoths, Franks, Lombards, were won over to the civilization of the empire they de- stroyed, adopting the speech and the faith of the lands they wasWE-AlJfc Ruins of Iona Cathedral Macgibbon and Ross, Ecclesiastical Architecture of Scotland Cunning- ham, p. 56. settled. But it was otherwise in Britain. The barbarians laid waste the cities, 2 slaughtered the inhabitants, and reduced the splendid Roman palaces to smoking ruins. Christian temples were sacked by the champions of Woden and Thor. Priests and monks were driven to take refuge in the fastnesses of the Welsh mountains, or the remote Irish shore. Wherever the Saxon won a foothold paganism triumphed. Latin and Celtic ceased to be used in the conquered districts, and all classes soon adopted the Ger- manic dialects spoken by the new masters. 1 e.g. pony, cart, cradle, crock, bannock, slough. 2 Many ruined cities were later rebuilt, but Anderida, Uriconium, Verulamium, lie in ruins still. Effects of the Saxon Conquest 33 The speech of the conquered race never recovered su- premacy, but it was otherwise with Christianity, for the church had its missionaries. Saint Patrick, a British slave, had won the wild Irish to the faith of Christ in the fifth century. In the sixth, Ireland sent ardent apostles for the reconversion of Britain. Columba founded a mission mon- astery at Iona, Aidan christened Lindisfarne the Holy Isle, Cuthbert preached the gospel to the Northumbrians, Chad to the Mercians. The Pope sent his emissaries as well : Augustine to the men of Kent, Birinus to Wessex, Paulinus to the Northumbrians, Ninias to the Picts. The English proved ready converts. The " unsullied life " of the de- voted missionaries won their hearts, and they gladly received at such hands the religion that promised a more certain knowledge of the life and destiny of man than their nature myths could give. Mercia alone held out. For twenty- two years (633-655) Penda, the chief of the borderland, fought the battle of the old gods against Edwin, the Chris- tian king of Northumbria. Not till the sturdy old heathen lay dead, were the labors of Chad crowned with success by the baptism of Penda's son and successor, Peada. Of Roman law and forms of government little survived the conquest. The Anglo-Saxons followed their ancient customs so far as they suited new conditions. Some increase of the chieftain's authority was inevitable. The leader of each invading host was recognized as king of the conquered territory. 1 It was usual to attribute to such heroes descent from Woden and to confer the royal office on one of his sons, but there was no hereditary right. The ablest man of the house was usually designated by the assembled war- riors (the folk-moot) . The members of the war-band, the gesiths, who had shared the hardships and the glories of the conquest, remained in attendance on the king as his thegns. They were his immediate councillors and the stable element of his fighting force. The rank and file of freemen were 1 Hengist is said to have become king of Kent, and Cerdic king of the West Saxons. D Green, pp. 17-28. Introduction of Christianity, Source-Book, pp. 14-16. Bede. organiza- tion. Green, pp. 1-4. 34 Race Elements of the English Nation summoned twice a year to the folk-moot and were liable at the call of the king to occasional service in the army oxfyrd. It is probable that the conquering Saxons settled by com- panies in villages {tuns or hams), each clan giving its name to the settlement. 1 The land was apportioned as booty among the warriors according to rank. The chief probably retained the largest share, to his immediate followers would be assigned considerable estates, while the simple freemen secured each a strip of arable land and had the right to pasture cattle in the common meadows, to hunt and to gather wood in the forest surrounding the village. The Welsh communities in the north and west remained unaffected by the conquest, but in the English districts the subjugated Celts were generally reduced to serfdom. Indi- viduals were doubtless sold into bondage, but the mass of the people remained as servile cultivators and craftsmen on the estates of the large landowners. The position of the serf was far superior to that of the slave. He was obliged to labor at the bidding of his lord and to render a certain amount of produce for the maintenance of his master's household, but he could not be sold into slavery nor could he be deprived of the right to live off the land his fathers had tilled. Some of the great Roman estates may have survived the conquest, but through the greater part of Eng- land the fields were laid waste and the very tradition of advanced methods of cultivation lost. Thus modern England owes little to Roman Britain. So complete was the Germanic conquest, so fully do Anglo- Saxon language, customs, and race traits dominate all later development, that English history may be said to date from the fifth century. The national life begins when the English people come into possession of their island home. Unsullied by Roman civilization, in the full vigor of barba- Traili, I rism, fierce fighters and heavy eaters, the Saxons had slight pp. 132, 133. comprehension of art, literature, or the refinements of civ- 1 Many of these generic names survive in modern England, e.g. Hun- tingdon, town of the Huntings ; Buckingham, home of the Buckings. Attainment of Ecclesiastical Unity 35 ilization ; but they were physically superior to their prede- cessors in Britain, and they possessed the capacity for self-defence and self-government that the demoralized Celts conspicuously lacked. Even the Welsh mountain tribes were weak by comparison. A pastoral people, they had slight sense of ownership in their grazing lands and readily abandoned them when threatened by superior force. The Saxons, on the other hand, lived by the cultivation of the soil. No later invader succeeded in dispossessing them. They remain fast rooted to the land and have furnished the most enduring element in English life and character. Inscription from a Runic Stone De Worsaae, The Primeval Atitiquities of Demi Attainment of Ecclesiastical Unity. — The first apostles to the English worked quite independently of each other and often at cross-purposes. The southern kingdoms were converted by missionaries sent from Rome, while the north received the faith from the lips of Irish monks. Certain differences of observance, slight enough in themselves, 1 dis- tinguished the emissaries of the Pope from the disciples of Columba. Each faction insisted on its own usage, and sharp dissension arose. In 664, a great synod was held at Whitby, where a decision was reached, confirming the Roman cus- tom, and thereafter the English church recognized the Pope as supreme authority in matters spiritual. The Irish church 1 Such questions as the suitable form of tonsure and the correct date for the Easter festival. Green, pp. 29 32 36 Race Elements of the English Nation remained loyal to its ancient usage and independent of Rome. When Theodore of Tarsus became Archbishop of Canterbury (668), he undertook to organize the churches of the several Saxon kingdoms as a national whole. The number of bishops was increased and each was made re- sponsible to the archbishop for the well-being of his own diocese. Ecclesiastical questions of general importance were to be determined in representative councils. Stable organization gave new effectiveness to the work of the Saxon Church at Bradford-on-Avon Archceological Journal Green, pp. 41-44. church, and the English soon came to be regarded as the most Christian people of Western Europe. Within a hun- dred years after the landing of Augustine, England was send- ing missionaries and scholars to the Continent. 1 The Postponement of Political Unity. — The church was organized on national lines five hundred years before politi- cal unity was attained. During the eighth and ninth cen- turies England was divided into a number of little kingdoms 5 warring against each other for increase of territory. One by 1 Willibrord to Frisia, Quidbert to Hesse, Alcuin to the court of Charle- magne. 2 The seven kingdoms, Northumbria, Mercia, Wessex, Sussex, Kent, Essex, East Anglia, made up the so-called Heptarchy. The Danes 37 one the weaker states were forced to a dependent position, and the contest for supremacy lay between the three great kingdoms, Northumbria, Mercia, and Wessex. Each in turn won the leadership only to be displaced by a stronger rival. No one had force sufficient to establish a permanent rule. The title of Bretwalda, conferred upon a successful king, Bretwalda gave him no authority but that of overlord of semi-indepen- dent states. These unhappy civil dissensions delayed the subjugation of the Celtic tribes to the north and west. The most martial of the English kings succeeded in advancing their boundaries only a little way beyond the original frontier. Ethelfrith of Northumbria (593-617) drove the Scots back to the Firth of Forth in 603. Four years later he forced his way to the river Dee, and, taking possession of Chester, divided the Welsh of the mountains from the Celts of Strathclyde. Edwin, his able successor (617-633), built a fortress, Edwinesburgh, on the Forth as an outpost against the Scots, and launching a fleet on the Irish Sea, added Anglesea and the Isle of Man to the list of English con- quests. Offa of Mercia (758-794) pushed his frontier beyond the Severn, planted a settlement at Shrewsbury, and erected along this western boundary a huge dyke called by his name. 1 Egbert of Wessex (802-839) won a victory over the West Welsh that gave him possession of Exeter and added Devon to his kingdom. Egbert was the eighth Bretwalda, but the first " king of the English." His kingdom extended from the Tamar to the Tweed, from Offa's dyke to the Channel, almost the present confines of England. But the time was not ripe for national unity. Tribal distinctions were jealously fos- tered by the subject kings. Northumbrians, Mercians, Jutes, and Saxons did not learn to act as one people until they were forced to do so in meeting a common danger and fighting a common foe. The Danes. — Toward the close of the eighth century, 1 Offa's dyke may still be traced from the Wye to the Dee. 3§ Race Elements of the English Nation Green, pp. 44-47. Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. Traill, I, pp. 140-147. Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. civilization was threatened by new barbarian invasions ; the Danes or Northmen came swarming down from the Scandinavian lands along the Baltic to plunder the coast of Europe. England first became aware of them in 787, when three pirate ships attacked the town of Dorches- ter. Six years later the " havoc of heathen men mis- erably destroyed God's church at Lindisfarne." From that time the raids grew more frequent till they became a yearly scourge. The vikings l found Britain a rich and easy prey. Com- ing as the Angles and Jutes had done three hundred years before, as pirates aiming at plunder, they were at first con- tent to harry the coast-lands and escape over-sea with their booty. As they gained in numbers and experience, how- ever, they made their way up the rivers and attacked popu- lous towns. London fell a prey to such a raid (853), and the rich episcopal cities of Canterbury (853) and York (867). The English made but feeble resistance, preferring to buy off the foe rather than fight against desperate odds. They had lost valor and military skill in the years of order and plenty. They had become farmers, merchants, priests. Prosperous, contented, fully wonted to the arts of peace, they were loath to take up arms except when danger threatened their own immediate vicinity. Rudely armed, undisciplined, fighting each kingdom and each town for itself, they were easily worsted by the war-bands of the Danes. The invaders, on the other hand, were mailed warriors who, mounted on horseback and free of incum- brances, swept the country from sea to sea. Every raid was a disaster to the English, marked by smoking houses and devastated fields ; but their enemies had nothing to lose. When brought to bay, the "foxes" intrenched them- selves in hastily constructed earthworks. Driven thence, they fled over-sea no poorer than they came. The black keels of the Northmen multiplied year by year until their 1 Norse chieftains, so called from the vicks or inlets where their ships were harbored. Danish Armor De Worsaae, Industrial Arts of Denmark 4 o Race Elements of the English Nation advent darkened the sea. Pushing up the Thames, the Severn, and the rivers of the east coast, they overran Mercia, East Anglia, and Northumbria. The inhabitants could make no effective stand against them. Lincoln and Nottingham fell into Danish hands, together with Derby, Leicester, and Stamford, the five boroughs from which they ruled northern England. Once secure in possession of Northumbria and Mercia, the chieftains apportioned the lands among their followers, and the fierce sea-rovers began to plough and sow their new possessions like men who meant to stay. In Kent and East Anglia the " army " plundered Viking Ship found at Gokstadt Montelius, The Civilization of Sweden in Heathen Times Green, pp. 47-49! 53- Source- Book, pp. 21-24. and burned until the people were fain to purchase a humil- iating truce. The invaders reached Wessex in 871, but here they met more valiant resistance. King Ethelred and his brother Alfred met them in fair fight. Nine great battles were fought in that year, but with so dubious result that the West Saxons were forced in their turn to make a com- promising peace. Alfred (871-901). — When Alfred came to the throne, the realm of Egbert was reduced to Wessex and Devon ; and Wessex itself was so cowed by defeat that the people had been content to buy off the Danes, though experience proved that such promises were lightly broken. It was Alfred 41 Alfred's task to encourage his people to undertake a united resistance. In 878 the "army" again crossed the Thames and harried the west country. The terrified inhabitants submitted or fled over-sea. The king himself was put to great straits and took refuge with a little band of faithful followers in the woods and moor fastnesses of Somerset. There at Athelney he threw up a fortress and summoned the people to his aid. The hearts of the West Saxons " resided in brave dwellings." They only needed a leader. Anglo-Saxon From all the adjacent shires men true and valiant flocked Chro,Ucle - to his standard. Desperation lent strength to the little force, so that they sought out the "army" at Ethandun and put it to flight. Guthrurn, the Danish chieftain, was fain to promise that he would receive baptism and molest Wessex no further. Two years later his army withdrew to East Anglia and settled there. Those who could not be reconciled to a quiet life returned over-sea. In the treaty Treaty of of Wedmore (879), concluded between Alfred and Gu- Wedmore, thrum, an attempt was made to define the territory con- 79 ' quered by the Danes. The half of England north of Watling Street, including Essex, East Anglia, Eastern Mercia, and Deira, was conceded to be Danelagh. All England south of the Thames remained to Alfred, and Western Mercia acknowledged his overlordship. Bernicia was in- dependent, but English and friendly. Fifteen years of com- parative peace followed upon Guthnim's surrender. The " stillness " Alfred longed for was, however, not yet Asser's Life, secured. The " heathen " were ever faith-breakers, and bap- tism could not purge their hearts of love of plunder. New armies came over-sea, and the Danes of East Anglia and the north were prone to join their plundering raids. In 893, Hasting, the famous freebooter who had for years been the terror of the Frankish kingdoms, landed in Kent with two great armies, and his onslaught threatened to overwhelm the land. The emergency lent Alfred authority such as no king of the English had yet exercised. Every considerable landowner was obliged to furnish a fully armed horseman, ALFRED'S ENGLAND 4 ^v^T\^ VISLE ^^ SCALE OF ENGLISH MILES 5 10 20 30 60 * ?%S\ EXPLANATION it" S> , DDQ ;'j r. )r.T««« Alfred 43 while every freeman, however small his holding, must serve in the fyrd.. A simple rotation of service converted the occasional levy into a standing army. The king divided his host into two parts. One half remained at home, while the other half served in the field, a sufficient number of men being reserved to defend the cities. With this force, the king marched from London to Exeter and back again to London, driving the vikings from their fastnesses and burning their ships when they came ashore. The harvesters were protected as they gathered the crops, and the king's Ancient War Canoe Miiller, Nordische Altertumskutide troops stood guard while the townsmen rebuilt their walls. "Thanks be to God," cries the Chronicler, "the army had not utterly broken up the Angle race." With disciplined and reliable troops at his service, Alfred was more than a match for the invaders and drove them from the land ; but the vikings were still masters of the Channel and ready to swoop down upon any undefended point. Realizing that these attacks must be forestalled, the king commanded great ships to be built after a model of his own devising. They were longer and steadier and at the same time swifter than the "keels" of the Danes. In 897 the little navy 44 Race Elements of the English Nation Green, pp. 81-84. Proverbs of Alfred. Green, PP- 53. 54- Source-Book, pp. 17-20. put boldly out to sea and drove the viking fleet from the south coast. The Work of Alfred. — Alfred rescued Saxon civilization when he confined the Danes beyond the Thames and de- fended the coast against further devastating inroads. He laid foundations for the lasting supremacy of the English when he built a navy and organized a permanent military force. Thereafter the king of Wessex was the rallying-point of the defence. Long after the house of Cerdic had ceased to reign, Alfred was hailed as England's shepherd, Eng- land's darling, England's comforter. He is the only one in the long line of English kings who has been honored with the title of " the Great." For Government. — The war against the Danes was not Alfred's best service to the land he ruled. Under his wise direction, a stable government was established for the kingdom south of the Thames. The realm was ad- ministered in districts called shires. 1 For each shire, an alderman was appointed who was held responsible for the execution of the law and the levying of troops in the king's service. The sheriff represented the king in the local courts, declaring the law and defending the royal in- terests. From the decision of the shire court, a man who felt himself injured might appeal to the king. Alfred was accustomed to inquire into the wisdom of the sentences rendered in his name, and to call to account judges who through ignorance or favor had failed to enforce the right. Asser tells us how eagerly these officers set to work to study the law, and how bitterly they lamented that they had not been properly taught in their youth when learning would have been easier. Their task was rendered a difficult one by the confused and conflicting character of Anglo-Saxon law. The ancient customs had been reduced to writing and promulgated as laws by the early kings, but chang- ing circumstances had brought new forms into vogue, while 1 Each shire corresponds to an early settlement, and the shire-moot to the folk-moot of a former kingdom ; e.g. Kent, Sussex, Dorset, Somerset. For Literature 45 much of the old usage was inapplicable. Alfred under- took to simplify and reduce to a uniform code the various laws and customs that had been sanctioned by his prede- cessors. There is little that is new in his " dooms," as he himself states in the preamble. " I then, Alfred, king, gathered these (laws) together and commanded many of those to be written which our forefathers held, those which to me seemed good, and many of those which seemed to me not good, I rejected them by the counsel of my Witan — for I durst not venture to set down in writing much of my own, for it was unknown to me what of it would please those who should come after us." The laws of Alfred represent the best wisdom of the Anglo-Saxons, but they seem barbaric when compared with modern legislation. Penalties were not so much preventive as retaliatory. Every crime had its price, and injuries must be atoned for by the payment of wer-gild (blood- Wer-gild money). "If a man strike out another's eye let him pay 60 shillings." " If a man strike out another's tooth in the front of his head, let him make amends for it with 8 shil- lings ; if it be the canine tooth, let 4 shillings be paid as amends. A man's grinder is worth 15 shillings." This was rough justice, but it had the effect of checking crime, and was perhaps the only means of affording protection to the weak in this age of violence. The wer-gild marks an im- portant advance on the custom of blood-feud prevailing among the Celts. The family of an injured man was still bound to exact vengeance, not, however, in blood, but in silver. The law determined the money equivalent of the wrong; the king enforced the penalty. The methods used to determine the guilt or innocence of the accused were still primitive. If a man could bring a sufficient num- ber of neighbors 1 to swear that he had not committed the offence, he went free. Failing this, he must undergo the ordeal, appealing to God to vindicate the right. For Literature. — Alfred was a king by birth and a soldier 1 This form of trial was known as " compurgation." 4 6 Race Elements of the English Nation Green, pp. 50-52. Alfred's In- troduction to Pastoral Care. Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. by force of circumstances, but nature intended him for a stu- dent. Not all the engrossing cares and anxieties of that long struggle with the Danes could thwart his scholar's purpose. Asser tells us that it was the king's custom " both night and day and amid his many other occupations of mind and body, either himself to read books or to listen whilst others read them." He yearned to give to his people the treasures of knowledge he found in the ancient writings. Under the ardent impulse lent by the Irish missionaries, the monas- teries of Northumbria had been centres of learning, but they had suffered severely during the Danish inroads. Many houses had been sacked and burned, and the brethren scattered. Knowledge of Latin, the literary tongue, had well-nigh perished. Alfred writes mournfully of the lost books and treasures. " So clean was learning now fallen off among the English race, that there were very few (priests) on this side of the Humber that were able to understand their service in English, or even to turn an epistle from Latin into English ; and I think that there were not many beyond the Humber. So few were there of them that I cannot think of even one south of the Thames when I first took the kingdom." Alfred did what he could to repair this damage by rebuilding churches and convents and founding schools. The School of the Angle Race at Rome was " freed " by Pope Marinus, at his request, " from all tribute and tax." Learned men were summoned to his court from all parts of England, from Wales, and from the Continent. 1 For the instruction of laymen the king determined to translate into Anglo-Saxon, the unlettered speech of the people, the most useful books he knew. The Psalms, Gos- pels, and other portions of the Bible had been already translated. 2 Alfred chose the Consolation of the philoso- pher Boethius, the Pastoral Care of Pope Gregory, the Universal History of Orosius, and the Ecclesiastical His- 1 e.g. Plegmund, an Anglo-Saxon; Asser, a Welshman; Grimbald, Frank ; John of Saxony, a German. 2 By the monks of Lindisfarne. Reconquest of England 47 tory of the Venerable Bede. He was especially desirous that the history of England should be recorded for the use of future generations. Something had already been done in the religious houses, where the monks had set down the happenings that came within their ken, an eclipse of the moon, a miracle, the accession of a king, the death of a saint. But Alfred proposed more than this. Under his inspiring guidance the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle 1 was enlarged and enriched until it became the best of contemporary his- tories. Far more important than the immediate ends the king had in view was the ultimate result of this work. His determination to use the vulgar tongue made English a literary language. His translations fixed its form and pre- served it from loss in the troubled centuries that were to follow. For Industry. — Alfred showed a keen concern for the material interests of his people, and not a few important inventions were attributed to his ingenuity. He planned and built not ships and fortresses alone, but churches and palaces. The skilled trades were encouraged, and he taught "his workers of gold and his artificers of all kinds" how to Asser's Life. improve their fabric. As soon as the sea was cleared of pirates, trade revived and commercial relations with the Continent were reestablished. The king received embassies from France, from Spain, and even from Jerusalem. His daughter, Ethelfoyth, was married to the count of Flanders. The alliance marks the beginning of a fruitful commerce between England and the Low Countries. Reconquest of England. — Under Edward the Elder (901-925), the worthy son of Alfred, East Anglia, Danish Mercia, and Essex were recovered to English rule. The Green, king was ably seconded by his sister Ethelflseda, the valiant pp< S4_s8 - " Lady of Mercia." Assuming at the death of her husband the task of defending the English frontier, she boldly took the offensive. Making a sally into Wales, she carried Breck- 1 This is the earliest attempt of a Teutonic people to record its annals in the native tongue. Anglo-Saxon Relics of Gold and Bronze Reconqnest of England 49 nock by storm. Turning against the Danes, she directed in person the siege of Derby, and while weeping woman's tears over the four thegns slain within the gates, made her- self master of the place. The Danish " army " at Leicester swore her allegiance, and the people of York offered to sur- render their city to her keeping. Slowly but surely the English forces • advanced into the enemy's country, laying siege to their fortresses, driving the 'several " armies " from their strongholds, while they rebuilt and repeopled the cities that had been ruined in the war. 1 Edward was welcomed as a deliverer by the whole English population : especially , , „ i- 1 , „ , , • f, • • ,, Anglo-Saxon did the peasantry "seek his peace and his protection. Chronicle. Disheartened by his rapid successes, the Danish juris one after another gave in their submission. Even the Celts recog- nized in the king of Wessex the champion of liberty. In 922 the North Welsh acknowledged his supremacy; two years later the Scots and the Welsh of Strathclyde " sought him for father and lord." The successors of Edward so vigorously maintained the West Saxon West Saxon supremacy that when Edgar came to the throne su P remac y- in 959 he was greeted not as king of the English only, but as ruler of all Britain. Tradition has it that he was rowed upon the Dee by six Celtic chieftains. Every year he made a tour of the coasts with a numerous fleet. The reign of Edgar, "the peaceful," marks the culmination of the rule of Wessex and of Anglo-Saxon civilization. The king, with his able archbishop, Dunstan, worked to secure peace and prosperity to the land. The long struggle with the Danes had at last done away with the tribal distinctions that divided the English, and the ambition of rival dynasties was satisfied by grant of the ealdorman's office. The jeal ousy of Welsh and Danes was disarmed by concessions to race prejudice. The subjugated peoples were governed by Cunning- rulers of their own blood, and in accordance with their an- '""• ' pp. 8-1 1. cient customs. The Welsh remained Celts and alien, retaining 1 Some thirty places were restored in middle England by the valiant brother and sister. 5o Race Elements of the English Nation Traill, I, 121-129. Source-Book, pp. 27-30. their own language and peculiar tribal organization long after they submitted to English overlordship. The funda- mental race difference between Celt and Teuton was not easily obliterated. With the Danes it was otherwise. They were of the same Norse stock as the Jutes and Angles, and spoke a kindred language. They had accepted Christianity with English rule, and as they settled down upon the land, they soon adopted the ways and speech of the English inhabitants, and became in their turn enamoured of peace and prosperity. Anglo-Saxon Civilization. — The original English settle- ments had been made at accessible points along the river- courses where a fertile soil promised sustenance, or near some old Roman city whose decaying walls afforded build- ing material. The barbarians cherished independence, and their villages were usually surrounded by wide stretches of waste land or forest. Since intercourse with the outside world was difficult, every community must be self-supporting. Agriculture. — Agriculture was the prime interest to which the whole working force of the village was at first devoted. The fertile lands were divided into acre and half-acre strips and assigned to the several families for tillage, very much as is still done in the Russian commune. Each allotment was separated from those adjoining by turf-balks or hedges, an arrangement that involved much waste of land and labor, but seemed the best way of securing to each man his just share. The pastures and meadows were unfenced, and every proprietor in the village lands had mowing and graz- ing rights therein. Cattle and sheep browsed in the open, while droves of swine fed on nuts and roots in the wood- land. The beasts were cared for and kept from straying into the tilled fields, or getting lost in the forest, by men and boys detailed for that service. The oxherds, cowherds, swineherds, and shepherds, who looked after the stock of the villagers, were maintained at common charge. On thegns' estates the same tasks were performed by serfs, men bound to the soil and forced to render labor service. Manufactures 5 1 Manufactures. — As wants increased, new industries arose. Each village was provided with craftsmen skilled in certain trades, — carpenters and thatchers to build the houses, wheel- wrights and blacksmiths to set up ploughs and wagons, shoe- wrights and saddlers to fashion leather goods. Clothing Upright Loom from the Faroe Islands Montelius, The Civilization of Sweden in Heathen Times was manufactured largely by the women, who spun wool and flax with spindle and distaff, and wove cloth of gay colors on hand-looms. In the towns, some relics of the Roman hand- icrafts may have lingered, but the most important centres of industry were the monastic establishments. Here the arts that might enrich and dignify the ceremonial of worship were fostered. Glass-workers were brought over from the 52 Race Elements of the English Nation Traill.I, 201-209. Thorpe, I, pp. 83, 119. Continent to fill the church windows with radiant light. Embroiderers made up gorgeous vestments, and gold-workers adorned God's altars with cross and image, or wrought mar- vellous shrines for the relics of the saints. The first Saxon churches were built of wood, and soon perished by fire or by natural decay. Stone-work was not introduced till the seventh century, when the Abbot Benedict undertook to build a church at Jarrow (68b) " in the Roman manner," and sought masons in France. Trade. — The revival of industries and the growing de- mand for luxuries served to promote trade. Many articles that could not be produced at home, such as salt, spices, fine cloth, iron, millstones, must be brought from a distance. Merchants made their way up the river-courses to the valley settlements, and then by the long-disused streets into the interior. Market towns were rebuilt at the cross-ways and by the river-fords, 1 while at the saints' shrines, where men gathered on feast days, great fairs were held. Commerce over- sea, interrupted by the centuries of warfare, revived with the interval of peace secured by the successors of Alfred. Gloucester was the meeting- place of Welsh and English merchants, Bristol and Chester divided the Irish trade, Exeter and the southern ports were in direct com- munication with France. Norwich, Dunwich, Ipswich, and especially London, secured the Channel traffic. Commerce brought increase of wealth and population to the towns. The thirty towns of Alfred's day had become eighty, with two hundred thousand inhabitants, by the eleventh century. The later Anglo-Saxon kings offered every encouragement to commerce. Ample protection was afforded to strange "chapmen" sojourning in the land, and Englishmen were incited to engage in foreign trade by the law providing that " every merchant who fares thrice across the wide sea at his own cost is of thegnright worthy." Britain exported, as in Roman days, cattle and grain, tin and lead, horses and slaves. The addition of certain manu- x e.g. Cambridge and Oxford. Political Organization 53 factured articles, as gold-work and embroidery, indicates that considerable industrial advance had been made in spite of five centuries of well-nigh perpetual war. The slaves were for the most part the conquered Welsh, but there is evi- dence that the slave-trader did not eschew English blood. The boys on sale in the Roman market who attracted the pitying attention of Pope Gregory were Angles from Deira. Five centuries later the biographer of Wulfstan records that " The people of Bristol had an odious and inveterate custom of buying men and women in all parts of England, and exporting them to Ireland for gain." The church used its influence to discourage slavery. St. Patrick condemned the Green, practice of selling Christians to the pagan English, and the pp-5 8 .59- laws of Ine (688-728) forbade that " Christian men and Thor P e . uncondemned be sold out of the country, especially into a pp ' 47 ' 3 heathen nation." Political Organization. — The Anglo-Saxon system of Trail, 1, government came to its full development under Edgar, pp- i 34-i-iq- The king had become the supreme authority, not only in military but in civil affairs. He presided in the Witenage- mot, the assembly of wise men (thegns, ealdormen, and bish- ops), summoned to advise the king and to legislate for the realm. The kingdom was grown too extensive for the assem- bly of the whole body of freemen as in the ancient folk moot. The troubled years of the Danish invasions had witnessed a Commenda- decline in the status of the ceorl or small landowner. Unable tion - to defend his possessions single-handed, he was fain to attach himself to the military leader of his neighborhood, surrendering somewhat of his personal independence in return for the promised protection. By Edgar's law, the practice was made obligatory. Every man below the rank of thegn must find himself a lord who should be responsible for him. A considerable degree of popular government persisted side by side with the growth of the royal authority. Every village had its ti/ngemot, where the heads of houses met to determine affairs of common interest, the number of cattle 54 Race Elements of the English Nation each man might turn into the common pasture, the time when the hay should be cut or the corn-fields reaped. Each tun sent its reeve and four best men to the hundred court, where minor offences and disputes between men of the hundred were dealt with. The same representatives met in the shire-court with the greater folk of the county, and there more serious of- fences and cases appealed from the hundred court were tried in the presence of the ealdorman, the bishop, and the king's reeve. Glass Vases De Baye, Industrial Arts of tht Important Events The Roman Occupation, 43-41 i a.d Caesar invades Britain, 55 and 54 b c. Agricola conquers Britain, 78-84 a d. Honorius abandons the province, 411 a.d. The Saxon Conquest, 449-607 a.d. The Jutes take possession of Kent, 4494- • The Saxons take possession of Sussex, Wessex, Essex, 477 + . The Angles take possession of Northumbria, East Anglia. Lindiswara, Mercia. The Britons are defeated at Old Sarum, 552; at Deorham, 577 ; at Chester, 607. Important Events 55 The Triumph of Christianity. Monastery at Iona founded by Columba, 565. Ethelbert of Kent converted by Augustine, 597. Edwin of Northumbria converted by Paulinus, 627. West Saxons converted by Birinus, 635. Peada of Mercia accepts Christianity, 655. The Roman ritual is adopted, 664. Theodore, Archbishop of Canterbury, 668-690. South Saxons converted by Wilfrid, 681. The Strong Kings of Wessex. Egbert attains to overlordship, 802-839. Alfred establishes a kingdom, 871-901. Edward recovers lost territories, 901-925. Edgar, the Peaceful, emperor of Britain, 959-975. Saxon Elements in the People and Institutions of England. Dominant race element. Framework and most essential portions of the language. The common law. Conception and form of local self-government. National characteristics of independence and pertinacity. CHAPTER III FOREIGN RULE Books for Consultation Sources Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. Special Authorities Oman, England, from the Beginning to 1066. Davis, England from lobb to 12J2, ch. I, II, III, IV, V. Hodgkin, Political History of England, Vol. I, ch. XXV, XXVI. Adams, Political History of England, Vol. II, ch. I-XII. Anderson, Norse Mythology. Johnson, Normans in Europe. Church, St. Anselm. Freeman, Norman Conquest, abridged edition. Maitland, Domesday and Beyond. Imaginative Literature Young, The Little Duke. Bulwer, Harold the Last of the Saxon Kings. Kingsley, Hereward the Wake, the Last of the English. Tennyson, Harold. Rossetti, The While Ship. Johnson, Migrations of the Northmen. — Little is known of the 1-14. early history of the Scandinavian peninsulas whence came the conquerors of England. To the Saxon chronicler, re- counting the long and losing struggle against the Danes, the invaders are wild barbarians for whom no epithet is too scathing. They are "wolves," "foxes," "pagans," "chil- dren of Satan." Yet the Scandinavians were near of kin to the English and possessed the best characteristics of the Teuton inheritance. The bitter struggle for existence in a 56 Normandy 57 land that is one-third water and one-third mountain, and where winter lasts six months of the year, had bred in them endurance, ingenuity, and daring. In the course of the ninth' century the people seem to have grown too numerous for the resources of the scant coast-lands, and the more enterprising spirits set out to seek their fortunes in the richer realms to the south. The results of that exodus were mo- Johnson, mentous. We have seen how the Danes possessed them- pp- 15 ~ 31 selves of northern England. In like manner Swedish war-bands ravaged the coasts of the Baltic, and, making their way inland to Novgorod and to Kiev, founded the ancient dynasty of Russia. The Norwegians, on the other hand, pushed westward and possessed themselves of the out- lying islands of the Atlantic. The Orkneys, the Shetlands, and the north coast of Scotland formed a viking kingdom that was held in fief of Norway until the fourteenth century. Farther west, the Hebrides, the Isle of Man, Anglesea, and the neighboring Scotch and Irish shores were united in a maritime empire whose valiant princes 1 held their own until, in 1281, their dominions were annexed to Scotland. Continental Settlements. — Throughout the ninth and tenth centuries, France and Germany were ravaged by Norse pirates. The Rhine, the Elbe, the Scheldt, the Seine, and the Loire were the open highways by which the black keels of the barbarians made their way to the rich farm lands and populous cities of the interior. Smoking houses and bloody Johnson, battlefields marked their track. Legend records that the pp ' 32_35 ' great Charlemagne gazed ruefully upon their swift craft and predicted the ruin of his empire. 2 In the Litany service the terrified clergy inserted a special prayer, " From the fury of the Northmen, save us, Lord." Normandy. — As in England, so on the Continent, the war-bands, coming at first for booty, soon sought permanent Green, homes. Numerous scattered settlements along the rivers pp - 7I ~ 7+ of Gaul may still be traced in local terminology. The most 1 The Lords of the Isles. 2 So the monk of St. Gall. 7 T 10 ' 20" / ' I \ \ MIGRATIONS OF THE * NORTHMEN BOflMAr ENGRAVIT Normandy 59 important conquest made on the Continent, and the only one where the Norse retained race integrity, was the domain of Rollo the Ganger, 1 on the west coast. This Johnson, mighty warrior succeeded in wresting from Charles the pp - 35_37, Simple, the degenerate descendant of Charlemagne and king of the West Franks, a grant of the strip of territory at the mouth of the Seine called thereafter Normandy. As duke of the Normans, the conqueror swore fealty to the Frankish king and became his trusty vassal. Once recog- nized as a peer 2 of France, Rollo accepted Christianity, married a French princess, and set about governing his new subjects with such discretion that the whilom pirate became known as the father of his people. The lands were divided among his followers as spoils of conquest. 3 Thus the war- riors became vassals of the duke, holding their estates under obligation to military service, while the natives, being regarded as a subject race, were treated as serfs. At first Johnson, the Norse Vikings despised the Romanized and degenerate |" 37 * Franks. Absorbed in hunting and feasting, in making war Middle Ages upon a neighboring lord to extend a boundary or upon the P- I 5 8 - duke to resist a claim, they contemptuously declined to concern themselves with such slave's business as agriculture and the arts. Yet gradually the superior civilization gained influence over the conquerors. They married Frankish 1 The Norman dukes : Rollo the Ganger, 912-927 William Longsword, 927 ?~943 Richard the Fearless, 943-996 Richard II, the Good, 996-1026 Emma, m. Ethelred of England r 1 1 Richard III, 1026-1028 Robert, 1028-1035 William I, 1035-1087 2 Peers {pares) were vassals of the same suzerain, holding fiefs of land in his domain of equal rank. 3 Literally " roped out." 6o Foreign Rule Green, pp. 59-64. women and adopted Frankish customs, they learned the Franco-Latin language with such facility that the grandson of Rollo could be taught, to speak Scandinavian only at Bayeux. Entering the awe-inspiring Christian churches, they forswore the fierce gods of their ancestors. They came under the sway of the clergy and .received at their hands not only a purer religion and a higher morality than Norse mythology taught them, but the conceptions of right and order preserved in the Roman law, the traditions of learning and literature treasured in the monasteries. So it followed that within the century after the conquest, the wild Northmen became essentially French. While losing nothing of their original valor and energy, they assimilated with marvellous readiness the best elements in the civiliza- tion of the conquered race. The Danes in England. — Meantime, across the Channel, other Norse vikings were mastering a kingdom. The re- newal of the Danish invasions began in 981 with an attack on Southampton. For the next thirty years " armies " from the north harried the English coast, burning the towns and slaughtering the inhabitants. Not infrequently the North- men forced the terrified people to provide them with horses, and sweeping far into the interior, plundered and killed and Anglo-Saxon did "unspeakable evil." They met with little concerted Chronicle. resistance. The good days of Alfred and Edward were Ethelred the past. Ethelred the Unready, 1 the degenerate son of Edgar, Unready. was no t equal to the emergency. He could not rally the English to unite against the foe. Each shire preferred to fight its own battle, and the national force, the fyrd, was with difficulty induced to remain under arms over the har- vest. The ealdormen who should have led their troops to the defence of the realm were jealous of each other and disloyal to the king. Again and again did a commander betray his trust on the very eve of battle. The Chronicle tells a tale of shame. "And forces were often gathered against the Danes, but as soon as they should have joined 1 The old English term is " reckless," i.e. lacking in counsel. Source-Book^ pp. 30-34. 62 Foreign Rule The Danegeld. Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. Anglo-Saxi Chronicle. Green, pp. 65-67. battle, then was there ever, through some cause, flight begun." London alone offered strenuous resistance. The citizens stood bravely by their defences even when beset by the whole Danish army, and their strong walls afforded refuge to the king himself. Unable to defend his realm by force of arms, Ethelred was fain to purchase an inglorious peace. 1 Five times in twenty years was tribute paid to the arm)'', and that in sums which taxed all the resources of the nation. "And nevertheless, for all the truce and tribute, they went everywhere in bands and plundered our miserable people and robbed and slew them." Swegen, the Norse leader, was bent on conquering a kingdom. The northern districts (Northumbria, Lindsey, and the five boroughs) were still Danish in blood and feeling, and readily submitted (1013). South of Watling Street, there was further fighting, but the strong cities surrendered one by one, the ealdormen and leading thegns went over to Swegen, and finally " all the people held him for full king." Not till every hope of suc- cess had failed did the citizens of London yield (1013). After that, King Ethelred fled over-sea to Richard, Duke of Normandy, whose sister Emma he had wedded. 2 The Reign of Canute. — In 1014 Swegen died, and the strife broke out afresh, for the Danes chose his son Canute as king, while the Witan and the English declared for Ethel- red. The house of Cerdic found a worthy champion in 1 The Danegeld was levied in 991, ^10,000; in 994, ,£16,000; in 1002, ,£24,000; in 1007, ,£36,000; in ion, ,£48,000; in 1014, ,£21,000; money had at that time twenty times its present value. 2Saxon Princess, m. Ethelred, m. Emma of Normandy name uncertain [__ | I I Edmund Ironside. Edward the Confessor Edward J I 1 Edgar Atheling Margaret, m. king of Scots Matilda, m. Henry I Renetved Strife 65 Edmund Ironside. Six pitched battles were fought in seven months, and in four the English were victorious, but at the last great battle of Assingdun (1016) the treachery of Edric, Assingdun, the ealdorman, lost the day. Then the wise men counselled I0I<5 - a compromise, for the land was exhausted by civil strife. Edmund was to reign in Wessex, the kingdom of Egbert, while to Canute was conceded Mercia and the north. A few days after peace had been declared Edmund was foully assassinated by the same Edric who had fled from the field at Assingdun, and Canute fell heir to the whole kingdom. Peace Policy of Canute. — Canute had waged war like a source-Book, barbarian, but he ruled England as a Christian king. The pp- 35-3 8 - plundering army of freebooters was sent back to Denmark, and the alien monarch retained for his defence only a body- guard of several thousand huscarls} A general amnesty Anglo-Saxon was declared, and it was agreed that all the people, Danes Chronicle. and English alike, were to " live under Edgar's law." The administration of the several divisions of the kingdom was assigned to earls appointed without distinction of race. 2 That his was a foreign rule was made evident, however, in the heavy tribute imposed. In 1018, for example, the king required ,£72,000 from the realm. The city of London alone was forced to pay ^"10,500. Canute's marriage with Emma, the widow of Ethelred, established a useful connection, not only with the fallen dynasty, but with the house of Rollo and the powerful duchy across the Channel. The realm of Canute had now attained imperial dimensions. Denmark and Norway acknowledged his sovereignty, while the king of Scots (103 1) renewed the oath of homage first given to Edward the Elder. Renewed Strife. — Canute's empire fell to pieces at his Green, death. His sons, Harold and Harthacanute, disputed the pp ' 7_7 °* succession, and the unhappy land was once again plunged into civil war. There was little to choose between the two princes. Both proved themselves cruel and oppressive be- 1 Huscarls (house-men), the king's mercenary troops. 2 For the old title of ealdorman is now substituted the Danish term, earl. 6 4 Foreign Rule Johnson, pp. 115-1 Anglo-Saxon Chronicle 1052. yond precedent and imposed heavy taxes for the support of the Danish troops. Thus, when Harthacanute died and Prince Edward, son of Ethelred and Emma, came forward to claim the throne, he was received with joy and crowned king forthwith. The rejoicing was premature. Edward, called the Confessor, because of his piety, proved but a feeble king. Educated at the court of Rouen, he was more French than English and brought with him to Eng- land a crowd of Norman priests and nobles. The difficul- ties of the reign were largely due to this foreign influence at court. Edward owed his crown to Godwin, Earl of Wessex, the stalwart champion of the English. In return, the king married Edgitha, the daughter of the great earl, and placed his sons in the chief offices. Godwin was able and patriotic, but he was only foremost of the earls. None but a strong king could unite the warring factions and give peace to the realm. In the absence of such a master, the kingdom was rent by civil strife. The lesser earls raised frequent pretexts for revolt, and such rebels against the royal authority found ready help in Wales and Ireland, among the ever hostile Celts. Norse pirates pillaged the coast towns, taking enormous booty which they carried over to Bruges for sale. The Norman courtiers preyed upon the land, in their more civilized fashion, demanding entertainment at the hands of the English as from a subject people. Far from rebuking his favorites, the king countenanced their misdeeds. Finally, in 105 1, Godwin and his sons were forced to flee the kingdom, and Lady Edgitha was driven from the court. In the year following, the great earl returned to claim his own. The English party was strong in the south, and the seaports of Kent and Sussex and Surrey sent their sailor-folk to join Earl Godwin's fleet. From the west came his valiant son Harold with Irish ships. Accompanied by a great force, the outraged earl sailed up the river to London. There he found the king's troops marshalled on the strand, but the an- ticipated battle did not take place. The leaders were struck by a sudden shame. Why should Englishmen slay English- ENGLAND AND NORMANDY IN 1065 SCALE OF ENGLISH MILES 10 20 40 60 80 12 EXPLANATION Sons of Godwin I. . Sons of Leofric =■'"."" '_ Independent Earldoms _ : i Duke of Normandy uiuiilj jBayeux° ! flllij N! ° N W } ! °Tin,h bra -II 1 N E ' >M ii~ ... Longitude East from Greenwich 66 Fon Rule men when aliens threatened the realm? The wise men arranged a reconciliation. Godwin's family was reinstated, and all the Frenchmen who had given evil counsel to the king were sent over-sea. Hardly had this hopeful peace been attained when the great earl died. Harold succeeded to his earldom and to his perplexities. Godwin's son Tostig had been ap- pointed Earl of Northumbria, but he was unequal to the government of that turbulent land. The Danish thanes declared him an outlaw and chose Morcar, a Mercian, in Harold and his Courtiers From the Bayeux tapestry his stead. Hopeless of reinstating him, the king yielded (1065) to the demands of the insurgents. Tostig fled to Bruges, where he was cordially received by that friend of the malcontents, Count Baldwin of Flanders. With all these evils Harold strove as best he might, and proved himself so valiant in the field and so wise in council that when Edward died childless (January 5, 1066) the Witan chose the son of Godwin to succeed him. The Disputed Succession. — Harold was not of the royal line, but he was, in the judgment of the Witan, the fittest man to reign. Although Edgar Atheling, grandson of Edmund Ironside, might claim the crown by hereditary right, no voice was raised in his behalf. The election was, however, protested from across the Channel. William, The Conquest 6 7 Duke of Normandy, grand-nephew of Emma, demanded Johnson, the succession. His claims were various. Edward had pp ' 9I_95, 123-132. promised to make his Norman cousin heir to the crown ; Green Harold, wrecked on the French coast and delivered into pp. 74-81. the hands of his rival, had sworn on the sacred relics to surrender all rights to the throne ; finally the Pope, offended by English disregard of pontifical rights, 1 and persuaded that William was a faithful son of the church, sanctioned his succession and sent a consecrated banner to further the crusade against the impious oath-breaker. The choice of the Witan was worth more than all these arguments ; but William's right, as justified by the event, was not Edward's promise, nor Harold's oath, nor yet the papal blessing, but the ability to govern with a strong hand this kingdom long wasted by civil war. Harold was a brave and loyal Englishman, but he could Source- Book, not induce the warring earls to unite against the invader, pp- 39-4*- At the very time when the king with a great force of men and ships was awaiting the advent of the Normans on the south coast, Tostig, the banished brother of the king, hav- ing found allies in Scotland and Norway, sailed up the Hum- ber and attacked the northern earls. The king was obliged to march north in their defence ; and, though Tostig was slain at Stamford Bridge (September 20, 1066) and his army put to flight, the battle proved the ruin of the English. Hur- rying south again with a weakened force, Harold found the Normans disembarked at Hastings. His foot-soldiers were no match for William's cavalry. In the wild rout of Senlac Senlac, 1066. Hill (October 14, 1066), Harold and his brothers were slain, and the cause of the English was lost. The Conquest. — Not yet, however, was the kingdom won. The Duke of Normandy had still to reckon with the Eng- lish people. When the news of Harold's defeat reached London, the Witan assembled and elected Edgar Atheling king. Realizing that a show of force was necessary, William 1 Harold opposed the growing power of the monks, and his Archbishop Stigand recognized the authority of an anti-pope. Flight of the English Cuts from the Bayeux Tapestry The Conquest 69 marched through Kent and Sussex, ravaging the lands of those who opposed him, up to the very gates of London. He hesitated to lay siege to the city, for he wished to pre- sent himself not as conqueror but as rightful successor to the crown. His forbearance was soon justified. The citi- zens of London, seeing that the northern earls made no movement in their behalf, opened the gates to the Norman and went through the form of electing him king. William was crowned on Christmas Day, 1066, in the beautiful abbey built by the Confessor at Westminster. 1 He took oath to " govern the English people as well as any king before him Anglo-Saxon had best done, if they would be faithful to him." William Chronicle - doubtless meant what he said. If the pledge was later broken and he showed himself stern, masterful, and indif- ferent to the suffering wrought by his soldiers, it was because the English revolted against his authority. When William was crowned king, only the southeastern Green, shires acknowledged his right to reign. The west and north pp ' 8l ~ 83 ' held out for Edgar. The Danelagh was difficult to subdue, and now, as many times before and after, resistance was re- enforced by the restless Welsh and Scots. For the better defence of his kingdom, William established viceregal juris- dictions in the disaffected districts, where his most trusted friends were placed in authority. Thus his half-brother, Odo, was made Earl of Kent, that he might be enabled to ward off attacks from across the Channel. Fitz-Osborn was made Earl of Hereford, and he, with the Earls of Chester and Shrewsbury, was expected to hold Wales in check. 2 Durham was the seat of a fifth great earldom which served as bulwark against interference from the north. The subju- Traill, I, gation of the rebellious English occupied the years from 1067 2 3 I_2 35- to 1070. Mercia and Northumbria were reduced to submis- sion only by the severest measures. The insurgent districts 1 Henceforth the kings of England were regularly crowned at West- minster. 2 Many lesser men obtained royal license to conquer lands from the Welsh, and establishing themselves in strongholds along the border, be- came known as the Lord Marchers. JO Foreign Rule were punished (1069) for their loyalty to the English earls, by what was long remembered as the " wasting of the North." William gave orders that the land should be ravaged by fire and sword. Cities and villages were reduced to ashes and the crops destroyed. The helpless inhabitants were slaugh- tered or left to die of starvation. For fifty years to come, Yorkshire remained a wilderness. The wasted coast offered no booty to pirates, and the Danish invasions finally ceased. The fame of Norman cruelty and Norman prowess pre- ceded the king even to the frontiers of his terrified kingdom. Chester and the Welsh border submitted after brief resist- ance, and Malcolm, king of Scotland, acknowledged William as his overlord (1072). The unhappy Edgar took refuge at Edinburgh together with many other English refugees. The marriage of his sister Margaret to King Malcolm marks the beginning of a strong English influence at the court of Scotland. Hence- forth Lothian, 1 originally a part of Northumbria and still largely Saxon in blood and speech, made rapid advance in civilization. The Highlands remained pure Celt, each clan loyal to its own chieftain. The last stubborn stronghold of the English resistance was the Isle of Ely, lying inaccessible in the heart of the Fens. Here the Saxon malcontents rallied under the leadership of Hereward the Wake, who defended his island fortress with desperate but unavailing courage. Reign of William I (1066-1087). — The people so con- quered must now be held in subjection. In the task of governing his newly acquired kingdom, William proved himself preeminent in statecraft as he had hitherto been in war. He was most desirous of ruling as a lawful English sovereign, but the chaotic condition of the country neces- sitated a method of government hardly to be distinguished from a military occupation. The estates of the vanquished Saxon thanes were confiscated and made over to the Nor- 1 The moorland country lying north of Tweed and south of the Firth of Forth. Reign of William I 71 man nobles, whose interests were identified with the interest of the king, and who could be relied upon to crush any incipient revolt on the part of the English. Some twenty thousand Frenchmen thus stepped into the places of as many Saxon landowners. William further guaranteed his Tower of London authority against Saxon and Norman alike by building, in all the principal towns, castles which he garrisoned with his own men. Many of these are still standing, notably the strong Tower of London. The Conqueror meant that the royal authority should be 72 Foreign Rule Mailland, pp. 150-172. Johnson, pp. 96-iK supreme through the length and breadth of the land. Eng- land had known no such kingship, not even in the days of Edgar. The great thanes, assembled in the Witan, had been accustomed to make laws for the nation, having power to elect and even to depose the king, but William and his suc- cessors rejected the Anglo-Saxon type of monarchy. In their interpretation the king was not the elected leader and repre- sentative of his people, but lord of the land and master of its inhabitants. Succession to the throne was henceforth by inheritance as to a private estate. With such concep- tions of the royal office, the form of election must soon lapse. William could not allow to any subject such power as had been wielded by Godwin and Harold. He soon abol- ished the great earldoms, with exception of Chester, Shrews- bury, and Durham. To a few favored followers were granted large estates, but these were scattered piecemeal in different parts of the country. The king reserved to himself the lion's share of the confiscated territories, and never relin- quished his prerogative as conqueror and landowner in chief. In granting lands to his vassals William made the most of his opportunity to impose more stringent conditions than had been customary in England or even in Normandy. Every vassal paid an annual rent, not, however, in money, but in military service. The specific terms of his tenure depended upon his rank and the extent of his fief. If the tenant failed in his duty, the grant might be recalled. In this way every great lord was bound to send his contingent to the king's army. The feudal relation — by which we are to understand the reciprocal obligations of lord and vassal, the lord granting land and protection, the vassal giving a stipulated service — prevailed throughout the Middle Ages both in England and on the Continent. It was the charac- teristic social tie not only between sovereign and tenant-in- chief, but between the king's vassals and their subtenants, between the subtenants and their dependents. King William did not introduce the feudal bond into his English posses- Reign of William I 73 sions, 1 but he put upon it a new interpretation. Under his vigorous administration feudalism became a political system Green, that brought the wealth and fighting force of every land- PP- 8 3-8s. 8 & owner in the country under the king's control. In a great military concourse held at Salisbury (1086), William obliged The Oath of "all the landowners that were of account over all England" Salisbury. to take the oath of fealty to himself in person. Every man knelt before him, and placing his hands between those of his sovereign swore " to be faithful to the king before all other men." So did the astute Norman check the tendency to disintegration that was the bane of continental feudalism. While this oath was observed, no powerful vassal could gather his dependents to make war against the common overlord. All tenants-in-chief were summoned to meet the king in a Great Council three times a year, at Christmas, at Easter, and at Whitsuntide. This was apparently a continuation of the Witenagemot, and indeed the old name was for some time retained. It was, however, no longer a meeting of wise men, the counsellors of the king, but of principal landowners who came in feudal array, not to advise their sovereign but to render homage. With this change in character the authority of the assembly dwindled. The administration of the government was in the hands of the king's officers and the legislative and judicial functions of the Witenagemot were soon absorbed by the Curia Regis. 2 In order that he might be fully informed as to the re- Traill. I, sources of his new domain, the king had a rent-roll compiled 2 36- 2 3 8 - • — the so-called Domesday Survey. This was at one and Domesday the same time a census, a land register, and an assessment Book, of property values, and the record remains of the highest Maitiand, utility to historians. This concern for accurate knowledge PP- 1 ~ 26 - of his realm is a mark of William's statesmanship, but the 1 We have seen that the relation existed in Saxon times as a personal bond between king and thegn, thegn and ceorl, landowner and serf. 2 The Curia Regis was the supreme court of justice presided over by the Icing's chief minister, entitled the justiciar. 74 Foreign Rule inquiry was deeply resented by Englishmen of that day, since it heralded taxation. The Confessor had promised to abolish the Danegeld, but it was reimposed by the Con- queror, and at three times the former rate. The Salisbury oath and the Domesday Survey marked the climax of the Conqueror's work in England. He had suc- ceeded, for the time being, in bringing men of all ranks and races to acknowledge the duty of primary allegiance to the king. The next year he was engaged in war with his own overlord, Philip of France. At the siege of Mantes he received an injury from which he soon after died. Green, William Rufus (1087-1100). — In accordance with the pp. 89, 90. Conqueror's will, his eldest son Robert 1 succeeded him in Normandy, William, the second son, became king of Eng- land, while to Henry Beauclerc, the scholar of the family, was left a sum of ^5000 and some private estates. William II had inherited all the evil traits of his father, with none of the good. His greed was restrained by no sense of justice, his impetuous will was guided by no statesmanlike foresight. His kingship was merely an opportunity for indulg- ing to the full his fierce and unbridled passions. Ranulf, the justiciar, was his able accomplice. This man, nicknamed Flambard, " the firebrand," had won the favor of his royal patron by his ingenuity in devising new pretexts for wringing money from the reluctant purses of the king's subjects. In accordance with the continental version of the relations be- tween lord and vassal, the king had the entire control of the estates of a minor and might appropriate the income. On coming of age, the heir must pay a large sum of money (relief) for the privilege of entering upon his inheritance. 1 The Norman kings : — William I, 1066-1087 I I 1 i 1 Robert William II, Henry I, 1100-1135 Adela, m. Stephen of Blois 1087- 1 100 I I Matilda, m. Geoffrey of Anjou Stephen, 1135-1154 Henry II, 1154-1189 William Rufus 75 If the heir were a woman, the king could marry her to whomsoever he would. Choice of a husband was only conceded to the woman or her relatives on payment of a heavy fine. If there were no heirs or in case a vassal were convicted of felony, the estate lapsed (escheated) to the crown. Certain extraordinary " aids " might be demanded on the marriage of the king's eldest daughter, on the knighting of his eldest son, or, in case he was taken captive, for his ransom. All these services may be justified as medi- aeval forms of rent, and they were in turn required by the king's vassals of their subten- ants. Under a just administra- tion they were not exorbitant, but the Red King and Ranulf, ignoring all right and pre- cedent, set no bounds to their merciless greed. Their exactions fell most heavily upon the great Norman barons, and were by them promptly resented. Under the lead of Odo, Bishop of Bayeux, they revolted and declared for Robert, Duke of Normandy, the elder brother. The king in his extremity turned to his English subjects (1088), promising them to 7 6 Foreign Rule Green, pp. 90-92. Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. Kendall, pp. 49-51. abide by the English laws and to forbid all unjust imposts. They responded to his appeal and furnished the force of twenty thousand men with which the attack of the barons was repulsed. The revolt once suppressed, however, the king renewed his cruel practices. In this only did he keep his promise of good government : he allowed no tyranny but his own. Henry I (1100-1135). — In 1100, William Rufus was killed while hunting in the New Forest, and Henry Beauclerc was chosen king. This wise prince had shown himself an able ruler in his little Norman province, and his accession brought a much needed peace to England. The king desired first of all to be on good terms with his English subjects. With this in view he married Edgyth, the niece of Edgar the Atheling and daughter of the king of Scots. 1 Her name, which was impossible to a French tongue, was changed to Matilda. The Norman courtiers gave to the Saxon princess but a grudging welcome ; they mocked the popular sympathies of the king and queen by giving them the homely English names, Godrich and Godiva. But Henry recked nothing of their merriment. He had "prom- ised God and all the people to put down all the injustices that were in his brother's time, and to maintain the best laws that stood in any king's day before him." The charter, granted at his accession, became the model for all subse- quent guarantees of good government. The Red King's justiciar, Ranulf, was thrown into the Tower of London, and such officers were appointed as wombS^ightly administer the government. The local courts of the shir^e and hundred were restored, and the king's agents made the regular circuits through the land to execute justice and collect the royal revenues. 2 Law and order were so far maintained that King Henry was called the Lion of Justice. Yet the imposts 1 This alliance brought the Normans into friendly relations with the Scotch court. Edgyth's brothers renewed the oath of homage to the king of England. 2 These were the itinerant justices who visited the shire courts to assess taxes and administer the laws. Stephen 77 levied in his name weighed heavily upon the people, and the Chronicle bitterly complains of the sore oppression of the land. The malcontent nobles leagued against him. Flambard, who had escaped from the Tower, and Robert of Belleme, the powerful Earl of Shrewsbury, concerted with Robert of Normandy a revolt against the king, purposing to place Duke Robert on the throne. Rallying to his aid Green, the English and the lesser vassals, Henry worsted his foes, pp- 9 6 . 97- In the decisive battle of Tinchebrai (1106), the two Roberts were taken prisoners, and Normandy came into the posses- sion of the English king. Duke Robert lingered out his days a captive in Cardiff Castle, and the Norman nobles, deprived of pretext for revolt, never again lifted hand against Henry. In 1135 this good king died, and the land fell a prey to civil war. Stephen (1135-1154). — The barons had promised the Green, dying Henry to place his daughter Matilda on the throne ; pp- IOI-I °4- but the kingdom was a turbulent one to be ruled by a woman, and the influence of her foreign husband, Geoffrey of Anjou, was dreaded by the English. There was a rival claimant, Stephen of Blois, son of the Conqueror's daughter Adela. His cause was championed by the citizens of London, who hoped that he would be able to maintain the peace and good order so essential to commercial prosperity. Stephen was chosen king by the barons and soon after crowned at Westminster. But the hope of the Londoners was doomed to disappointment. In 1140, Matilda came to England to urge her claims. Her cause was supported by divers of the great nobles, who were, however, less con- cerned to maintain her right than to defy the royal authority. The weak, unstable character of Stephen gave them favorable opportunity to assert their independence. " When the Anglo-Saxon traitors perceived that he was a mild man and soft and good Chronicle, and did no justice, then did they all wonder. . . . Every II37 " powerful man built himself castles and held them against the king and they filled the land full of castles. They cruelly oppressed the wretched men of the land with castle- 7* Foreign Rule works. When the castles were made they filled them with devils and evil men. Then took they those men that they imagined had any property, both by night and by day, peasant men and women, and put them in prison for their gold and their silver, and tortured them with unutterable torture. . . . Many thousands were killed with hunger ; and Bntton, Picturesque Antiquities of the English Cities that lasted the nineteen years while Stephen was king, and ever it was worse and worse. They laid imposts on the towns continually and called it ' censerie ' ; when the wretched men had no more to give, they robbed and burned all the towns, so that thou mightest well go all a day's journey and thou shouldst never find a man sitting in a town or the land tilled. Corn, flesh, and cheese there was none in the land. . . . Men said openly that Christ and his saints slept." The anarchy of these miserable years taught the English a Social Results of the Conquest 79 long-needed lesson, that there could be no peace or pros- perity except the king was strong enough to enforce the laws. Stephen made slow headway against the rebellion. He did not seek the support of the English as Henry had done, but foolishly spent his treasure in hiring foreign mercenaries, who were even more cruel than the barons and alienated the people from the royal cause. Still Matilda could not win the kingdom. In the battle of Lincoln (1140) Stephen was taken prisoner, and for a few months Henry's daughter triumphed ; but she proved to be a harsh and vengeful mistress. London revolted, and the great barons renewed their allegiance to Stephen. The Angevin cause seemed all but lost when it was taken up and brought to a trium- phant issue by Matilda's son, the young Henry Plantagenet. 1 Henry Though but nineteen years of age, this prince was already of Anjou. lord of Normandy, Maine, Anjou, and Aquitaine, and ruled these restless . provinces with a strong hand. Arriving in England in 1 153, he rallied his mother's adherents about him and made such rapid progress that Stephen was fain to treat for peace. A compromise was negotiated by the archbishop of Canterbury, in the treaty of Wallingford Treaty of (1153). The king had just lost his only son, Eustace. He Wallingford agreed, on condition that he might retain the crown during his life, to recognize Henry as his son and heir. So the long strife came to an end. When Stephen died in the next year, Henry was beyond sea ; " but no man durst do other than good for the great awe of him." On his return he was crowned king and entered into undisputed possession of his inheritance. Social Results of the Conquest. — The followers of William had succeeded in establishing themselves in possession of every post of power and profit throughout the kingdom. Some forty Norman villages gave title to the great estates, and no English names were to be found among the tenants- 1 The family nickname from planta genista, the broom-plant, a sprig of which Count Geoffrey usually wore in his hat. [53- 80 Foreign Rule in-chief until a century after the Conquest. Latin was the language of the Church and the law, French that of the court. Only the lower orders spoke English. Continental influ- ences are evident in the literary revival that marked the reign of the scholar son of the Conqueror. The national annals were elaborated in flowing Latin. Henry of Huntingdon enlivened the records of Bede and the Chronicle with the war-songs of the Saxons. William of Malmesbury recounted not only English but European history with an eye to causes and results. The ancient legends of Arthur were rehearsed in Monmouth's History of the Britons, while Eng- lish feeling found expression in the Proverbs of Alfred. The separation between the two races, the conquering Source-Book anc * tne conquered, was wide and deep. Contempt and pp. 41-44. tyranny on the one hand, fear and hate on the other, pro- longed the antagonism to which the harsh methods of the Conquest had given rise. The subject Saxons bore with sullen ill-will the burdens imposed by the haughty Norman lords, and availed themselves of every opportunity for re- venge. Time and again the people made common cause with the king in his struggle with the feudal aristocracy. The external effects of the Norman Conquest were preg- nant with result. First of all, England was brought into close relation with the Continent. The Conqueror ruled Normandy and England as one kingdom. His great barons held estates on both sides the Channel, and much journey- ing between the French and English territories became necessary. Under William Rufus, Normandy and England were independent, but Tinchebrai gave Normandy to Henry I, and the duchy and the kingdom remained united for a hundred years thereafter. This political connection brought about intercourse with the Continent, such as had not existed since Britain was a Roman colony. Commerce revived ; merchants ventured to undertake a European trade, carrying to France, Flanders, and Germany the agricultural products of England. In exchange they brought back the fine cloths, furs, wines, and other luxuries required by the Social Results of the Conquest 81 Norman gallants. Lead and tin were again exported, while iron, the art of smelting having fallen out of use, was fetched from the Baltic coast. The precious metals, especially silver, were imported in considerable quantity. The coinage of money was guarded as a royal prerogative. Commercial operations necessitated a uniform currency, and Norman House at Lincoln called the Jews' House Gardiner, A Student's History of 'England this could be secured only by doing away with the private moneyers. The Jews, 1 the financiers of the Middle Ages, Green, were encouraged to settle in the towns under guarantee of PP- 86 > 8 7- the king's protection. Trade ventures carried men far abroad, to Paris, to Marseilles, to Venice, and the Orient. The high-priced dainties they brought back in their brave 1 They were confined to special districts, the Jevvrys, where they lived on sufferance merely. G 82 Foreign Rule ships were not their most valuable cargo. Strange tales of foreign lands and customs, marvellous stories of romance and adventure, wisdom won by contact with superior civili- zations, — these were the imports that affected most deeply the life of the English people. Intellectual Results. — Furthermore, the Conquest brought England into touch with the learning of the Continent. From the Universities of Bologna and Paris, from the renowned Abbey of Bee, came Lanfranc and Anselm and many less famous scholars and ecclesiastics, who cultivated Johnson, the Latin tongue and the continental authors and inspired pp. no-114. tne Engijgh Church with a new zeal for letters. Thousands of English youths took upon themselves monk's vows, not in religious devotion, but because the monastery afforded the only opportunity for the scholar's life. The intellectual labors of these devotees of learning were confined to the transcription of Latin manuscripts, sacerdotal and classical, and the embellishment of the national annals. The worldly- minded ecclesiastic found at the court a more congenial employment. Since the monks were the only learned men of the day, they were almost exclusively employed by the Norman kings in the administration of the government. Hence resulted a notable modification of political theory. Monastic training instilled into the thought of these cowled chancellors the conceptions of law and government that had been handed down by the Church as part of her heritage from imperial Rome. Doctrines of the king's supremacy and the subject's duty of unquestioning obedience are not of English origin, but derived from the Continent. They were imported into England by Norman priests. Exaltation of the King's Authority. — Theory was most effectively enforced by facts. The greedy misrule of the barons taught men the need of authority. The supremacy of the king came to be regarded as the safeguard of the subject against political anarchy such as had devasted Eng- land under Edward the Confessor and the feeble Stephen. The Normans brought to the task of administration a Relations of Church and State 83 capacity for organization, a sense of law and method, such Traill, I, as England had never known. From the royal officers might 23 *' 243, be expected a more uniform justice than was meted out in the local courts, and men were willing to pay dear for such protection. Neither the stern cruelty of William nor the heavy taxes imposed by his sons could obliterate the remem- brance of "the good peace they had made in the land." Anglo-Saxon Throughout this period king and barons were enga^d in Chromcle - a well-matched contest for mastery. The ambitious vas- sals maintained a prolonged resistance against the royal authority. Again and again the strife broke out, in the revolt of Hereford and Northumberland against the Con- queror, in the opposition of the barons to the exactions of William Rufus, in the rising against Henry I led by Flam- bard, in the contemptuous anarchy of the great lords under Stephen. It was a veritable tug MHfcU'- in which the kings were forced to fall back on the suj|^t of the English, and to make promises to observe the ancient laws in charters that established a precedent of mutual obligation. Relations of Church and State. — In the long struggle Traill, I, between king and barons, the clergy as a rule cast their 247 ~ 254 - weight on the side of royalty ; and yet, influenced by the mounting ambition of the popes, the Church asserted privileges which not infrequently brought her into antago- nism with the throne. Rome had hoped from William's invasion of England closer relations between the Papal See and the English Church, and these anticipations were in some degree realized. There followed close upon the Con- quest a revival of ecclesiasticism. The Norman clergy in- Green, troduced into England the stricter discipline imposed upon pp - 8s ' 86 the continental Church by Gregory VII. Celibacy was en- forced among the superior clergy, although the parish priests were left to keep their wives if they would. The incoming of the Cistercians, whose voluntary poverty and severe ascet- icism attracted the admiration and devotion of the people, gave a new impulse to monasticism. The enhanced zeal of the clergy was reflected in the in- 8 4 For, Ride creased devotion of the people. Tangible evidence of this aspect of the Conquest remains to us in the beautiful Norman churches raised by the gifts of the faithful. The Side Aisle of White Chapel, Tower of London Clark, Medieval Military Architecture of England simple structures of wood and stone that had seemed ade- quate to Saxon England gave place to grand cathedrals, built in the ornate, round-arch fashion, that was the glory of Normandy. Relations of Church and State 85 William's attitude toward the Church was that of the able ruler who sees that the clergy may serve an important func- .tion in maintaining order and in rallying the people to the support of the king. He deposed the English prelates and appointed Normans in their stead, thus securing his own influence in all the superior offices ; but the clerics so ap- pointed were selected with an eye to their churchmanship as well as to their loyalty. Lanfranc, who superseded Lanfranc^ Stigand as Archbishop of Canterbury, was one of the most learned and able ecclesiastics of his day. William further converted the Church hierarchy to his purpose by requiring from each bishop and abbot the oath of homage and such feudal service as would be due from a lay lord holding the same lands. The Church was thus feudalized, and every acre of monastery land and every parish glebe ' was made to render its quota to the royal treasury. The Conqueror was a faithful son of the Church, and yet the pretensions of Gregory VII to supreme authority in ecclesiastical affairs were met by uncompromising denial. The wise and wary king won from the Pope, whose will no other European monarch had been able to withstand, most important concessions. No excommunication was to be declared in England without the king's leave. No papal bull could be received or executed without his consent. Legislation in Church synod was subject to his veto. In- dependent ecclesiastical courts were allowed, having juris- diction over the moral offences of clergy and laity ; but in the case of laymen the penalty could be inflicted only with the king's consent. Appointments to ecclesiastical office were to be made by the secular power. The questions thus settled by the friendly mediation of Lanfranc were destined to be reopened again and again and to vex statesmen for centuries to come. For example, the right of appointment to ecclesiastical office, which had been readily conceded to the great William, was challenged 1 The land belonging to a parish church and assigned to the use of its -.lergy. 86 Foreign Rule in the reign of Henry I. Anselm, the saintly successor of Lanfranc, refused to consecrate the bishops who had re- ceived appointment 1 from the king. The conflicting claims of king and pope were again compromised. Prelates were to be elected by the clergy, but in the king's presence. The ring and the crosier, symbols of the spiritual function, were to be bestowed by the pope, while the newly elected bishop or abbot was to render homage to the king for his estates. Life of the People. — Upon the life of the common peo- ple the effect of the Conquest is not easily ascertained. The early annalists were so fully occupied in recounting the deeds Traill, I, of rich and powerful personages that they told little of the pp. 240-243. aS pj ra tions, the achievements, the failures, of the humble men and women who tilled the fields, and wove the cloth, and performed the thousand tasks without which the proj- ects of king and statesman could avail nothing for the welfare of the nation. It was wholly an agricultural people. Every man was related to the land by tenure free or unfree. Even the towns possess outlying fields in which each burgher had his share. The population of England in the eleventh century was about one million five hundred thou- sand. Judging from data afforded by the Domesday Sur- vey, only five per cent were nobles and ecclesiastical digni- taries. 2 The remaining ninety- five per cent were subtenants, small landed proprietors, serfs, and slaves. The principal Saxon landholders were, as has been seen, dispossessed by the Conquest ; but the tillers of the soil were left in undis- turbed possession. Speaking the Saxon tongue, ministered to by Saxon priests, observing the social and political cus- toms of their ancestors, they lived their own life and were Cunning- j^ affecte(l by the c h an ge of masters. They toiled on in pp. 30-39. the ancient rural communities (called manors in the Nor- iThe right of appointing the successor to a spiritual benefice was claimed by the king since the incumbent was a vassal, by the Pope since he was an ecclesiastic. 2 Census of adult males, 1085 : vassals of the crown, lay, 600, ecclesiastical, 994; subtenants, 7871; free proprietors, 33,169; serfs, 206,900; slaves, 25,156; burgesses, 7968. From an old print in The Universal Magazine CLOSING SENTENCE AND SIGNATURES OF THE CHARTER OF BATTLE T>lt alvjf ^e Ltafomv men. \f bomitnl/ JUhtu &c&£pe/a\de \\SomrA concetti KS m s desire was to establish one law for all England, the Second, .... . . , pp< 83-87. but a great body of his subjects stood wholly outside the Quarrel between the King and the Archbishop 99 secular law. The clerical order, which at this time included most of the educated and professional classes except sol- diers, had freed itself entirely from the civil jurisdiction. Now the Church could not inflict bodily punishment, hence, no matter how serious the offence, a priest convicted of crime need fear nothing worse than degradation, fine, or imprisonment. As a result evil-doers often evaded justice by declaring themselves clerks, 1 and crime and lawlessness went unpunished. The state of things was a scandal to the Church as well as a danger to the realm. It was certain, however, that the ecclesiastical order would not relinquish its privileges without a struggle, and it was in the hope of meeting the opposition of the Church from within that Henry, in 1 162, forced the vacant primacy upon his trusted adviser. Thomas held back at first, but Henry was determined to have his way, and at length the chancellor yielded and be- came Archbishop of Canterbury. He at once resigned the Bright, I, chancellorship, and with even more speed than he had pp- 93- iqi - formerly " put off the deacon " to enter the service of the king, he cut himself loose from all secular ties and identified himself with the Church. In his old friend and fellow-worker Henry met now his most formidable opponent. Quarrel between the King and the Archbishop. — It was, however, over a question, not of Church privilege, but of constitutional right, that the two men first crossed swords. In a great council held at Woodstock in July, n 63, Thomas resisted the king's attempt to levy the old danegeld. Henry was forced to give way, and for the first time in English history the will of the king in money matters was suc- cessfully opposed. It was not long before Thomas again thwarted Henry, and this time it was an ecclesiastical ques- tion upon which he made a stand. The matter at issue was the trial of a clerk charged with crime. The king wished to have the accused tried before the royal courts, but Thomas maintained that the case belonged to the Church. He agreed finally to abide by the " customs " of the realm. 1 The accepted evidence of being a clerk was ability to read and write, or even simply to sing. LOFC. 100 The Fusion of Races Green, pp. 106-109. Green, Henry the Second, pp. 97-101. Constitu- tions of Clarendon. To decide what those customs were, a great council was held at Clarendon in 1164. There the ancient usages, col- lected and written down by some of the oldest and wisest of the nobles, were read before the assembled bishops and baronage. For six days the council discussed the Constitutions of Clarendon, as the report is called. Some of the articles passed unchallenged, but others roused bitter opposition. The ecclesiastical courts were allowed to retain much of their jurisdiction, but in case of doubt the Curia Regis was to decide where the suit belonged. A clerk accused of crime was to be tried in the secular courts, and if convicted the Church should not interfere to protect him. The arch- bishop passionately refused to set his seal to the Constitu- tions and withdrew from the council. A few months later, fearing for his life, he fled across the Channel to take refuge with Henry's enemy, the king of France. The struggle continued for six years. Many of the bishops were inclined to compromise, but the Church as a whole supported Thomas, and the mass of the people fol- lowed the clergy. The two leaders stood firm. Henry was contending for the supremacy of the State, Thomas for the independence of the Church. Each was sincere in his pur- pose even though the king had an eye to his own authority as well as to the good of the realm, and the archbishop never forgot personal ambition in the interests of his order. The king was a century in advance of his time ; the priest did not realize that certain privileges of the Church were no longer necessary to her usefulness. Attempts at compromise were rendered vain by the king's unreasoning violence and by the stubbornness with which Thomas refused to abate his pretensions. At last, in 1 1 70, a half-reconciliation was brought about, and the two men in utter weariness agreed to forget the past. No sooner had the archbishop returned to England, however, than he re- newed the attack on the king by excommunicating those bishops who had taken part in the recent coronation of the Irish Affairs 101 king's eldest son. Henry, who was in Normandy at the time, was beside himself with rage at the news, and uttered the hasty wish that he were freed from his stubborn foe. A few days later the archbishop was struck down in his own cathedral of Canterbury by four knights incited to the bloody deed by the king's wrathful words (1170). Thomas won the crown of martyr- dom * to which he had so long aspired, and Henry was called to face the indignant hor- ror of all Christendom. In vain he disowned the act and promised to punish the murder- ers. Threatened with excommunication, he withdrew to Ireland, closing the ports of his realms to all messen- gers from the pope. Irish Affairs. — While England was steadily gaining ground in political unity and in civilization, the sis- ter island was retro- grading. The country had suffered severely Green, pp. 444-147 Part of the Choir of Canterbury Cathedral, in building 1175-1184 Scott, Medieeval Architecture 1 In 1173 the archbishop received canonization. The fate of his mur- derers illustrates the need of Henry's proposed reforms. After the murder they made their escape, but finding themselves shunned by every one, gave The Fusion of Race Green, Henry the Second, pp. 158-161. Bright, I, 101-103. Strongbow. from the Danes. There was no Irish Alfred to unite the whole people against the invader, and though the Irish fought bravely, it was without avail. During the long and desperate struggle religion and learning almost disappeared. The North- men settled along the east coast and succeeded in effecting the first of the half-conquests which have been the bane of this unhappy land. For three centuries following, Celtic Ireland remained outside the influence of European civilization. Al- though Christian, it had no ecclesiastical connection with the rest of the Christian world (p. 35), and its social and political organization was still the tribal form, outgrown elsewhere in western Europe. The only real authority was exercised by the kings of the four great divisions, Ulster, Minister, Leinster, and Connaught, but they were simply the leading chieftains of their tribal groups. The land was torn with their rivalries, and as yet no man had appeared strong enough to unite the island under one rule. Henry had long had in mind- the conquest of Ireland. Opportunity for interference was afforded by internal strife. In 1 1 66 Diarmit, king of Leinster, driven into exile by a union of the many foes raised through his own wrongdoing, betook himself to the English king and besought him to take up his cause. Henry, hampered by his quarrel with Thomas, was in no position to do this, but he gave Diarmit authority to obtain aid wherever he could do so in the Anglo-Angevin domains. The Irish king had little diffi- culty in winning the support of Richard de Clare, known as Strongbow, a needy adventurer of Norman blood. He also secured the aid of a band of Norman-Welsh knights, the Fitzgeralds and Fitz-Stephens. During the next four years the king of Leinster and his allies succeeded in conquering a large part of Ireland. In 1171 Diarmit died, and Strong- bow, who had married Eva, Diarmit's daughter, at once assumed control, with the title of Earl of Leinster. themselves up to the king. The murderer of a priest was amenable only to the ecclesiastical courts, so Henry sent the men to the pope, but the pope under the law could do nothing but condemn them to perpetual exile in the Holy Land. The Revolt of the Barons 1 03 Ireland under English Rule. — Henry had watched the Green, Henry course of events in Ireland with anxiety, for he feared the the Second < establishment of a rival kingdom. In 11 71, desire to take matters into his own hands combined with the hope of Source-Book, appeasing the Pope by bringing the Irish into formal submis- PP- 62_6 S- sion to Rome, led him to cross St. George's Channel. The work of conquest was practically complete when Henry arrived, and having forced all parties to recognize his author- ity, he set about laying the foundations of a strong rule. The reorganization of the government was scarcely begun, however, when Henry was called back to Normandy. With him vanished all hope of political order in Ireland. The Normans quarrelled among themselves, and the Irish chief- tains rose in rebellion. Too busy to attend to Irish affairs, Henry (1185) sent over his son, John, to whom he had given Ireland as a portion. But the young prince returned home in a few months, leaving matters worse than he found them. For the next three hundred years, Ireland was left very much to itself. English rule, as a real force, was confined to the Pale. 1 Outside this district, English settlers inter- mixed with the natives and soon became more Irish than the Irish themselves. All that the conquest had done was to destroy the efficiency of the old tribal order, putting nothing in its place. The presence of the English, power- less to effect good, had the result of preventing the union of the Irish tribes under a native chieftain. The Revolt of the Barons. — When Henry hurriedly left Green, Henri Ireland with his work there hardly begun, it was to meet the Second > PP- I 74 _lS 5 dangers that threatened his rule elsewhere. Henry, the son and heir whom he had caused to be crowned king that the succession might be secured, had formed a widespread con- spiracy to set his father aside. The danger was great, because there were discontented on both sides of the Channel who were ready to look to the young king as a leader. From the beginning of his reign, Henry had borne with 1 The strip of coast from Dublin to Wexford. 104 The Fusion of Races Green.ffenry heavy hand upon the great barons. He destroyed theii the Second, cast i es sent his justices into their courts, and forbade private pp. 74, 75- J . coinage. He diminished their importance in the great coun- Seep. 81. ., , & , l , , b cil by compelling the attendance of the lesser tenants-in- Green,Be//>y chief, and in 1170 he dealt their political power a severe the Second, blow by withdrawing the office of sheriff from the great nobles, and giving it to men of lower rank, trained in his courts and more dependent upon his will. Moreover, the device first introduced in 1159, and become by this time, Scutage. the established practice, of taking scutage or shield money in lieu of service in the field, although, apparently, in the interest of the baronage, told against their military superi- ority. It deprived their armed retainers of the chance of acquiring skill in war, while it enabled the king to hire for- eign mercenaries whom he could more freely and safely use. Bright, I, In the early summer of 1 1 73, Normandy rose in rebel- 103-105. \\qxv, and in a short time the revolt became general. The young king was joined by his brothers Richard and Geoffrey. Philip of France and William the Lion, king of Scots, es- poused his cause, and the great barons on both sides of the Channel rose in his support. The value of Henry's work of reform was now revealed. To his aid rallied all who appre- ciated the good government that he had given England, the Church with which he had made his peace, the newer nobil- ity that knew not the Norman traditions, the townspeople, the freeholders of the country. Moreover, through the strong administrative machinery which Henry had created, the power of the crown could make itself felt as never before throughout the land. For a time the situation was critical, but by the summer of 1 1 74 all resistance had broken down, and the king of Scots was a prisoner. So complete, indeed, was Henry's victory that he could afford to be merciful to Last feudal the rebels. The insurrection of n 73 marks the close of an rising. era j n English history, for it Was the last feudal rising, the last contest between the baronage and a united king and people. The Closing Years of the Reign. — Henry's power was now 106 The Fusion of Races at its height. He used his right of appointing bishops to strengthen his hold upon the Church, and by a compromise with the papal legate he secured many of the points at issue in his quarrel with Thomas. With the aid of his able min- isters he carried on the work of administrative reform. The Bright, I, rising of 1173 had shown the trustworthiness of the fyrd or 106-109. militia and what service it might render in the king's de- fence. In 1 181 Henry issued the Assize of Arms, providing for the reorganization of the national force. Every freeman was bound to provide himself with arms according to his degree, and to attend the regular musters before the royal justices. The close of Henry's reign was disturbed by the rebellion of his sons, whom he loved and trusted in spite of repeated Green, Henry treachery. The young king had died in 1183, but Richard, the Second, t i ie i ie j r apparent, fearing the favor with which Henry re- pp. » 224. g arc j e( j his youngest son John, allied himself with Philip Bright, I, Augustus of France and rose against his father. Defeated 109-112. on a jj s i c ] es an( j jii f a mor tal disease, Henry submitted to the hard terms forced upon him by the rebels and turned to Chinon to die. They brought him from Philip a list of those who had conspired against him, and first on the list stood the name of his favorite son, John. Turning his face to the wall, the old king cried, " Let things go now as they will, — I care no more for myself or for the world." He died murmuring, " Shame, shame on a conquered king." Work of Henry II. — Though of an alien race, speak- ing a foreign tongue and spending but thirteen of the thirty-five years of his reign in England, Henry of Anjou has left an indelible mark on English history. It is true that the Anglo-Angevin empire which he built up with so much care hardly outlived the century, but his policy deter- mined England's foreign relations for centuries to come. It Bright, I, was chiefly, however, through his work at home that he im- "3. "4- pressed his personality on the national life. He destroyed feudalism as a system of government, he brought the Church under the control of the State, and established a strong cen- Work of Henry II 107 tralized administrative system. In accomplishing this he raised the power of the crown to a dangerous height, but at the same time, in na- tionalizing the Church, in destroying the feudal traditions of the baron- age, and in reviving the activity of the local courts, he nourished forces which in the next century were to bring that power within bounds. Reign of Richard I (1189-1199). — Richard, the second son of Henry II, succeeded his father on the throne without dispute. There is little like- ness between Richard, the brilliant knight-errant, and Henry, the hard- working man of business, yet in the elements of constitutional progress and national growth one reign is but the continuation of the other. Henry's continental policy was fol- lowed by his son, and at home the administrative system was developed by men trained in Henry's methods along lines already laid down. Richard was even more truly than his father a foreign king. But twice during his reign of ten years did he spend a few months in England. Soon after taking possession of his English kingdom he started on a crusade to the Holy Land, leaving the govern- ment in the hands of his justiciar, William Longchamp, A Crusader. — The Effigy of Sir Richard de What- ton in Whatton Church, Nottinghamshire From an old print in The Gen- tleman's Magazine Blight, I, "5-125- Stubbs, Early Plantagenets pp. 110-116. io8 The Fusion of Race. Stubbs, Early Plantagenets, pp. Il6, 122- I2 4 . Green, pp. 139-141. Stubbs, Early Plantagenets, pp. 125-127. Bishop of Ely. By 1192 the failure of the third crusade was evident, and the king was forced to abandon his enter- prise. Alarmed by reports of trouble at home, Richard was hastening westward when he fell into the hands of his enemy, the emperor of Germany, and for two years was held a prisoner. Released at last on the promise of paying a heavy ransom, he made his way to England only to find his brother John allied with Philip of France and in open rebellion. But John was too unpopular to be dangerous, and order was soon restored. There were, however, greater foes to be faced elsewhere, and the rest of Richard's reign was spent abroad in the effort to suppress the revolt of the barons of Aquitaine and to secure Normandy against the attacks of the French king. 1 In n 99 his troubled career came to a close ; he was struck down by an arrow from a castle that he was be- sieging in Limousin and lived only long enough to declare John his heir. Richard's Influence in England. — Richard's reign was marked by a further development of the administrative system, although the king's part in it was mainly indirect. Known in history and romance as the Lion-Hearted, a chiv- alrous soldier and valiant crusader, to his English subjects he must have seemed a needy and rather greedy ruler, who never thought of England except when in want of money. Probably he conferred on the country the greatest benefit in his power by absenting himself on foreign wars. Although something more than a mere soldier, Richard showed little appreciation of his father's methods of government, and had he remained in England he might only have disturbed the development of the political order so carefully elaborated in the previous reign. In the absence of the king, the control of affairs fell to such men as Hubert Walter, Archbishop of Canterbury, and the Justiciar, Geoffrey Fitz-Peter, men trained by Henry II. They were loyal and able servants of the crown, but their 1 To defend the Norman frontier, Richard built the Chateau Gaillard, a masterpiece of the engineering skill of the day. National Development 109 task was a difficult one, for the nation was becoming restive under the increasingly heavy burden of taxation, and John, as faithless to his brother as he had been to his father, was at hand to take advantage of any discontent. To meet the Political constant demands of the king for money, the ministers were progress obliged to resort to every expedient. Personal property, levied upon for the first time in the reign of Henry II, was now regularly taxed, and in 1194, when the nation was called upon to pay the king's ransom, old forms of requisition were revived and new ones were invented ; no class of persons, no kind of wealth, was allowed to escape. It was in part because of the difficulty of valuing personal property, and partly from a wish to conciliate the people, that the assessment of taxes was placed in the hands of local juries. It was during Richard's reign also that it became customary to intrust the choice of the juries of recognition and presentment to the freeholders of the shire. Thus the principles of election and representation were slowly making their way into the administrative system. Social Progress under the Early Angevins National Development. — During the half century that had elapsed since the treaty of Wallingford a new nation had sprung into existence. Under the rule of the Angevin the differences between Norman and Englishman had well-nigh disappeared. The Great Charter of the next reign takes no note of race distinctions. Men of English birth if not of English blood filled high places in Church and State. The court still used French, but the Norman barons had begun to learn the vernacular, and by the beginning of the thirteenth century English was the generally spoken tongue. 1 Literary Revival. — The literary activity which marked Henry I's reign had almost died out during the anarchy 1 Latin continued to be the language of literature. no The Fusion of Races Green, pp. 117-121. Green, Henry the Second, Ch. X. Traill, I, 344-356. Learning at the royal court. Traill, I, 339-343- that followed. William of Malmesbury had no succes- sor, and in 1154 the Saxon Chro?iicle came to an end. But with the closing years of the century the new impulses that were stirring the life of the people found vigorous ex- pression in a great literary outburst. A wide gulf separated the new literature from the old. In its secular tone, its fulness and freedom of treatment, its wide range of subjects, wide as the scope of the Angevin interests, it spoke of the court rather than of the cloister. Under Henry II the royal court had in fact become a centre of learning, and although the greatest of the early Angevin historians, William of Newburgh, lived and wrote in a remote Yorkshire mon- astery, most of the writers of the time were statesmen and diplomatists rather than monks. One was the king's treas- urer, another an itinerant judge, another a royal chaplain. 1 They were a part of the working world, and in their writings were reflected all aspects of national thought and activity. Disregard of old forms, revolt against narrow tradition, a living interest in actual events, eager seeking after new and higher things, characterized the literature of the twelfth cen- tury. The writings of Richard Fitz-Nigel and Roger of How- den, men prominent in the administration, are a record at first hand of the reigns of Henry and Richard. Gerald the Welshman, cousin to the Fitz-Geralds who took part in the conquest of Ireland, accompanied John on his journey thither, and came back to write two books on that country in the effective off-hand style of a newspaper correspondent of to-day. Every stage in the career of Thomas of London was carefully recorded by his friends and followers. In the Confessions of Bishop Goliath Walter Map held up the vices of the Church to the scorn of the age, while in Sir Galahad, he set before the world a new ideal of manhood. The Universities. — The same vigorous inquisitive spirit was revealed in the great communities of scholars that gath- ered at Oxford and Cambridge. The first use of the word university belongs to the thirteenth century, but even in 1 Richard Fitz-Nigel, Walter Map, Gerald the Welshman. The Towns Richard's time Oxford was a school of European fame with regular faculties, thronged with eager scholars of all ages and from all corners of the kingdom and even from over- seas. Here the older men studied law and theology, while the younger were taught grammar and rhetoric and, later, mathematics and physical sciences. In the intercourse be- tween men of all classes and many nations, provincial preju- dices gave way before a wider interest which included the whole world in its view. At Oxford a spirit of free inquiry which tended to break away from narrow ecclesiastical tra- dition early manifested itself. The Towns. — Even more than the universities did the Green,/,>»/j> towns further the growth of a spirit of freedom and self- the Second - j j to. j i pp- "^-in- dependence. The develop- ment of the wool trade and the expansion of foreign com- merce under the Angevins had increased the wealth and im- portance of the towns, and they moved steadily toward municipal freedom. London was always in the lead, and the lesser towns made the rights which it had secured the goal of their efforts. By the close of the century the strug- gle for self-government was practically complete. Most of the towns had gained charters which gave them their own independent courts of justice Soune-B.oak and the right of controlling local trade. They paid their pp- 6 5~7 i - taxes into the royal treasury in a lump sum, called the ferm, assessing and collecting the dues themselves. The larger towns, moreover, were beginning to acquire the right of choosing their own chief officer, the mayor or reeve, until now nominated by the crown. The commercial privileges granted were usually very extensive. By the ordinary form Ship of Richard I From the Ms. of Matthew Paris 112 The Fusion of Races of charter, trade was to be " quit and free from all tolls, dues, and customs at fairs or otherwise, in all harbors throughout all my dominions, both by the hither side and the further side of the sea, by land and by strand." In their efforts to gain the privilege of self-government, the towns were aided by the necessities of the king and nobles, who were often in sore straits to meet the expense of their crusading enterprises and were willing to yield some liberty or exemption in return for ready money. Each right gained was a matter of bargain. Rye and Winchelsey secured their charters from Richard by supplying him with two ships for one of his expeditions, and, a little later, Portsmouth obtained the same much-cov- eted possession by paying part of the royal ransom. The Merchant Gild. — A most important factor in the emanci- pation of the towns was the influence of the merchant gilds. With the develop- ment of commerce and industry, trade had become the rul- ing interest in the towns and the mer- chant classes the most powerful element in the life of the com- munity. Their associations were originally formed merely to control the trade of the place or to secure purely commer- cial privileges, such as the right of holding a fair or exemp- tion from paying toll, but, including as they did the influ- ential men of the community, and strong through effective Exterior of the Gild House of the York Merchants Company Lambert, Tivo Thousand Years of Gild Life Trade 1 1 3 organization, they naturally took the lead in wringing from the crown judicial immunity or political power. Almost every town and many villages possessed a gild, and it was here that the stirring, vigorous life of the community centred. Each gild had its hall where meetings were held to make rules by which dishonest trade might be prevented and non-gildsmen kept from sharing in the traffic of the place. The power of the merchants tended to become tyrannical, and already artisans in some of the crafts endeavored to combine against their domination. In the reign of Richard, Rising of the artisans of London led by one of the aldermen, William Longbeard, Longbeard, rose in a vain protest against alleged injustice of the great traders in the assessment of taxes. Trade. — As yet there was little freedom of commercial intercourse ; protection and monopoly were the watchwords of the merchant world throughout the Middle Ages, and trade was shackled by many fetters. The business code forbade methods now looked upon as entirely legitimate : for example, " forestalling," or buying up at a distance in order to sell at a higher price in the home market, and "engross- ing," or buying at a season of plenty to hold over until a time when the goods were dear. Internal trade depended on the great fairs, and the right Fairs, of holding them was dearly prized by the towns. The fair of Stourbridge, a few miles from Cambridge, was known throughout Europe. It was held in September, and for days before it opened the roads were blocked by wagons laden with wares from all parts of the world. Silks from Genoa, the linens of Flanders, French and Spanish wines, were dis- played side by side with the home traders' stores of wool and salt fish. The narrow streets were thronged with men of all classes, merchant and noble, soldier and priest. For three weeks the fair went on, and daily the mayor sat at his court "of the dusty feet" to give justice between disputing wayfarers, and on Sunday some monk from the neighboring priory said mass in the chapel that stood near the spot where the fair was held. H4 The Fusion of Races Traill, I, 3 6 7-37i- With increased prosperity came greater refinement and luxury. The houses of the wealthy merchants were often of some architectural pretensions, and were far more com- fortable than the fortress-like dwellings of the baronage. Within the cities where the gilds looked after their own people, a little attention was paid to sanitary conditions of living, but outside the walls, where those not admitted to the privileges of the towns were herded together in unrelieved dirt and squalor, fever and plague spread unchecked. Seal of Henry I Important Events Reign of Henry II, 1154-1189. Constitutions of Clarendon, 1164. Assize of Clarendon, 1166. Death of Archbishop Thomas, 11 70. Invasion of Ireland, 1169-1172. Rising of the Barons, 11 73. Reign of Richard I, 1189-1199. The king returns from the crusade, 1194 Chief Contemporaries 1 15 S- -a « "H ° 2 S # ^ 2 ?1 18- *! I" * c .a g I* .5 £ a. rt ~ U ° «a la CHAPTER V STRUGGLE FOR THE CHARTER Books for Consultation Sources Stubbs, Adams and Stephens, as before. Hill, Liberty Documents. Hutton, English History from Contemporary Writers; Misrule of Henry III, Simon Je Mont fort and his Cause. Jacobs, The Jews of Angevin England. Special Authorities Taswell-Langmead, Constitutional History. Norgate, fohn Lackland. Richardson, 77^ National Movement in the Reign of Henry LLL. Pauli, Life of Simon de Montfort. Jessopp, Coming of the Eriars. Jenks, Edward Plantagenet. Tout, Political History of England, Vol. III. Hume-Brown, ILi story of Scotland. Stubbs, Ramsay, Adams, Pollock, as before. Imaginative Literature Shakespeare, King John. John 1 (i 199-12 1 6). — The third king of the Angevin line stands out as the most vicious and worthless of all English 1 John, 1199-1216 Henry III, m. Eleanor Joan, m. Alexander II Eleanor, m. Simon Richard, Icing of 1216-1272 I of Provence of Scotland de Montfort the Romans, I d. 1271 Edward I, m. Eleanor of Castile Edmund Crouchback, Margaret, m. Alexander III 1272-1307 Earl of Lancaster, d. 1295 of Scotland ll6 The Loss of Normandy ny monarchs. Faithless to every trust, stained with every Green, crime, from first to last John's life offers not one redeeming pp - I22 - I2 3- trait, not one saving act. And yet he had much of the ability of his house, together with an extraordinary power of winning the love of men. But he used his power over others only to their undoing, and the achievements of his undoubted force and talent were rendered vain by the base- ness of his nature. The reign of John falls naturally into three periods, each ending in crushing defeat and humiliation ; in the first, in- terest centred in the wars with Philip of France, during the second, the king was carrying on a fierce contest with Rome, and the last was occupied with the events that turned upon the granting of the Great Charter. The Loss of Normandy. — John's claim to succeed his Stubbs, brother met with no opposition in England, but on the E * rly rl . . Plantageticts Continent he was confronted with a dangerous rival in his pp . 129-135. nephew, Arthur of Brittany, the son of his dead brother Geoffrey. The young prince urged the claims of strict Bright, 1, hereditary succession, and he had a strong supporter in I2 I29 * the French king. Philip and Arthur soon quarrelled, how- Green, ever, while in his mother, Queen Eleanor, John had a wise PP- Iz 5' I: ^ and experienced counsellor, and within a few months he was master of all his continental possessions. But he mis- used his good fortune, and quarrelled with the barons of Poitou, thereby giving the French king a chance to inter- fere as overlord. On John's refusal to appear before Philip to answer the charge against him, he was declared to have forfeited his lands. John's position was already critical when his difficulties were increased by the mysterious death Death of of the young Prince Arthur (1203), who had fallen into his Arthur, 1203 uncle's hands. The king was accused, and probably with justice, of having murdered his nephew. Philip, quick to take advantage of the storm of indignation that followed, pressed boldly forward into Normandy. The barons, in- sulted and wronged by John, refused to rise in his behalf, and town after town opened its doors to the French king. Struggle for the Charter Stubbs, Early Plantagenets, pp. 136, 137. Stubbs, Early Plantagenets, pp. I37-I43- Bright, I, 130, 131- Stephen Langton. By the end of the summer of 1204 John's rule was limited to the lands south of the Charente ; nothing but the Channel Islands remained to him of the hereditary possessions of William the Conqueror and Geoffrey of Anjou. Consequences of the Loss of the French Provinces. — That the work of Henry II on the Continent was so soon undone was due in part to the great ability of the French king, and still more to John's worthlessness ; but the ease with which Maine, Normandy, and Anjou became a part of France showed how impossible was the project of an Anglo- Angevin empire. To England the loss of the French provinces was an event of far-reaching importance. The barons were compelled to choose between Normandy and England, and those who threw in their lot with the island realm became now for the first time wholly English in sympathy and interest. For the first time, too, since the Conquest, king and people were brought face to face ; John was dependent upon England, as his predecessors had not been ; the people learned to know their ruler as never before. John's Quarrel with the Church. — -The death (1204) of Queen Eleanor, John's mainstay on the Continent, had been followed by defeat in Normandy; and when, in 1205, the king lost Hubert Walter, Archbishop of Canterbury, his most useful and devoted servant, he at once plunged into a quarrel with Rome which ended in his deep humiliation. The difficulty arose out of the question of choosing Walter's successor, both king and chapter claiming the privilege. John was probably in the right, — the power of the crown to nominate to the See of Canterbury had been conceded even by Anselm, — but he prejudiced his cause by unreason- ing violence. The matter was laid before the Roman Curia. Pope Innocent decided the question by rejecting the candi- dates of both parties and causing his own man to be chosen. In this high-handed action he probably thought chiefly of advancing the interests of Rome ; but when he nominated Stephen Langton, an Englishman already known for his The Interdict and Deposition 119 great learning and noble character, he gave to England an able and disinterested leader in the coming struggle for freedom. The Interdict and Deposition. — John refused to yield Green, to the Pope's decision. He would not permit the new pp- I23 ~ I2 5- archbishop to enter England. Threat he met by counter- threat ; if Innocent laid the kingdom under interdict, he would banish the clergy and seize their goods. But Inno- cent III, the greatest and most imperious of all the popes, was not one to draw back, and in 1208 the interdict was pro- claimed. The churches were closed, only the chapels of a few privileged orders remaining open ; the dead lay un- buried, or were placed in unconsecrated ground ; no sacra- ments were administered except those of baptism and extreme unction. The nation felt itself under a curse. Still John did not yield, but made good his threats by subjecting the clergy to great outrage. In 1209 the Pope struck at the king in person by excommunicating him, but John met excommunication with defiance. He seized the prop- erty of the bishops and used it to carry on a vigorous war upon the Welsh and Irish and Scots. There was but one weapon left the Pope, and the time to use it was come. In 1212 Innocent issued a bull deposing the king, absolving his subjects from their allegiance, and calling upon the French king to execute the decree. Even yet John might have proved a match for Rome had he not suddenly found himself confronted by rebellion among his own barons. Throughout his reign John had insulted and oppressed Stubbs, the baronage. He had seized their castles and held their ^ w/| children as hostages. Illegal and burdensome exactions pp . 143-145. had been followed by repeated demands for service and scutage. There was scarcely one among them but had some personal ground for complaint. Their long endur- ance of John's tyranny bears witness to the strength which Henry's reforms had given the crown. In secret, however, the barons were plotting against the king ; and it was the discovery at this juncture of their conspiracies with Philip Struggle for the Charter Bright, I, 133. 134- Stubbs, Early PlantageiiL'ts, pp. 143, 145- 149. Green, pp. 125-127. Source-Book, pp. 72-78. Meeting at St. Paul's, 1313. Bright, I, * 35-139- that forced John to yield. His decision was quickly made. His present position was hopeless, hut with the pope as an ally, he could defy the rest of his foes. On the 1 5 th of May, 1 21 3, he knelt before the papal legate, Pandulf, and, surrendering his realm to the pope, received it back to hold as a vassal of the See of Rome. The King and the Barons. — John and the pope were now reconciled, but this did not improve the king's relations with his subjects. The Church still stood aloof; and for the first time since the Conquest, the crown could expect no support from the clergy in a contest with the baronage. Regardless of the dissatisfaction already existing, John added to the accumulated grievances of his vassals by de- manding that they should follow him on an expedition that he was planning for the recovery of the lost French prov- inces. At last the smouldering resentment burst into open revolt, and on all sides the king met determined opposition. They would serve him within the four seas, the barons said, but cross the Channel they would not. Hitherto the baronage had lacked a leader, but the pope unwittingly gave them one in Stephen Langton, who, ever since his arrival in England, had been untiring in his efforts to restrain the king from despotic measures. Already John had been brought to the point of promising through his justiciar, Geoffrey Fitz- Peter, that he would henceforth abide by the old-time laws. On the outbreak of insurrection, Lang- ton came forward with practical statesmanship to give the nation a definite basis of action. At a meeting of the barons at St. Paul's in August (1213), he displayed the half-forgotten charter of Henry I, and proposed that it be presented to the king as expressing the terms on which he should govern. But John met all demands with evasion. He was about to start on the expedition to France, from which he hoped much. Although he could obtain no aid from the barons, on whom he now lost his last hold by the death of Geoffrey Fitz-Peter, he had succeeded in gathering together a large The Great Charter 121 force of mercenaries. During the next few months the fate of England trembled in the balance. Had John returned from France victorious, the rebellious barons would have had no chance ; the overwhelming victory of the French at Bouvines in July, 12 14, gave the signal for the triumph of English liberties. Rising of the Barons. — Matters at once came to a crisis in England. The northern barons took the lead, but they were soon joined by many others. At Christmas time they appeared in arms before the king, and demanded that the old liberties should be restored. John asked time for con- sideration, and at once attempted to divide his foes. He appealed to Rome, he promised to respect the privileges of the clergy, he put himself under the especial protection of the Church by taking the cross as a crusader, he de- manded the oath of allegiance from every free man, and he summoned mercenaries from Poitou. The barons immediately reassembled. In May London opened its gates to them, ;ind a little later they were joined by the royal ministers. The king, deserted by all save his kinsmen and favorites and the foreign soldiers, was forced to yield. On the 15th of June, 1215, he met his outraged Grantofthe vassals at Runnymede, near Windsor on the Thames, and Charter > made full submission in setting his seal to the charter of liberties which they laid before him. The Great Charter. — The first step in the struggle for pop- Green _ ular government was won. In the words of Bishop Stubbs, pp. 128-131. "The maintenance of the Charter becomes henceforth the barter— watchword of English freedom." In form the Great Char- Latin: ter was a royal grant ; in reality it was a formal state- Stubbs, ment of liberties wrung from the king by the united action charters; of the people of England. It contained little that was new, English : Old South Leaflets, but it expressed with exactness what before was undefined Thoroughly English in spirit, there was no statement of ^5.' abstract rights ; everything was thrown into concrete, practi- H cal form. No class, no interest, was overlooked. Some of the provisions limited the power of the king over his vassals ; Adams and Stephens. 122 Struggle for the C J tarter Stubbs, Early Plantagenets, pp. 150-153. others protected the villain against his lord. To the Church were secured its ancient liberties ; to the towns, their newly bought privileges. The care with which the interests of the merchants were protected shows the increasing importance of trade. Some of the sixty-three articles of the charter related to merely temporary matters ; others were valuable for all time. The principles upon which the whole English judicial system is based were expressed in the words " No freeman shall be taken or imprisoned, or disseised, 1 or outlawed, or banished . . . unless by the lawful judgment of his peers, or by the law of the land." " We will sell to no man, we will not deny to any man, either justice or right." Among the most im- portant articles were the two which limited the power of the king in matters of taxation. " No scutage or aid shall be imposed in our kingdom, unless by the general council of our kingdom j " and " For the holding of the general coun- cil of the kingdom ... we shall cause to be summoned the archbishops, bishops, abbots, earls, and greater barons of the realm singly, by our letters. And furthermore we shall cause to be summoned generally by our sheriffs and bailiffs, all others who hold of us in chief." Renewal of the Struggle. — In words, the recognition of the national liberties was ample, but how insure the fulfil- ment of the promise? how control a king whom no oath could bind? In the charter itself it was arranged that a council of twenty-five barons should be chosen to enforce its provisions. Authority was given them to make war upon the king if he should fail to do justice. "They have given me five-and-twenty overkings," protested John, and he at once turned to seek a way of evasion. Civil war followed. Innocent, with little comprehension of the question at issue, freed the king from his oath and recalled Langton to Rome. John summoned to his aid Poitevin and Flemish mercenaries and for a time swept all before him. The barons in despair renewed the intrigues 1 Dispossessed of land. Minority of Henry III 123 with the French king, and in 12 16, Louis, the French prince, to whom they had offered the crown, entered England at the head of an army. Quickly the tide turned, since the hired soldiers refused to fight against the son of their king. John's cause was not lost, however, when he suddenly died. Minority of Henry III (1216-1227). — John's death trans- Stubbs, formed the situation. A large portion of the country was in J} ry the hands of the insurgents and their allies, and the kingdom pp . 155-158, was in a fair way to come under the rule of France. But it 160-164. was fear and hatred of John that had led the barons to call in Louis. John dead, national feeling reasserted itself, and the coalition began to break up. Nevertheless, England might even yet have passed under foreign rule but for the patriotic course of the greatest of the barons, William Marshall, Earl William of Pembroke. Aided by Gualo, the papal legate, he caused Marsha11 - Henry, the young son of John, to be crowned king, reissued the Charter, thus detaching many of the barons from the French alliance, and, by his vigorous efforts, succeeded in obliging Louis to withdraw. The following years were occupied in reestablishing the Bright, I, government. In the minority of the young king, Pern- r 4 I-I 5 a broke acted as regent until his death in 12 19. He was succeeded by the justiciar, Hubert de Burgh, who continued Hubert his work, carrying on the administration according to the de Bur S h principles of the Charter. De Burgh's efforts to give Eng- land sound government were complicated by the presence of foreigners, the former supporters of John, and by the re- appearance of the spirit of feudal lawlessness among the barons. The attempts of the Pope to interfere in the con- duct of affairs was a further embarrassment. But the justi- ciar succeeded in expelling the foreigners, and, by reoccupying the royal castles, put a check on the barons, while Langton crowned his services to the cause of constitutional freedom by obtaining the promise that during his lifetime no Roman legate should be sent to England. The years of Henry's minority were a period of quiet national growth, of awakening political consciousness, of 2 4 Straggle for the Charter Green, pp. 147-152. spiritual and moral regeneration. The loss of the French provinces had removed the last obstacle in the way of national unity, so far as the barons were concerned. At the same time a great movement within the Church was prepar- ing the people for political action. The Friar Movement. — In the thirteenth century the temporal power of Rome was at its height, but secular advance had been attained at the expense of spiritual influ- ence. The monastic revival of the preceding century had spent itself, and old and new orders alike were corrupt and LONGTHORPE MANOR HOUSE. BUILT ABOUT 1235 Hudson Turner, Domestic Architecture Dominicans and Franciscans. self-seeking. Heresy was growing rife, and the spiritual welfare of the people was neglected. It was the mission of two great religious orders that sprang suddenly into existence early in the thirteenth cen- tury, to recall the Church to its duty. Unlike the earlier monks, the friars sought not their own salvation apart from the world, but strove to save the souls and bodies of others. The Order of Preachers, as the followers of Dominic the Castilian were called, directed their eloquence against popu- lar heresies, while Francis d'Assisi and his gray-frocked brethren labored to relieve the misery and degradation of the common people. Bound by vows of poverty that were The Friars in England 125 real, the barefooted friars wandered through all lands. They turned to the towns, neglected by the older orders, nursing the sick and befriending the outcast. They preached in the crowded market-place in words that all could under- stand, driving home each truth with apt anecdote or homely illustration drawn from the world of nature or from the daily experience of those to whom they spoke. The Friars in England. — The Dominicans or Black Friars reached England in 1220, and four years later they Wells Cathedral. West Front were followed by the Franciscans. There was little heresy to combat in England, but among the forlorn dwellers outside the walls of the rapidly growing towns there was urgent need of the practical labors of the Franciscans. They soon became the more popular of the two orders. The English clergy had shared in the general deteriora- tion of the Church. The great ecclesiastics were worldly minded, and the parish priests were ignorant and de- graded. The needs of the people were neglected by both alike. The coming of the friars worked a revolution in the life of the nation. The indifference of the laity and the hostility of the clergy were not proof against their ar- Bacon. 126 Straggle for the Charter dor and devotion. They aroused the Church to a new sense of its duties, and urged the people to holier and healthier living. Traill, I, The influence of the friars on national thought was of 429-440. great importance. With true instinct they had made their way at once to Oxford, where thousands of youth from all parts of the country were gathered. At first the Fran- ciscans set their faces against all learning, but they soon saw that training in theology and medicine was necessary for the success of their work, and in a short time they had established their schools at Oxford. Under the inspiration of their teachings the dark lecture rooms were thronged with eager learners. The friars gave to education a utili- tarian bent. The old zeal in learning for learning's sake died out before the interest they lent to the study of Roger theology and practical science. Roger Bacon, himself a Franciscan, bears witness in his writings 1 to the changed temper of his University of Oxford. First of English phi- losophers, and last and greatest representative of the wider culture of the preceding generation, he labored for many years to arouse men to an interest in the great world of knowledge outside the narrow scholastic bounds. But the appeal was lost upon his contemporaries ; in the end he was, as he himself wrote, "unheard, forgotten, buried." On the political temper of the time the influence of the friars was strong and invigorating. Preachers of the people, they wandered from place to place and helped to spread new ideas, to form public opinion. In thought and habit of life they were democratic, and their sympathies were with the poor. Through their dramatic open-air preaching they roused their hearers to new conceptions of the duties of kings and the rights of subjects. It was this propaganda that threw the influence of the towns and universities on the popular side in the coming struggle with the crown. The contest against royal misrule which filled the later years of Henry's reign is called the Barons' War, but it was 1 The Opus Majus, an encyclopaedia of the knowledge of the day. Rule of Henry III 127 the consciousness that behind them stood the nation that nerved the barons to rise against the king. Rule of Henry III. — In 1227 Henry declared himself Stubbs, of age, and thenceforward his character told upon the „,■ \ ° r Plantagenels course of events. Deeply religious, moral, refined, he had pp. i 54i i 55i few of the vices of his father, but on the other hand he l6 5; had little of the force and political capacity that had marked p '^ e "' 6 his house heretofore. Throughout his long reign he showed Source Book himself weak and vacillating, incapable both of fulfilling the pp . 78-84. wishes of his subjects and of carrying out a vigorous policy of his own. His rule was characterized by misgovernment at home and inefficiency abroad. To assert the power of stubbs, the crown he turned his ministers out of office, filling their Early 1 Pla/itageiieti places with men dependent upon himself. Thus in 1232, pp I 6 5 _i6- Hubert de Burgh, last of the great justiciars, was dismissed, to be replaced by the Bishop of Winchester, Peter des Roches, a Poitevin. Later Henry tried to be his own chief minister and to carry on the government without treasurer, chancellor, or justiciar ; but he lacked the ability and energy for this, and the result was hopeless disorder. The nation Bright, 1, groaned under the rule of foreigners, favorites of the king, I 5 I - I S 8 - or kinsfolk of his mother and wife. In their hands were placed the royal castles and the high offices, to them were intrusted the defence and administration of the realm, on them was squandered one-sixth of the royal revenue. Extravagant and wasteful, the king was ever in need of money and ever demanding supplies. His debts soon amounted to more than fdur times his annual income. Every expedient to fill the treasury was used. Offices were sold, loans were wrung from the great nobles, clergy and laity alike were called upon for new and burdensome aids. The weight of taxation was increased by the king's foreign expeditions. Unable to see that England's true interest lay within the four seas, he was constantly engaging in the quarrels of continental kings, or scheming to regain the lost provinces. An attempt to recover Poitou (1242) ended in the loss of all lands in France except Aquitaine. 128 Struggle for the Charter England and the Pope. — Not by the king alone was the unhappy realm plundered and pillaged. Since John's sub- mission, the pope had looked upon England as a vassal kingdom bound to contribute to the needs of the Holy See. Langton's death in 1228 was followed by an attempt of the pope to secure an increase of revenue. Large sums were exacted from the clergy, and many of the best livings of the Church were bestowed on Italians. Under Innocent IV the extortions multiplied, and a special agent, Master Mar- tin, was sent to England to wring whatever he could from the people. Under the leadership of Grosseteste, Bishop of Lincoln, clergy and laity made common cause in resisting these spoliations. They sent protests to the pope, and appealed to the king for protection, but in vain. The demands of Rome increased year by year. Grosseteste de- clared that the pope's nominees drew from the realm a revenue three times as great as the royal income. Henry gave the country no help, since both devoutness and per- sonal gratitude bound him to the pope. Self-interest led him to connive at the papal exactions in return for papal support in his dealings with his subjects, stubbs, Feeling of the People. — Year by year the discontent of Aar/ . v the nation increased, and finally it found expression. In pp. 172-175. ' i 2 37 the council declared in words that sum up the long list of grievances, " that it would be unworthy of them and injurious to allow a king who was so easily led astray, who had never reptifeed. or frightened even the least of the enemies of his kingdolrr^who had never extended the borders of his realm, but had' "contracted it and brought it under the rule of foreigners, to so often extort so much money from them, his natural subjects, as though they were slaves of lowest degree." Over and over again the barons attempted to bind the king through renewals of the Charter purchased at a heavy price, but in vain. The king took the money, but failed to keep his word. "The king breaks everything, the laws, his good faith, and his promises," wrote the monk, Matthew Paris. In 1242 the Council, now begin- Simon de Montfort 129 ning to be known as the Parliament, went so far as to refuse Henry's request for a subsidy, and two years later an attempt was made to secure the appointment of officials who should act in all administrative matters and be held responsible to Par- liament. The innovation was too great to find acceptance, but it indicated the advance the nation was making in the con- ception of self-government. Still more important was the ap- pearance in the great council of 1254 of knights of the shire, Knights of men elected by the shire court to report on the amount of the Snire - money their counties were willing to contribute to the king's necessities. Throughout these dreary years of misrule, marked only by unsatisfied greed and fruitless opposition, the form and spirit of constitutional rule were taking shape. Slowly men were learning the identity of national interest. Still more slowly, the way to secure that interest. Simon de Montfort. — That revolt was so long delayed stubbs, was due in part to apathy in the nation, but still more to Early lack of a leader. All who had led in the earlier struggles plant ^ c "f 00 pp. 184-187 ; with the crown were dead, Hubert de Burgh, Stephen Lang- Green, ton, his successor, Edmund Rich, and Grosseteste. But P p - I S 2 - I 54- among the swarm of hated aliens was a man who was soon to stand forth as the chief opponent of Henry and his oppressive rule. Simon de Montfort, Earl of Leicester and brother-in-law of the king, was at first scarcely distinguish- able from other foreign favorites at the court, but by 1244 he had ranged himself definitely on the side of the barons. During the years that followed he was much abroad on public business, but in 1257 he returned to England and at once placed himself at the head of the opposition. It is not easy to understand Simon de Montfort 's true char- acter, nor to mark the steps by which the French courtier was transformed into the English patriot. Even to the men of his own time his character and career seemed full of contradictions. Generous and high-spirited, he was also overbearing and impatient of opposition. He showed him- self firm in his patriotic purpose, yet it is difficult to free him from the reproach of ambition. But whatever his faults, 130 Struggle for the Charter Stubbs, Early Plantagenets, pp. 187-201 ; Green, pp. 154-160. he gave the people the guidance and inspiration they so much needed and advanced England on the road toward constitutional freedom. The Barons' War. — In 1258 matters came to a crisis. Misled by foolish ambition, Henry had consented 'to be- come the tool of Innocent IV in his quarrels with the Provisions of Oxford. Bright, I, 159-162. Wells Cathedral. Dedicated 1239 House of Hohenstaufen, and had pledged England to fur- nish the sums necessary for carrying on the pope's wars. The patience of the country was at last exhausted and the king's demand for one-third the revenue of all England was met by open revolt. Under the lead of Leicester, the barons appeared in arms before Henry and demanded sweeping re- forms in the administration. Unable to resist, the king con- ceded all that was asked and, with his son Edward swore to observe the articles drawn up by the barons in the Parlia- ment of Oxford, — the Mad Parliament, as it was called by The Parliament of 1265 131 the king's partisans. By the new scheme, the government was taken out of the hands of the king and intrusted to three committees made up of barons. This was an awk- ward and cumbersome device, sure to break down of its own weight. For five years England was governed in accordance with the Provisions of Oxford, but signs of weakness were soon manifest. Many of the barons were seeking their own ad- vancement rather than the national good ; and it was only by the combined efforts of Simon and Prince Edward, who had accepted the changes in the government in good faith, that they were brought in 1259 to extend to their vassals the concessions they had wrung from the king. Moreover, a breach soon appeared between de Montfort and the greater barons. They feared his ambition, and he accused them of treachery. Henry, faithless as ever, induced the Pope to absolve him from his oath and made repeated attempts to free himself from baronial control. In the hope of avoiding bloodshed both parties agreed to refer the dispute to Louis IX of France. Louis was a Bright, I, saint, but he did not understand the situation in England. l62 ~ l68 - He saw in the demands of the barons an attempt to restore feudal rule, and the judgment which he gave was in favor of the crown. Many of the great barons accepted the Mise of Amiens, as Louis's decision was called, but the others, led by de Montfort and supported by the lower clergy, the towns, and the universities, rose in resistance. At Lewes, on the 14th of May, 1264, the two forces met; Lewes, 1264 the Royalists were completely defeated, and Henry and Edward were taken prisoners. The Parliament of 1265. — During the year following Leicester ruled England in the king's name, but his path was beset with difficulties. To strengthen his position he took the step which has brought lasting honor upon his name. Turning to the people, he called a Parliament to which, in addition to the baronage, he summoned two knights from every shire and with them two burgesses from every borough. 132 Struggle for the Charter Evesham, 1265. Source-Book, pp. 84-89. Stubbs, Early Plantagenets, pp. 202-205. Stubbs, Early Plantagenets , pp. 210-215. Bright, I, 193-196. Knights and burgesses had long met in the county court to discuss their common interests ; now for the first time they sat side by side with bishops and barons in the national council. It was the last despairing effort of the great earl. Already his government was giving way : the hostility of the pope, the jealousy of the baronage, the loyalty of the nation to its king united to undermine his power. Within a few months the country was again at war, and the end came soon. At Evesham on the Welsh border, Simon met defeat and death (August 4, 1265). For a moment it seemed that the cause of freedom was lost, but Prince Edward, the victor of Evesham, came forward to carry on Simon's work. The remaining years of Henry's reign were peaceful and prosperous. The strength of the opposition was broken with Leicester's death, and through the influence of Edward, already the real ruler of the country, many of the reforms for which the barons had contended were granted by a Parliament which met at Marlborough in 1267. Edward I (1 272-1307). — With the death of Henry III ended the days of foreign kingship. English in name and English in feeling, Edward I, greatest of the Plantagenets, stands out as a truly national king. A man of action, thoroughly in earnest, and convinced of the righteousness of his purpose, he was often impatient and high-handed ; but he was generous and wise and just, and not without reason were the words, Pactum serva, inscribed upon his tomb by a later generation as the motto of his life. Legislation. — Edward came to the throne with a clear understanding of the task before him. He originated little that was new, but he worked out in detail and adapted to the needs of his generation the materials that lay ready to hand. It was an age of lawyers and law-making, and in this Edward typified his time. He has been called the English Justinian, and the far-reaching legislation of his reign makes it an epoch in English legal history. Edward developed the judicial system along the lines already laid Financial Measures 133 down, organizing the central courts of justice into three separate tribunals, the King's Bench, the Exchequer, and the Court of Common Pleas. He defined and limited the jurisdiction of the ecclesiastical courts, and by the Statute of Mortmain 1 in 1279 restricted the giving of lands to the Church. Another important measure was the Statute Quia Emptores, which was enacted by Parliament in 1 290, seemingly in the interests of the baronage ; but the law, by putting a check on sub-infeudation, struck a fatal blow at the princi- ple of feudalism. By the Statute of Winchester (1285) Edward revived and statute of organized the ancient institutions of police and defence. Winchester Every man was forced to hold himself in readiness to serve the king at home, and every district was made responsible for crimes committed within its bounds. " If any will not obey the arrest," so ran the statute, " the officers shall levy stubbs, the hue and cry upon them, and such as keep the watch Select shall follow with hue and cry with all the town and towns Cha " pp. 472-474. near, and so hue and cry shall be made from town to town until that they be taken and delivered to the sheriff." An- other provision throws light on the disordered state of the country: "And further it is commanded that highways leading from one market town to another shall be en- larged so that there be neither dyke, tree, nor bush, whereby a man may lurk to do hurt, within two hundred foot of the one side and two hundred foot on the other side of the way." Financial Measures. — Edward was quick to realize the Stubbs, need of financial reform. He caused the coinage to be re- " r * Plantagenets newed, and ordered that, henceforth, its shape should be pp . 215-220. round to check the practice of clipping. Trade had become a matter of national concern. It was increasing, and the king's rights of prize were of great value. 2 In 1275 Edward agreed to accept a specified custom in money in lieu of 1 Private estates were often surrendered to the Church as a device for escaping feudal dues. 2 Indefinite payments in kind exacted from native exports. 134 Struggle for the Charter Green, pp. 223, 224. Expulsion of the Jews, 1290. Green, pp. 163-169. the old tolls. This was the origin of the Ancient Custom, henceforth an important part of the royal revenue. In 1290 Edward banished all the Jews from the realm. Economic considerations united with religious feeling in this act. The Jews had always occupied a peculiar position in England. Since the Conqueror's day, they enjoyed the especial protection of the king, but they had no legal rights against him. Repeatedly the crown stood between them and the persecuting frenzy of the people, but in return had plundered them at will. In spite of this insecure position they had prospered greatly. The taking of usury was for- bidden to Christians, and the Jews became the national money-lenders. Religious fervor combined with jealous greed to rouse against them the hostility of the Church and the laity. Jewries were sacked by fanatic mobs and laws were passed circumscribing their rights. Finally Edward yielded to the representations of the clergy and the barons, and in return for a large grant of money, ordered their ex- pulsion from the kingdom. Some sixteen thousand went into exile, and for nearly four centuries no Jew set foot in England. The Conquest of Wales. — Edward was constantly drawn away from the congenial task of legislation by matters aris- ing outside of England. He was not indifferent to the fate of his French possessions, on the contrary, no English king did more for the welfare of Aquitaine than Edward I ; and although he strove to gain his ends by peaceful meas- ures rather than by war, he succeeded in making himself respected and feared abroad. But England was first in his plans, and he saw, as no one before him had seen, that the real interests of the island kingdom were bounded by the four seas. His foreign policy, in a word, was a British policy, the union of all Britain under one rule, and to that he subordinated continental concerns. The English kings had long claimed the princes of Wales as their vassals and had often forced them to pay homage. By constant fighting the lords marchers (p. 69) had slowly 136 Struggle for the Charter Llewelyn. Bright, I, 175-177- Statute of Wales, 1233. Green, pp. 184-189. gained control of the borderlands, until, by the thirteenth century, Anglesey and the adjacent mainland alone remained independent. During the reign of Henry III, the Welsh, under Llewelyn, Lord of Snowdon, came to the aid of de Montfort, and regained part of their lost territories. On the accession of Edward I, Llewelyn had refused to pay homage; but the vigorous measures of the English king forced him to full submission, with the surrender of much of his domain. Edward at once set about reorganizing the government of the conquered territory. In the reforms that he introduced he unwisely disregarded Welsh prejudices, and a formidable revolt broke out under the leadership of Llewelyn and his brother David. Edward now determined on the complete conquest of the country, since the lawless and turbulent Welsh princes were a constant menace to the peace of England. Every outbreak was sure of their assist- ance, every rebel found a refuge among them. It was plain there could be no lasting tranquillity until they were subdued and brought under English rule. Large forces were poured into Wales (1282). Llewelyn was killed early in the struggle, but David and his sup- porters, entrenched in the inaccessible fastnesses of Snow- don, held out during the winter. In the following summer he was captured, tried by a Parliament convened at Shrews- bury, and condemned to death for having rebelled against the lord to whom he had sworn fealty. With David ended the last hope of Welsh independence. Edward had now free hand in Wales. Taught by experience, he did not dis- regard the customs of the country unnecessarily. By the Statute of Wales passed in 1283 the English shire system was introduced and the government placed in the hands of royal officials. To make good his hold upon the country, the king built a strong line of castles along the frontier, — Conway, Carnarvon, Harlech, and Beaumaris. Edward and Scotland. — During the thirteenth century, the diverse race elements of Scotland were slowly coming together and national feeling was growing, even though the Edward and Scotland 37 distinction between the Celt of the Highlands and the Anglo- Norman of the Lothians was still sharply marked. Long- continued peace had brought increased order and prosperity, * yet as a whole the northern kingdom lagged behind the southern in social and political development. The crown was weak, the baronage strong and unruly, there were few towns, and a middle class scarcely existed. For centuries the political relation of Scotland to England had been a subject of dispute. Relying on the tradition of Alp^ ISA ff* Conway Castle Clark, Medieval Military Architecture in England the oath taken to Edward the Elder (p. 49), the English kings had always asserted a claim to overlordship, but the Scots had as steadily denied it. The oath of homage did not, as they understood it, involve feudal dependence. The question had been waived for many years, and frequent intermarriage between the royal houses had helped maintain friendly rela- tions between the two kingdoms. In 1286 the king of Scots, Alexander III, died, leaving Bright, I, as his only heir Margaret of Norway, a sickly child of three l8 °- 186 - years. She was at once proclaimed queen, and a regency governed Scotland in her name. Edward hoped to secure the welfare of both kingdoms by uniting the two dynas- Reneival of War 139 ties, and succeeded (1290) in negotiating the betrothal of the little queen of Scots to Edward, his son and heir. By the terms of the marriage treaty Scotland was to remain " separate and divided and free in itself, without subjection to the realm of England." Before the year was out, Edward's plans were unhappily set at naught by the death of the Maid of Norway. Mar- garet was the last of the direct royal line of Scotland, and at once a number of claimants to the crown appeared. Per- plexed, the regents turned to Edward for advice, but he refused to interfere unless his overlordship was recognized. To this the barons finally agreed, although the commons are recorded to have made some objection. His claims once accepted, Edward acted with fairness and wisdom, giving his decision finally in favor of John Balliol, grandson of John BaiiioL the eldest daughter of David, brother of William the Lion ( 1 165-12 14). The award of Norham was accepted by the Scots, and in 1292 Balliol was crowned king at Scone, and paid homage to Edward as his feudal lord. Renewal of War. — In 1292 Edward's power was at its height. His supremacy was acknowledged throughout the island, he had the good-will of his subjects, England was at peace at home and abroad. Nowhere was there a sign that the crisis of the reign was impending, and yet in a few years England had turned against him, Wales and Scotland had risen in revolt, and Gascony, almost the last of the continental possessions of Henry II, had fallen into the hands of the king of France. Quarrels between French and Gascon sailors (1293) were the beginning of trouble. Philip of France, ever on the alert to press an advantage, used the affair to assert his feu- dal rights as overlord and, on Edward's refusal to appear before him, invaded Gascony. Edward would have had little difficulty in resisting Philip had not disaffection in Wales and Scotland, fanned by the French king's intrigues, tied his hands. All Wales rose (1294) in a despairing effort to throw off 140 Struggle for the Charter Green, pp. 189, 190. Alliance of France and Scotland. Green, pp. 173-181. Stubbs, Early Plantagenets, pp. 221-227. the hated English rule, and during the winter months Ed- ward's resources were strained in the reconquest of the country. With the spring the rising was crushed, and Ed- ward turned to meet the greater dangers that threatened him in the north. The peace that had followed Balliol's coronation was not of long duration. With generous in- terpretation of his feudal rights, Edward had encouraged appeals from the local courts of Scotland to his own tribunal at Westminster. Balliol resented this, and was upheld in his refusal to appear before Edward to answer the charges against him by the growing national feeling of his subjects. This resistance was made more formidable by the alliance concluded between France and Scotland in 1295. 1 Conquest of Scotland. — For the moment, the Scottish uprising seemed to further Edward's plan for the consolida- tion of Britain. In the spring of 1296 he led an army over the Border. The commercial town of Berwick surrendered after a three days' siege, and a few weeks later the victory of Dunbar put an end to the resistance of the Scots. Before the summer was over Balliol was a prisoner, and at a Parlia- ment held at Berwick the Scottish magnates took* the oath of fealty to Edward as their king. The conquest of Scot- land seemed complete. Edward showed true statesmanship in his treatment of the conquered. English officials were placed over the country, but the people were left undis- turbed in their lands and their laws. Model Parliament. — Edward was now ready to turn his attention to France, but a new danger confronted him in the rebellious attitude of his English subjects. Throughout his reign Edward had shown that the lessons of his father's reign were not lost upon him. He loved power, but he real- ized the necessity of securing the cooperation of his subjects in the government of the country, and he had repeatedly called together Parliaments more or less representative of the whole people to advise with him in national concerns. 1 This was the beginning of a connection between the two countries which was to last for three centuries. Constitutional Questions 141 When in 1295 the king found himself attacked on all sides, he turned to the nation for support, and called to- gether at Westminster men of every class, recognizing their Parliament of Edward I From an old print right to act in words taken from the Roman law, "What touches all must be agreed to by all." Bishops and barons. I42 Struggle for the Charter summoned by personal writ, met with representatives of the people, knights of the shire, and burgesses of the boroughs, summoned by general writ through the sheriffs ; the lower clergy also were represented. The meeting of the Parliament of 1295, the Model Par- liament as it is sometimes called, marks a turning-point in Source-Book, English constitutional history. From that day to this the pp. 89-91. form of England's national council has remained essentially unchanged, its place in the government has been scarcely questioned. Stubbs, Edward and the Clergy. — Edward's confidence in his Early subjects was not misplaced, since the Parliament of 1295 Plantagenets, ,,., , ' ,, pp. 234-238. voted him large grants of money ; but the next two years were full of difficulties which tested to the utmost the constancy of the king and the forbearance of the people. Throughout the reign the burden of taxation had been great, due in part to debts handed on from Henry's time and in part to the costly nature of Edward's enterprises. The demands upon the national resources were steadily increasing. In 1296 the lower clergy, led by the Arch- bishop of Canterbury and relying upon papal support, refused an aid demanded by the king. In retaliation Edward issued a decree of outlawry against them, and soon brought them to terms. But disaffection was spread- ing. Pressed for money, Edward had aroused the hostility of the merchants by seizing their stores of wool and leather. Many of his measures of reform were resented by the nobles, and when in 1297 he summoned them to lead an expedition into France, he was met by refusal. Confirmation of the Charters. — Edward found he had gone too far ; townsfolk and barons, clergy and laity, united in demanding that he should renew the Great Charter with additional clauses, limiting still more the royal power of taxation. Leaving his son and ministers to act for him, Edward withdrew to Flanders, and in October, 1297, the Confirmatio Cartarum was issued in his name. By this act the king bound himself never again to take " aids, tasks, and War with Scotland 143 prizes, but by the common assent of the realm." The Con- firmation of the Charters stands as a landmark in English constitutional history, for from it dates the nation's first real control over the revenue ; in Edward's concessions was summed up all that had been gained since the time of John. War with Scotland. — The remaining years of Edward's Green, reign were occupied by the struggle with Scotland. The pp- I 9 I ~ IQ 3. turbulent nobles resented Edward's orderly government, and the people, exasperated by the tyranny of his ministers, Bright, I. ioined hands with them in an effort to make Scotland free, i^-^ 2 - Bothwell Castle, Lanarkshire From an old print Common hatred of foreign rule was creating a Scottish nation. Under the leadership of William Wallace, an out- William lawed knight, the general disaffection found expression in Wallace, open revolt (1297). For a time the Scots were successful, driving out the English, and even crossing the border to ravage the northern counties, Westmoreland and Northum- berland. Early in 1298 Edward, having settled his difficul- ties with France, led a large force of English and Welsh against the Scots. On the 2 2d of July the two armies met 144 Struggle for the Charter Falkirk, at Falkirk. Wallace's reliance was his pikemen 1 thrown 1298. j nt0 f our g reat squares. The English horse charged in vain, and it was only when Edward, following the tactics learned in the Welsh wars, brought up his bowmen, that he suc- ceeded in breaking the Scottish lines, and in winning a brill- iant victory. But the Scots though beaten were unsubdued, and year after year the war was renewed. In 1304, think- ing the conquest achieved, Edward summoned a Parliament to which representatives of the Scots were called to draw up a plan of government for the dependent kingdom. The ordinance adopted was wise and conciliatory, but the time was not ripe for such a measure. Two years later Scotland rose in revolt, and rejecting the English rule chose as king Robert Robert Bruce, grandson of one of the claimants of 1290. Bruce. The whole work of conquest was to be done over again. In the spring of 1307, as Edward was leading an army north- wards, he died near Carlisle, leaving the Scots still defiant. Traill, I, England in the Thirteenth Century. — Edward I was the worthy son of a great age. The thirteenth century is one of the creative periods in the world's history, re- markable for its achievements in literature and art and poli- tics. In England it was a period of unparalleled national and constitutional growth. The Great Charter, the struggle waged by Simon de Montfort and his party, the Model Par- liament, the Confirmation of the Charters are milestones marking England's progress toward constitutional liberty. Language and Literature. — The development of patriot- ism had not yet brought about the restoration of English as the national language. True, the year that saw the loss of the French provinces saw also the appearance of Laya- mon's Brut, the first English work since the Saxon Chron- icles came to an end, and the Provisions of Oxford were published in the vernacular as well as in Latin, but the pop- ular tongue was not yet the speech of the court. 2 Latin was 1 Foot-soldiers armed with spears or pikes. 2 There is no evidence that even Edward I understood a word of Eng- lish. 440-450. Architecture 145 still the language of literature, while French was gaining ground in official and legal use. Architecture. — It was in architecture, and not in litera- ture, that the spirit of the time found its truest expression. In the latter part of the twelfth century Norman architec- tural forms were giving way before a style more truly national. The restoration of Canterbury after the fire of n 74 marks the transi- the pointed early Eng- tecture, was brilliancy of stone vault- Salisbury, the reign of ing exam- thirteenth Traill, I v 4I5-427- tion from the round Norman arch to Gothic. Under John and Henry, the lish, the first purely indigenous archi- in its glory. Lightness, delicacy, the stained glass, the soaring vastness of ing, characterized the new order. Westminster, and Wells, all built in Henry III, are splendid and endur- ples of the grand conceptions of the century. Salisbury Cathedral. Built 1220-1258 The spire is of fourteenth-century date 146 Struggle for the Charter Important Events Reign of John, 1199-1216. Loss of Normandy, Maine, Anjou, Touraine, 1204. England surrendered in fief to the Pope, 1213. Signing of the Great Charter, 1215. Reign of Henry III, 1216-1272. Wise government of Hubert de Burgh, 1219-1232 Misgovernment of the king, 1232-1258. The Mad Parliament, 1258. Mise of Amiens ; battle of Lewes, 1264. Parliament of 1265. Battle of Evesham ; death of de Monttort, 1265. Reign of Edward I, 1272-1307. Welsh revolt suppressed, 1 282-1 284. Expulsion of the Jews, 1290. The Model Parliament, 1295. Confirmation of the Charters, 1297. The Scottish wars, 1 295-1307. Seal of Edward I Chief Contemporaries 147 r « „ 2 M . §0 w '-a CHAPTER VI THE RISE OF THE COMMONS Books for Consultation Sources Documents illustrating the Peasants' Rising and the Lollards, edited by Powell and Trevelyan. Langland, Piers Plowman, edited by Warren. Froissart's Chronicles, edited by Berner. The Boy's Froissart, edited by Lanier. Political Poems and Songs from Edward III to Richard HI, edited by Wright. Special Authorities Tout, Political History of England, Vol. Ill, ch. XII-XIX. Edwards, England from 1272-1486. Oman, Political History of England, Vol. IV, ch. I-VI. Stubbs, Early Plantagenets. Longman, Life and Times of Edward III. Trevelyan, England in the Age of IVycliffe. Serjeant, John IVyclif Powell, Peasant Rising in East Anglia. Gasquet, The Great Pestilence. Oman, The Great Revolt of/jSf. Burton, History of Scotland. Imaginative Literature Chaucer, Canterbury Tales. Marlowe, Edward II. Shakespeare, Richard II. Converse, F., Long Will. Rossetti, The King's Tragedy. Morris, The Dream of John Ball. Characteristic Features of the Epoch. — The fourteenth century witnessed a momentous change in the relation of classes in England. As we follow the history of its wars and civil dissensions, it seems a degenerate age, a period of waste and decay, and certainly the court and the baronage lost much 148 The Right of Taxation 149 in energy and prestige. If, however, we study the move- ments that agitated the lower ranks of society, we find symp- toms of growing power. The serf, the artisan, the small freeholder, the merchant, men of the industrial as distin- guished from the military classes, experienced an increase in prosperity that gave them courage to strive for better things. The aspirations of the people found expression in diverse ways. Thought was quickened and ennobled, -men sought to perpetuate ideas in books, and a national literature was born. The religious instinct was deepened, and a purer faith rejected the authority of a degenerate Church. The old restraints grew irksome, and men strove to free them- selves from the burdens imposed by lord and king, to secure social advancement and political influence. So it came about that in the last years of the century the people had grown strong enough to play their part in the long struggle against the arbitrary power of the king. The Right of Taxation. — Progress toward constitutional government was a direct consequence of the financial neces- sities of the crown. During the period under consideration, military expenses constituted the most serious item in the royal debit account. The determination to regain control of Scotland suggested perennial raids across the Border, while the claim to the crown of France preferred by Edward III involved England in twenty-five years of war. The burden of taxation became well-nigh unendurable. The cost of martial expeditions was defrayed by grants voted in Parliament with little grumbling, for the people were ready to pay taxes where the glory of the English name was at stake ; but the expenses of the royal household were not so cheerfully met. Men argued that the king should " live of his own," that his court should be maintained out of the revenue from the royal demesne. Now the crown estates had been considerably reduced by sale and gift since the Conqueror's day, so that the private revenue of the sov- ereign had fallen off at the same time that the life of the court had waxed more luxurious. The ordinary income of The Right of Taxation 151 the king, that from the royal estates and from legitimate aids and customs, was probably at this time about ^65,ooo. x Of this sum, from ;£ 10,000 to ,£15,000 was spent upon the royal household, the rest being devoted to the maintenance of the king's castles, the army, the navy, and the civil service. ;£i 5,000 was perhaps not an extravagant sum to allow for keeping up an establishment that must compare favorably with the courts of continental monarchs, but the people fretted under the burden, and a number of clumsy efforts were made to control the royal expenditure. The Charter confirmed in 1297 bound the king to levy no extraordinary taxes " without the common consent of the realm and to the common profit thereof." Edward I loyally observed the limitations so imposed, but his suc- cessors were less scrupulous. The king's lawyers were not slow to find means of evading the Charter, and the parlia- mentary records of the period abound in protests against illegal taxation. Exorbitant sums were exacted from the royal demesnes, where the people, being immediate depend- ents of the crown, could make no effective resistance ; new Traill, II, customs duties were imposed by special arrangement with I48, the merchants, export duties on wool and import duties on wine and other luxuries ; but the favorite device of a needy monarch was to borrow the money he could not raise by taxation. There was no lack of opportunity. The Jewish money-lenders, the never failing resource of preceding kings, had been banished from England ; but there were Italian bankers and Flemish merchants who might always be relied on to accommodate a royal spendthrift, and the Pope himself was not averse to loaning money on good security. These debts were of course a charge on future revenue and must eventually be made good by taxation. Money was not unfrequently extorted from wealthy English prelates and the prosperous towns of the realm, on the Traill, II, pretence of repayment, but subjects gave with a bad grace, I 4 8 - I 5°- 1 Money values must be multiplied by 10 to estimate the equivalent in money of to-day. 152 The Rise of the Commons since the royal creditor had a poor memory for such obligations and could not safely be pressed. The most vexatious resource, and that which roused deepest animosity among the people, was the so-called right of purveyance. On the magnificent royal progresses through the realm, the king's officers provided for the needs of his household at the expense of the inhabitants. Food and shelter were demanded at the lowest prices and with no security for payment. The carts and horses, even the personal ser- vices of the peasants, were called into requisition, not merely for the king's use, but at the convenience of any one of the royal officers who dared ask them in the king's name. This abuse of power was frequently protested, and reform was no less frequently promised, but since it was an ancient privilege and dear to the heart of royalty, it was not readily relinquished. No practice was better calculated to bring home to the understanding of the common people the inconveniences of tyranny. Green, Edward II (1307-1327). — These questionable preroga- tives of the crown were enlarged to dangerous proportions by Edward II. The foolish and incompetent son of the great Edward was not so much despotic as self-willed and indulgent. He looked upon his realm as a fair pasture wherein he and his friends might batten at their will. The prime favorite was Piers Gaveston, a needy French courtier, brilliant and lovable even at this distance of time and space, a loyal friend but a dangerous adviser. For this petted gallant, great estates were carved from the royal demesne. He was made Earl of Cornwall, and when the king went over-sea to bring home his French bride, Gav- eston was appointed regent of the realm. The gay Gascon showed little discretion. He boldly enriched his relatives at the expense of the royal treasury and flung gibes at the great English lords, reckless of their sullen wrath. His insolence soon involved himself and his master in difficulties. In 13 10 a convention of the barons, under the lead of Thomas of Lancaster, the king's cousin, presented a pp. 207-209. The Loss of Scotland 153 solemn protest. They complained that the people were burdened by heavy and illegal taxes, while the kingdom lay undefended, the money that should have been devoted to the Scotch war being wasted on unworthy favorites. The Green, king attempted no resistance, but allowed the government pp- 226 « 22 7> to be placed in commission for a year. Twenty-one Lords Lords Ordainers were appointed to act for the king, and a series Ordainers. of ordinances was drawn up which Edward was forced to confirm. Gaveston was banished from the realm, together with the Italian bankers who had connived at the royal extravagance. The king was forbidden to alienate the royal demesne and was told that he must hereafter " live of his own." No unusual taxes might be levied, nor could the king raise an army, go to war, or quit the realm without con- sent of the barons. Parliament was to be convened at least once a year to consider such requests from the king. This was as signal a triumph as that won over Henry III in 1258. The Loss of Scotland. — The Ordinances gave the barons Green, control of the government, but the division of responsibility PP- 21I ~ 216 - proved disastrous. When in 13 14 news came that Stirling, the last stronghold of the English in Scotland, was about to fall into the hands of the Bruce, and the king, moved to a source-Book, great effort, led an army to its rescue, the barons refused to pp- 9 2 . 93- follow on the ground that the Lords Ordainers had not consented to the war. The Scotch were not so divided. Noble and peasant fought side by side for a common cause, and in the battle of Bannockburn (1314) they won an Bannock- overwhelming victory. The union of the two kingdoms, burn > Z 2H projected by Edward I, was brought to naught. Even the oath of homage formerly rendered by the king of Scots to the king of England was henceforth withheld. The dis- content of the English found vent in frequent raids across the Border, which were promptly retaliated in kind, and the whole north country was wasted by war for a century to come ; but the lost kingdom was not reconquered. In the bitter struggle against their would-be masters, the Scots sought aid in France. The alliance enhanced the dangers Civil War 155 of the situation, since the French were now added to the ring of hostile Celts that encompassed the English domain. Civil War. — Meantime the quarrel between Edward and Green, the barons approached a crisis. The king refused to banish pp ' 2I °' 2I1 Gaveston, and the favorite was seized and put to death by the irate barons (131 2). Edward was for the moment unable to retaliate, but when his new favorites, the De- spensers, were attacked, he took up arms against his foes, got possession of Lancaster, and condemned him to be beheaded as a rebel against the royal authority. His exe- cution gave rise to a blood feud in which Edward's parti- sans were likely to be outnumbered. The Despensers had the good sense to see that the king's best course was an appeal to the loyalty of the people. A Parliament was therefore convened in 1322, the Ordinances were repealed, and it was decreed that all matters concerning the king and the realm must be enacted in full Parliament with the con- sent of the "prelates, earls and barons, and the commonalty of the realm." Thus the powers arbitrarily assumed by the barons were restored to the national assembly. This principle, if accepted in its full import by the king, would have guaranteed him against further revolt, but Edward's foolish fondness for his favorites had raised up foes in his own household. His queen, Isabel, resolving to avenge the slights put upon her, fled with her paramour, Roger Mortimer, to France. Prince Edward joined her there, and the three concerted rebellion. Landing on the south coast (1326), they were joined by the leading barons. London declared for the prince, the Despensers were hanged, and a Parliament was convened at Westminster, where the helpless king was forced to abdicate, and young Edward was proclaimed king in his stead. The principal actors in this poor tragedy were, it is true, inspired by self- ish and unworthy motives, and hardly deserved the success they achieved ; but they wrought better than they knew. In appealing to Parliament to displace an unworthy king, the victors revived the ancient right of the nation and i 5 6 The Rise of the Commons Green, pp. 223-231. Traill, II, 42. acknowledged in the national assembly an authority supe- rior to that of the sovereign. Edward III (1327-1377). — Coming to the throne under such conditions, Edward III could not consistently dispute the authority of Parliament. Indeed, he was not the man to enter into a constitutional contest. The third Edward was by instinct a general, not a statesman, and his energies were absorbed in the long war with France. So long as Parlia- ment sanctioned his military enterprises and voted supplies for his army, he was ready to make any concessions required of him. The French Crown. — Of the continental dominions of Henry II, Aquitaine only remained, and this fair province was wavering in her allegiance and inclined to admit the suzerainty of the French king. Edward III was ambitious to restore the military prestige of his race, and entered thoughtlessly into the project of conquest which ultimately cost England dear. Grounds of quarrel were not lacking. The aggressions of Philip VI in Guienne, his alliance with the Scots, his demand that Edward should make good the damage done to French merchants by English sailors in the Channel, — all these were serious grievances, but they did not justify Edward's pretensions to the French crown. His claim 1 was based on the fact that he was, through his mother, Isabel, the only surviving grandchild of Philip the Fair, while Philip VI was but the son of a younger branch. The French courts repudiated the claim, citing the Salic law to prove that the succession could not be claimed through a woman, but this was a mere lawyer's quibble. The essential Claim of Edward III to the throne of France : - Philip III, the Bold, 1270-1285 Philip IV, the Fair, 1285-1314 Louis X, Philip V, 1314-1316 1316-1322 Charles of Valois I Philip VI, 1328-1350 Charles IV, Isabel, m. Edward II I 1322-1328 John, the Good, 1350-1364 Edward III I Charles V, the Wise The Invasion of France 157 right of Philip, and that which Joan of Arc urged for his successor one hundred years later, was that the French people should be ruled by a French king. Of the two monarchs, Edward was far better equipped for war. The export of wool to Flanders brought a steady revenue to the merchants in return cargoes, to the royal treasury in the form of export duties. The English army was made up in good part of levies of yeoman archers, who, being liberally paid for their service on foreign soil, insured to the king a stanch and loyal force. Philip could bring against these trained foot-soldiers only an unruly feudal array. The bulk of his troops were mounted knights, the liveried retainers of the great vassals. Discipline, general- ship, were impossible. There was in France no system of national taxation such as the English Parliament afforded. The moneys wrung from the common people were spent by the court and nobility in wasteful display. Edward feared invasion from Scotland ; Philip had to cope with no less a danger in the hostility of the Flemish cities. He had foolishly incurred the wrath of the burghers by laying an embargo on English wool, and they were ready to furnish harborage and supplies to the fleet of his rival. Edward could count also on aid from Hainault, the home of his queen, Philippa. The Invasion of France. — The first encounter took place off the Flemish coast. In the battle of Sluys (1340) the French fleet was destroyed, and the Channel was rendered safe for the English transports. Four years later, Edward ordered a general attack. One army was sent to Guienne, another to Brittany, while a third, under the immediate command of the king, landed at Barfleur. The chief Nor- man cities, Cherbourg, Caen, and Rouen, fell easy prey, and the English army advanced unopposed on Paris. But Ed- ward dared not risk a decisive battle so far from his base of supplies. He crossed the Seine and retreated northward, closely followed by the French. Overtaken at Crecy, he chose a favorable position and turned on his triumphant The English Triumph 159 pursuers. The battle proved the weakness of a feudal force brought face to face with disciplined troops. The stout English archers valiantly stood their ground, while the French knights Crecy, 1346. pushed to the front in defiance of orders, ruthlessly treading down the Genoese mercenaries in their path. The whole array was thrown into hopeless con- fusion and the rout was com- plete. Philip and the surviving nobles fled to Paris, and Edward was left free to invest Calais, a prosperous French port much coveted by English mer- chants. After an obstinate siege of twelve months' duration the town was forced to capitulate. The citizens were required to swear allegiance or leave the place, and Calais was peopled with English. It became a mart for the wool, lead, and tin ex- ported from Britain. The eight years' truce that Genoese crossbowman followed the fall of Calais was necessitated by the exhaustion of both parties to the war. Parliament refused to grant taxes and there was difficulty in filling up the depleted ranks of the army. The Black Death, a mysterious pestilence originating in the Orient, reached France in 1347 and England the following year. The dread disease slew thousands in a day and depopulated towns. The fighting force of both kingdoms was reduced by half. The English Triumph. — The war was renewed by the sons of the original contestants. King John had not the martial qualities of his father. Foolish and goodnatured, he possessed neither the wisdom to avoid war nor the reso- lution to prosecute an effective campaign. Edward, the i6o The Rise of the Commons Poitiers, 1356. Black Prince, was a brilliant and daring warrior, but his personal courage was offset by a cruelty and greed that rendered him the prince of plunderers. In 1355 he landed at Bordeaux and ravaged the insurgent province of Guienne. Pushing north into Poitou, he encountered King John's army at Poitiers. Discipline and generalship again gave the victory to the English. The heedless valor of the French knights betrayed them to the deadly rain of yeoman arrows. ft i£§& Effigy of the Black Prince The dauphin with the flower of the French nobility fled the field. King John was taken prisoner and sent across the Channel to be held for ransom. Here, as at Crecy, the wreck of the French army was due to the vanity and turbu- lence of the feudal lords. Even Froissart, the chronicler of chivalry, records that " the nobles who returned from the battle were so hated and abused by the communes that they scarcely could venture to set foot in any of the good towns." Brilliant as was this victory, it did not secure the kingdom. The open country lay at the mercy of the invader, but the fortified places held loyally by the worth- less John. The Black Prince marched through Aqui- taine, burning villages and laying waste the cultivated fields, but such victories only served to embitter the French against his rule. City after city rose in revolt, and the barons summoned their retainers to a crusade against the foreigners. Finally peace was concluded (Bretigny, 1360). England Undone 161 King Edward renounced his claim to the throne of France, but he was conceded the sovereignty of all the provinces south Peace of of the Loire, together with Calais and Ponthieu. King Br etigny John was to be ransomed at a cost of three million francs in gold. England yielded her pretensions to the Flemish allegiance, while France agreed to abandon her Scotch allies. England Undone. — The dauphin who fled from the bloody field of Maupertuis, was no soldier, but he developed a capacity for statescraft that made him more than a match for the Black Prince. Charles the Wise never faced his brilliant adversary in the open field, but he undertook to destroy the English army by cutting off its supplies. To this end he garrisoned the cities, but left the country dis- tricts to the cruel mercies of the enemy. The " free companies," lawless freebooters in the guise of military commands, dreaded the justice-loving king, and threw in their fortunes with the Black Prince. Thus the English won an evil reputation for rapine and violence, and their few adherents were alienated. Prince Edward marched to the very gates of Paris, pillaging and burning, but he won no territory. The return march was more disastrous than a battle lost, for two-thirds of his army perished from starva- tion and disease. At last the Black Prince, worn out by the exertions of these bloody years, returned to England to die. The Earl of Pembroke, who succeeded him in command, was unable to make a landing in Aquitaine. Attacked by the French fleet off La Rochelle, he met with La Roche crushing defeat. He himself was taken prisoner, and his vessels, even to the treasure ship, were captured and sunk. This loss was fatal to the English cause. Ponthieu, Guienne, and Gascony declared for France and drove out the alien garrisons. By 1374 nothing of the conquest remained save the seaports Calais, Cherbourg, Brest, Bordeaux, and Bayonne. Social and Constitutional Results. — The long and costly struggle was not merely fruitless, it was demoralizing. Courage and knightly honor were fostered, it is true, by these years of desperate adventure, but the same conditions M l62 The Rise of the Commons Palgrave, House of Commons. Green, pp. 247, 248. bred brutality and lawlessness. Campaigning at an end, the nobles returned to England to spend in reckless extrava- gance the wealth amassed abroad. The common soldiers came home, broken in health and fortune, to find that opportunities to earn an honest living were generally closed to them. They readily drifted into vagabondage and crime. Disastrous as were the French campaigns, they served one useful purpose. They furnished the opportunity for constitutional progress. Great armies could not be main- tained without frequent appeals for money, and the Parlia- ments of this period were not slow to utilize such occasions for extorting concessions. Grants were voted only in return for redress of grievances, and the king was forced to sur- render, one after another, the most cherished prerogatives of the crown. Exclusive right of taxation was accorded to Parliament, together with the power to specify the object to which the supply should be devoted. The royal accounts were examined by auditors appointed by Parlia- ment, and the king's ministers were held responsible to the representatives of the people. These were great and important gains. They secured to Parliament in the four- teenth century authority almost coextensive with that exer- cised by the House of Commons to-day. Organization of the Two Houses. — Forty-eight Parlia- ments were convened in the fifty years of Edward Ill's reign, and the mass of business considered rendered effective organization necessary. The methods of procedure then determined upon are still observed, curious and antiquated though many of them seem. By 1343 the representatives of the several estates had established the custom of meeting in two distinct assemblies, the House of Lords and the House of Commons. In the House of Lords, the lineal descendant of the Great Council, sat some fifty barons and as many great ecclesiastics, who together represented the interests of a small fraction of the English nation, the privileged orders. Knights and burgesses originally sat apart as representing sepa- rate interests, but they gradually learned how much might be The Good Parliament 163 gained by alliance. The knight spoke for his shire and the burgess for his borough, but both stood for the interests of the middle classes as opposed to those of the barons and clergy. Their union in the House of Commons was an important step in the process of constitutional development. Jointly the two estates gathered courage to undertake reforms that neither would have ventured alone. Misgovernment of the King's Ministers. — The reign of Edward III, held to be so brilliant by contemporary annalists, drew to a close in grief and gloom. Control of the Channel was lost at La Rochelle, and French pirates threatened the coast towns. The Prince of Wales was sick unto death. The old king was in his dotage. Ruled by his greedy, unscrupulous mistress, Alice Ferrers, he weakly yielded to the clamors of the cunning parasites who battened on the royal treasury. Bribery, peculation, fraud, every form of corruption, was rife at court. The ostentatious extravagance of the upper classes showed in startling contrast to the misery of the people. The government had fallen into the hands of John of Gaunt, a younger son of Edward III, 1 and the ablest of his house. He made but selfish use of his great power. Allying himself in political trickery with Alice Perrers, he winked at the malpractices of the court. When Parliament at last set about the work of reform, the Duke of Lancaster was recognized as a most dangerous opponent. The Good Parliament (1376). — The grievances of the Green, people were voiced by the House of Commons, now at last pp- 2 33~ 2 35- grown strong enough to act in advance of the Lords. En- couraged by the support of Prince Edward, they presented a remonstrance, boldly complaining of the extravagance and corruption of the court and denouncing the king's ministers 1 The last of the Angevins : — Edward III I 1 i i r 1 Edward, the Black Lionel, Duke John of Gaunt, Edmund, Thomas, Prince, d. 1376 of Clarence Duke of Lancaster Duke of York Duke of 1 I I I Richard II, 1377-1399 Philippa Henry IV , Gloucester Richard Anne 164 The Rise of the Commons Impeach- ment of the king's officers, 1370. as evil counsellors. At first the reformers carried every- thing before them. Lyons and Latimer, officers of the king, were accused of gigantic financial frauds and solemnly im- peached. Heavy fines were imposed on Alice Perrers and others, convicted of receiving bribes. A Council of Govern- ment was chosen, composed of men who could be trusted to guard the interests of the nation. Petitions were pre- sented, one hundred and forty in number, protesting against the maladministration of the kingdom. The old king bent his head before this storm of indignation and granted all that was asked of him, but Lancaster bided his time. The death of Prince Edward that same year struck the ground from under the feet of the reform party. His son Richard was but a child of ten years, and John of Gaunt aspired to the succession. Hardly was the Good Parliament dissolved when its acts were arbitrarily revoked ; Alice Perrers, Lati- mer, and Lyons were recalled, and the leaders of the reform party punished. Lancaster convened a Parliament the following spring, having first looked well to it that the representatives sent to the House of Commons should be such as would serve his purpose. From an assembly so packed no resistance was to be feared, and necessary supplies were granted without opposition. So the first attempt of the Lower House to reform the government was undone because there was not in the representative body sufficient staying power for persistent opposition. Minority of Richard II. — Immediately on the death of the old king, a council of regency was appointed with John of Gaunt at its head. His administration was far from brilliant. The war with France was renewed, but carried on with so little energy that Ghent and Flanders passed into French control, and the Flemish trade, a rich source of profit, was lost to England. France grew so bold as to undertake invasion in her turn. A force was landed in the Isle of Wight and rav- aged the south coast. The formidable insurrection of the people that broke out in 1381 was in its political aspects a protest against the misgovernment of Lancaster. Richard II Westminster Abbey. Perhaps the oldest authenticated Portrait in England Richard II 's Deposition 165 The inconstant Gaunt went over-sea in 1386 to follow a wild-goose chase in pursuit of the Spanish crown, and the regency came to the hands of the youngest of the king's uncles, the Duke of Gloucester. Hitherto Richard had been allowed to choose his own ministers and to waste the royal revenues unmolested. Inquiry was now made into the abuses of the court, and a council of reform was intrusted with the government. The king's effort to free himself was successfully withstood by the Lords Appellant, 1 and the "Merciless Parliament" (1388), acting at the instance of "Merciless Gloucester, impeached the friends and ministers of Richard Patlia - and condemned them to death. Thus far the young king I388- ' had seemed a submissive tool in the hands of the party in power; but in 1389 he suddenly shook off the restraint of the Council, announced himself of age, and took possession of the government. The Absolutism of Richard II. — For eight years Richard reigned in accordance with constitutional forms, but, in 1397, this policy was sharply reversed. Having secured a long truce with France by his marriage with the daughter of Charles VI, Richard, relieved of the embarrassment of foreign war, found his hands free to strike the long-delayed blow at the Lords Appellant. One after another they were seized, executed, or sent into exile. A packed Parliament voted their condemnation, declared the acts of the " Merci- less Parliament " void, granted the king a wool subsidy for life, and vested the legislative power in a permanent com- mittee made up of twelve peers and six commoners. Rich- ard now seemed absolute. Taxes were levied without regard Green, to right or usage. Men were even compelled to sign blank PP- 26j . 26z - promises to pay, which the king filled up with the sum he chose. Richard's enemies were thrown into prison or sent into exile without show of right. His Deposition. — But the work of two centuries could not 1 The five great nobles who brought accusation of treason against the king's counsellors, — Gloucester, Arundel, Warwick, Nottingham, and Bolingbroke, 1 66 The Rise of the Commons be so easily undone. The party of resistance found a leader Henry in Henry Bolingbroke, Duke of Hereford, son and heir of Bohng- John of Gaunt. The prince, exiled by arbitrary decree of the king, returned in 1399 to claim not only his confiscated ancestral estates, but the crown itself. All elements of the opposition flocked to his standard, — outraged nobles no less than rebellious commons. Richard, betrayed into the hands of his foes, was forced to resign the throne. " Your people, my lord," said Lancaster, " complain that for the space of twenty years you have ruled them harshly ; however, if it please God, I will help you to rule them better." " Fair cousin," responded the helpless Richard, " since it pleases you, it pleases me well." The king was tried in full Par- liament and declared to be " useless, incompetent, and altogether insufficient and unworthy." The grounds for deposition were faithlessness toward divers of the great lords, transgression of the constitutional rights of the nation, and the assertion of absolute sovereignty. It was the tragic failure of Edward II repeated, but with a deeper significance. We may see a Piers Gaveston in Robert de Vere and a Thomas of Lancaster in the Duke of Gloucester ; but Rich- ard was a stronger man than Edward. His real character and purposes are probably distorted in the partisan report given us by the friends of the rival dynasty. It is evident, however, that he definitely projected an absolute sovereignty. The victory of Lancaster may thus be justly regarded as the triumph of constitutional government. Intellectual Revival. — In the realm of thought as well as in that of politics, the influence of the people began to make itself felt. The barren controversies of the scholastics were cast aside by the new university students. Men turned from the contemplation of abstruse problems of theology to more vital social and moral questions. It was most natural that this humanist literature should be expressed in the speech of the people. The fourteenth century, indeed, witnessed the final triumph of the English language. Though Latin continued for some time yet to Chancer 167 be spoken in the universities, English was, by the reign of Richard II, commonly used in the lower schools, and from Green, that time the native speech began to be used in Parliament pp ' 235, 2 3 6- and in the courts of law. French was still affected by the aristocracy ; but Chaucer and Langland and Wiclif, the great writers of the age, made noble use of the native tongue. Chaucer. — In Geoffrey Chaucer, the effect of Norman blood and continental culture makes itself felt by a lightness and grace foreign to the Saxon genius ; but in a certain simplicity and sincerity of ex- pression, in the frank realism of his thought, he is wholly English. His Canterbury pil- grims prance gayly through blooming lanes to the music of song and bagpipe, shortening the way with merry tales. The characteristic figures of mediaeval English society ride in the picturesque cavalcade. First of the merry company appears the courteous knight who has proved his valor on many a battlefield of France. Well he loves " truth and honor, freedom and courtesy." He and the blithe young squire who holds pace at his side, " a lover and a lusty bachelor," represent the best fruit of mediaeval chivalry. The attendant yeoman, " clad in coat and hood of green," bearing in hand a " mighty bow," may well be one of Chaucer 168 The Rise of the Commons those who fought at Crecy and Poitiers. Worthy to ride among the gentry, in his own estimation at least, is the merchant with forked beard and foreign dress, " boasting always the increase of his winning." Of the gentry, too, are the sergeant of law, " wary and wise," a consequential body who ever " seemed busier than he was," and the doctor of physic who has grown rich on the Black Death and is dressed in scarlet and sky-blue silk like a great gentleman. The penniless clerk of Oxford bestrides a horse as lean " as is a rake." Hollow-eyed and sober, clad in threadbare coat, it is clear at a glance that like his great predecessor, Roger Bacon, he spent all he could beg or borrow " on books and on learning." A very differ- ent character is the fresh and ruddy franklin (freeholder), of excellent appetite, in whose hospitable hall it " snowed of meat and drink." The worthy vassal of a great lord, he has many times represented his shire in Parliament and has even served as sheriff of the county court. It is a marvellously vivid picture, a panorama of mediseval society, which teaches more of actual conditions than many a learned volume ; but it is after all a superficial view that Chaucer gives us. He does not adequately represent the forces at work in fourteenth-century England. His is the eye of an artist, delighting in the play of light and shade, and overlooking the sadder aspects of life. Green, William Langland. — Not so Langland; the rugged, in- PP- 255-258. artistic lines of this poor village priest bear witness to the Traill II § rim life-battle waged by the men of humble birth. The 225-228. world was to him no gay show where a man might look on at the play, a disinterested spectator. Chaucer could jest at the corruption of the clergy, the venality of the courts, the arrogance of the upper classes, the servile vices of the poor, for, well-fed gentleman that he was, his personal happiness and that of his social order were not at stake ; but to Langland, born and bred among the people, making their struggle and sorrow his own, the misery of a world out of joint was a matter of galling personal experience. William Lang land 169 In the Vision of William concerning Piers Plotvman, we are shown, not a jocund cavalcade riding through April sunshine, but a panorama of busy toil. Wandering on Malvern Hills, bathing a troubled spirit in the beauty of a May morning, the poet sinks down in weariness by a brook- side and falls asleep. He dreams that the world lies before him, "a fair field full of folk." Toward the east, standing out clear against the sunlight, rises a tower, which is the habitation of Truth, the Father and Redeemer of men. On the other hand the ground sinks to a deep vale where lies a dungeon, " the castle of care." Wrong dwells therein, the Father of Falsehood, the Tempter. In the plain be- tween, all manner of men, the mean and the rich, are The Pro- logue to Piers the Plowman. Bakers and Cooks, a.d. 1338-1344 From " Ms. Bodl. Misc. 264," in Green, Short History of the English People "working and wandering as the world asketh," unconscious of the influences that play upon them, moving them for evil or for good. Serfs toil at the plough, with rare intervals for pastime, painfully winning what their glutton lords will soon waste in revelry. Merchants buy and sell, making snug fortunes in thriving trade. Barons are here, and their bondsmen, burgesses and city rabble, side by side. All manner of artisans, men and women, ply their trades, bakers and brewers and butchers, tailors and tinkers, and weavers of woolen and linen cloth. These are thrifty craftsmen and well able to earn their own living ; but one sees others, lazy louts, good for nothing but spading and ditching, who while away the tedium of the day's labor with ribald songs. 170 The Rise of the Commons Some there are who manage to live without work. These wander through the land singing gay glees in rich men's halls, or, feigning folly, earn many a good penny by tumbling and jesting. Stout beggars, too, with whining lies, entreat the alms that will be spent in drunken riot. Here and there in the motley throng run cooks and their serving boys crying, " Hot pies, hot ! Nice roast pigs and geese ! Come and dine, come ! " while taverners stand at the inn door calling out the merits of their choice drinks, the red wine of Gascony and the white wine of Alsace. Some, turning their backs upon such fleshly delights, give themselves to prayer and penance, hoping to " win heaven's bliss." A hundred or more sly fellows are hanging about, law ser- geants, " who plead a case for pence and pounds, never for love of our Lord." This picture of the world, as it looked to an honest priest, would be incomplete without the pious rout of monks and friars, pilgrims and palmers that go to Rome to do honor to the saints, and return with " leave to lie all their life after " ; wanton hermits, long-legged lubbers, who, being too lazy to work, wear the celibate's habit and live at their ease; friars in plenty — " all the four orders" — preaching to the people for their own profit, interpreting the Scriptures to suit their own purposes. In the midst stands a pardoner, armed with a papal bull, and professing to have power to absolve men from falsehoods and broken vows. The igno- rant people believe him and throng to his feet, bringing rings and brooches and hard-earned pennies to pay for the Pope's indulgence. Langland pours out the vials of his wrath upon the monks and friars. Toward the secular clergy he is somewhat less severe, but the parish priests are depicted as complaining that their people are too poor to support them and begging leave to go up to London, that they may win silver by singing masses for the rich in sculp- tured chantries. The superior clergy, too, desert their rural charges and flock to London with the rest, hoping for some fat office in the king's employ. The Popular Protest 1 71 Langland's Vision was one of the most popular books of its day. Written in the rough vernacular, its alliterative verse caught the ear of the people and fixed itself in peas- ant memory. Reading was still a rare accomplishment, but this poet of democracy had disciples and interpreters who carried his message far and wide. Gathered about a tavern table or lounging on the village green, the group of rustics listened while some gaunt clerk of Oxford read the story of the humble Plowman, the Christ returned to earth, who so gently teaches knight and cleric their duty, guiding wander- ing pilgrims to the well-nigh forgotten shrine of Truth. The seed so sown bore fruit in the Lollard movement and in the Peasant Revolt. Wealth and Corruption of the Church. — This is the de- generate period of the English Church. Wealth and power had so far contaminated the upper ranks of the hierarchy that the superior clergy regarded themselves as privileged recipients of the contributions of the faithful, rather than as the servants of the Church of Christ. The ambitious and the lazy found holy orders much to their liking, and crowded into the Church and the monastic establishments until they far outnumbered the religious requirements of the nation. Their maintenance imposed a heavy burden on the resources of the country. The Church held fully one-third of the landed property in England, while the income from the offerings of the people amounted to twice the royal rev- enue. Great ecclesiastics like Wykeham, Bishop of Win- chester, used the diocesan revenues to build magnificent additions to their cathedrals. The beautiful churches they erected contributed more to the cause of art than to that of religion, since the cost was paid by a grudging people. The Popular Protest. — The influence of the Church over Green, the minds and hearts of the people was not strong enough PP- 2 5 2 - 2 53- to enable the clergy to withstand the protest raised by the awakened thought of England. Chaucer's polished sarcasm and Langland's fierce denunciation were echoed by many lesser observers. Jests and gibes against the clergy 172 The Rise of the Commons Trevelyan, ch. IV, V. Traill, II, 157-160. The Babylonish captivity. found ready listeners in the hut of the peasant and at the court of the king. Yet the spirit of religion was not dead in England. Men knew and loved righteousness and pure devotion. " When all treasures are tested, Truth is the best," says Langland in the person of Holy Church, and Chaucer reverences the good priest who practised even better than he preached. Protest against the pretensions of the Church found ex- pression in deed as well as in word. Schools for secular education were opened at Oxford and Cambridge. More colleges than monasteries were founded, more hospitals than friaries. 1 A series of parliamentary enactments undertook to restrain the power of the Pope and to check the worldly ambitions of the English clergy. The Statute of Praemunire (1353) forbade the reception or execution of bulls from the Pope, together with any appeal from English tribunals to the papal court. The Statute of Provisors (1351) denied to the Pope the right of appointing foreigners to English benefices. In 1366, the tribute of one thousand marks, which John had promised to the Holy See, but which had not been paid for thirty years, was refused once for all. The Good Parliament protested against other papal exactions. " The Pope's reve- nue from England alone is larger than that of any prince in Christendom. 2 God gave his sheep to be pastured, not to be shaven and shorn." In 1377 was mooted the question whether, in view of the impoverished state of the country, Peter's pence might not properly be withheld. Such bold defiance of the Holy See was justified in the minds of con- temporary Englishmen by the degenerate state of the Pa- pacy. These are the years (1309-13 7 7) of the " Babylonish captivity." The Popes dwelt in exile at Avignon, an iso- lated bit of papal domain which lay so near the territo- ries of the king of France that it could hardly escape his influence. The English people scoffed at " the French 1 There were 78 colleges and 192 hospitals founded in England during the fourteenth century, but only 64 monasteries. 2 20,000 marks a year were sent to the papal treasury. Wiclif and the Reform Movement 173 Pope " and suspected him of being but a puppet in the hands of their foe. In 1378 began the Great Schism; and for fifty years thereafter the rival Popes of Rome and Avignon contested the powers and privileges of the Holy See. This unholy dissension further alienated the loyalty of thinking men, till it became evident that reform could Wiclif not long be delayed. The attack on the English clergy was led by John of Gaunt. The political honors of the great churchmen were intolerable to this ambitious prince, and he set about curbing their pretensions. A statute passed in 1 37 1 declared the clergy disqualified for civil office, and a tax was levied on Church lands acquired since 1292. Wiclif and the Reform Movement. — On the part of Lancaster and the lords, this assault on the power and wealth of the Church was not disinterested, but they found 74 The Rise of the Commons Green, PP- 235. 2 3 6 . 238-244. Traill, II, 160-172. a champion whose single-hearted zeal for reform cannot be called in question. John Wiclif, the first great protestant, was a learned doctor of Oxford, whose fame had secured him the honorable post of chaplain to the king. His views on the relation of Church and State had attracted the attention of John of Gaunt, and this crafty politician had bestowed upon him the doubtful favor of his patronage. Wiclif had ably seconded the endeavor of Parliament to restrict the privileges of the Pope and the English clergy, arguing that such power and wealth were inconsistent with the teachings of Christ. The essential feature of Wiclifs reform was the endeavor to recall the Church to Apostolic Christianity. Since God had revealed Himself as the Re- deemer of men, each human soul might have access to the divine life and was responsible to God alone. The media- tion of the priest was unnecessary, and the ecclesiastical hierarchy with its pride and its greed for power was a fungous growth upon the Church of Christ. The claim of a sinful man to act as vicegerent of Christ was blasphemous. No authority could be legitimate that was not sanctioned by God. Ruler and priest alike held of him. Obedience need not be rendered nor tribute paid to an unrighteous lord, though he were the king himself. The Opposition. — Such doctrines quickly called down upon Wiclif the condemnation of the ecclesiastical authori- ties. The friars raised the first cry of alarm. Their bigotry and immorality : had excited the indignation of Wiclif, and they writhed under many a scathing denuncia- tion at his hands. Now his bold utterances against the papal supremacy gave them opportunity for revenge. Courtenay, Bishop of London, the champion of clerical privilege and the sworn foe of John of Gaunt, summoned Wiclif to defend himself against the charge of heresy. Lancaster maintained his cause, and the citizens of London made a demonstration in his behalf; but the accusation was renewed, and he was finally condemned (1382) by a synod of the clergy. The Opposition 175 The last eight years of Wiclif's life were overshadowed by persecution so persistent, so formidable, that a feebler spirit would have quailed before it ; but he maintained un- daunted confidence in God and in the truth as he saw it. The faith he defended grew clearer while he argued. Pardons, indulgences, pilgrimages, were one after another declared of no avail. The climax was reached when he boldly denied the doctrine of transubstantiation, the corner stone of priestly authority. At this his friends wavered. Preaching in the Open Air, a.d. 1338-1344 " Ms. Bodl. Misc. 264," in Green, Short History of the English People John of Gaunt protested and withdrew his support. The Peasant Revolt, which broke out at this inopportune mo- ment, was attributed to Wiclif's subversive doctrines. The condemnation of the Church Council was at last accepted by the Oxford schoolmen who had championed his cause, and the great teacher was obliged to withdraw to his parish church at Lutterworth. Here, as if despairing to accomplish reform by the aid of princes and learned men, he devoted his energies to translating the Bible into the Traill, II, speech of the people and to training disciples — his " poor pp- 222-224. priests" — who should perpetuate his message. In 1384 he was summoned to Rome to defend his doctrines 1 7 6 The Rise of the Commons Green, pp. 259, 260. Trevelyan, ch.VIII, IX. Statute against preachers of heresy (1382) not assented to by the House of Commons. Traill, II, 153 ; cf. 290. before the Pope, but a stroke of paralysis rendered the journey a physical impossibility. Condemnation was inevi- table. Wiclif died before the Pope's anathema could reach him, but his doctrine was denounced as heresy and his writ- ings were condemned to be burned. The Lollards. — Not so, however, was the work of the great reformer undone. The students of Oxford cherished his memory and the people secretly revered the valiant advo- cate of the rights of man against iniquitous privilege. His " poor priests " became most zealous evangelists. They are described in a contemporary statute as " going from county to county and from town to town in certain habits, under dissimulation of great holiness, preaching daily, not only in churches and churchyards, but also in markets, fairs, and other open places where a great congregation of people is." The writings burned in accordance with papal decree were reproduced with marvellous rapidity, and copies of Wiclif's Bible were furtively read in the homes of the nobility, in the court of the king. 1 Knighton says, doubtless with some exaggeration, that every second man one met was a Wiclifite. Industrial Progress. — A reform movement of greater immediate result than that of Wiclif and the Lollards was agitating the people during this vital century. The laboring population — the ignored nine-tenths of the nation — were waking to self-consciousness and striving to free themselves from the fetters of feudal dependence. This upward move- ment had its origin in the industrial prosperity of the period. England was sufficiently removed from the imbroglios of the Continent to escape the devastating wars that checked productive enterprise abroad. The quarrels in which the country was involved by the ambitious projects of her kings were fortunately fought out on foreign soil. They did not directly interfere with England's industrial development. In l Anne of Bohemia, the first queen of Richard II, possessed a copy of Wiclif's Bible. Through her the works of the English reformer found their way to Bohemia and there inspired the ill-fated protest of Huss and Jerome. Industrial Progress ■77 the reign of Edward III an effort was made to advance Traill, II, commercial interests, with a view to developing the tax- P p - IOO_I °7- paying power of the kingdom. Foreign merchants were ham.pp! admitted to full trade privileges within the realm and, when 74-78. they encountered the jealous opposition of the English traders, were taken under the special protection of the king. Manufactures, moreover, were systematically encouraged. England had been, hitherto, an agricultural country, and the wool cut from the backs of English sheep had been sent to Flanders to be woven and dyed. Only the coarsest cloths were manufactured at home, for skill and implements Spinning with a Distaff, early Fourteenth Century " Ms. Roy. 2 B vii," in Green, Short History of the English People were still of the rudest. With a view to developing this "infant industry," Edward III offered asylum to Flemish TheFlemish artisans, who, driven from their own land by civil strife, wea vers. gladly availed themselves of the royal favor. They settled in London, Norwich, and the eastern counties, and gradually taught English workmen better methods of weaving. The same policy was carried out in this and later centuries by i 7 8 The Rise of the Commons Green, pp. 213-220. heavy duties imposed on the importation of foreign cloths and the exportation of wool. The Artisans. — The development of the woolen industry was accompanied by a marked increase in the numbers, wealth, and influence of the artisan class. The mediaeval workman occupied a very different position from that of the modern factory operative. Machinery had not yet super- seded skill, and labor, not capital, was the essential factor in industry. The artisan was trained for his craft by seven years' apprenticeship, and might spend several years more in the trade as a journeyman laborer before his training was Traill, II, 109-114. Craftgilds. Wheel, early Fourteenth Cent " Ms. Roy. 10 E iv," in Green, Short History of the English People regarded as complete. The fully accredited workman, who had saved enough money to buy an outfit and hire a shop, could set up for himself as a master craftsman. As such, he bought his raw material, made it up with as much ex- cellence and beauty as his skill allowed, and placed the finished article in his own shop window for sale. With the increase of means, he added to the number of his looms and hired journeymen or took on apprentices as they were needed. He was capitalist, employer, and workman com- bined. Artisans following the same craft soon saw the ad- vantage of uniting for the furtherance of their common interests. Artisan associations were formed in every town where there was a considerable body of men engaged in the same trade, and were called " craftgilds " or " fellowships." The Artisans 79 Several such gilds trace their origin back to the twelfth and thirteenth centuries, but the political and economic condi- tions of the period under consideration were especially favor- able to the extension of the system. By the close of the fourteenth century there was hardly a trade or occupation that was not so organized. 1 Iron Workers, a.d. 1338-1344 "Ms. Bodl. Misc. 264," in Green, Short History 0/ the English People A monopoly of its particular industry was accorded to Cunning- the gild, and it was held responsible by the town authori- harn ' ties for the honest conduct of that trade. Fraudulent sales, dishonest or bungling workmanship, were punished by fine or withdrawal of the gild privileges. Unruly members were tried by the officers of the gild, and then handed over to the town authorities for punishment. The craft, no less than the merchant gild, undertook the relief of sick or disabled members. Hospitals were provided and charita- ble funds, from which accidental losses might be made good, and widows and orphans pensioned. These artisan associations acquired wealth and influence hardly inferior 1 There were some eighty chartered craftgilds in London. Twelve of these still exist, viz. : Mercers, Grocers, Drapers, Fishmongers, Goldsmiths, Skinners, Merchant-Taylors, Haberdashers, Salters, Ironmongers, Vintners, and Cloth-makers. [8o The Rise of the Commons Traill, II, 92-100. Green, pp. 260-262. to that of the older trade gilds. They won coordinate part in the town government and in the election of the two burgesses who represented the interests of the munici- pality in Parliament. The Agricultural Population. — In manor as well as in town, new forces were coming into action, and the restricted conditions of mediaeval life were giving way before the aug- menting prosperity of the people. The serf population, ignored and despised by lord and townsman alike, with no voice in the shire or national government and no recourse against oppression, was waking to a sense of its wrongs, making ready to assert its right* to " life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness." Here, as in the town community, economic influences were at work which, by bettering the material condition of the people, inspired them with courage to demand freedom. Throughout the fourteenth century there was a general and increasing tendency to commute labor service for money. Just as the king had been ready to convert military service into scutage, so the lord found it convenient to receive a payment of silver in lieu of the labor hitherto extorted with difficulty from the reluc- tant cultivators of his manor lands. Wherever this was ac- complished, the demesne was tilled by hired laborers, and the proprietors in the common field were left free to care for their own holdings, still paying rent in money and produce. The thrifty serf was now in a fair way to become a small peasant owner, while his less industrious or less fortunate fellow might lose his claim to the land and drift into the class of free laborers. In any case a long stride was taken toward complete emancipation when a man was once rid of the old degrading services. Effects of the Black Death. — From two great disasters of the century, the famine (1313 and 1315) and the Black Death, the working classes reaped an incidental advantage. The falling off in the number of laborers, especially after the Death, occasioned a demand for higher wages, which bailiffs were forced to pay or to leave the fields untilled. On Effects of the Black Death 181 many estates cultivation of the demesne lands was aban- doned. The consequent scarcity of provisions brought about a general rise in the price of food. Alarmed by the insistent demands of their former bond- Green, men, the landlords appealed to the king, who, without waiting PP- 262_26 4- to convene Parliament, issued an ordinance decreeing that the former rate of wages should be enforced. " Because a great part of the people and especially of the workmen have lately died of the pestilence, many, seeing the necessity of masters and the great scarcity of servants, will not serve unless they may receive excessive wages," and considering the " grievous incommodities " which from the lack " espe- cially of plowmen and such laborers may hereafter come," " the king ordains that every man and woman of whatso- ever condition he be, bond or free, able in body and within the age of three-score years, not living in merchandise, not exercising any craft, nor having property of his own whereof he may live, nor land of his own to till," shall be bound to serve the lord who shall require his labor and to take only such wages as were customarily in his parish before the Pestilence. Laborers refusing to work on these terms were liable to imprisonment, and masters offering more than the legal rate of wages should forfeit double the sum so paid. The artificers and workmen of the towns were made subject to like restrictions and penalties. The ordinance was ap- proved by Parliament 1 (135 1), and ten statutes to the same Statute of import were enacted within the next fifty years, each impos- Laborers - ing heavier penalties than the last, but in vain. Wages rose Traill, II, steadily from an average of threepence a day, in the begin- 137-146- ning of the century, to sixpence at its close. The several Statutes of Laborers were so many attempts to dam an in- coming tide. The workmen had the vantage-ground, and were able to enforce their claims. There is evidence to show that they combined to resist any return to the old rates, forming organizations quite comparable to the modern trades-unions. Violent outbreaks were not infrequent. The employing class 1 The same statute regulated the prices of provisions. 182 The Rise of the Commons Trevelyan, ch. VI. Green, PP- 251-25, Traill, II, 242-245. took alarm, and being all-influential in Parliament, passed, in 1360, the statute against " covin and conspiracy," which declared alliances of workmen against their masters illegal. The Peasants' Revolt. — Legislation could not, however, prevent combination among laborers. Secret associations were formed, with recognized leaders and pass-words. It is probable that the more radical of the Lollard priests aided the movement and served as messengers between the different sections of the country. Wiclif's saying, that obedience was not due to an unrighteous lord, was interpreted as justifying revolt. Matters came to a crisis in 138 1, when the people rose in insurrection. Adequate cause for the rising may be found in the discontent of the hired, laborers and the pro- tests of the villeins against the ignoble services still exacted by their lords ; but the immediate occasion was the imposi- tion of the poll tax in 1380. An attempt had been made to distribute the burden according to wealth and station ; the rich merchant or landowner was to pay sixty groats, 1 the poorest workman no less than one. For every child above fifteen years the tax was enacted. This was far more just than previous levies, but to the aggrieved peasant the tax was exorbitant, and its ruthless collection seemed the last un- endurable grievance. The revolt broke out simultaneously in Kent, Essex, and Hertfordshire, and spread with mar- vellous rapidity into all the southeastern counties. There were similar risings in districts as remote as York and Lan- cashire and Devon. All accounts of the insurrection are written from the view- point of the landowner or the eccle- siastic, and it is consistently represented as a wicked rebel- lion against the constituted authorities of Church and State. The insurgents first attacked the manor houses and did considerable damage, being bent on destroying the court- rolls which recorded the ancient servile dues. Then they set out for London, marching in scattered detachments, village by village. Their leader, Wat Tyler, whom Froissart describes as " a bad man and a great enemy to the nobility," 1 The groat was a coin worth ^d. , or nearly 4J. in money of to-day. The Peasants Revolt 183 had learned something of generalship in the French wars. Froissart's Arrived at London, a rabble of about one hundred thousand account - men, not one in twenty armed, they found the gates closed and the government prepared for resistance. The common people of London, however, sympathized with the revolt. In response to their protests, the gates were opened and the insurgents entered the city. Some violence was inevi- table. Savoy Palace, the residence of John of Gaunt, was burned. The archbishop of Canterbury, who, as king's chancellor, had proposed the poll tax, was beheaded, to- gether with many lawyers and some unfortunate Flemings and Lombards. Meanwhile, the king and his counsellors, safely ensconced in the Tower, debated what might be done. Should they gather the nobles and their retainers, and, falling upon the rebels in the night, kill them "like flies"? This they dared not do for fear of the sympathetic populace. It was determined to treat with the enemy, and the king sent orders that the insurgents should retire to "a handsome meadow at Mile-end, 1 where, in the summer, people go to amuse themselves." Arrived at the place, the young king rode forward bravely enough, saying : " My good peo- ple, I am your king and your lord ; what is it that you want, and what do you wish to say to me?" Those who heard him answered: "We wish thou wouldst make us free for- ever, us, our heirs, and our lands, and that we should be no longer called slaves nor held in bondage." The king re- plied : " I grant your wish ; now, therefore, return to your homes, leaving two or three men from each village .... to whom I will order letters to be given, sealed with my seal .... with every demand you have made fully granted." Thirty secretaries were immediately set to work to draw up the charters o'f manumission, and the greater part of the people departed for their homes, saying: "It is well said; we do not wish for more." Then the king's party threw off the mask of courtesy and good humor. Wat Tyler was foully murdered. Jack Straw, John Ball, and other ring- iThis is now one of the most densely populated districts of London. 184 The Rise of the Commons leaders were seized and executed without form of trial ; many serfs suffered death at the hands of their outraged masters. The* villeins had no resource, since the land- owners were all-influential in both houses of Parliament. The charters of manumission were revoked on the ground that they were granted by " compulsion, duress, and men- ace," and an act of pardon was passed, exempting from blame and pardon any lords and gentlemen who, in the emergency, had taken the law into their own hands and in- flicted bodily injury on their bondmen. Cunning- So were the people outwitted and the insurrection crushed in blood. The dominant classes proved too strong to be withstood. It is quite probable that fear of another rising induced many a lord to abate his claims, but he would still enforce what he could, and in remote districts of England serf-labor persisted into the sixteenth century. 1 The event- ual emancipation of the serfs was due, not to insurrection or legislation, but to a change in industrial conditions that ren- dered serf-labor no longer profitable. Specimen of Early Cannon Genealogical Table Henry III ! I 1 Edward I, 1274-1307 Edmund, I I Earl of Lancaster Edward II, 1307-1327 Thomas, Earl of Lancaster Edward III, 1327-1377 beheaded 1322 J Edward, the Black Lionel, Duke John of Gaunt, Edmund, Thomas, Prince of Clarence Duke of Lancaster Duke of York Duke of I I I Gloucester Richard II, 1377-1399 Philippa Henry IV, 1399-1413 1 Queen Elizabeth enfranchised the bondmen on the royal estates in 1574. Important Events 185 Important Events Reign of Edward II, 1307-1327. The Ordinances, 13 11. Battle of Bannockburn, 1314. Downfall of Lancaster, 1322. Deposition of the king, 1327. Reign of Edward III, 1327-1377. The French Wars, 1336-1347, 1354-1360, 1368-1375. The Black Death, 1349, 1361, 1369. The Good Parliament, 1376. Reign of Richard II, 1377-1399. The French Wars, 1378-1389. The Peasant Revolt, 1381. The death of Wiclif, 1384. The Merciless Parliament, 1388. Richard assumes the government, 1389. The king's coup (fit at, 1397. Deposition of the king, 1399. 1 86 The Rise of the Commons 5 ~ i-i o qS > & c± & h Q £ o fe > 9 3 Ij S .CHAPTER VII DYNASTIC WARS Books for Consultation Walsingham, Historia Anglicana. Elham, Memorials of Henry the Fifth. Sir Thomas More, Edward V. The Paston Letters. Wright, Political Poems and Songs from Edward III to Richard II Edith Thompson, The Wars of York anil Lancaster. Special Authorities Hasted, Life of Richard ILL. Lowell, foan of Arc. Green, Town Life in Fifteenth Century. Oman, Warwick; England and the Hundred Years' War. Oman, Political History of England, Vol. IV, ch. VI-XX. Edwards, England from ijjj-ijSj;. Denton, The Fifteenth Century. Imaginative Literature Shakespeare, Henry IV, Henry V, Henry VI, Richard ILL Lord Lytton, The Last of the Barons. Characteristics of the Epoch. — The fair promise of the fourteenth century was destined to fail of fulfilment. The hopes and aspirations awakened in the good times of Edward III. were undone by the great calamities which fell upon the land in the reign of his successor. War, pesti- lence, and famine wrought their hideous work, sapping the energies that should have gone into progress and expansion. The forward movement toward political, religious, and in- dustrial freedom proved premature and abortive. In the 187 1 88 Dynastic Wars fifteenth century the best achievements of the preceding age were rendered void. Degeneration and decay charac- terized every aspect of the national life. Politics dwindled into mere strife of faction, worship passed into formalism, the literary impulse ebbed, and social relations became demoralized even to brutality. Bright, I, Henry IV (1399-1413). — The first Lancastrian came to 2 7S. 2 7 6 - t ne throne pledged to respect the constitutional rights of the nation. His usurpation was a protest against the mis- government of Richard II, and success was achieved by the support of the Lords Appellant. At his coronation, he confirmed the ancient laws and charters, and promised to govern, not according to his own arbitrary pleasure but by advice of the estates assembled in Parliament, and loyally did the king keep his word. Constitutional forms were scrupulously observed. Taxes were levied and laws were passed in accordance with legal requirements. The Com- mons attained an influence in legislation equal to that of the Upper House, and the right of the people's representa- tives to a voice in all matters of national interest was fully conceded. Traill, ii, Henry IV held the crown by the will of the nation, not 277-288. ky hereditary right. This was the secret of his deference to Parliament. This, too, was the reason for his weak compliance to less legitimate demands. The king was forced to make terms with factions in the State, and never summoned courage to overrule them. He was under heavy obligations to the great lords and prelates who had combined to depose Richard, and was fain to reward their zeal by rich booty in titles and estates. Arundel x was made Archbishop of Canterbury, while the Percies 2 and the Ne- villes 8 were given ample assurance of the king's favor. The pensions granted in the first year of the reign amounted to more than the king's total income. The consequent 1 Brother of the Lord Appellant of that name. 2 The great family of Northumberland. 8 The great family of Westmoreland. Insurrection 1 89 requests for additional taxes soon quenched the loyalty called forth by Henry's regard for constitutional forms. Statute against Heretics. — The king's account with the Church was settled by prompt legislation against Lollardry. Previous measures of repression had been ineffective. The Traill, II, doctrine of Wiclif was preached through the length and 28 7~ 2 93- breadth of the land, and the reformed faith was being accepted not only by peasants and artisans, but by learned doctors and court nobility. The clergy, in alarm, appealed to the king to reenforce the ecclesiastical sentence by civil penalty. Henry had inherited nothing of his father's quar- rel with the Church, and saw in the Lollards only dangerous Green, adherents of Richard. He readily lent his influence to the PP- 26 5- 26 7- petition which resulted in the first act against heresy in- scribed among English statutes (1401). The confirmed heretic was to be burned to ashes in some high place before the eyes of the people, in order to strike fear to the hearts of any who might be wavering in the faith. Legislation restricting the privileges of the clergy would have been more popular. When, however, the Commons petitioned that the wealth of the Church should be confiscated to the uses of the State, the king sent answer that " from thence- forth they should not presume to study about any such matters." Insurrection. — Not all these efforts to conciliate the Bright, I, influential classes could guard the new-made king against 277 ~ 2 2 ' rebellion. Richard's friends soon gathered courage to assert his right to the throne. The unhappy prince was secretly murdered the year after his deposition, but his partisans would not believe he was dead. Rumors that Richard was alive, that he had been seen in Scotland, that he was rallying his forces at Chester, were rife in the land. A pretender found eager champions at the Scottish court, where Henry's reassertion of overlordship had revived all the old hostility to England. The traditional feud found Border raids, vent in a series of Border raids which came to nothing, but the English had the good fortune to get possession of young 190 Dynastic Wars Traill, II, 282-287. Glendower's rebellion. Prince James, the heir-apparent (1405), and kept him twenty years a prisoner as hostage for the good behavior of the Scots. The weakness of Henry's administration and the conse- quent misrule of the Lord Marchers occasioned revolt in the west. Under Owen Glendower, a patriotic gentleman and a former squire of Richard, the Welsh maintained for fif- teen years (1400-1415) a practical independence. In 1403, the Percies, whose allegiance the king had thought secure, proclaimed Mortimer, Earl of March, 1 rightful heir to the throne. Northumberland rose at their call, the in- surgent Welsh and Scotch joined forces with them, and though young Hotspur fell in battle, and his fellow-con- spirator, Scrope, Archbishop of York, was beheaded by order of the king's justices, it was years before the revolt could be suppressed. Across the Channel, too, the foes of 1 The rival dynasties : — Edward III I Gaunt I I Philippa inche of Lancaster, I Henry IV, 1399-1413 Henry V, 1413-1422 I Henry VI, 1422-1471 Edward, slain at Tewkesbury, 1471 By Katherine Swynford (illegitimate) I John Beaufort, Earl of Somerset John Beaufort, Duke of Somerset P Margaret Beaufort, m. Edmund Tudor, Earl of Richmond Henry VII, 1485-1509 York Richard, Earl of Cambridge, m. Anne Mortimer, beheaded, 1415 Richard. Duke of York, slain at Wakefield, 1460 Edmund Mortimer, Earl of March, died, 1424 Anne Mortimer Edward IV, 1461-1483 Elizabeth, m. Henry VII I I Edward V, Rich; murdered, 1483 George, Duke of Clarence, murdered, 1478 I Edward, _ Earl of Warwick, beheaded, 1499 Margaret, beheaded, 1541 1 Richard III, Duke of Gloucester, 1483-1485, slain at Bosworth, 148S Edward, died, 1484 The French War 19 1 England were astir. The king of France, whose daughter was Richard's queen, protested against Henry's usurpation, and sent aid to the Welsh insurgents. The Gascon cities that had remained loyal to the English mistrusted the new dynasty and lent ear to overtures from France. One by one all dangers were averted, all enemies out- witted, reconciled, or destroyed, and the realm won over to the house of Lancaster. But the task wore out the king's life. Haunted by secret doubts as to his right to the crown, weighed down by a disease which his superstitious con- temporaries believed to be the judgment of God, he grew jealous and suspicious, fearing to be displaced in his turn by the popular heir-apparent. " He reigned thirteen years," says Holinshed, "with great perplexity and little pleasure," but he left a well-founded inheritance to his son. Henry V (1413-1422). — The second Lancaster was a man of different temper. Able, upright, and generous, a brilliant warrior and a popular ruler, he was the best king of his line. Prince Hal, the gay and mischievous youth whom Shakespeare depicts as Falstaff's boon companion, was suddenly sobered by the responsibility of kingship. "He was changed into another man," says Walsingham, "studying to be honest, grave, and modest." Disturbing questions as to dynastic right died into silence before the popularity of the brave, self-confident young king. The Earl of March was received into royal favor, and the con- spiracy undertaken in his name by his brother-in-law, the Earl of Cambridge, was readily brought to naught. The king's championship of orthodoxy doubtless added greatly to the security of his administration. The statute against heretics was reenacted in 14 14, and a formidable Traill, II, rising under Sir John Oldcastle was quashed by Henry's 2 93- prompt interference. The leaders were put to death and the movement so discredited that Lollardry never again Lollard plot figured as a menace to the established order. Religious discontent smouldered in secret until the Reformation. The French War. — The renewal of the French war was The French War 193 another popular measure. Henry's claim to the French throne was slighter than that of Edward III and had even less chance of success; but its assertion was eagerly ap- plauded by Englishmen of the day. The war with France Green, had become a national feud that must be prosecuted with- pp- 26 7-27o. out regard to consequences. The barons welcomed the opportunity to win fame and plunder, while the clergy were glad to divert attention from a second proposal to confiscate ecclesiastical revenues by voting taxes for the French cam- paigns. The war, so cordially undertaken, was carried to a brilliant conclusion. The battle of Agincourt (1415) Agincourt, was a repetition of Crecy. Once again English yeomen I 4 I 5- overthrew the mailed knights of the French array with well- 3 ^L« ' directed shots from their long-bows, and once again the English army, invincible in battle, was destroyed by famine and disease. Good fortune, rather than valor, gave Henry the ultimate victory. France was demoralized by civil strife. The king, Charles VI, was imbecile, and the king- dom was divided between hostile factions. The cities were reduced to anarchic misrule, while the country lay waste and desolate. A land so distraught was not difficult to bring to terms. In 1420 the treaty of Troyes was concluded. Treaty of Princess Catherine was given to the king in marriage, the Tr °y es » rights of the Dauphin were set aside, and it was agreed that Henry was to succeed to the throne on the death of Charles VI. The next year the king came home, accompanied by his fair French bride. He was joyfully greeted by a people intoxicated with triumph, but a sinister fate awaited him. Returning to France the same year to pursue the conquest of the south, he fell ill and died only two months before the mad monarch whose crown he expected to inherit. Henry V Traill, 1 1, had dreamed of reducing his French dominions, not merely 2 9 6 - 2 97- to submission, but to order and renewed prosperity, of car- rying the terror of the English name to the far East, of conquering the Turks and restoring the Holy Sepulchre to Christian keeping; but all these great projects came to 194 Dynastic Wars nothing, for the king was cut off in the first flush of success before his initial conquests could be secured. Henry VI (1422-1471). — England was undone by his death. The Prince of Wales was but nine months old, and the realm was exposed to all the difficulties and dangers of a long minority. Parliament vested sovereign authority in a council of regency, appointing the late king's brothers, the Dukes of Bedford and Gloucester, to the government 1.;'* • i 1 &M : v-4. TV r PHmi-e': Ludlow Castle of France and England respectively. Humphrey, Duke of Gloucester, was a vain, ambitious prince who did not hesi- tate to sacrifice the peace of the country to his own ad- vancement. He was soon engaged in a fierce quarrel with Bishop Beaufort, the chancellor and his rival in the gov- ernment. The feud, ceasing only with the death of the principals, occupied the first twenty-five years of this un- Loss of the French Possessions 195 happy reign, and involved the council, the court, and ultimately the dynasty in its fatal toils. Loss of the French Possessions. — Meanwhile, Bedford was spending his splendid energy and sorely needed wis- dom in the vain endeavor to retain the French conquests. The fortunes of France had touched lowest ebb in the treaty of Troyes. With the death of the mad king, courage re- vived, and loyal Frenchmen turned to the Dauphin as the hope of the nation. Awakened patriotism found expression in the self -forgetting zeal of Joan of Arc, the peasant girl of Domremi, who believed herself sent by God to restore the rightful king and inspired the dejected forces of the Dauphin with such enthusiasm as enabled them once more to win victories from the English. A besieging force was driven back from Orleans, the strong city of the loyal south; the Dauphin was carried to Rheims, and there triumphantly crowned in the heart of the enemy's country, while one after another the fortified cities were recovered from the English garrisons. Not even the capture and barbarous execution of the Maid of Orleans could daunt the waxing courage of the French, while the death of the Duke of Bedford removed the single element of strength in the English army. Paris was lost in 1436, and Eng- land's possessions in France rapidly narrowed down to the dominions of Henry II. At home, meanwhile, matters were going badly. The little king, a delicate but precocious child, was being care- fully educated, and he showed himself an apt and submis- sive pupil. In happier times he might have become a good, even a great, sovereign; but the storm and stress of civil strife forced upon him responsibilities far beyond his strength. He was crowned king of England when only seven years of age, and king of France at ten. Again and again, while still a mere child, he was called upon to medi- ate between the great barons of the council. The death of Bedford bereft him of his only wise and disinterested minister. The fragile body and overwrought brain of the Joan of Arc. Green, Traill, II, 297-304. Source-Book, pp. 112, 113. Character of Henry VI. Source-Book, pp. 114-116. 196 Dynastic Wars Green, p. 280. boy king broke under the strain. He was still a young man when the curse of his house fell upon him and he be- came hopelessly incompetent. Pitiable was the condition of the kingdom. The people groaned under the burden of taxes imposed for the prose- cution of the French war. The heavy drafts required to fill up the ranks of the depleted army, coupled with frequent recurrences of the plague, had sensibly reduced the population. The strength of the nation was nearly exhausted, and yet Parliament was unwilling to treat for peace. Race pride revolted against a hu- miliating conclusion to the war so brilliantly begun, but the counsellors of the king, seeing that failure was inevitable, negotiated a truce. A marriage was arranged between the young king and a French princess, Margaret of Anjou, while Maine and An- jou were ceded (1448) as the price of peace. Normandy was lost in 1450, and the coast cities, Bordeaux and Ba- yonne, in 145 1. The remnant of Gascony thus passed into the hands of the French king, and Calais alone remained to England. Dynastic Difficulties. — With the close of the war, a crowd of disappointed knights and ragged soldiers returned from over-seas, seeking to better their desperate fortunes. They found the country well-nigh ruined, the king impotent, the queen generally hated because of the humiliating marriage Henry VI After the portrait in the National Portrait Gallery Dynastic Difficulties 197 treaty, and the princes of the blood royal engaged in a desperate struggle for the control of the government. Ed- mund Beaufort, Duke of Somerset, head of the illegitimate Green, branch of the Lancastrian house, had the confidence of the pp- 282_28 S- court and the queen; but he was unpopular with the people, ' " IlllllflW . Suit of Full Armor. Middle of Fifteenth Century and was charged with every disaster at home and abroad. His. rival, Richard of York, had, on the contrary, proved Richard of himself an able ruler, both in France and in Ireland. He York - was uot only heir-apparent to the childless king, but, being 198 Dynastic Wars Traill, II, 313, 3*4- descended through his mother, Anne Mortimer, from Lionel, Duke of Clarence, elder brother to John of Gaunt, he might advance a better claim to the throne than the reigning house. Distrusted by the queen's party and driven from court, his name was caught up by the malcontents as the guarantee of efficient government. Jack Cade, who incited the fruitless peasant insurrection in 1450, assumed the name of Mortimer. The " Complaint of the Commons of Kent " protested against the misgovernment of unworthy favorites, and demanded that the king recall to court "that high and mighty prince, the Duke of York." The Kentish rising, far from inducing the king to summon York to his council, only heightened the antagonism between that great lord and the court party. The Wars of the Roses. 1 — In 1453, Henry fell into a state of imbecility which endured, with brief intervals of sanity, through the remaining eighteen years of his life. The birth of Prince Edward in the same year gave an heir to the house of Lancaster. Relying on the support of powerful barons, notably the Earl of Warwick, York laid claim to the protectorate, and did not hesitate to maintain his right by force. Somerset was slain at St. Albans (1455), and Queen Margaret was left alone to defend the interests of her feeble husband and infant son. The queen was justly unpopular, since there was reason to believe that she was soliciting aid from France and Scotland against her English foes; nevertheless, she could count on the loyalty of the north and west. The Yorkist cause, on the other hand, was maintained in London and the rich and populous southeastern counties, whose commercial and industrial in- terests were dependent on efficient government. In 1459, the dynastic controversy so long smouldering broke into flame. Parliament, acting under the influence of the queen, attainted York and his principal supporters. They armed in self-defence, and the land was given over to civil war. Victory was at first with the Duke of York. At the 1 The Lancastrians wore the red rose, the Yorkists the white. 200 Dynastic Wars battle of Northampton (1460) Henry VI was taken prisoner and York laid claim to the crown. A compromise was effected by the advocates of peace; Richard was to succeed Henry VI, the claim of Prince Edward being set aside. Queen Margaret, however, rejected the arrangement and fought like a lioness for the rights of her son. Richard fell at Wakefield, but his heir, young Edward of York, proved an even stronger leader. Getting possession of London by a swift and unexpected advance, he was proclaimed king by the citizens and crowned, before the sanction of Parlia- ment was obtained, by a group of partisan lords. The bloody battle of Towton Field (146 1) wrecked the hopes of the Lancastrians. The leading men of the party were slain, and the fierce queen was forced to flee to Scotland, carrying with her the husband and son for whom she waged this desperate contest. Thus was the work of 1399 undone, and the act of deposition reversed. The coronation of Edward IV was a reassertion of hereditary right. Warwick, the King-maker. — The cause of the White Rose had been stanchly maintained by Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, near kinsman to the house of York, and the most powerful lord in England. He held great estates in the midland counties and could gather an army of trusty vassals under his banner, the ragged staff. He was further so connected by blood and marriage with other great fami- lies that he could count on the support of the major part of the English nobility. It was said that half England would rise at his word. An able politician, a man of genial manners and wide sympathies, he won the steadfast confidence of the people. "He ever had the good voice of the people," says the chronicler, "because he gave them fair words, showing himself easy and familiar." He, far more than the Duke of York, fought in the interest of good government, and the victory of the White Rose was due in great part to the confidence he inspired. After the crown was won and Edward IV established at Westminster, War- Edivard IV 201 wick was sent to guard the north country against the raids undertaken by Margaret and the Scots. It was no easy task. The indomitable queen stirred the discontent of Northumberland to revolt, and rising after rising was at- tempted, taxing the skill of Warwick to the utmost. Edward IV (1461-1483). — Meanwhile King Edward at London was pursuing his own pleasure as gayly as if his tenure of the throne was unchallenged. In 1464 he mar- Green, ried Lady Grey, rejecting the high-born brides proposed pp- 28 5~ 288 by Warwick, and proceeded to bestow titles and offices upon her numerous relatives, the Woodvilles, with slight regard to the advice of his former counsellors. This in- difference gave umbrage to his supporters. The great lords who had fought his battles expected some reward. The people found the requisitions of the spendthrift king excessive, and murmured that Lancastrian feebleness "was no worse than the reckless misrule of a York." The re- bellious commons of Yorkshire, led by Robin of Redesdale, Traill, II, protested against burdensome taxation, the alienation of 3 X 5- the royal estates to upstart favorites, and the exclusion from the king's council of the princes of the blood. Warwick Alliance of began to repent him of his work and to plot with Margaret War w ick for the restoration of Henry. It required but the weight Margaret, of his influence on the Lancastrian side to turn the tables. A sharp reversal of fortune drove the over-confident Edward beyond seas and placed Henry VI on the throne. For five Source-Bnok months the frail old man held the sceptre in his feeble PP- i 2 5" 128 - grasp. He was but a shadow king; the real sovereign was the great Earl of Warwick. In the spring of 147 1, Edward returned to England, protesting that he had come in all loyalty to King Henry, to recover but his ancestral estates. Encountering no resistance from the apathetic people, he gathered courage and claimed the throne. His brilliant generalship stood him in good stead. In the battle of Barnet, April 14, Warwick was slain. At Tewkesbury, Barnet, May 4, Prince Edward, the hope of the Lancastrians, Tewksbury fell. Margaret was taken prisoner, and the frail old king, 202 Dynastic Wars consigned to the Tower, died on the night of Edward's triumphant return to London. Political Results. — The house of Lancaster was finally ruined. Twenty years of civil strife had resulted in the triumph of the rival dynasty. It was not a constitutional struggle, like that led by Simon de Montfort, by Thomas Traill, II, of Lancaster, by the Lords Appellant. Henry IV and his 309-311. successors had been most scrupulously observant of every parliamentary form. They had neither attempted arbitrary rule nor sought to enrich themselves and their favorites at the expense of the common weal. Their failure was in "want of governance." The dynasty had not struck deep root in the loyalty of the nation because it had furnished no able administrator. In the anarchy of the times Eng- land needed above all things a strong and efficient govern- ment which should protect the weak and restore order to the disorganized State. Green, The house of York did not meet this need. The govern- pp. 288-293. men t of Edward IV was arbitrary rather than strong. Since John, no king had sat on the English throne so abandoned to vicious pleasure, so lacking in the sense of responsibility for his people. Edward had a conspicuous talent for ex- tortion, and money was wrung from his helpless subjects by new and ingenious devices. Heavy fines were imposed for fictitious offences, and "benevolences" were demanded on such terms as made this form of contribution to the king's necessities even more vexatious than the forced loans of Richard II. No class escaped the royal exactions. "The rich," says a contemporary, "were hanged by the purse and the poor by the neck." Parliament was sum- moned at rare intervals, and its principal business was the voting of forfeitures and bills of attainder against the Lan- castrian lords. No reform legislation was attempted. Richard 111(1483-1485). — Edward's sudden death (1483) left the succession ill defended. His son, Prince Edward, was but thirteen years of age. The young king's uncle, Richard, Duke of Gloucester, deformed of body, brilliant Richard 111 Painting in Winds State of the Country 203 of intellect, and of all the house of York most cruel and selfish, the man to whom tradition attributes the worst crimes of this brutal age, had enjoyed the full trust of the late king. No sooner was Edward dead than Richard began to con- Green, spire for the throne. The Woodvilles were driven from p- 2 " - court, some into exile, some to the block, and Gloucester was elected protector of the realm. The wily duke took the oath of allegiance to his young nephew, but before Edward could be crowned, his right was set aside and Richard was invited by a partisan gathering of lords and clergy, acting in the name of the three estates, to assume the crown. The boy king and his little brother were probably murdered in the Tower. Richard III was a man of sinister genius — the least Traill, II, scrupulous of his unscrupulous race. The single Parliament 3 l8 ~3 2 °- of his reign passed a series of remedial statutes, and these have been cited as evidence that the last York was maligned Horace Wai- by his successors — that the real man might have become a P ole . Historic great sovereign. Since, however, the king did not hesitate ow ts ' to set at naught the most important of these statutes, — that declaring benevolences illegal, — he can hardly be regarded as the author of the reform movement. The two years of Green, his reign were spent in the vain endeavor to defeat a rival pp- 3 r 3. 3 J 4- to the succession, Henry Tudor, Earl of Richmond, the Bosworth, last surviving heir of the house of Lancaster. At the I4 5 " decisive battle of Bosworth Field (1485), Richard was slain, and Henry was proclaimed king. State of the Country. — The misery of the people during Traill, 1 1, these years of civil strife was such as England had not 3". 3 12 - known since the evil days of Stephen. The land was laid waste by rival armies in pursuit of plunder or revenge. Crops were destroyed and cattle driven off, the very huts of the peasants were torn down and their owners left to naked beggary. Villages and towns were sacked and burned to the ground, and prosperous districts were reduced to smok- ing ruins. More men died of want than were slain in battle, and in many parts of the country the fields lay un- 204 Dynastic Wars tilled. The price of wheat fluctuated with every harvest, but again and again during the century it rose to famine rates. Pestilence followed close upon famine. The chroni- clers record some twenty outbreaks of " the Death," with hardly a space of five years free. Not only was the growth of population checked, but the number of souls actually fell below what it was in the thirteenth century. Suffering and the failure of accustomed restraints demoralized the nation. Loyalty, honor, all sense of obligation, weakened in this age of social disintegration. Treachery, breach of faith, barbarous cruelty, characterized the party leaders. Their followers, not slow to imitate the evil example, robbed and murdered in their turn. The Privileged Orders. — The Church had well-nigh lost its influence for good. Their privileges once rendered secure by the suppression of the Lollards, the clergy felt little concern for the well-being of the people. Many prel- ates, younger sons of baronial families, took an active part in the civil strife, and proved themselves only a shade less faithless than their non-tonsured allies. For example, George Neville, Archbishop of York, betrayed London to King Edward (147 1) as the price of his personal safety. The aristocracy was decimated in the course of the Train, II, dynastic struggle. 1 Many old houses were extinguished, 329-332. a u t h e men f the family having fallen in battle. Many more were impoverished. The wasteful expenses entailed in one hundred and twenty years of public and private war, and the cost of maintaining the splendid establishments re- quired by the fashion of the times, were a heavy charge, while the returns from landed property were diminishing. Wealth and influence were centred in a few great families. There were half a dozen peers whose power rivalled that of royalty itself. The Earl of Warwick boasted so large a fol- lowing that six oxen were daily slaughtered to provide his l The loss of life was heaviest among the nobility. At the battle of North- ampton, Warwick gave orders that none should slay the commoners, but only the lords, with whom lay the responsibility for the war. The Baronage 205 breakfast table. The Duke of Buckingham's rental was es- timated at one hundred and eighty thousand pounds, in money of to-day, while in his great hall of Thornbury two hundred guests partook of his bounty. The Earl of Berke- ley was accompanied on his journeys by a retinue of one hundred and fifty retainers dressed in his livery. A baron's Traill, II, strength was measured by the number of followers he could 3 2 9~334- Source-Book, Raglan Castle From a photograph maintain. Such attendants were fed and clothed, armed and mounted, by their lord, and were entitled to a share in pp. 117. "8. the booty of war. In return for such " livery," 1 the man bound himself to espouse his lord's quarrels, to answer his summons, and to follow him to battle, at home or abroad. It was just such a relation of mutual service and protection as existed between the Saxon earl and his thegn. There 1 Livery {liberatio) was originally the allowance in clothing and food provided for each retainer. 206 Dynastic Wars was, in fact, in the disorganized state of society, a reversion to feudalism. Backed by their armed retainers, powerful nobles made war upon each other in pursuit of personal ends. Fierce feuds and private broils were of frequent oc- currence. There was no authority strong enough to cope with the turbulent gentry. Kings were but their creatures, and the courts of justice could not withstand their influence. A powerful noble had only to appear before the justice with several hundred henchmen at his back to secure the rever- sal of an unpalatable sentence. From Edward III to Henry VII this was a growing evil. No less than twelve statutes were enacted against the giving of liveries and the mainte- nance 1 of false quarrels; but legislation could effect nothing when there was no strong central authority to put the law into execution. In the ignoble strife for possession of the crown, the royal authority was discredited. The institutions of government, local as well as central, were demoralized, and the kingdom lapsed into anarchy. Parliament, for- merly the stanch defender of the people's liberties, had degenerated into the servile tool of dynastic faction. By neglecting to summon the hostile lords 2 and by skilfully manipulating county elections, the party in power could at any time convene an assembly that would ratify its measures of attainder and restitution. The People. — Bad as were the political and social con- ditions of the age, there was still room for considerable industrial progress. The citizens of the towns and the lesser folk of the country had little to do with the civil wars. Yeo- men and all below the rank of squire were forbidden by law to don a livery or to follow a lord to battle, while participa- tion in the county elections was limited to persons possessed of land worth forty shillings a year. 3 1 "Maintenance" was the support given by lord to client whether in a private quarrel or in the courts of justice. 2 But twenty-nine barons were summoned to the first Parliament of Henry VII. 3 This statute was enacted in 1430 in consequence of tumults made in the The People 207 The process of commuting personal for money service was virtually accomplished in the course of the fifteenth century, and the major part of the former serfs became copyhold ten- ants. The demesne lands were rented on easy terms by ne- cessitous lords to thrifty yeomen who knew how to lay up money in spite of the turbulent times. Such a man is de- scribed in Latimer's sermon before Edward VI. "My father Traill, II was a yeoman and had no lands of his own, only he had a 391, 392 ' farm of three or four hundred pounds (income) by year at the uttermost, and hereupon he tilled so much as kept half a dozen men. He had walk for a hundred sheep, and my mother milked thirty kine. . . . He kept me to school, or else I had not been able to preach before the king's majesty now. He married my sisters with five pounds apiece. . . . He kept hospitality for his poor neighbors and some alms he gave to the poor, and all this he did of the same farm." Such a man, too, was Clement Paston, the founder of a great Norfolk family. The fifteenth century has been called " the golden age of Traill, II, English labor," and it is true that the period is marked by a 3 8 i-3 8 5. 394- steady rise of wages ; but prices rose no less steadily, and the irregularity of employment reduced the earning power of the workman to the cost of mere subsistence. The re- Statute of vised statute of laborers empowered justices of the peace Laborers > to fix the rate of wages and forbade the laborers to move about in search of better pay. Lamenting the degraded lot of the farm servants, Sir Thomas More says : " The state and condition of the laboring beasts may seem much better and wealthier ; for they be not put to so continual labor, nor their living is not much worse, yea to them much pleas- anter, taking no thought in the mean season for the time to come. But these seely poor wretches be presently tor- mented with barren and unfruitful labor, and the remem- county courts, " by great attendance of people of small substance and no value, whereof every one of them pretendeth a voice equivalent as to such elections, with the most worthy knights and squires resident." — Preamble to Statute. 208 Dynastic Wars brance of their poor, indigent, and beggarly old age killeth them up. For their daily wages is so little that it will not suffice for the same day, much less it yieldeth any surplus that may daily be laid up for the relief of old age." The food and shelter that might be procured with these meagre earnings was so poor and unwholesome that the laboring The George Inn, Glastonb After a painting by G. Arnald Traill, II, 407-412. classes fell an easy prey to the Pestilence. Leprosy, typhoid, and other filth diseases ran riot. The citizens of the towns were far more prosperous. It was the policy of the burgesses to shirk all responsibility for the dynastic strife. Neither White Rose nor Red was worth the cost of a siege, and the city gates flew open to the first Intellectual Decadence 209 comer. The wars, foreign and domestic, were a serious in- terference to commerce. Pirates infested the seas, and the ports were not infrequently burned by French fleets that scoured the coasts. The victory of York, however, afforded a respite during which trade revived. Edward IV, who earned the title of " Merchant Prince " by his successful ventures, did much to restore prosperity. A series of com- Traill, II, mercial treaties with continental powers opened new avenues 4 ° 4 - of trade to English merchants, while a strong and efficient navy cleared the Channel of pirates. A famous merchant of the day was Sir Richard Whittington, who amassed a for- tune in foreign trade, built hospitals and colleges, loaned money to the king, and four times fulfilled the prophecy rung in his boyish ears by London's bells — " Turn again, Whittington, Lord Mayor of London." Intellectual Decadence. — The fifteenth century produced no statesmen and no poets. It was a brutal age, in which the ideals that had redeemed mediaeval society — patriotism, religion, chivalry — languished, overborne by selfish material- ism. The literary impulse of the fourteenth century was Green, prematurely checked. The ill-fated Henry VI founded the PP- 294-298. grammar school of Eton and built King's College Chapel, Caxton set up his printing-press at Westminster, in the reign of Edward IV ; but with such rare exceptions, the age seems intellectually dead. There was a dearth of poetry Traill, II, and romance. Even the chroniclers give evidence of the 376-3 8 °- general mental apathy. Their meagre records rival the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle in dulness. Yet, though the times admitted of no individual eminence in culture or in art, the people at large had their heart-stirring ballads, their quaint J^L^ ' 86 religious dramas, played in the city streets on holy days, 387. and craftsmen wrought new beauty into church and gild- hall and market-cross. 210 Dynastic Wars Important Events Reign of Henry IV, 1399-1413. Statute for the burning of heretics, 1401. Revolt of the Welsh, 1400-1415. Revolt of Northumberland, 1403-1408. Reign of Henry V, 1413-1422 Lollard rising, 1414. French wars, 141 5-1422. Battle of Agincourt, 141 5. Treaty of Troyes, 1420, Reign of Henry VI, 1422-1461 (dethroned)-i47i (diedju French wars, 1422-1453. Siege of Orleans, 1429. Surrender of Maine and Anjou, 1445. Final loss of French provinces, 1453. Cade's insurrection, 1450. Civil War. Battle of St. Albans, 1455. Battle of Towton, 1461. Battles of Barnet and Tewkesbury, 147H. Reign of Richard III, 1483-1485. Battle of Bosworth Field, 1485. Chief Contemporaries 21 £ 3 b » a « ffi A^ m c > l_J 2" S *>"S * > •d ^-tj -g ^ >» d cS rt cS " c TJ -1 -o 1 3 -o w W W ^ CHAPTER VIII THE TUDORS AND THE REFORMATION Books for Consultation Sources Roper, Life of Sir Thomas More. Cavendish, Cardinal Wolsey. Prothero, Select Statutes and Other Documents. Adams and Stephens, Select Documents. Henderson, Side-Lights on English History. Pollard, Tudor Tracts. Rait, Mary Queen of Scots. Special Authorities Hallam, Constitutional History of England. Lingard, History of England. Scofield, A Study of the Court of the Star Chamber. Busch, England under the Tudors. Fisher, Political Llistory of England, Vol. V. Innes, England under the Tudors. Hume Brown, History of Scotland. Einstein, The Ltalian Renaissance in England. Merriman, Life and Letters of Thomas Cromwell. Gairdner, Henry VLL. Hutton, Sir Thomas More. Pollard, Henry FILL, Political History of England, Vol. VI. Gasquet, Henry VIII and the English Monasteries. Emerton, Desiderius Erasmus. Stone, Reign of Mary the First. Hume, The Great Lord Burleigh. Creighton, Age of Elizabeth. Imaginative Literature Scott, Marmion. Shakespeare, Henry VIII. Scott, Kenihuorth, The Monastery, The Abbot. Lawless, With Essex in Ireland. Tennyson, Queen Mary. 212 Henry VII 2 1 3 The Age of Transition. — The sixteenth century marks the change from mediaeval to modern society. The old con- ception of Christendom as a great commonwealth ruled by pope and emperor disappeared with the fifteenth century, and for the next hundred years the fortunes of Europe were in the hand of two strong centralized states, — Trance and Spain. The sixteenth century saw the break-up of ecclesi- astical unity with the revolt of half the Christian world against the spiritual dominion of the Pope. Outside the realm of politics and religion, even vaster changes were tak- ing place. To the material world of the fifteenth century a whole continent had been added, and the Atlantic, formerly a boundary, was now the highway between the Old World and the New. Between the beginning and the close of the Tudor period Europe's commercial and industrial system underwent a transformation. It was well for England that her fortunes during this critical age were in the hands of strong, able rulers, national in feeling and capable of giving the country " good governance." Henry VII (1485-1 509).— Henry VII, first of the Tudor line, came to the throne well fitted for the task before him. His youth had been spent in prison or in exile, and disci- Traill, II, pline had taught him self-control and moderation. To 44!-452. stern resolution he united great patience and the tact that marked the strongest of his house. His tastes were literary and artistic, and the learned men of his time were his friends. Henry had little chance to indulge the gentler sides of his character, for his reign was one continuous struggle to make secure the throne which treachery had given him. On Bosworth Field Lord Stanley placed the crown of Eng- land on Henry's head, but it took twenty years of ceaseless effort to make good the title. As the last representative of the Lancastrians he had been accepted by the Red Rose faction, but he was not of the direct line, and doubt had been cast on the legitimacy of his branch. The Yorkists, who had helped him overthrow Richard, had been won to 214 The Tii dors and the Reformation Gre';n, pp. 301-303. Traill, II, 492. his support only by his promise to wed the Princess Eliza- beth, and no sooner had they placed a Tudor on the throne than they began to intrigue against him. It was to make Henry VII From an original picture in the National Portrait Gallery good the defects in his hereditary claims that Henry caused Parliament to pass an act vesting in him and his heirs the right to the crown of England. The royal revenues were Yorkist Risings 215 utilized to maintain a considerable body-guard and to provide the king's army with cannon and ammunition. Henry VII possessed the only artillery within the four seas, and thus held an enormous advantage over his op- ponents. The king's chief security, however, lay in the lack of a powerful rival and in the political exhaustion of the coun- try. The nobility, diminished in wealth and prestige and divided among themselves, were not strong enough to be formidable alone, the Church, alarmed by attacks upon its doctrine and its property, clung to the throne for support, Traill, 1 1, while the people, weary of bloodshed and anarchy, turned 45 2 ~4 6 3- from war to trade and commerce and were ready to give their allegiance to any ruler who would establish order and maintain peace. Yorkist Risings. — During the first fifteen years of Bright, II, Henry's reign, several attempts were made by the Yorkist 35 8 ~3 62 - party to overthrow him. Two of these plots were espe- cially significant of the lawless and reckless conditions that had so long prevailed. In 1487 a youth presented himself in Ireland as Edward, Lambert Earl of Warwick, son of the Duke of Clarence. In reality, Simnel - the fellow's name was Lambert Simnel. He was the son of an Oxford baker and had been trained for his part by a Yorkist priest. The real Prince Edward was a prisoner in the Tower, but the impostor was eagerly accepted by the Irish and crowned king in Dublin Cathedral. Moreover, he received the support of the Yorkist leaders, including Margaret, Duchess of Burgundy and sister of Edward IV. With a force of Irish and Germans, Simnel invaded Lanca- shire, but the people did not rise, and he was easily defeated at the battle of Stoke, and taken prisoner. Henry, with contemptuous moderation, spared his life, but made him turnspit in the royal kitchen. Five years later a similar attempt was made to usurp the Perkin throne. This time it was a roving trader of Tournay, Warbeck. Perkin Warbeck by name, who landed in Cork, and was 216 The Tudors and the Reformation believed by the discontented and impressionable Irish to See p. 203. b e Richard, the younger of the two princes, popularly sup- posed to have been murdered in the Tower by Richard III. Warbeck's claims were made formidable by the support which he received not merely from the heads of the Yorkist party but from foreign rulers hostile to Henry. Margaret of Burgundy kept him for two and a half years at her court, perfecting him in his part. James IV of Scotland recog- nized his claims, and Flanders and France gave him aid. But, as before, England refused to rise, and an attempt to invade Cornwall (1497) ended in Warbeck's capture and imprisonment. Bright, II, Henry's Home Policy. — The easy suppression of the 355-35 8 - Yorkist risings was largely the result of Henry's wise policy. In many ways his reign may be looked upon as a continua- tion of that of Edward IV. The first Tudor like the last York strove to establish firm government, and to make himself independent of Parliament. To secure his realm against attack from abroad was the object that controlled his foreign relations. The methods of the two rulers were also similar ; both bore heavily upon the nobility and sought the favor of the industrial classes, and both strove to gain their ends by diplomacy rather than by war. In severe measures toward the nobility Henry was sure of popular support. Order was what the country most needed, and in the way of restoration of order stood the barons, with the traditions and habits formed by a genera- tion of civil war. Henry began at once to reduce their power. The statutes of Maintenance and Livery were rigor- ously enforced, and every violation of the laws was punished with crushing fines. To remedy the weakness of the ordinary courts in dealing with great offenders, Henry established in 1487 a new tribunal, that could be neither bribed nor bullied. Court of The Court of the Star Chamber, as the new court was called, the Star because it met in a room in Westminster whose roof was decorated in a pattern of stars, was made up of certain members of the Privy Council and two judges, and was the Chamber. Financial 217 first of the great councils through which Henry and his suc- cessors governed the kingdom. Henry also diminished the political power of the nobles by placing the administration largely in the hands of churchmen or of men whom he him- self had raised to eminence. While thus weakening the power of the barons, Henry strove to gain the support of the lower classes by encourag- ing trade and commerce and developing the resources of the kingdom. He was quick to see the advantage to him- self and to the country in the presence of powerful indus- trial interests, which would balance the influence of the noble class and would increase the national wealth. Financial Measures. — Henry realized that the weakness of the crown in the fifteenth century was due in great meas- ure to the poverty of the treasury, and throughout his reign he strove to make good the lack. As representative of the united Lancastrian and Yorkist lines he inherited the pos- sessions of both. He was careful, almost parsimonious, in his expenditures. The few wars in which he engaged were made to pay for themselves. Of the war with France, Lord Bacon declared that Henry only " trafficked with that war," and made a double profit, " upon his subjects for the war, and upon his enemies for the peace." Henry, in fact, wrung a benevolence from the people by declaring war, and then forced the French king to pay him a large sum for with- drawing from it. Every rising, too, helped to fill the royal treasury. Henry had little of that thirst for blood so marked in his son, and he was ready to condone even treason for money. An important source of the royal revenue was the judicial fines which were imposed for in- fractions of the law. In the latter part of Henry's reign, two of his ministers, Empson and Dudley, made themselves detested by their extortions in such matters. Taxation, Traill, II, regular and irregular, steadily increased. Henry contrived 45°. to raise large sums of money in unusual ways, through feudal dues, loans, and benevolences. It was on the occa- sion of raising the benevolence of 149 1 that the instructions 211 The Tudors and the Reformation to the commissioners contained the famous article called Morton's Fork. According to Lord Bacon, Cardinal Mor- ton, the king's chief minister, directed the commissioners " that if they met any that were sparing, they should tell them that they must needs have, because they laid up ; and if they were spenders they must needs have, because it was The Chapf.i of Henry VII, Westminster Villars, England seen in their port and manner of living, so neither kind came amiss." As a result of careful management Henry was able to dispense with Parliament during the last years of his reign, and yet to leave behind him a treasure of nearly ^1,800,000, probably equal to $100,000,000 to-day. The Foreign Policy. — Henry's dealings with foreign Henry VIII 219 powers were characteristic not merely of his preference for Bright, 11, peaceful methods, but also of the tendency of the time to 363. 364- substitute diplomacy for war. He was active in continental Traill, II, affairs, constantly on the brink of war, and yet never seri- 448, 449. ously fighting. The truth was, he did not feel himself sufficiently secure on his throne to risk a war. To secure England against attack, and to strengthen his position abroad, Henry built up a system of alliances. He continued the traditional policy of friendly relations with Spain by marrying his son and heir, Arthur, to Catherine of Aragon, daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain. To secure the northern border against the Scots, he married his eldest daughter, Margaret, to James IV of Scotland. With Burgundy he established closer commercial relations. By this threefold alliance, as the king himself boasted, England was surrounded with a wall of brass. Henry VIII (1509-1547). — In 1509 the king died. His work had been crowned with success. The spirit of opposition was thoroughly cowed by his stern though not merciless measures. Constitutional aspirations were checked, few Parliaments were called, and the personal rule of the sovereign had replaced the old limited mon- archy. As a result of his wise and cautious policy, Henry left to his son a secure throne, a full treasury, and a prosper- ous people. 1 1 Henry VII, m. Elizabeth of York 1 Arthur, d. 1502 1. James IV m. Margaret, m. 2. Lord Henry Henry VIII Mary, m. 1. Louis XII of Scotland I Angus m. 2. Duke of Suffolk V, m. Mary of Margaret I Guise I I Mary, m. 2. Darnley Frances . 1. Francis II I | of France I James VI of Scotland Lady Jane Grey, m. Guildford and I of England Dudley Henry VIII The face is engraved after the only sketch made from life by Holbein (Pinako- theke, Munich), the body from Holbein's painting in Windsor England and the New Learning 221 The young king came to the throne with none of the New Eng- disadvantages against which his father had contended. He land *?°£*- zi/ie, March, was in the prime of manhood, good-humored, frank, fond of I 8 94) Article popularity. The darker sides of his character were as yet on Holbein, unrevealed, and he was greeted with delight by the nation weary of the suspicious, repressive policy of the preceding reign. The Renaissance. — The Renaissance, the great intel- lectual movement of the fifteenth century, was the result of Green, many influences. The unknown treasures of classic learning pp- ^S^S - brought by Greek scholars escaping from Constantinople before the Turk, the stirring discourses of Italian and Portu- guese mariners, the popularizing of books by means of the printing-press, the increased intercourse among nations which followed upon the consolidation of the great states of France and Spain, — all these things combined to bring about the spiritual and intellectual awakening of western Europe. England and the New Learning. — During the civil wars in England intellectual interests had little chance, but early in the sixteenth century the new learning made itself felt. Although the English Renaissance received its impulse from Italy, it at once assumed a character of its own. It was less concerned with culture as such, it was more moral and prac- tical. At Oxford a remarkable group of scholars was gathered, and in the life and work of three of them, Colet, Erasmus, and More, the diverse aspects of the new learning found expression. In John Colet, preacher and teacher, were typified the religious and intellectual interests of the movement. Colet, as Dean of St. Paul's and royal chaplain, was influential in reforming some of the abuses in the Church, but his most enduring achievement was the founding of St. Paul's School, which set an example of better methods and a wider range of studies than had prevailed in the old monastic schools. Colet's pupil, Desiderius Erasmus, led in the attack upon 222 The Tadors and the Reformation the ecclesiastical conditions of the time. His famous work, The Praise of Folly, held up to the scorn of the world the ignorance and superstition of the priesthood. In Sir Thomas More all the freshness and audacity of the new movement were brought to bear upon the social and political problems of the day. Utopia, More's most famous work, first issued in 151 6, was a satire on the defects of English society, veiled under a descrip- tion of life in " Nowhere." His views were greatly at odds with the tendencies of the time ; but progress since his day has been mainly along the lines which he in- dicated. At first the young king was much interested in the Oxford movement, and bestowed many favors upon its leaders, but his aims accorded little with their ideals. As a result of his policy the country was soon involved in the turmoil of continental politics and religious strife, and the revival of learning in England had little direct result. Wolsey. — Although from the first Henry's vigorous, mas- terful personality dominated his surroundings, yet during the early part of his reign the shaping of England's home and Green, foreign policy was mainly in the hands of his great minister, pp. 332-334- Thomas Wolsey. The son of an Ipswich burgher, Wolsey cli T was trame d f° r the Church and held a royal chaplaincy in Wolsey, the reign of the first Tudor. Under Henry VIII he rose pp. 18-23. rapidly in office, until finally, in 15 15, he was made chancellor, receiving in the same year the cardinal's hat. His great abilities, his industry, and his devotion to the royal interest made him indispensable to Henry, who heaped upon him office and honor and intrusted him for fourteen years with the highest authority in Church and State. Wolsey's aim was to make the king absolute in England, and England the first state in Europe. He felt that the royal power was the only means of holding the country together, and he believed that the time had come for Eng- land to take part, in continental affairs if she would main- Foreign Relations 223 tain her place among nations. Peace was his policy, how- ever, and diplomacy his weapon. England was to make her influence felt not through conquest, but by holding the balance of power between the rival states of France and Spain, now contending for mastery in Europe. Foreign Relations. — During the first part of the sixteenth Bright, II, century the destinies of Europe were in the hands of three 377-381. young rulers. Six years after Henry's accession, Francis I ascended the French throne, and in 15 19 Charles V, at the age of nineteen, found himself Emperor of Germany and The Field of the Cloth of Gold From the famous painting in Hampton Court Palace ruler of Spain, the Netherlands, and the Italian provinces. The maintenance of the balance of power was the control- ling interest in international relations. Charles and Francis were rivals on the Continent, and both sought to secure the aid of England. In 1520 Francis and Henry met near Calais, and the gorgeous display on both sides gave to the meeting the name of the Field of the Cloth of Gold. The underlying object of the French king was to secure Henry's alliance, but Charles had been beforehand and had already come to an understanding with the English king. 224 The Tudors and the Reformation Source-Book, pp. 136-140. Flodden, *5i3- Green, pp. 327-329- Wolsey's purpose, however, was to make England media- tor of Europe, and not an ally of either France or Spain. In the main his support was given to France as the weaker party, but the interests of trade, the marriage alliance, and the traditional hostility between the English and French tended to draw England to the Emperor's side. Wolsey was a master of diplomacy, and as a result of his efforts England regained that influence on the Continent which she had lost during the civil wars, and became for a time the arbiter of Europe. Henry was eager to play a more active part in foreign affairs. In 1512 and 1513, and again in 1523, England sent expeditions into France, but as a rule there was much nego- tiation and intrigue and little fighting. The only general engagement of the period was fought on the Scottish Border. At the battle of Flodden (1513), the Scots, as usual allied with France, were completely defeated by the English and lost their king. In 1526, Wolsey's triumph seemed complete, and there was nothing to indicate that the crisis of the reign, bringing with it his downfall, was impending. The Royal Divorce. — Soon after his accession Henry, hav- ing obtained the necessary papal dispensation, had married Catherine of Aragon, the widow of his brother Arthur. For many years they had lived together, and she had borne him several children, of whom, however, only one, the Princess Mary, survived. At length the king's scruples were awakened as to the validity of his marriage. He began to doubt the pope's power to grant a dispensation, and he saw in the death of his children a punishment for having violated the ecclesiastical law. Moreover, he realized the danger to the peace of the country in the lack of a male heir. Although not excluded by law, no woman had ever reigned in England, and the evil that might result from a disputed succession had been proved by a generation of civil war. Henry was skil- ful in finding conscientious reasons for gratifying his selfish desires, and it is probable that the bright eyes and merry wit The Royal Divorce 225 of Anne Boleyn, one of Catherine's ladies-in-waiting, helped to arouse him to the sinfulness of his condition. Catherine spurned the suggestion that she should quietly submit to being set aside, and Henry, by the advice of Wolsey, appealed to the pope for a divorce. At first the cardinal had opposed Henry's scheme of separation, but finding his remonstrances fruitless, he gave way, hoping to Anne Boleyn. /uJ jtci/E sties JiMa/prffenemlfccc Cr/[c"r,(>xroKn {/■Airmti&ift%Utori&t& Christ Church College, Oxford, founded by Wolsey turn the matter to good account in foreign politics, by mar- rying Henry to a French princess. The appeal to the pope was unsuccessful. Clement was not free to act, for he was practically in the power of the Emperor, who was Catherine's nephew and had ardently espoused her cause. A positive answer was delayed, but it was plain that the pope dared not annul a marriage sanctioned by one of his predecessors. Q 226 The Tudors and the Reformation Creighton, Cardinal Wolsey, pp. 102-106, 110-115. Bright, II, 386-388. Green, PP- 3 2 4-. 3 2 9-33i- Creighton, Cardinal Wolsey, ch. XI. Creighton, Age of Elizabeth, pp. 1-4. Fall of Wolsey. — The king's disappointment at the check to his union with Anne Boleyn was great, and he consoled himself by disgracing Wolsey, on whom, most unreasonably, the blame of defeat was thrown. With untiring zeal the car- dinal had labored in the interests of the king, but no memory of past services could put a curb on Henry's selfishness. The great minister was friendless. The nobles were jealous of his power, and he was feared and hated by the people. The methods of his government had been arbitrary. Only once (1523) had Parliament been convened during the period of VVolsey's administration. Henry's warlike ambition and personal extravagance placed heavy burdens on the people, and the chancellor had to bear the brunt of every unpopular measure. In 1525, for example, an attempt was made to meet the king's need of money by asking the nation for what was called an "amicable loan." The plan had to be given up because of popular opposition, and Wolsey took the odium of the proposal upon himself. " Because every man layeth the burden from him, I am content to take it on me, and to endure the noise and fame of the people, for my good will towards the king . . . but the Eternal God knoweth all." Wolsey had made the king absolute at home, and had raised England from a third-rate power to the rank of a great state. Now he was no longer needed, and his ungrateful master removed him from office (1529). The Protestant Reformation. — The divorce question had consequences even more momentous than the overthrow of Wolsey, for it opened the way to separation from Rome and to reform in the Church. On the Continent the fierce pas- sions of religious revolution were stirring. Men had long been ready for revolt against the misused authority of a corrupt and secularized papacy, and the attack made by Martin Luther on the practices and teachings of the Church found quick response. When the German friar nailed the ninety-five theses against indulgences to the door of the church at Wittenberg (15 17), he gave the signal for a movement that was to convulse Christendom. The Protestant Reformation 227 To all appearances the Church in England was never so Bright, n, strong as at the accession of Henry VIII. It had enjoyed 474.475- general immunity from the devastations of the civil war. Its wealth was enormous, — one-third the land of the king- dom is said to have been under its control. It possessed its own legislative assembly (convocation) and its own courts of justice. Ecclesiastics filled the great state offices, and were in the majority in the House of Lords. But higher and lower clergy alike were corrupt and neglectful of their Traill, II, responsibilities. In a sermon preached at St. Paul's Cross, 464-475- The Tithe Barn, Glastonbury From a photograph Latimer declared that the devil was the only bishop in all England who attended to his duty. Extortionate fees were charged by the priests for their religious offices. Pluralities multiplied ; some of the clergy held as many as eight bene- fices. 1 The Church was losing its hold upon the people. Lol- l Wolsey was at once Archbishop of York, Bishop of Winchester and of Durham, and Abbot of St. Albans. 228 The Tudors and the Reformation lardry had accustomed men to criticise the clergy. The bold, intellectual spirit of the age was impatient of ecclesi- astical dogma and ignorance, and the traditional dislike to papal interference was strong. The influence of the re- ligious agitation on the Continent was quickly felt in Eng- land. Books and pamphlets from Germany flooded the The Abbey Kitchen, Glastonbury From a photograph country. Cambridge became a hotbed of heresy. Asso- ciations, the most famous of which was called the Christian Brethren, were formed for the study and circulation of the Bible. 1 1 The Scriptures had been translated into English in 1526 by William Tyndale, and were rendered accessible through the printing press. Long Parliament of the Reformation 229 It was plain that the seeming strength of the Church was a mere shadow, that its power was wholly dependent upon royal favor. Henry had shown himself hitherto a loyal son of the Church. He gloried in the title of Defender of the Faith, and had engaged in a wordy contest with Luther ; but his temper was too selfish, his love of popularity too great, to afford any security for the future. Thomas Cromwell. — The year 1529 marks a turning-point Green, in the affairs of Church and State. The master-mind in the pp- 33!-333, revolutionizing work that followed Wolsey's fall was Thomas Cromwell. Although one of the most remarkable of English statesmen, much of Cromwell's character and career remains a mystery. He was of humble origin and had served as a trooper in the Italian wars. In 1523 he was an active mem- ber of the House of Commons, and a little later he entered Wolsey's service, remaining the cardinal's faithful friend after his overthrow. He was already in middle life when he won the king's favor by his audacious advice that Henry should divorce Catherine by his own royal decree. In a short time he became the second man in the kingdom. Cromwell's pur- pose, steadily worked out during the years of his power, was the concentration of all authority in the hands of the king. His methods were bold and ruthless, he inaugurated a reign of terror. No individual was too high, no interest too power- ful, to cause him to stay his hand. Wolsey strove to rule without Parliament, but Cromwell made the national assem- bly his tool. During the next ten years of his administration, every constitutional limitation on the royal will was borne down or made meaningless, the Church was humbled, and the government became a despotism pure and simple. Long Parliament of the Reformation. — The Parliament which met in 1529, and which sat for seven years, was the instrument through which England was revolutionized. The king had turned reformer since the clergy espoused Cathe- rine's cause. The House of Commons was packed, but there needed no urging to induce the attack upon the Church. The beginning once made, advance was rapid. Benefit of 230 The Tudors and the Reformation Green, PP- 336-338. Act of Supremacy, 1534- Bright, II, 479-484. Traill, II, 466-469. clergy was done away, pluralities were abolished, church dues, such as burial fees, were regulated, the jurisdiction of ecclesiastical courts was circumscribed, convocation was shorn of much of its power, and the choice of bishops was made entirely subject to the royal will. Hand in hand with these changes in the Church in England went measures affecting the connection with Rome. Henry readily acknowledged the power of the pope, so long as that power was used to further his will, but he now began to doubt the usefulness of an institution that stood in his way. Acting on Cromwell's advice, the king had caused the divorce question to be brought before an English court presided over by Cranmer, Archbishop of Canterbury. To stop an appeal from Catherine to the pope, a statute was passed, prohibiting appeals to Rome. When Cranmer's court proceeded to pass a decree of divorce, 1 it was met by a papal decision in favor of Catherine and a bull of ex- communication against the king. Henry had already wrung from the clergy a limited recognition of his supremacy. Parliament- now declared the pope to have no more au- thority over the Church of England than any other foreign bishop, and by the Act of Supremacy (1534) the king was made supreme head of the Church in England. Attack upon the Monasteries. — The work of revolution in the Church did not stop at the break with Rome. Cromwell, who was now the king's vicar-general in all ecclesiastical matters, determined to strike a blow at the monasteries. Their condition had long been a crying evil. As early as the reign of Henry IV the House of Commons had demanded their suppression. Repeated at- tempts at reform had been made. Wolsey, who realized the dangerous position of the Church, had tried to meet criticism by reform from within, and he had accepted a legative commission from the pope that he might have greater control over the monasteries. But he did little more than clearly to reveal the rottenness of the whole 1 Henry was already secretly married to Anne Boleyn. Attack upon the Monasteries 231 structure. The age of monasticism was passed, and as a rule the religious establishments had become mere land- owning corporations, chiefly interested in adding to their wealth. Cromwell appointed a commission (1535) to in- vestigate the conditions of the monastic houses. The " Black Book," the commissioners' report to Parliament, was burned in the reign of Mary by order of the queen, but the in- The Ruined Abbey, Glastonbury From a photograph formation that remains is sufficient to show that many of the smaller monasteries merited the fate that overtook them. In 1536, by act of Parliament, all monasteries having an annual revenue of less than ^200 were suppressed and their property was confiscated by the crown. Three years later all other religious houses were dissolved. The monas- tic buildings were laid desolate or secularized, and it is esti- mated that over eighty thousand persons were driven forth 232 The Tndors and the Reformation Green, pp. 340, 341, 35 L 354.355- Ten Articles. The English Bible given to the people. Source-Book, pp. 144, 145. Green, PP- 343-347- homeless. 1 The annual income of the monasteries has been estimated at about ^200,000. Part of this wealth was used for national purposes, the founding of new bishoprics, and the defence of the coasts ; but the greater portion was squandered upon the nobles and courtiers about the king. Progress in Doctrinal Reform. — Meanwhile, changes were taking place which were not intended by the government when it began the attack upon the Church. Protestantism was steadily gaining ground. The triumph of Anne Boleyn and her kinsfolk, the Howards, favored the reform party, and the Archbishop of Canterbury gave it his countenance. Moreover, Henry's ecclesiastical policy had resulted in the isolation of England, and to meet this danger Cromwell was drawing closer to the protestant princes of North Germany. This made it impossible to use harsh measures toward fol- lowers of the new doctrines at home. Popular feeling and political considerations combined to hurry the government along. In 1530 the Council, by the king's command, had issued a declaration against Luther's writings, but in 1536, convocation, acting at Henry's bidding, drew up the Ten Articles, a statement of doctrine which showed a decided advance toward Lutheranism. A complete English transla- tion of the Bible had been made by Coverdale, under the auspices of the king, and it was ordered (153S) that a copy of this, open to all, should be placed in every church. Por- tions of the service, also, were translated into the vernacular. The destruction of the monasteries was accompanied by an attack upon relics, the object of popular worship. Here the religious zeal of the reformer was reenforced by the greed of the spoilsman, since some of the shrines were rich in gold and jewels. 2 Attitude of the Nation. — The changes wrought in the constitution of the Church created at first but slight stir 1 For most of the religious a scanty provision was made. 2 Among the shrines destroyed by the king's order was that of St. Thomas of Canterbury. The treasure which had accumulated was taken away by cart loads, and the bones of the saint were burned. Attitude of the Nation 233 among the people. Indifference in religious matters was general, and there was little loyalty to the Papacy. In 1533 Anne Boleyn gave birth to a daughter (afterward Queen Elizabeth), and Parliament proceeded to pass an Act of Succession declaring the marriage with Catherine invalid and settling the succession upon the children of the second marriage. 1 At the pleasure of the king any one might be required to take an oath to accept this statute, which was equivalent to denial of the papal authority. By the Act of Supremacy (1534) it was declared high treason to refuse to acknowledge the king as Supreme Head of the Church. There was little backwardness in taking the required oaths. Alone among the religious establishments the monks of the Charter House were firm in their loyalty to Rome, and they paid for their devotion with their lives. Two men of European fame were executed for refusing to take the oath of the Act of Succession. One was Fisher, the venerable Bishop of Executioi Rochester, renowned for his learning and piety. The other and More was Sir Thomas More, the greatest scholar of the age, and 1533. beloved of all men. Discontent was growing ; for although there was much source-Boo\ indifference to the papal connection, the popular temper PP 140-144- was conservative and the ancient Church still had a hold upon men's hearts if not upon their minds. The excesses of some of the reformers gave deep offence, and dissatis- faction was increased by the dissolution of the monasteries. In the north, especially, where were many of the larger houses, the monks had endeared themselves to the poor. Moreover, many of the older nobility were jealous of the power wielded by the upstart Cromwell. These various 1 Henry VIII, m. i. Catherine of Aragon, 1509 Mary m. 2. Anne Boleyn, 1533 Elizabeth m. 3. Jane Seymour, 1536 Edward VI m. 4. Anne of Cleves, 1540 m. 5. Catherine Howard, 1540 m. 6. Catherine Parr, 1543 234 The Tudors and the Reformation Pilgrimage of Grace, I536- Green, PP- 355, 356. Six Articles, 1539- grievances led to a great rising of the north in 1536. The first outbreak was at Lincoln, but the movement soon spread to Yorkshire, where it found an able leader in Robert Aske, a young London barrister. The Pilgrimage of Grace, as the rising was called, included all classes, great churchmen, nobles, the gentry, and the country people led by the parish priests. The demands of the insurgents were for the resto- ration of the monasteries, the extirpation of heresy, and the overthrow of Cromwell. But the crown was too strong to be forced to give way, the rising was ruthlessly repressed, and the leaders, including some of the greatest men in the Church and among the nobility, were put to death. The Crown and Reaction. — Nevertheless, in the main, Henry was at one with the people on religious questions. He would have been content with separation from Rome. He had no wish to overthrow the ancient worship, and was opposed to doctrinal changes. With the extreme views of the Protestants he had no sympathy whatever. Political considerations forced him to connive for a time at the progress of the reformation in England, but by 1539 it was plain that the danger on the Continent had passed away, and Henry was free to follow his natural conservatism. Parliament, completely subservient to his will, passed an act for " abolishing diversity of opinion in certain articles concerning Christian religion." The Act of the Six Articles, as this measure was called, contained the fundamental Catholic doctrines and closed the way to even moderate doctrinal change. Under the "whip with six strings," perse- cution of the Protestants followed, and many were put to death. On the other hand, Henry abated nothing of his claim to supremacy, and on the same scaffold men died for denying the Catholic doctrine and for maintaining the papal supremacy. Throughout the remaining years of his reign Henry succeeded in holding an uncertain balance between the old and the new order, but it was plain that a tide of feeling was rising which would soon sweep away all compromises. The Affairs of Scotland 235 Fall of Cromwell. — Closely connected with the triumph Green, of a reactionary policy was the fall of Cromwell. The PP- 347. 348. great minister's foreign policy was based on a union with Protestant Germany, and in the interests of this scheme he had planned a marriage between Henry, now a widower for the third time, and a German princess, Anne of Cleves. But the grand alliance against the emperor miscarried, and Cromwell's doom was sealed by the king's dissatisfac- tion with the wife chosen for him. The nobles clamored for the minister's overthrow, and he met the usual fate of Henry's instruments when no longer of service. Charged with treason, he was seized at the council table, and sent to the scaffold by a bill of attainder 1 without being heard in his own defence (1540). The Affairs of Scotland. — The remaining years of the reign were filled with trouble with Scotland. The defeat of Flodden Field (15 13) had been followed by an outbreak Bright, II, of lawlessness in the northern kingdom. A struggle between 4 I 4~4 I 9- parties representing the French and the English influence ended in the marriage of the king, James V, with Mary of Guise, and the triumph of the French interest. In 1542 war between Francis I and Charles V involved the British kingdoms. A Scottish force crossed the Border, but was defeated at Solway Moss. James V did not long survive the disgrace of defeat. He left the kingdom to his infant daughter, the famous Mary Stuart. Power of the Crown. — Under the second Tudor per- sonal rule reached its fullest development. All power was concentrated in the hands of the king, the Church lay at his feet, Parliament simply registered his wishes. The forms of constitutional rule were maintained, but in actual fact the government was despotic. At the royal bidding new treasons were created, the succession was changed, 1 A bill of attainder was introduced into Parliament and became law like any other measure, after passing both Houses and receiving the royal assent. By this process condemnation to death could be secured in a summary manner and without the production of evidence. 236 The Tudors and the Reformation Bright, II, 420, 421. royal proclamations were declared to have the force of law, and finally the king was permitted to name his successor by will. 1 Nevertheless Henry did not lose touch with the nation ; he understood the temper of his subjects and, unscrupulous and self-seeking though he was, he still won popular approval even while treading popular liberty under foot. Coronation Procession of Edward VI passing Cheapside Cross From a contemporary painting. Marck, Konigin Elizabeth Edward VI (1547-1553). — The heir to the great power which Henry had built up was a boy of nine years. By the royal will a council representing both parties and including 1 By his last will Henry left the crown to Prince Edward and his heirs, then to Mary and her heirs, then to Elizabeth and her heirs, and then to Mary of Suffolk and her heirs, passing over the descendants of his older sister Margaret of Scotland. The Protestant Revolution 237 the chancellor, the Archbishop of Canterbury, and the Earl of Hertford, the young king's uncle, was appointed to govern the realm during the minority. The late king was still unburied when his will was set aside, and Hertford, now Duke of Somerset, was made Protector of the kingdom and Somerset, guardian of the young king. Somerset had little fitness for Protector - the place which he had seized. He was sincere and earnest and full of philanthropic ideas, but impulsive and over- confident. The task before him was a difficult one. Rela- tions with France and Scotland were critical, while at home there was much social discontent and religious division. The Scottish War. — Somerset's incompetency was at once Bright, II, shown by his dealings with Scotland. With great effort 4 2 5-4 2 7- Henry VIII had established friendly relations with the Scots, and on the accession of Edward an unrivalled oppor- tunity offered for uniting the two countries by marrying the young king to the little queen of Scots. Somerset's blunder- ing policy brought on a war with Scotland which, though it ended in the English victory of Pinkie (1547), had the effect of strengthening French influence across the Border. Mary Stuart was carried to France and betrothed to the young Dauphin. In the war with France which soon broke out, England could reckon on the hostility of Scotland. The Protestant Revolution. — Under the Protector's lead, many of the measures of the preceding reign were promptly reversed by Parliament. The Act of Six Articles was repealed, as were also all laws against heresy, and the statute giving royal proclamations the force of law was annulled. All the treasons created by Henry VIII were swept away. A later Parliament supplemented this action by requiring that henceforth the testimony of two witnesses should be necessary for conviction of treason. Somerset's advance to power meant the triumph of the Bright, II, reform party. Personal conviction as well as self-interest 4 2 4, 427-429. led the duke to oppose the old order, and in this he was JZ g f° n ' supported by the young king, who had imbibed protestant Elizabeth, ideas from his tutors. The short reign was a period of pp - l6 ~ l8- 238 The Tudor s and the Reformation Green, religious revolution. Not content with constitutional and PP- 357. 35 8 - formal changes, Somerset sought to transform at once the Source-Book, doctrines and ritual of the Church. By law or by royal in- pp. 146-148. junction, a new order was introduced with bewildering rapidity. The sacred images were removed from the churches, the beautiful stained glass was broken, and the pictures painted on the walls were covered with whitewash. Marriage of the clergy was made legal. The vernacular supplanted Latin in the Church service. The mass was replaced by the communion service, and in 1549 the Eng- lish Book of Common Prayer was substituted for the Latin missal and breviary upon which it was based. The confiscation of Church property was carried to a length unthought of by Henry. Somerset leaned for sup- port upon the " new men," the gentry and nobility en- riched by the plunder of the monasteries, and it was necessary to satisfy his rapacious followers. The chantries were despoiled, and gild property devoted to religious pur- poses was attacked. Cranmer tried in vain to have a por- tion of this wealth used for the relief of the poorer clergy. The revolutionary measures were hurried through with small regard for popular feeling. Irreverence and unbridled license ran riot. Parodies of the mass were common. The spoil of the churches, altar-cloths, copes, chalices, were used to deck the halls of private persons, and the newly married wives of the clergy eked out their wardrobes with ecclesias- tical vestments. Somerset did not hesitate to tear down churches to make room for his new palace in London. Creighton, Popular Opposition and the Fall of Somerset. — From the A? e of nrst i t was pi am t h at t he nation was not ready for extreme Elizabeth, , „ . •, • i i • i i j pp. 19-23. measures, but all resistance was put down with a high hand. The clergy were silenced by decrees that there should be no preaching save by a few licensed preachers, and two of the bishops, Gardiner and Bonner, who clung to the old order, were flung into prison. But discontent was strong and was increased by social grievances. Somerset's political policy was as ill-judged as were his ecclesiastical measures. Wars England under Northumberland 239 with Scotland and France meant heavy taxation, and the repeated debasements of the coinage resulted in financial disorder. Moreover, it was a time of agrarian disturbance (p. 270), a state of things for which the government was not responsible, but which added to its unpopularity. In 1549, risings took place in Devon and Cornwall. The Bright, II, insurgents demanded the restoration of mass and the re- 43I ~ 433- establishment of images. More serious was an insurrection in Norfolk, led by Ket, a tanner, and directed against enclosures. Order was restored only by employing a force of foreign mercenaries, the first time that such a force had been used against a rising of the people since the reign of John. These insurrections led to the overthrow of Somerset. He was disliked by many because of his reli- gious innovations and his futile foreign policy, while the readiness which he showed to treat with the insurgents in the matter of enclosures had aroused the fears of the landowners. England under Northumberland. — The office of Protector Bright, 11, was abolished at the fall of Somerset, but the power passed 434_43 • 442 to the Earl of Warwick, later Duke of Northumberland. ^S/jSw Northumberland was as incapable as Somerset and far less ^ Ai honest and sincere. One of the grounds of complaint pp- 2 3~ 2 7- against Somerset was that he had not provided adequately Green, for the security of England at home or abroad, but matters pp ' 359_3 x * did not improve under his successor. From self-seeking motives, Northumberland espoused the cause of the advanced reformers. Plunder of the Church was more shameless than ever, and some of the bishoprics were stripped of their endowments. In 1552 a revised ser- vice book was issued, and in the following year the Forty- Forty-twc two Articles, drawn up by Cranmer, and strongly Calvinistic in character, were promulgated on the authority of the king, as the standard of faith for the nation. The little king had never been strong, and by 1553 it was plain that he had not long to live. By Henry's will his suc- cessor would be the Princess Mary, and it was certain that Articles. I OHW 240 The Tudors and the Reformation Northumberland and the Protestant cause could not hope to find favor with her. To save himself, the duke devised a plan of setting Mary and Elizabeth aside as illegitimate, in order to secure the crown to his daughter-in-law, the Lady Jane Grey, granddaughter of Mary of Suffolk. The young king's support foi \f-tffi this scheme was won through repre- U ' H sentations of the danger to Protestant- ism from Mary's succession. Before the arrangements were complete, however, Edward died. Among the crowd of greedy intriguing courtiers the little king had moved a lonely and pathetic figure. His life was too short to show what kind of a ruler he would have been, but he was studious and conscientious, with some plain in- dications of the Tudor strength of will. Green, Mary (1553-1558). — Intimidated by Northumberland, PP- 3 6 7.3 68 - t ne Council proclaimed Lady Jane Grey queen of England. But the people hated Northumberland, and they knew noth- ing of the Lady Jane. The eastern counties rose in Mary's support, the duke's army refused to fight against her, and amid general rejoicing she was proclaimed queen by the same Council that a little before had given the crown to her rival. The religious system which Edward and his advisers had built up rested chiefly on the power of the crown, and on the accession of Mary a reaction at once set in. Without inter- ference from the government, mass was restored, and, save in London and a few of the larger towns, there was a general return to-the order established by Henry VIII. Mary, however, was not content with undoing the work of Somerset and Northumberland : she wished to restore the ancient Church in all its completeness, to reinstate the monasteries, to renew the connection with Rome. By the advice of Gardiner, whom Edward's death had set free and who was now chancellor, Mary did not at first press these points. But she refused to recognize the marriage of the clergy, the deprived bishops were restored, and many of the Repeal of Protestant Legislation 241 leading Protestants were either driven into exile or, as in the case of Cranmer and Latimer, thrown into prison. Mary Tudor From a painting ascribed to Antonio Moro f f t Repeal of Protestant Legislation. — A carefully packed Parliament was convened (1554), and it showed great com- R 242 The Tadors and the Reformation Green, pp. 362-364. Creighton, Age of Elizabeth, pp. 28-36. Wyatt's rising, 1554. Execution of Lady Jane Grey. plaisance toward the royal policy. Both Houses attended the celebration of mass at the opening of the session. A bill was passed declaring illegal the decree of divorce pro- nounced against Catherine by Cranmer's court. All the measures of Edward VI touching the Church were repealed, and, after six days' debate, the order of worship as practised in the last years of Henry VIII was established. The Spanish Marriage. — Thus far Mary had encountered little opposition, but her next move aroused bitter hostility. Charles V wished to secure the support of England against France by marrying the English queen to his son and heir, Philip. Mary received the proposal favorably, for in her loneliness she turned to her mother's relatives, but the nation was strongly opposed to the idea of a Spanish alliance, and the Commons petitioned against it. The popular indignation was turned to account by the friends of the Princess Elizabeth. Risings were organized in different parts of the country, but the movement was mismanaged, and failed everywhere except in Kent. There Sir Thomas Wyatt brought together a large force and marched upon London. Mary was in great danger, but with true Tudor energy and tact she threw herself upon the loyalty of the people. By her personal appeal their support was won, and the insurrection was put down. The failure of Wyatt's rising sealed the doom of Lady Jane Grey. She had been held a prisoner in the Tower since Mary's accession. Now, at the age of seventeen, she was led forth to die upon the scaffold. A vain attempt was made to implicate Elizabeth in the insurrection, but she had been too shrewd to commit herself to a treasonable ris- ing, and the moderate party in the council was strongly opposed to severe measures against the next heir, so her life was saved. Parliament made no further opposition to the Spanish marriage, and in July, 1554, it was celebrated in spite of the lukewarmness of the bridegroom, who, much as he prized the English crown, cared little for its wearer. Persecution. — Mary now turned her attention to bringing The Spanish Marriage 243 England again under the supremacy of Rome. Prepara- Green, tions were carefully made, a new Parliament was called, PP- 3 6 4-3 6 9- and persons of influence were directed to secure the return of men of " wise, grave and Catholic sort." All efforts were Creighton, in vain, however, and it soon became evident that recon- A J?' °f , Elizabeth, ciliation with Rome could never be brought about if it pp . 36-38. involved restoration of the abbey lands. 1 The queen was obliged to compromise, and Parliament was at length brought to the point of acknowledging the spiritual head- ship of the Pope on condition that the confiscated estates were left undisturbed. Mary was determined to make real the reunion with Rome. In forcing her views upon the nation, she showed all the self-will of the Tudors united to the intemperate zeal of the fanatic. Her advisers hesitated, Philip coun- selled moderation, but nothing could deter the queen from the work upon which she had set her heart. She forced from Parliament a renewal of the Lancastrian laws against heresy and at once pressed on their execution. From 1555 to 1558 persecution raged, the greatest per- secution in English history. Neither high nor low were spared. The Martyr's Memorial at Oxford marks the place where Ridley, the deprived Bishop of London, and Latimer Henry VIH's favorite preacher, were burned side by side. " Play the man, Master Ridley," were Latimer's last words ; " we shall this day light up such a candle by God's grace in England as I trust shall never be put out." Foremost of the martyrs stood Cranmer, primate of the Church. Of Death of great learning but of cautious temper, he had slowly come to take an advanced position in opposition to the papal claims ; but though his conviction was strong, his heart was weak, and he shrank before the final test. Six successive times he recanted in the hope of purchasing pardon, but pardon was out of the question. He represented the extreme party of English Protestants, and, moreover, Mary was personally hostile to him as an active agent in her 1 Some forty thousand families were interested. Cranmer, 1556' 244 The Tudors and the Reformation Loss of Calais, 1558. Source-Book, pp. 151-153. Creighton, Age of Elizabeth, PP- 51-53- mother's divorce. When once his final doom was pro- nounced, he regained his courage. " I have written many things untrue," he said, "and forasmuch as my hand offended in writing contrary to my heart, my hand, there- fore, shall be the first burnt." Nearly three hundred per- sons suffered for their faith, most of them in the towns and thickly settled districts, for there new opinions found more ready acceptance than in the country. Mary's Failure. — Darkened by bitter grief, the life of the unhappy queen drew to a close. She was disappointed in her hope of children, and she was forced to see that Philip had sought in her merely the instrument of his political schemes. Through the Spanish connection, England was involved in a useless war with France which resulted in the loss of Calais (1558). This was a heavy blow to the nation, and Mary was too much a Tudor not to feel the popular disapproval. Moreover, all her efforts had brought Eng- land no nearer the old faith, nay, had rather frustrated her purpose. Men looked askance at a church that could maintain itself only through persecution. State of Europe, 1558. — When Elizabeth ascended the throne of England, the political situation in Europe was complicated and threatening. The keynote to international politics was still the rivalry between France and Spain. Charles V, weary of the ungrateful and difficult task of gov- erning his scattered possessions, had abdicated in favor of his son Philip II, who became ruler of Spain and the Netherlands, and of unlimited territories in the New World. Philip's aim was to restore the mediaeval state and to unite Chris- tendom, under the empire, not of Germany, but of Spain. In his way stood France, in close alliance with Scotland, and, through her position, a constant menace to the Low Coun- tries. The difficulties of the political situation were greatly in- creased by the state of religious feeling. The Reformation had entered upon a new phase. Under the influence of the Genevan reformer, John Calvin, Protestantism lost the Elizabeth 245 moderate and conservative character which Luther gave it, and became aggressive and vital. On the other hand, the Church of Rome was undergoing a change. It had at last learned that the Protestants must be fought with their own Elizabeth the Ermine portrait " at Hatfield House, painted by Zucchero weapons, that revolution could be arrested only by reform, and the Council of Trent was working out a comprehensive scheme for the purification of the Church. 246 The Tudors and the Reformation The Counter- Reforma- tion. Creighton, Age of Elizabeth, PP- 153-155- Green, pp. 369-376. The Counter-Reformation, as this movement within the Roman Church was called, represented a real reform, and hence it was strong. The chief instrument of a purified Papacy in the task of winning back Christendom to the ancient faith was the Society of Jesus, founded in 1540 by Ignatius Loyola, a Spanish knight. The Jesuits showed un- tiring zeal and devotion in their work of combating heresy and heathenism, and the broken ranks of the Catholics were slowly filling up. The union of France and Spain in support of the Papacy at this time would have made the Counter-Reformation irresistible. Protestantism was saved by the political jealousies of the two great Catholic powers. As it was, in Italy and in Spain all Protestant beginnings were destroyed. In France, the Netherlands, and Scotland, how- ever, the followers of Calvin were numerous and influential, and their spirit was ardent and determined. Elizabeth, 1 558-1 603. — The situation that confronted Elizabeth was one to daunt the stoutest heart. The pope refused to recognize her title to the crown, England was at war with France, and the danger from that quarter was in- creased by the close connection between the French and Scottish governments. The treasury was empty, the coinage was in confusion, industrial conditions were disturbed. England stood alone. It is true that Philip of Spain offered an alliance, even proposing marriage with Elizabeth, but religious as well as political considerations made such a union impossible. The danger and difficulty of Elizabeth's position were greatly increased by the deepening religious divisions among the people. The bulk of the nation longed for peace, and might have agreed to a return to the ecclesiasti- cal system of Henry VIII, but religious strife had passed beyond the point of reconciliation. The Catholic party was bent on maintaining the connection with Rome. On the other hand, persecution had rendered fierce and uncom- promising the temper of the Protestants, and their cause was greatly strengthened by the return of the many exiles ElizabctJis Foreign Policy 247 filled with Calvinistic ideas imbibed abroad. It was diffi- cult to devise an ecclesiastical policy which would find general acceptance, and it was certain that a foreign policy which meant either a Protestant or a Catholic alliance would at once precipitate religious strife at home. The union of France and Spain at this time would have been fatal to English independence, and it was not impossible that religious considerations would vanquish political jealousies Autograph of Elizabeth Marck, Konigin Elizabeth and bring about an alliance between the two great Catholic powers in the interests of Rome. Elizabeth's Foreign Policy. — The policy which Elizabeth adopted in foreign affairs was cautious and temporizing. She saw that peace was what England needed above all things. " No war, my lords, no war," was her often re- peated warning at the council board. Philip's marriage offers were rejected, although in carefully courteous terms, and the war with France was quickly brought to a close by Elizabeth the final abandonment of Calais. Henceforth, if Elizabeth p ' 4S ' could have her way, England would be kept free from continental entanglements. Independence and peace were to be secured by playing off one foreign power against another. France and Spain were to be held in check by Bright, II, pp. 488-490. Creighton, Age of 248 The Tudors and the Reformation Bright, II, 492-494. 495- Green, PP- 376-379- Creighton, Age of Elizabeth, pp. 46-49. Acts of Supremacy and Uniformity, 1559- the fear which each had of driving England into union with the rival power. There were to be no close alliances. Assistance was to be given only where necessary to maintain that balance in Europe which alone seemed to afford security. To this course Elizabeth, with the counsel and guidance of her great minister, William Cecil, Lord Burleigh, steadily held England during the next thirty years. Elizabeth's Ecclesiastical Policy. — Elizabeth met the religious question by compromise. Personally she had little sympathy with either of the extreme parties. Protes- tant contempt for authority and tradition was distasteful to her. Subjection to Rome was impossible, for that would have meant to stamp her birth as illegitimate. Moreover, as a Tudor she was unwilling to resign her authority over the Church. But she approached all religious questions in the temper of the politician. She saw that the convinced Protestants were her surest support, that her cause was theirs. But on the other hand she knew that severe measures against the Catholics would open the way to foreign intrigue. National unity in Church and State under the control of the crown was the aim of her home policy, and to this end a religious settlement was devised which would win the support of the moderates and drive no one to extreme measures. By the Act of Supremacy of 1559, the connec- tion with Rome was finally broken. At the same time mass was abolished, and an x^ct of Uniformity decreed the use of King Edward's prayer book. The oath of supremacy was rigorously exacted from ecclesiastics. Of the fifteen surviv- ing bishops of Mary's reign, fourteen preferred deprivation to compliance, but the parish clergy were more yielding, and less than two hundred out of nine thousand remained true to Rome. By a large portion of the nation, the Elizabethan settle- ment was accepted as a wise and moderate solution of the religious issue. Toward those who were not content with what had been done, leniency was shown. Scotland and Mary Stuart 249 The Act of Uniformity was not rigidly enforced. The queen feared above all things the renewal of strife ; she discouraged preaching and she would gladly have seen an abatement of interest in religious questions. There was little excitement ; changes were quietly made, and yet within a year after Elizabeth's accession, England, in the face of the Counter-Reformation, had ranged herself once for all on the side of Protestantism. Scotland and Mary Stuart. — England's immediate danger was from Scotland. On the death of Mary Tudor, the young Scottish queen, now Dauphiness of France, refused to acknowledge Elizabeth as legitimate, and assumed, as next in succession, the title of Queen of England. The strength of her claim lay in the certain support of France and the English Catholics. More than two centuries had elapsed since Scotland Green, attained independence of England. Scotch history during J ° 2 the interval was a confused tale of anarchy and misery. Progress was slow. Border warfare was almost continuous, and the baronage retained its feudal and military character. The country was wasted by the strife of rival families, the common people were oppressed and degraded, and there was little culture or industry outside the few towns. In 1556 the population was barely 600,000. A strong monarchy seemed the only hope of the country, but since Flodden Field the power of the crown had been weakened by two long minorities. 1 Scotland had now come under influences which were Creighton, to transform the national character. In the sixteenth cen- A J?f. °f. ,. Elizabeth, tury the Scottish Church was in much the same condition as pp. 55-61. the Church in England, wealthy, self-seeking, and without spiritual influence. While Henry VIII exercised an in- fluence in Scottish counsels, it seemed possible that the Reformation might be brought about by royal authority, but James V decided for France and for Catholicism. 1 In 1513 James V became king at the age of two years. At his death in 1542 he was succeeded by the infant Mary Stuart. 250 The Tudors and the Reformation When the Reformation finally came, it was a national and popular movement. During the disorders of the regency of Mary of Guise, the reformed doctrines spread rapidly. The Church was in close alliance with the crown, and Protestantism came to be iden- tified with a growing dislike to French dominion. In 1557 The Covenant, 1557- HOLYROOD Marck, Konigin Elizabeth all who favored the new doctrine bound themselves together by a covenant or pledge to work for reform. Two years later, the Lords of the Congregation, as the leaders of the Covenanters were called, rose in rebellion against the established order, the Roman Catholic Church was over- thrown, and the French connection repudiated. An army was sent from France to aid the regent, and Protestantism in Scotland might have been crushed at the outset had not England been drawn into the contest. Now, as always, Scotland and Mary Stuart 251 Elizabeth was loath to countenance rebellion, but she saw clearly the danger to England from French interference in Scotland. Aid was sent to the Lords of the Congregation, and before the close of 1560 the French had been expelled. By the treaty of Edinburgh, Elizabeth's title to the English EdintourSi crown was recognized. 1560. The triumph of the Reformation in Scotland meant social and moral as well as eccesiastical revolution. Under the leadership of John Knox, the Church was organized in ac- cordance with the views of Calvin on a republican and Pres- byterian basis. Through their earnest, self-sacrificing spirit, the Reformed clergy came to wield great influence in Scot- land. They set to work to reform society, training the peo- ple in religion, in morals, and in politics. Under their stern rule the national character was disciplined and elevated. In 1559 Francis, the husband of Mary Stuart, suddenly died. There was no place in France for his widow, and M'<(> Autograph of Mary Stuart Marck, Kdnigin Elizabeth after an absence of many years Mary returned to her own kingdom of Scotland. The queen was a mere girl of eigh- Creighton, teen, but she combined womanly grace and beauty with 4ff "/ masculine vigor of mind and body. Her subjects received their young sovereign with enthusiasm. Although the Green, change from the most brilliant court of Europe to the rude pp- 3 82 -3 8 4 surroundings and rough independent ways of the Scottish court was great, Mary adapted herself skilfully to her new home. For a time all discord was silenced by her tactful diplomacy and personal fascination. She united the nobles in her support and settled the religious question by acknowl- edging the Calvinist establishment. These measures were, Elizabeth, pp. 62-66. 252 The Tudors and the Reformation Source-Book, PP- 155-159- Marriage of Mary and Darnley, 1565- Creighton, Age of Elizabeth, pp. 76^79. Overthrow of Mary, 1568. Source-Book, pp. 161-168. however, but steps toward the attainment of the real end of her policy. An attempt to induce Elizabeth to recognize her as next in succession having failed, she then sought to organize a Catholic combination which would place her on the English throne. In 1565 Mary made a political marriage with her cousin, Lord Henry Darnley. Darnley was a Catholic and, like Mary, was descended from Margaret Tudor. Elizabeth felt this act to be open menace, but she was powerless to inter- fere. Unfortunately for Mary's plans, the achievements of her diplomacy were speedily undone by the ungoverned pas- sions of her nature. Darnley was a miserable creature, ill fitted for such a wife. Anxious to increase his importance, he allied himself with the Protestant party among the nobles. At his instigation Rizzio, the queen's friend and secretary, of whose influence he was jealous, was slain almost before her eyes. Early in 1567 Darnley was murdered at Kirk o' Field, a lonely house near Edinburgh. Mary's part in the affair is doubtful, but at any rate she did not hesitate to marry within three months the man generally held to be responsible for Darnley's death. Brutal and self-seeking though he was, the Earl of Bothwell had succeeded in winning Mary's pas- sionate devotion, and for his sake she threw away reputation and kingdom. She had ruined her position with the Catholics, for Bothwell was a Protestant, her subjects were filled with horror at her act, and when the nobles, jealous of BothwelFs power, rose against the queen, the people refused to come to her assistance. Within a month of the ill-omened mar- riage, Bothwell had been driven into exile, and Mary was a prisoner in her own castle at Edinburgh. Before the end of 1568 she had abdicated in favor of her infant son and had fled to England to throw herself on the mercy of Elizabeth. It was not an easy situation for the English government to face. To replace her by force upon the Scottish throne was out of the question, nor did it seem wise to let her go to France to become an instrument of the Catholic party. The difficulty was met by holding her a prisoner in England. Foreign Affairs 253 With the overthrow of Mary Stuart all danger from Scot- land passed away. The alliance with France was broken j Mary's son, James VI, was crowned at Stirling (1567), and under the guidance of Regent Murray, the young king's uncle, Scotland became definitely a Protestant power. Elizabeth, pp. 107-110, 114-117. Stirling Castle Foreign Affairs. — On the Continent conditions had Creightc changed. France, torn by political and religious strife, was A S eo f no longer a menace to England. Catherine de' Medici, the queen mother and actual ruler, feared the power and ambi- tion of the house of Guise, a branch of the royal line. This division among the Catholics enabled the Huguenots or Divisions in reformed party to make great headway in spite of the oppo- France> sition of the government. The Guises were supported by Philip of Spain, and under these conditions France sought the support of England. The French alliance was the 254 The Tudors and the Reformation foundation of Elizabeth's foreign policy during the middle part of her reign. It was only temporarily interrupted by the terrible massacre of the Huguenots at the order of the French government in 1572. Elizabeth even went so far as seriously to entertain the idea of marrying one of the sons of Catherine de' Medici. Negotiations concerning the Duke of Anjou, and later, the Duke of Alencon, were carried on for some time, but came to nothing. The good understanding between France and England Creighton, imposed a check upon Spain. Moreover, Philip's efforts to Age of root out Protestantism throughout his dominions had resulted pp.V-97.' m tne revo ^ °f tne Netherlands in 1568. The ruthless 110-113, 118- measures of Alva, the Spanish general, only made the Dutch * 2 °' , more determined, and under the leadership of William of Revolt of the n ' ,. . l r Netherlands, Orange, the movement to secure religious freedom was 1568. gradually converted to an attempt to throw off the rule of Spain. With all his resources, Philip was unable to crush the insurrection, and it was clear that interference from England would insure his defeat. Thus Elizabeth was mistress of the situation. Danger from France could always be averted by strengthening the Huguenots. The possibility of an alliance between Eng- land and his Dutch subjects served to hold Philip in check. Source-Book, Some of the royal ministers and a large party in the nation pp. 169-172. were opposed to this opportunist policy. They desired that Elizabeth should commit herself to the Protestant cause, by frankly taking sides with the French Huguenots and the re- volted Netherlanders. Moreover, they felt that the safety of England required the queen's marriage with a Protestant and the settlement of the succession. To such a course Elizabeth was steadily opposed. She preferred the tortuous methods of diplomacy to open, direct dealings. Policy for- bade her to wed the only suitor for whom she cared, the Earl of Leicester, one of her own subjects. Moreover, she realized that her marriage with a Protestant would at once precipitate a crisis by making the Catholics desperate. 256 The Tudors and the Reformation Thirty-nine Articles. Test Act, 1562. Green, PP- 389-392. Catholic plots. Creighton, Age of Elizabeth, pp. 126-130. Bright, II, 567-569- The Puritans. Enforcement of Uniformity. — At first Elizabeth had moved cautiously in her ecclesiastical policy, but the men- acing attitude of the Catholic powers led to increased rigor toward the English Romanists. In 1563, acceptance of thirty-nine of the forty-two articles promulgated under Edward VI was demanded of the clergy. The Act of Uni- formity was more stringently enforced, and by the Test Act of 1562, the first in a long series of penal statutes against the Catholics, the oath of supremacy was required of all members of the House of Commons. About 1569 the Catholic resistance came to a head. The failure of Mary Stuart in Scotland and the backwardness of the great orthodox powers helped to throw matters into the hands of the people. In 1569 the Earls of Westmore- land and Northumberland formed a plot to put Mary Stuart in Elizabeth's place and to restore Catholicism. Their scheme found support in the north, but the rising was easily quelled. In 1570 the Pope issued a bull excommunicating Elizabeth, and two years later a new conspiracy against the queen was hatched. The object of the Ridolfi plot was, as before, the overthrow of Elizabeth and Protestantism. It was discovered in time by Cecil's spies, and the leading Catholic noble, the Duke of Norfolk, who, in case of suc- cess, was to have married Mary Stuart, was put to death. Religious disturbance was not all from the Catholic party. Many of the people felt that the queen had not gone far enough in the reform of the Church. They had no thought of separating from the establishment, and at first there was little objection to Episcopacy, but they desired greater sim- plicity of worship and a preaching ministry. The strict en- forcement of the Act of Uniformity after 1565 forced the Puritans, as they were called, into forming a definite party, and led to attempts on their part to establish their own meetings outside the Church. But they found no favor with the government. Their conventicles were suppressed, and the " prophesyings " or meetings of the Puritan clergy were prohibited. The bishops were the chief instrument through The Crisis of the Reign 257 which the government acted, and there grew up in conse- quence a feeling of hostility to Episcopacy, which was strengthened by the growth of Presbyterianism in Scotland. In 15 7 1, Cartwright, Professor of Divinity at Cambridge, Green, in two addresses to Parliament, attacked the episcopal PP- 467-469- organization as well as the prayer book ceremonial. The Puritans were not representative of the nation as a whole, Greeni but they were intelligent and active, and they exerted an pp. 460-464. influence out of proportion to their numbers. The Crisis of the Reign. — For more than thirty years Elizabeth succeeded in keeping peace, and while other countries were wasted by war or torn with religious strife, England grew prosperous and strong. War had been so long averted only because Philip II, no less than Elizabeth, Green, was a sincere lover of peace. Fear of France, the financial pp- 4 II -4 I 5- straits of Spain, his own inclinations, all led him to avoid source-Book, war. Spanish ships were plundered on every sea by Eng- pp. 184, 185. lish privateers, England gave aid and sympathy to the Dutch and opened her doors to the religious refugees ; still the Spanish king's instructions to his ambassadors were to strive to preserve Elizabeth's friendship. But circumstances were gradually forcing the two coun- Creighton, tries into war. The Papacy was becoming aggressive. In A ^ t °{ th 1579 an attempt was made to strike a blow at England pp.^-^s. through Ireland, where the people were Catholic and dis- Green, affected. A little later it became plain that influences were pp- 405-410- at work to build up a Catholic party in Scotland. A well- organized plan was at length developed for the reconversion of England. In 1580 two Jesuit missionaries landed in England, and others soon followed. In various disguises they wandered about the country, reviving the zeal of the Catholic party. Their success was great, and there seemed to be danger that they might undo all that had been gained by Elizabeth's policy of compromise. Persecution was re- newed. Jesuits were made liable to the penalties of treason, and all harboring them were declared rebels. Catholics were commanded to recall their children from the Continent. The Crisis of the Reigji 259 The fines for recusancy l were increased to ^20 a month. In 1584 a Catholic plot to remove Elizabeth by assassina- tion and put Mary in her place, was discovered. The Creighton, reality of the danger that threatened the queen was shown A s\ ■ °f by the murder of William of Orange, in this same year. ^7 5 ?-i6o The Catholics stood now in open hostility. Still Elizabeth was unwilling to throw in her lot decidedly with the Protes- tants of the Continent, and in 1585 she refused to accept the sovereignty of the Dutch States. On the Continent the course of affairs was turning against Creighton. the reformers. In 1584, by the death of the Duke of A /. e ff , Alengon, Henry of Navarre, head of the Huguenots, became P p.~i6i-i66. heir to the French crown. The extreme Catholic element, led by the Guises, at once took alarm, and formed an alli- ance with Spain with the avowed object of excluding Prot- estants from the French throne and extirpating Protestantism throughout Spanish and French territory. When Henry III, the French king, finally decided to throw in his lot with the League, 2 the fate of the Huguenots seemed sealed. At the same time the position of the Netherlanders was becoming desperate. Everywhere the Spanish, under Parma, the greatest general of the century, were gaining ground. Unless Elizabeth would see the Dutch revolt crushed she must send aid. In 1585 English troops under Leicester landed in Holland. Elizabeth was no longer mistress of the situation, and her Green, peace policy was breaking down. Her own subjects were pp - 4 I 5-4 I 7- forcing her hand ; they longed " to have a good, severe, open war with Spain, as the only road to an honorable settle- ment." The discovery at this juncture of Babington's conspiracy, a formidable plot organized by some of the Catholics to assassinate Elizabeth and place Mary Stuart on the throne, forced the government to act with decision and sealed the fate of the queen of Scots. For eighteen years 1 Recusants were those who refused to attend the services of the Estab- lished Church. 2 The alliance between the Guises and Spain was known as the League. 26o The Tudors and the Reformation Execution of Mary Stuart, 1587. Source-Book, pp. 173-178. Creighton, Age of Elizabeth, pp. 172-180. Green, pp. 417-420. Froude, Hist, of England, ch. XXXVI. Source-Book, pp. 178-184. Green, pp. 446-451 Source-Book, pp. 186-188. Mary had been held a prisoner in England, the centre oi Catholic intrigue. It was now urged that the only way of saving Elizabeth's life was to destroy the woman whose con- tinued existence gave encouragement to plans of assassina- tion. With unfeigned reluctance Elizabeth signed the death warrant, and on February 8, 1587, Mary was beheaded. The Armada. — Mary's death made it possible for England to meet Spain with a united front. For some time Philip had been planning an invasion of England. In 1588 the preparations were complete, and the " Invincible Armada," a fleet of over one hundred and fifty vessels, set sail for the English coast. With her usual parsimony and dilatoriness, Elizabeth had delayed taking measures for defence. The royal navy contained but thirty-eight ships all told, most of them small and ill equipped. But private enterprise made good the royal shortcomings, and the men of every port sent their best ships well manned to fight the Spaniards. The great enterprise ended in disaster. Parma and his troops from the Netherlands failed to effect a union with the fleet. The superior seamanship of the English made it possible for them to harass and destroy many of the Span- ish ships while avoiding the general engagement which they dared not risk. A terrible storm rendered unmanageable the unwieldy galleons of the Spaniards, and they were driven upon unfriendly coasts and lost. Of the great fleet but fifty-four ships lived to return to Spain. England's danger was averted. Ireland under the Tudors. — In the reign of Elizabeth the conquest of Ireland was at last made real. For more than three centuries England had held nominal sway over the sister island, but outside the Pale English authority was scarcely recognized. The Irish had even regained part of the terri- tory that they had lost. The English government was too poor and too weak to effect a real conquest, and it strove to control Ireland through the influence of some native chief. During a short period of quiet in the reign of Henry VII, Sir Edward Poyning was sent over to negotiate a settlement, 262 The Tudors and the Reformation Green, pp. 451-454. Green, pp. 454-458- The Plantations. and he succeeded in inducing the Irish Parliament to pass an act called Poyning's Law, by which its legislative de- pendence upon the king of England and his council was acknowledged. The progress of the Reformation in England increased the difficulties of the Irish situation. Protestantism had made no headway in Ireland, but Henry VIII had used tact in his dealings with the Irish chiefs, and the Royal Supremacy was generally acknowledged. Under Edward VI the reformed Church was established by law, but nothing was done to educate the people in the reformed faith. The Bible was not translated into the native tongue, and the services were read in English. Under Elizabeth the same course was pursued. The result was to connect Protestantism with an alien and hated rule and to attach the Irish strongly to the ancient Church. Unfortunately a new cause for trouble appeared at this time. The plan of conquering Ireland by colonizing dis- affected districts with English settlers was first tried under Mary, and the idea was eagerly caught up by the adventur- ous, money-getting spirit of the next reign. An insurrection among the native Irish of Ulster in 1565 forced the English government to turn its attention seriously to the problem of pacifying the country. The rebellion of Shane O'Neill was easily suppressed, but it led to the formation of plans for the planting of Munster with English settlers. Fear of being driven from the land roused the Irish to fury. A succession of insurrections in Munster, Ulster, and Con- naught followed. The interference of the Catholic powers of the Continent increased the danger of the situation, and it was not until 1584, after fifteen years of warfare marked by terrible atrocities on both sides, that the English authority was reestablished and order restored. But the grounds for discontent were too deep rooted to be easily removed. Race hostility combined with religious feeling and fear for their lands to keep disaffection alive among the Irish. In 1597 the O'Neills, led by the Earl of Close of Elizabeth 's Reign 263 Tyrone, broke out in revolt. The Earl of Essex, Leicester's Tyrone's stepson, was sent over with a large army, but his expedition reDellion - was a failure. The Spanish came to Tyrone's aid, and it was not until 1602 that the rebellion was crushed. The conquest of Ireland seemed at last complete. The leaders had been cut off, every rising had been followed by confiscations, and half the gentry had been dispossessed. The land was deso- late and the people were filled with bitterest hatred toward the English. Close of Elizabeth's Reign. — The destruction of the Ar- mada was the turning-point in Elizabeth's reign. One by one the dangers which beset her when she ascended the throne had cleared away. Although the war with Spain still dragged on, there was no fear of a second invasion. In 1593 Henry of Navarre, the Huguenot leader, became king of France. In Scotland, James VI was looking forward hopefully to succeed Elizabeth on the throne and guided his course in accordance with her wishes. Domestic dangers had been overcome by the queen's mod- Bright, II, eration and by her broad, national treatment of the religious s69, 57a question. At the time of the Armada, patriotic feeling triumphed and the Catholics remained loyal, refusing to take advantage of the difficulties of the government. Many of them found their way into the Anglican Church and formed the nucleus of the High Church party of the next reign. The queen persisted in refusing all concessions to the Puritans. Green, The Court of High Commission, permanently organized in p P- 470-474- 1583 to exercise the ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the crown, took severe measures to repress nonconformity. It was impossible, however, to put down the Puritans. They were a strong element in the House of Commons and found sup- port even in the Privy Council. Persecution only increased their activity. A vigorous pamphlet war was carried on against what they held to be abuses in the Church. 1 Some of the extreme Protestants carried their views so far as to 1 A series of tracts, signed Martin Marprelate, attacked the bishops violently, causing great excitement. 264 The Tudors and the Reformation The Inde- pendents. Green, pp. 401-405. Political Orations, Camelot Series. Creighton, Age ot Elizabeth, pp. 228, 229. separate from the Church, and form the Brownist or Inde- pendent sect ; but in the main, although desirous of certain changes, they supported the Episcopal establishment. In political matters, a good understanding existed between the queen and her subjects. The administration was eco- nomical ; Parliament responded cheerfully, as a rule, to the royal demands for supplies. In 1601 an attack was made on the assumed power of the crown to grant monopolies. 1 This was an important source of revenue, but the House made a determined stand, and the queen gave way with dignity. It was plain that a spirit of independence was growing. Parliament, at the close of the century, was a very different body from the Parliament that Henry VIII had used to carry out his will under constitutional forms. The Upper House had gained by the substitution of a lay for a spiritual majority after the dissolution of the monas- teries, yet the new nobility, of which it was largely com- posed, was still subservient to the crown and rarely opposed the royal will, — but in the House of Commons there was great change. Constant employment in important business, even though as a tool, had given it experience and confidence. A powerful middle class, wealthy, intelligent, and trained in the conduct of local affairs, had sprung up in the towns and in the country, and now formed the strongest element in the Lower House. Lawyers had become numerous and influential. Puritan feeling, the new spirit of enterprise, increased foreign intercourse, all combined to give the Commons a bolder temper and greater breadth of view. 2 The discipline of a century was bearing fruit. In 1603 the old queen died. With masculine intellect and womanly devotion she had labored in the service of the 1 The exclusive right of trading in some article of commerce. 2 Until the sixteenth century local residence was required of shire and borough representatives. Under the Tudors this requirement was con- stantly evaded, and was repealed in 1571 as regards burgesses. This change had the effect of bringing into Parliament a more independent and intelligent class of men. During this century the practice of paying mem- bers died out. Close of Elizabeth 's Reign 265 nation, sacrificing personal happiness to its interests, and she spoke from the heart in her last words to the Commons : " Though you have had, and may have many princes Green, more mighty and wise sitting in this seat, yet you never PP- 453,459- had, or ever shall have, any that will be more careful and loving." Under Elizabeth the power of the Tudor mon- archy reached its height. Her rule was a national rule, for what was true of Henry VIII was even truer of his great daughter. The strength of the throne lay not in wealth or force, but in the national support given because of the people's confidence in their ruler. Elizabeth's Cradle Winter, Shakespeare's England Important Events Reign of Henry VII, 1 485-1 509. Alliance with Scotland, 1503. Reign of Henry VIII, 1 509-1 547. War with France, 15 12-15 14. Fall of Wolsey, 1529. Long Parliament of the Reformation, 1 529-1 536. Marriage with Anne Boleyn, 1533. Separation from Rome, 1534. The Six Articles, 1539. Fall of Cromwell, 1 540. 266 The Tudors and the Reformation Reign of Edward VI, 1547—1553. War with Scotland, 1547. Overthrow of Somerset, 1549. Reign of Mary, 15 53-1 558. Marriage with Philip, 1554. Reunion with Rome, 1554. Beginning of persecution, 1555. Loss of Calais, 1558. Reign of Elizabeth, 1 558-1603. Acts of Supremacy and Uniformity, 1559. Overthrow of Mary Stuart, 1567. Foundation of the United Netherlands, 1572. Massacre of St. Bartholomew, 1572. Arrival of Jesuits, 1580. Execution of Mary Stuart, 1587. Defeat of the Armada, 1588. Chief Contemporaries 267 I S S I "4 1 I I g I I § -6 "H* * 3 B B > - 5 I r T! T3 s 1 1 W Cd S ■Q CHAPTER IX ENGLAND OF THE TUDORS Books for Consultation Sources Harrison, Description of England. More, Utopia. Payne, Voyages of Elizabethan Seamen. Henderson, Sidelights, etc. Special Authorities Cunningham, Alien Immigrants to England. Thorold Rogers, Six Centuries of Work and Wages. Cunningham and MacArthur, Outlines of English Industrial History. Hevvins, English Trade and Finance. Innes, England under the Tudors. Froude, History of England, Vol. I, Ch. I ; English Seamen. Seeley, Expansion of England. Traill, Social England, II and III. Corbett, Drake. Creighton, Sir Walter Raleigh. Imaginative Literature Kingsley, Westward Ho.' The Transformation of England. — Modern England, a great maritime, commercial, and industrial power, began to take shape under the Tudors. Social and economic condi- tions were changing, the old mediaeval industrial system was breaking up, and trade and commerce, animated by a keener and bolder spirit, sought out new channels of enter- prise. In the fifteenth century England was still in the main an agricultural country ; wheat and wool were her 268 change. The Transformation of England 269 staple crops, and she bore to Flanders the relation that Australia now bears to the mother country. By 1600 wool was forbidden to be sent abroad, and woollen cloth had be- come an important article of export. 1 When the first Tudor ascended the throne, a royal navy scarcely existed, and much of England's carrying trade was in the hands of foreigners. The defeat of the Armada in the reign of Elizabeth paved the way for the ultimate maritime and commercial supremacy of England. Fore- Causes for most amongst the causes for these changes was the dis- covery of the New World. Trade with America became important, and England's position to the west of Europe gave her at once a superiority over all rivals. The reli- gious conflicts of the Continent, resulting as they did in the disturbance of trade and industry there, redounded greatly to England's advantage. ,The order and peace of England under Tudor rule attracted capital, and the greater liberty of worship brought to her shores religious refugees, who enriched the kingdom with their industry and skill. Nor should the effect of the policy of the crown be overlooked. The Tudor rule was despotic, but it was at least paternal. The statute books of the century testify to the unwearying interest of the government in the welfare of the people and in the development of national wealth. No aspect of industry was overlooked. Agriculture, commerce, manufacture, each received atten- tion. Encouragement was given to new enterprises, efforts were made to stimulate decaying industries. Exports and imports were regulated, prices were fixed, and the character and quality of goods to be manufactured were prescribed. Wages were determined by law and the con- ditions of service settled by the government in minute detail. The records of the first session of Elizabeth's second Parliament illustrate the all-pervading activity of 1 Exportation of woollen cloth amounted to 5000 pieces in 1354, to 120,000 pieces in 1547. 270 England of the Tudors the State. On the same page stand acts for the encourage- ment of tillage, for the regulation of artificers, laborers, and apprentices, for the maintenance of the navy and fisheries, for the exclusion of divers foreign wares, and against the carrying of sheepskins and pelts out of the kingdom. Everywhere the State interfered to direct individual enterprise. The Agricultural Revolution. — In the latter part of Traill, II, 544-S5o; III, 114-118, 239-241, 351-359, 533-535- Sour i -193. Old London Bridge Marck, Konigin Elizabeth the fifteenth century sheep-raising had become very prof- itable, because of the great demand for English wool and the high prices paid for it. There resulted a strong tendency to the formation of great sheep farms, and estates were rapidly converted from tillage to pasture. As land became increasingly valuable the commons were enclosed, and the open fields, the arable lands tilled by the villagers, were not infrequently seized by the lord under a strained interpretation of his property rights. Action of the Government 271 Evictions of the peasants became frequent ; houses, whole Bright, II, villages even, were torn down, and the fields were turned 47°. 47*- into sheepwalks. The report of a royal Commission of Inquiry in 15 17 gave many instances of villages made Enclosures. desolate. " All the houses of Burton Lazars in the same vill (Choysell) are laid waste, and the inhabitants have departed ; and there belong to the same houses 300 acres of land, whereof 40 are ploughed, but the rest are in pasture ; and by this downfall, the church has fallen into ruins." Effect upon Agricultural Classes. — These changes brought profit to the landlords and to yeomen holding land in their own right, but they entailed great suffering on the cottagers and small tenant farmers. Rents were raised and at the same time the rights of common pasture were cut off. Moreover, work became scarce, for one man was now em- ployed where formerly the labor of many was required. " For whereas," wrote Latimer, " have been a great many householders and inhabitants, there is now but a shepherd and his dog." Sir Thomas More, in his Utopia, voiced the popular grievance : " Sheep," he declared, " become so great devourers and so wild that they eat up and swallow down the very men themselves. They consume, destroy, and devour whole fields, houses, and citizens." The small holders were ruined, and many of them became homeless wanderers, swelling the ranks of paupers and vagabonds. Action of the Government. — The government recog- Legislation, nized the evil of this state of things and -strove to meet it by legislation. It was decreed that no man should keep more than two thousand sheep, and at the disso- lution of the monasteries a statute was passed requiring the new owners to " occupy yearly as much of the same demesnes in ploughing and tillage of husbandry ... as hath been commonly used." But these measures availed little, and as late as 1597 Parliament was still legislat- ing against enclosures. The money-making spirit of the 272 England of the Tudors age was too strong to be controlled. By fraud and petty- persecution the small men were driven off the land. It was a common practice to run a single furrow over a field and then declare it ploughed. Hales, a contemporary writer, speaks of men "fathering sheep on children and servants," thus keeping within the limit of the law. The View in Great Friar's Street, Worcester Britton, Picturesque Antiquities of the English Cities evil continued until the beginning of the next century, when the diminished value of wool and the high prices of meat and grain brought about a change and led to the conver- sion of pasture lands back to tillage. The Decay of Towns. — Not alone in the country were great changes taking place. Side by side with laws which point to the miserable condition of the rural population are others that would seem to indicate the decay of industry TJie Decay of Towns 273 and trade and the impoverishment of the towns. Many anciently important places lost in population and wealth during this period. The decay of towns was chiefly due to the ill-judged monopoly of the gilds, which discouraged new enterprises in the districts they controlled. The usefulness of the gild system was gone; it no longer served its original purpose, since the societies had become narrow corporations. Mem- The Gilds, bership was restricted to the sons of members or to such outsiders as could pay heavily for the privilege, hence it was no longer possible for the average journeyman to be- come a master craftsman. The general policy of the gov- ernment was to strengthen the gilds while bringing them under local control, but the increasing activity of trade was inconsistent with the antiquated regulations, and labor and capital turned to the rural districts and to towns where the old system of restriction had never been authorized. Thus while old centres of industry fell into decay, new vil- lages, such as Manchester and Sheffield and Birmingham, were becoming rich and important. Growth of Manufactures. — Manufactures steadily gained in importance under the Tudors. The government was unremitting in its endeavors to promote an interest so Protection, favorable to national prosperity, and did what it could to foster domestic industry. The export of materials that could be manufactured at home was forbidden and the con- sumption of English goods was enforced by statute. In the reign of Elizabeth it was enacted that every person, except ladies, peers, and a few others, should " on Sundays and Holidays wear on their Head a Cap of Wool made in England." The manufacturing interest owed less, however, to legis- lation than to the steady hospitality which the government extended to the persecuted of other lands. In the latter part of the reign of Henry VIII there began an immigra- Immigra- tion of religious refugees which continued for more than a century and a half. These refugees, who came chiefly from tion. 274 England of the Tudors France and the Netherlands, were usually skilled workmen, and they introduced many new and important industries, such as the making of lace, thread, needles, paper, fustian, and silk. The foreign craftsmen were most numerous in the eastern counties, but they settled in many parts of the country. They sometimes took possession of abandoned monastic buildings. About 1544 Flemings and Walloons swarmed into England and established at Norwich the silk industry, the source of the later prosperity of that region. Sheffield owed the great improvement in its cutlery to the same source, while at the fall of Antwerp, one-third of the merchants and manufacturers of that city came to London. Spite of the political complications that the reception of these exiles occasionally caused, the attitude of the govern- ment was usually friendly. Sometimes immigration was op- posed by the jealousy of the English, but as a rule its value was recognized, and several towns petitioned the govern- ment to have strangers allotted them. Green, Favored by political and economic conditions, manufac- P- 394- tures took a vigorous start. The eastern counties were noted for their worsteds and fine cloth, and even the back- ward north felt the effect of the new spirit and developed its own special line of friezes and rough goods. Silk weaving, the making of felt hats, the manufacture of ordnance, ■ — all became industries of national impor- tance, employing many hands and adding wealth to the country. The Royal Navy. — It had been the policy of the English sovereigns to own but few ships, but to depend in time of war upon vessels furnished by the Cinque Ports 1 in accord- ance with their charters, and on vessels impressed for the occasion. Henry VII did something to strengthen the royal fleet, and Henry VIII still more. The latter king organized the navy as a standing force, and from this time the names of great admirals appear side by side with those of great 1 The Cinque Ports were Sandwich, Dover, Hythe, Romney, and Hastings. The Royal Navy 275 generals. The pride of Henry's fleet was the Henri Grace Traill, II, a Dieu. In this mr.gnificent vessel the king sailed from 494; Dover to meet Francis on the Field of the Cloth of Gold. 45 8l 4 62, Henry increased the navy to seventy vessels, but under his 470-472. successors it declined. The loss of Calais, although in the end a great relief to England, was an immediate in- jury to her maritime position. Elizabeth, thrifty here as everywhere, was unwilling to spend upon a navy. Of THE SHIP Henri Grace a Dieu Cumberland, The Story of the Union Jack the vessels that went out to meet the Armada, only about thirty belonged to the State. Toward the close of Eliza- beth's reign the royal navy was increased somewhat by cap- tures from the Spanish and by a few new ships. 1 Although the government did little directly to build up a navy, yet it made some effort to foster the fisheries, as the best school for seamanship. Early in the reign of Elizabeth, a statute was passed making the eating of flesh on Friday and Satur- day a misdemeanor, in order to create a market for fish and so forward the "increase of fishermen and mariners." 1 The largest and finest British-built ship of the century was the Triumph, of about 1 100 tonnage. Source-Book r 53. 154- 276 England of the Tudors Froude, Hist, of England, ch. IX. Merchant Companies. Exploration and Commerce. — Henry VII was quick to see what would increase the wealth and prosperity of the country, and he did much to advance commerce and the carrying trade. He made commercial treaties with Den- mark and Florence and Flanders. The treaty with Flanders, "The Great Intercourse" (1496), provided for free trade "in all commodities to each other's ports without pass or license," and Henry caused it to be sent to all the great towns in England, that the mayor might affix to it the seal of the city "for equality and stableness of the matter." Laws were also passed for the encouragement of the carry- ing trade. Henry's example was followed to some extent by his successors, but the results were not great. In 1573 the burden of all shipping engaged in the regular trade was less than fifty thousand tons. In the sixteenth century commercial enterprise was closely connected with exploration and adventure, and Englishmen seemed loath to venture forth upon untravelled ways. England's first great achievement in the exploration of the New World was undertaken by foreigners. John and Sebastian Cabot were Genoese sailors who made voyages along the east coast of North America under the auspices of Henry VII, and so claimed the land for the English king. John Cabot returned from this famous enterprise in July, 1497, and in August the king's diary contains the fol- lowing entry: "To him that discovered the new Isle ^10." In spite of the small cost to the crown of these explora- tions, the Cabots met with little encouragement, and in 15 1 2 Sebastian left the English service not to return until the reign of Edward VI. He was then induced to accept an office created for him, that of "Governor of the Mystery and Company of the Merchant Adventures for the Discov- ery of Regions, Dominions, Islands and Places unknown." In the reign of Elizabeth commerce slowly developed. Merchant companies were formed to secure a share in the trade of foreign lands. The Russia Company was founded in 1566, and the Turkey Company in 1581, but the most Exploration and Ci ommerce 277 important by far of these associations was the East India Company, which was incorporated in 1600, and which was to play an important part in English history in the follow- ing centuries. *~j^a.tj^**/f Under Elizabeth many influences combined to trans- Green, form the stay-at-home English into a nation of mariners PP- 394. 395 and explorers. The spirit of adventure and the love of gain were growing. Also, England's cherished indepen- 278 E?igland of the Tudors Green, pp. 415-417- 419. Traill, III, 472-475- dence was endangered by Spain, and Spain was a maritime state and striving to hold a monopoly of the New World. Thus England was forced to build up her power on the sea. Moreover, Spain, as the champion of the Pope, made war on Protestant shipping. Hence religious fervor and patriotism combined to give something of the character of a crusade to enterprises that were often little more than buc- caneering raids. The risks were great, but the returns were even greater, and privateering 1 became a favorite occupa- tion for sea-captains and a profitable investment for capital. Elizabeth favored the privateers. She liked daring and adventure and delighted in achievements secured without expense to the crown. So, while the two governments were still formally at peace, Spanish and English sailors were fighting on every sea, and politic as might be Elizabeth's regrets for the depredations committed by her subjects, she was too wise to interfere with enterprises that increased the national wealth and insured the national defence. Unchecked, therefore, by the government, irregular commerce flourished, while Drake and Raleigh and Hawkins and a host of others made the name of England famous throughout the world. Although the general trend was westward, yet English ships were found on all seas, in the Mediterranean and in the Pacific, in the China Sea and in the Indian Ocean. The English Colonies. — It is worthy of note that Eng- land was the last of the great European states to enter upon colonial enterprise, in spite of the fact that her attempts to become a continental power ended with the fifteenth cen- tury. Through the voyages and explorations of the Cabots in 1497 and 1498 the English secured preemptive right to the North American coast from Cape Breton to Albemarle Sound. But England was backward and unfortunate in asserting her claims. It was not until the reign of Elizabeth that attempts were made to secure a foothold in the New World, and then the colonization schemes of Frobisher and 1 A privateer is an armed private vessel commissioned by a state to make war upon the enemy's commerce. The Old Order and the New 279 Gilbert and Raleigh all ended in failure. At the close of the six- Green, teenth century England had no possessions outside of Europe. PP- 5°5. 5 06 - The Old Order and the New. — The organization of society in England underwent a great transformation in the six- Traill, n, teenth century. The old balance of classes had broken 457-464, down. The Reformation deprived the clergy of much of 2 g-s4. their former power. They had lost their predominance in the House of Lords ; they were no longer employed in the great offices of State. Their wealth and territorial influence had vanished, and, more than all else, with the Act of Su- premacy their independence was gone. The strongest class of the preceding centuries was now become the weakest. The ancient nobility, with their military habits, their feudal traditions, and their great local importance, had well-nigh disappeared. In the north alone did they retain something of their former power and spirit. The new nobility which had replaced the old were of the official or courtier class ; they owed their estates to the crown ; they had little local influence, and they rarely showed any political energy. The growing importance of the middle class gave it an influence in legislation equal to that of the nobility. The townsmen were richer, more energetic, and more intelli- gent than ever before. Many families rose to position and influence through the distribution of the monastic property. The growth of trade and commerce created a class of wealthy merchants eager to possess themselves of land and to found county families. These different elements, bound together by many interests, trained in public work through service as justices of the peace, 1 and in close touch with outside concerns, formed the strongest class in the realm, and furnished the basis of the Tudor power. Among the lower classes diverse tendencies were apparent. The small landowners, the yeomanry, gained in strength, but on the other hand the small tenant farmers and the laborers 1 Unpaid county officers appointed by the crown, with power to main- tain order and to administer justice in petty cases. The office dates from the reign of Richard I, the title from the reign of Edward III. 280 England of the Tit dors underwent a season of great misery and depression, and many of them were forced to have recourse to charity. Bright, II, Pauperism and Poor Relief . — Transition usually implies 4 8 ~ 472 ' suffering, and it was to be expected that the disturbed industrial conditions would for a time affect disastrously the working classes. The marked increase in pauperism during the century is therefore not surprising. One cause of the evil is found in the agricultural changes. Sir Thomas More describes the condition of those evicted to make room for sheep : " By one means or other . . . they must needs depart away. ... All their household stuff . . . being suddenly thrust out, they be constrained to sell it for a thing of naught. And when they have wandered abroad till that be spent, what can they else do but steal, or else go about a-begging? and yet then also they be cast in prison as vagabonds, because they go about and work not ; whom no man will set a work though they never so willingly proffer themselves thereto." The difficulties of the situation were aggravated by the rise in prices due to the issues of debased coin 1 under Henry VIII and Edward VI, and, in the reign of Elizabeth, to the influx of silver from America. Moreover, the decay in husbandry, combined with the great increase in the population, from three millions in 1485 to four and one-half millions in 1 54 7, occasioned a real scarcity of food. In the sixteenth century, as now, side by side with the helpless poor were found the worthless and the lazy. Com- plaints were frequently made of the " sturdy beggars," fore- runners of the modern tramp, who swarmed over the country, terrorizing the rural districts. A contemporary writes of them : "If they ask at a farmer's house his charity, they will go strong as three or four in a company, where for fear more than good will they often have relief." At first there was no systematic attempt to cope with the 1 Under Henry III the coinage was systematically debased both in weight and in quality. This example was followed by Edward and Mary. In 1560 Elizabeth brought about the reestablishment of a sound currency by calling in the debased coins, paying for them in good new money. Social Habits 281 evil. Relief of the poor was originally a function of the Traill, Social Church, especially of the monasteries. The dissolution of ^-''S land ^ the religious houses and the seizure of gild property de- 245-256, stroyed the only system in existence for alleviating poverty. 548-558. It was impossible, however, that a government so paternal as Green, that of the Tudors should not endeavor to meet this need, pp- 30, 397- and step by step, by means of a long series of experiments, an elaborate system of poor relief was worked out. The responsibility of the civil power for the care of the poor was fully recognized, and what was formerly a religious duty, to be enforced by the Church, was now accepted as a public charge, to be met by a regular assessment on property by the local authorities. Each parish was bound to support its own poor. Gradually the proper distinction between pau- pers and vagabonds was established, houses of correction were erected for the lazy and vicious, while suitable relief was given to the helpless poor, and children were appren- ticed to a trade. Some effort was also made to provide work for able-bodied paupers. In 1601 the long series of The great statutes culminated in the great poor law of Elizabeth, an P oor law - elaboration of the principles and machinery already recog- nized. This in its main provisions remained the basis of the English system of poor relief until the eighteenth century. The close of the century saw not merely the establishment of a well-organized system of poor relief, but also a general improvement in the condition of the working classes. This was due chiefly to the increased demand for labor arising from the extension of the area under tillage, from improved methods of agriculture, and from the development of manufactures. Social Habits. — Extremes met in sixteenth-century Eng- Harper's, land : the growth in luxury and extravagance was as marked voL 8 3. PP- , . • • -r, . . ., , 602, 780, 94I as the increase in pauperism. Everywhere were visible new conceptions of comfort, increased attention to dis- Source-Book, play. From the time of Henry VIII there was a marked x 97-2o6. tendency toward rather vulgar ostentation in living. The gloomy, fortress-like dwellings of the nobility gave place to the Elizabethan manor-house, with its wide portals and long 282 England of the Tndors Green, PP- 30, 397- Bright, II, 466, 467, 486, 487. Interior of the Stratford Grammar School (Sixteenth Century) Winter, Gray Days and Gold lines of windows. In the towns, the growing wealth of the merchant class was indicated in the building of much finer residences, and throughout the country generally wooden houses were replaced by dwellings of brick or stone. A contemporary writer, in speaking of the changed manner of living, notes " the multitude of chimnies latilie erected," " the great amendment of lodging," " the exchange of vessels, as of woodden platters into pewter, and woodden spoons into silver or tin." Increased gorgeousness of attire was as marked as improved house-furnishings. The Englishmen's love of feasting had always been noticeable. A Spaniard, writing in the time of Mary, said of them, "they fare commonly as well as the king." This spread of luxury was viewed by many with dismay. " England spendeth more on wines in one year than it did in ancient times in four years," was the complaint of a royal minister. Numerous sumptuary laws were passed, with, however, but little effect. Elizabethan Literatim 283 Elizabethan Literature. — The promise of the Renaissance The was overwhelmed before it had reached its fulfilment by the Renaissance fierce tide of religious revolution. Reason and reform were R °f orn ^ a _ trampled under foot by dogma and fanaticism. During the tion. middle years of the century, the influence of the new learn- ing was shown chiefly in the great attention given to educa- tion. The sons and daughters of the upper classes were Timber House in the Corn Market, Worcester Britton, Picturesque Antiquities carefully trained, and the founding of grammar schools 1 under Henry VIII and Edward VI testified to an in- creased interest in the education of the children of the middle class. The settlement of the religious question under Elizabeth left men free to consider other things, and the earlier revival of letters bore fruit in the wonderful outburst of literary activity which marked the close of the century. 1 Over fifty grammar schools were established before the end of the reign of Henry VIII, and Edward VI endowed twenty more from the plunder of the chantries. 284 England of the Tudors The vigor of the national life was reflected in the origi- Green, nality of thought, the boldness of conception, that charac- pp. 401-404, ter j ze( j t h e wor icl of letters. Its restless curiosity, the 422-438. . J many-sidedness of its interests, found expression in a lit- erature which included the Novum Organon of Bacon and the Ecclesiastical Polity of Hooker, Spenser's Faerie Queene and Shakespeare's Hamlet. CHAPTER X THE PURITAN REVOLUTION Books for Consultation Sources Cromwell, Letters and Speeches (Carlyle). Boyle, Characters and Episodes selected from Clarendon. Ludlow, Memoirs. Hutchinson, Life of Colonel Hutchinson. Letters and Papers of the Vemey Family. Gardiner, Constitutional Documents of the Puritan Revolution. Adams and Stephens, Hill, Henderson, Prothero, as before. Special Authorities Gardiner, History of England from 1603-1642, History of the Great Civil War, History of the Commonwealth and Protectorate. Figgis, Theory of the Divine Right of Kings. Jenks, Constitutional Experiments of the Commonwealth. Hallam, Constitutional History of England. Montague, Political History of England, Vol. VII. Hutton, Laud. Trevelyan, England under the Stuarts. Goldwin Smith, Essays on Pym and Cromwell (in Three English Statesmen). Macaulay, Essay on Hampden. Marriott, Life and Times of Falkland. Harrison, Oliver Cromwell. Firth, Oliver Cromwell. Scott, E., Prince Rupert. Imaginative Literature Browning, Strafford. Scott, The Fortunes of Nigel, Woodstock. 2S5 286 The Puritan Revolution See p. 236. Bright, II, 581-584. James I (1603-1625). — Mary Stuart's son succeeded Elizabeth on the throne without dispute. The will of Henry VIII was quietly ignored. There was doubt as to the legitimacy of the heir to the crown in the Suffolk line; the Scotch king was a Protestant, his hereditary right was undoubted, the union of Scotland and England under one crown promised to put an end to the long-standing enmity between the two kingdoms. The accession of the house of Stuart 1 marks the close of a century of personal rule based on public opinion, and the opening of a century of conflict for supremacy between crown and Parliament. England had acquiesced in the Tudor despotism, because in the royal power lay the only means for securing peace at home and for carrying on the struggle against Spain and the papacy. Even after the danger was passed, habit and respect for Elizabeth still held in check the growing spirit of independence. But now the nation was ready and determined to take more active part in the control of affairs. James I came to the throne imbued with a belief in the divine right of kings, and he held exalted ideas of the royal prerogative. The great power of the Tudors, the cir- cumstances of his accession, the attitude of the party by James I, 1603-1625, m. Anne of Denmark s, Henry, Prince of Wales Charles I, m. Henrietta 1625-1640 I Maria of France '49 I Charles II, (nominally) 1649-1660, (actually) 1660-1685, m. Catherine of Braganza Mary, m. William II, Prince of Orange William III, Prince of Or- ange, King of Great Britain and Ireland, 1 689- 1 702 James II, 1685-1689, m. (1) Anne Hyde; I I 1 m. Mary Anne II, 1689- 1702- 1694 1 714 (2) Mary of Modena James (The Old Pretender) Charles Ed- ward (The Young Pre- tender) Elizabeth, m. Frederick V, Elector Palatine r Sophia George I, 1714-1727 Prince Rupert James and the Religious Issue 287 which he was surrounded, — all combined to strengthen him in a conception of the English kingship as something above the law. Moreover, he insisted, as the Tudors had never done, on a formal recognition of his claims. There was little in the Stuart king to make his preten- Gardiner, sions acceptable to the English people. He was of an ^ rtt f n a alien and unpopular race. His undignified bearing was p . 13. in sharp contrast to the royal carriage of his predecessor. His shrewd sense and rough wit could not make amends for the coarseness of his uncouth speech, and the national sense of decency was shocked by the grossness and unveiled immorality of his court. James and the Religious Issue. — The fundamental differ- Green, ences between the king and the people in respect to the pp- 474-480, power of the crown were certain to cause trouble, but James precipitated the conflict by his treatment of the religious situation. Men were beginning to think for themselves in matters of conscience; they were no longer willing to change their beliefs at the dictation of the ruler. Deepening religious feeling meant increased difference of opinion. At the death of Elizabeth the royal supremacy and the ecclesias- tical hierarchy were accepted by the bulk of the nation, but within the Church two parties were becoming sharply defined. One, the High Church party, laid great stress Parties in upon Episcopacy and external forms. The other, the the Church < Puritan party, which included a large part of the laity and many of the lower clergy, thought more of conduct than of church government, and desired greater simplicity of wor- ship. Nowhere was there a spirit of toleration. One church for all was the conception of the seventeenth cen- tury as it had been of preceding centuries. In Elizabeth's reign religious differences were silenced in the face of national danger, but now there was no moderating influence present among the people. The several parties looked forward to the coming of James with deep interest. Roman Catholics hoped for 288 The Puritan Revolution Bright, II, 587. 589- Millenary Petition. Source-Book, pp. 209-211. better times under the son of Mary Stuart. The extreme Puritans saw in the Scotch king only the Presbyterian and remembered that he had called the English service but an "evil-said mass." Hampton Court Conference (1604). — On his way to Lon- don the king was presented with a petition signed by 825 of the clergy. The Millenary Petition, as it was called, represented the wishes of a large body of the most earnest and able men of the country. It asked nothing that was inconsistent with the Church as established, but it urged greater freedom in certain matters of worship and the re- form of some recognized abuses. James showed the peti- tioners slight favor, but he called a conference of the leading divines of both parties to debate the situation in his presence. This apparent show of fairness was, however, belied by his bearing at the Hampton Court Conference, where he openly encouraged the bishops while browbeating the Puritans. It was plain that the royal influence would be on the side of the High Church party. James saw the religious question in the light of self- interest. He felt that equality in the Church would lead to equality in the State. He made the mistake of con- founding Puritanism with Presbyterianism, and he held that "A Presbytery agreeth as well with Monarchy as God and the Devil." On the other hand, he recognized the identity of interest between the hierarchy and the crown. "No bishop, no king," was his favorite maxim. The Hampton Court Conference was James's chance of acting as a medi- ator between two extreme parties, a part for which he was well fitted through his tolerant temper. He threw away this chance and allied himself with one small party. The new canons of 1604, excluding from their livings all clergy- men who questioned the complete accord of the prayer book with the Bible, was his answer to the demands of the Puritans. The Catholics. — Persecution of Catholics had relaxed, but their position was almost intolerable through insecurity James I and Parliament 289 and the opportunities afforded for petty and personal an- Gardiner, noyance. At first James showed willingness to abate the v" 1 ^. severity of the laws, but in a short time need for consist- pp . 20-23. ' ency or desire to conciliate the Puritans led to a change. All priests were banished, and the fines for recusancy were rigorously exacted. The immediate result was the Gun- Gunpowder powder Plot (1605), a conspiracy formed by a few desperate plot ' I<5 ° 5 ' men to blow up the Houses of Parliament and in the con- fusion that would follow to bring about a general rising. The plan, which was under the management of a soldier, Guy Fawkes, was discovered in time, and its only effect was to make toleration of the Catholics impossible for a century longer. James I and Parliament. — The Catholics, excluded from Green, the House of Commons by the Test Act, resorted to con- pp- 48o_ 4 8 5- spiracy, but the Puritans could show their dissatisfaction in more regular ways, and James soon found that he had roused a spirit which he could not control. Parliament met in 1604. Attendance at the opening of the session had never been so great, and it was estimated that three- fourths of the members were Puritans. The good under- standing which had always existed between Elizabeth and her Parliament was wanting from the start to her successor. James had aroused the jealousy of the Lower House by an ill-judged attempt to interfere in the elections. An address, called "A humble Form and Apology," was pre- pared by the Commons, but apparently never presented to the king, in which they declared that their privileges and Source . Book liberties were theirs "by right and inheritance," and that pp. 212-216.' their request to enjoy them was only "an act of manners." A determination was shown to grant no money until cer- tain abuses had been redressed. Purveyance and military tenures were attacked. The question of the new canons was taken up. The proposals of the Commons for settling the religious question reveal a sounder view of the situa- tion than was shown by the king or the bishops or the Hampton Court Puritans. They petitioned against the 290 The Puritan Revolution Gardiner, Puritan Revolution, pp. 17-20. practical evil of an illiterate and non-resident ministry, and they asked that it might be held sufficient for the clergy to subscribe to the doctrine of Royal Supremacy and to the thirty-nine Articles (p. 256), and that no man should be deprived of his living for objecting to the surplice or to the use of the cross in baptism. They Northwest View of Hatfield House Built for Robert Cecil, Earl of Salisbury, between 1605 and 1611 would have made the Church broad enough to include others than the High Church party. This first year was typical of the whole reign. James had no liking for Parliament; he showed neither dignity nor tact in his dealings with it. He wished to free him- self from its control, but from the outset he was hampered by need of money. Elizabeth had accustomed the nation to light taxes, and Parliament was not disposed to give generously. It met each request for aid with a demand for redress of grievances. To fill his empty treasury without Rtde of Favorites 291 appealing to Parliament James had recourse to many ques- tionable expedients. Additional customs or impositions Impositions, were levied by royal proclamation. The Commons pro- tested vigorously, but in 1606 the case of Bates, a merchant who had refused to pay the new customs, was decided in favor of the crown. Acting upon this decision, James issued a Book of Rates, by which all the customs were considerably increased. Commerce was growing rapidly and the revenue seemed assured, but the king was extrava- gant, and in 16 10 it again became necessary to appeal to Parliament for supplies. An attempt made by Cecil * to arrange a bargain by which James agreed to abandon the ancient feudal tenure of land with its exasperating claims in return for a regular grant, ended in failure, and Parlia- ment was dissolved. The Addled Parliament. — In 1614 the royal straits for money were so great that a new Parliament was called, but the House of Commons, which included among its mem- bers Eliot and Wentworth and Pym, leaders in the struggle that was soon to break out, fell at once to discussing the question of impositions. James dissolved Parliament in anger before anything had been accomplished. Rule of Favorites. — For seven years, from 1614 to 162 1, Green, James ruled without Parliament. Elizabeth had surrounded PP- 4 8 5-4 83 herself with statesmen, but after the death of Cecil in 1612 James took counsel chiefly with his favorites. The first of these was Robert Carr, Earl of Somerset, a courtier who had nothing to recommend him except his beauty and grace of manners. He was displaced by another intimate, George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham, who with scarcely greater Bucking- claims to statesmanship exercised until his death a control- ham- ling voice in the conduct of affairs. Year by year the breach between James and his subjects widened. There was general indignation at the profligacy and extravagance of the court, and the king's absolute 1 Robert Cecil, son of Elizabeth's great minister, Lord Burleigh, was James's chief adviser during the first years of his reign. 292 The Puritan Revolution methods gave frequent occasion for protest. Royal procla- mations having the force of law were issued in large num- bers. Monopolies, abandoned in the preceding reign, were again granted. Irregular means of raising supplies were employed. Peerages were sold, ancient feudal dues were re- vived, loans and benevolences were exacted. Blind to the effect of these measures upon the people, James boldly asserted his views of the royal power. " As for the absolute prerogative of the Crown," he declared in a speech in the Star Chamber in 16 16, " that is no subject for the tongue of a lawyer, nor is it lawful to be disputed. It is atheism and blasphemy to dispute what God can do; good Christians content themselves with His will revealed in His Word; so it is presumption and high contempt in a subject to dis- pute what a king can do, or say that a king cannot do this or that; but rest in that which is the king's will revealed in his law." Green, The Spanish Alliance. — The home and foreign policy of pp. 488, 489. j ames 1 were closely connected. His efforts to free himself from parliamentary control could be successful only so long as he kept out of war. During the early part of the reign, England's foreign relations were guided by Cecil in accord- ance with the traditions of Elizabeth's rule. The war with Spain was brought to an end. Through the combined efforts of the English minister and the French king the indepen- dence of the Dutch was virtually secured. James's eldest daughter Elizabeth was married to a Protestant prince of Germany, the Elector Palatine. A plan for an alliance be- tween Prince Henry and a daughter of Henry IV of France was frustrated by the untimely death of the young prince. After Cecil's death in 161 2 James was free to follow his own views. He was attracted by the idea of a Spanish alliance, and while Cecil was still alive he had proposed to marry Prince Charles to the Spanish Infanta. The king looked with admiration upon the absolutism of the Spanish monarchs, and he hoped in union with Spain to dictate peace to Europe. There was much to be said 294 The Puritan Revolution Gardiner, Puritan Revolution, pp. 29-31. Green, pp. 489-493- Gardiner, Puritan Revolution, pp. 31-39. in favor of these views. England needed peace, Spain was no longer a menace to her safety, and the commercial hos- tility of the two countries could be better settled by treaty than by war. But his policy was impracticable. The traditional enmity to Spain was still strong, and a Spanish alliance would mean toleration of the Catholics in England. Nevertheless James persisted in his plans. 1 The Thirty Years' War greatly increased the difficulties of the situation. In 16 18 the long-impending struggle between Catholics and Protestants broke out in Germany. James's own son-in-law, the Elector Palatine, was involved, and it was impossible for England to stand aloof. The king still clung to the idea of an alliance with Spain, and Signature of Francis, Lord Bacon strove to play the part of peacemaker, but the nation de- tested the Spanish connection and was anxious for war in the interests of Protestantism. Parliament and the Spanish Policy. — In 1620 a Spanish army invaded the Palatinate, and James, helpless without money, summoned Parliament to obtain supplies. The Commons came together (1621) hot for war, but when they found that the king was still bent on negotiating, they limited the money grant and turned fiercely upon the grievances that had been accumulating during the past seven years. Monopolies were attacked, and James was forced to give up the right of granting them. The long-disused weapon 1 As a concession to Spain, Sir Walter Raleigh, last of the great captains of Elizabeth's reign, was executed (1618) for his share in the attack upon a Spanish colony on the Orinoco. Colonial Enterprises 295 of impeachment was revived against the royal ministers. Impeach- Lord Bacon, the chancellor, was impeached and condemned ment of • , r 1 • 1 -l rr-l r ,■ • BaCQJtt. l62I. to severe punishment for taking bribes, lhe feeling against him was due in part to his systematic support of the royal prerogative. Protests were made against the Catholic alli- ance, and war with Spain was demanded. The temper of the Commons was rising, and a message from the king, for- bidding all consideration of foreign affairs, they met by a Protesta- strong declaration that the discussion of all affairs of State tlon » l621 - was within the province of Parliament. James, with his own hand, tore the Protestation from the Journals of the House. " I will govern according to the common weal, but not according to the common will," he declared, and ordered the dissolution of Parliament. More than ever bent on bringing about a close alliance Green, with Spain, the king permitted Prince Charles and Buck- pp- 494-496. ingham to undertake a romantic journey to Madrid to woo the young Infanta. The religious difficulties were too great to be overcome, and in a few months Charles and Buckingham were back in England, piqued at their failure and eager for war with Spain. At once all was changed. Negotiations were set on foot for marrying Charles to a French princess, Parliament was again summoned, and War with preparations for war were pushed forward. At this juncture Spain, 1624. the old king died. In twenty years James had turned re- spect for the monarchy into contempt and loyalty into hatred. He had insulted Parliament and asserted his authority as no Tudor had ever done, but in spite of his arbitrary methods, rather because of them, the constitu- tional gains of this reign outweighed all that had been achieved since the fall of the house of Lancaster. Colonial Enterprises. — The beginnings of permanent Green, English occupation and colonization in America belong to PP- 506-508, the reigns of the first two Stuarts. Some of the West Indian Islands — Barbadoes, Antigua, and Montserrat — then came into English possession. The settlement of Vir- ginia in 1607 was followed speedily by the planting of 296 The Puritan Revolution colonies to the north, — the New England group, 1 620-1 629, Maryland, 1634, — and by the middle of the seventeenth century England could boast of several strong settle- ments on the Atlantic seaboard. As a whole the colo- nial enterprises of England at this time were of exceptional character. They were not the result of a general migrating tendency in the English people, nor of a definite colonizing policy on the part of the government. The first two Stuarts were far too busily occupied in upholding the royal prerogative in England to concern themselves with schemes of conquest and settlement. They were, however, responsi- ble for the religious and political difficulties which resulted in a steady stream of emigration to America during the years between 1620 and the outbreak of the Civil War. Charles I (1625-1649). — Much was expected from the accession of Charles. The dignity of the young king's bearing and the decorum of his life had created a favorable impression, and his known hostility to the Spanish alliance aroused hopes of a more popular policy. But Charles was even less fitted than his father to rule the English people. He was narrow and obstinate. While believing as strongly as did James in the royal prerogative, he had even less comprehension of the popular temper. From first to last he showed himself incapable of understanding the condi- tions with which he had to deal. Green, The enthusiasm which greeted the new monarch soon pp. 485-487. C ooled. It became plain that Charles's opposition to Spain was the result of pique and did not imply an essential change of policy. Although the terms of the French mar- riage treaty 1 were not known at first, the mere fact of this alliance with a Catholic princess, coupled with greater leniency toward the English Catholics, aroused fears of a reaction. Moreover, the continued influence of Bucking- 1 By the marriage treaty freedom of worship and the custody of her children till the age of ten were secured to the queen. Charles also agreed to a suspension of Roman Catholic disabilities, although he had promised Parliament to do nothing of the kind. Chaki.es 1 Arbitrary Acts 297 ham gave little hope of more capable action abroad or more constitutional rule at home. Misgovernment of Charles and Buckingham. — The king Gardiner, met his first Parliament with a demand for money to carry Puritan /-1 j Revolution, on the war with Spam, but the Commons voted only a pp 4 8_ so . small part of what was desired and for the first time in two centuries refused to grant the general customs duty of ton- nage and poundage for life. The rigid execution of the law against the Catholics was demanded, and the king was asked to surround himself with counsellors in whom the people could confide. Hopeless of obtaining the necessary sup- plies, Charles dissolved Parliament. For a few months the king and Buckingham struggled along, raising money in irregular ways and endeavoring to win popularity by pushing forward the war with Spain. But an expedition to Cadiz ended in disaster through the Expedition duke's mismanagement, and in 1626 the king's necessities toCadlz - forced him to summon a new Parliament. In the hope of weakening the opposition, Charles had caused the most prominent members of the last House of Commons to be appointed sheriffs, thus preventing their return. The Com- mons, however, found an able and fearless leader in Sir Attack on John Eliot and at once took up the discussion of griev- Buckin s ham - ances. Buckingham was looked upon as the cause of all Green, difficulties, and the Commons, despite the command of the PP- 498, 499- king, urged forward his impeachment. To save his friend, Charles again dissolved Parliament, and for the next two years he strove to get on without the legislative assembly. Arbitrary Acts. — During the interval the relations be- Green, tween Charles and his subjects grew steadily worse. To PP- 499-Soi. raise money to carry on the government, the king resorted to arbitrary measures. A forced loan was demanded. Poor men who refused to pay were driven into the army ; rich men were thrown into prison. Five of the men thus pun- ished determined to test the legality of the action of the government and sued out a writ of Habeas Corpus. The point at issue was the power of the crown to imprison with- 298 The Puritan Revolution out showing cause, and the decision of the judges was in the king's favor. Many things combined to arouse popular fear and indignation. The absolutist tendencies of that party in the Church which was favored by the crown were becoming more manifest. It was declared from the pulpit that " the king is not bound to observe the laws of the realm concern- ing the subject's rights and liberties, but that his royal will and command in imposing loans and taxes without common Thomas Wentworth, Earl of Strafford After the painting by Van Dyck War with France, 1627. consent in Parliament doth oblige the subject's conscience on pain of eternal damnation." Fears of a Catholic re- vival were aroused by the apparent leaning of the court toward Rome. Moreover, foreign affairs were hopelessly mis- managed. The Palatinate was lost, and by 1627 Buckingham succeeded in involving England in a war with France. An expedition to the Isle of Rhe" for the relief of the Huguenots, now in rebellion, ended in complete disaster. Quarrel between the King and Parliament. — Need for Assassination of Buckingham 299 money forced Charles to summon a new Parliament in 1628. The Houses met in no conciliatory temper and, instead of voting supplies, proceeded at once to discuss Given, the condition of the country. All men were stirred by the pp 491-493- recent attacks on personal rights. "We must vindicate Gardiner, our ancient liberties," said Sir Thomas Wentworth, " we devolution must reenforce the laws made by our ancestors. We must pp. 57-63. set such a stamp upon them as no licentious spirit shall dare hereafter to invade them." He moved that "griev- ances and supplies should go hand in hand," and under his leadership the Commons drew up the Petition of Right, a statement of privilege second only to the Great Charter in The Petition constitutional importance. It declared that no man should of Right, be forced to pay loan, benevolence, or tax without the con- Leafle °" n sent of Parliament ; that no subject should be imprisoned No. 23. ' without stated charge ; that soldiers should not be billeted upon the people against their will ; and that martial law should not be enforced in time of peace. At first Charles gave an evasive answer to the Commons' demands, but he was finally forced to yield consent, and the Petition of Right became part of the law of England. The granting of the Petition did not secure harmony between the king and Parliament. Before the end of the Adams, session a new question arose. Although the grant of ton- Representa- nage and poundage, even for a year, had never been ^ ations l completed, Charles had levied the duties ever since his accession. The Commons now contended that the Peti- tion of Right made such action illegal, but the king main- tained that customs were not covered by the words of the Petition. The question was still unsettled when Charles, to avert an attack upon Buckingham, prorogued Parliament. Assassination of Buckingham. — Before Parliament met again, the favorite had fallen by the hand of an assassin. 1 Buckingham's death was received with general rejoicing, but it brought no improvement in the situation; it only 1 An officer named Felton, who was embittered by failure to obtain employment. 3oo TJic Puritan Revolution Green, pp. 503-505- Gardiner, Puritan Revolution , pp. 63-69. The three resolutions. laid bare the gulf that divided the king and the nation. The powerful duke had borne the brunt of popular dissatis- faction ; it was now no longer possible to deny the king's responsibility for the policy of the government. The Commons and the Religious Question. — The matter of tonnage and poundage might have been compromised if it had stood alone, but the chance of an harmonious settle- ment was greatly diminished by growing religious differ- ences. The country gentry, the most numerous element in the House of Commons, was at this time Protestant and Calvinistic in feeling. But among the clergy of the High Church party there was a tendency to break away from the sterner dogmas of Calvin. The ecclesiastical party favored by the court was thus brought into conflict with the House of Commons, both through its theological beliefs and through its political opinions. The Commons showed themselves as hostile to the one as to the other. One clergyman was impeached for attacking the doctrine of predestination, another for upholding from the pulpit such views as that " the king is not bound to observe the laws of the realm concerning the subject's rights and liberties." Fear and doubt steadily increased during the autumn. Charles's persistency in the matter of tonnage and pound- age, the favor shown to Catholics, the promotion of Laud (the leader of the High Church party) to the bishopric of London, the bestowal of important preferments upon Mon- tague and Manwaring (the clergymen censured by Parlia- ment), all seemed to point to a systematic attack upon the Church and the Constitution. When Parliament reassembled early in 1629 the storm broke loose. The question of religion was at once taken up by the Commons under the leadership of Sir John Eliot. On the 2d of March the debate was suddenly interrupted by an order to adjourn. A scene of great excitement followed. The Speaker was held down in his chair so that he could not announce the adjournment, while Eliot read three resolu- tions declaring that any one who introduced innovations in pp. 504, 505. Gardiner, Revolution pp. 69-75. Personal Government 30 1 religion or advised the levying of tonnage or poundage with- Source-Book out a grant by Parliament or voluntarily paid such duties 2I 9-222. should be regarded as an enemy to the kingdom and a be- trayer of the liberties of England. The resolutions were adopted with shouts of " Aye, aye." Charles at once ordered a dissolution, and for eleven years no Parliament was called. Personal Government. — The dissolution of Parliament Green, was followed by a period of personal rule. In a public proclamation Charles declared that " we have showed by our Puritan frequent meeting our people our love to the use of Parlia- ment ; yet the late abuse having for the present driven us un- wittingly out of that course, we shall account it presumption for any to prescribe any time with us for Parliament." The first years of absolutism were quiet and untroubled. The government was carried on by ministers who were the irresponsible agents of the royal will. The leaders of the opposition in the last House of Commons were imprisoned and charged before the King's Bench with riot and sedition. Eliot refused to plead, denying the jurisdiction of the court over things done in Parliament, and he died in prison (1632), a martyr to the cause of representative government. Peace was made with France in 1629, and with Spain in 1630. The collection of the customs was continued and resistance gradually died out. Through the agency of the court of the Star Chamber the king's opponents were crushed or silenced. Sir Thomas Wentvvorth, the author of the Wentworth. Petition of Right, was won over to the side of absolutism. Green, Political conviction combined with personal ambition had Ga r drner 2 ° led Wentworth to forsake the popular cause. His opposi- Puritan tion had been directed against the influence of Buckingham Revolution, rather than against the power of the crown. He saw all P ' 7 the defects of the parliamentary system and none of its good points, and his ideal was a monarchy of the Tudor type with a patriotic minister behind the throne. Charles realized the value of such a servant. Wentworth was raised Baron to the peerage in 1629 and made President of the Council of Wentworth the North. In 1633 he was appointed Lord Deputy of Ireland. 302 The Puritan Revolution Gardiner, Puritan Revolution, pp. 97-102. Wentworth in Ireland. — Since the overthrow of Tyrone the Irish had remained quiet. The policy of coloniza- tion, however, was continued, and under James I large tracts of the best lands of Ulster were confiscated on slight pretexts and planted with Scotch and English William Laud From a portrait engraved for the Universal Magazine : &A : Green, PP. 520. 5 21 - settlers. As many of these were Puritans, a new element of discord was introduced. When Wentworth arrived in Ireland he at once set to work to organize the gov- ernment in the royal interest, and created an army chiefly of Irish Catholics. On the understanding that the king would concede certain favors for which the Irish Parlia- Land and the Church 303 ment had petitioned, he procured a large grant of money. The supplies once voted, however, Wentworth did not hesitate to advise Charles to withhold the promised con- cessions. Conformity was rigorously enforced, although ninety-nine out of every hundred among the Irish were of the Catholic faith. So well did Wentworth take his meas- ures that in 1636 he could write to Laud, "The king is now as absolute here as any prince in the world can be." Although his rule was a rule of terror, he nevertheless did something to improve the material condition of the country. Good laws were passed, the flax industry was fostered, and trade developed. On the other hand, the fears of the Irish for their lands were kept alive by a proposal to plant Connaught with English settlers, and race and religious antagonisms were intensified by Wentworth's policy of governing through a balance of parties. Laud and the Church. — In ecclesiastical matters the Green, king's chief adviser was Laud, Bishop of London, later pp- 498-503. Archbishop of Canterbury. Unity through uniformity was Laud's policy, and the canons of the Church were his standard. In matters of doctrine he was tolerant, and his Gardiner, efforts to restore order and decency in the churches were Purifan much needed. But he was determined to force one ritual 00.75,76,78, on the country, and he showed no mercy to the Puritan 85-90, 94-97. clergy. All who refused exact conformity in matters of wor- ship were suspended or deprived. Worst of all he seemed to be drawing the Church nearer to Rome. Increasing stress was laid upon ceremonial, the authority of the bishops was exalted, language was used which was thought to show a desire for reconciliation with the ancient Church. By this course Laud set himself in sharp opposition to the prevailing sentiments of the nation. His rigid system made no allowance for the deepening religious feeling ot the people, now as never before a Bible-reading people. 1 1 In 1611 a new translation of the Bible, known as the Authorized Version of King James, was published. It was the work of Puritans and High Churchmen, and was proposed in the Hampton Court Conference. 304 The Puritan Revolution Old South Leaflets, No. 57; Traill, III, 193-196. Green, PP- 50S-S07. 5I5-5I8. Gardiner, Puritan Revolution, pp. 90-94. Ship-money. Disapproval of the principles of the High Church party was not confined to extreme Puritans now that men were forced to see in that party the strongest supporters of the royal prerogative. The struggle going on in Germany had tended to intensify the Protestantism of England, and fears of a Catholic reaction could not fail to arouse even the most moderate. As yet, however, Laud met with little re- sistance in enforcing his measures. The court of High Commission and the Star Chamber were active in sup- pressing open disaffection, and many of the more deter- mined Puritans left the country to seek a home in the new commonwealth beyond the sea. Financial Schemes. — Charles's chief difficulty was to obtain money without the aid of Parliament. New ex- pedients were devised for raising a revenue. Exorbitant fines were exacted for all kinds of petty offences. Compo- sition for knighthood was enforced after a century's disuse. 1 By reviving obsolete laws the bounds of the royal forests were greatly extended, 2 and those whose lands lay within the new limits had to pay fines to secure their titles. The legislation of James's reign had not touched the power of the crown to establish corporations with the right of monopoly, and the sale of monopolies was carried on to an unheard-of extent. In view of the maritime ascendency of France and Hol- land, Charles not unnaturally desired to strengthen the English fleet. He determined to make use of an ancient custom, and in 1634 issued writs to the port towns requir- ing them to furnish ships. In the following year, the inland counties were included in the demand. In both cases the king managed to obtain not ships but money, which he devoted to building up a navy entirely under his control. Year after year the levy of ship-money continued. Popular 1 By a law of Edward I, all owners of land worth ^40 a year were obliged to receive knighthood, paying large fees for the honor, or else incur a heavy fine. 2 The limits of the Forest of Rockingham were enlarged from six to sixty miles. Financial Schemes 305 dissatisfaction arose, not because the king had a navy, but because the tax was raised without a parliamentary grant. As yet the fund was employed according to the avowed intention, but the principle involved was so capable of extension that Wentworth said of it : " Let the king only abstain from war for three years that he may habituate his subjects to the payment of this tax, and in the end he will find himself more powerful and respected than any of his predecessors." Hampden After a print by J. Houbraken, 1740 The nation saw this as clearly as did Wentworth. John Hampden, a gentleman of Buckinghamshire, undertook to Hampden. bring the question of the legality of ship-money before the courts by refusing to pay his tax. But the judges were the tools of the king, and the decision was in favor of the royal Old South prerogative. One judge asserted that rex was lex, and Chief Justice Finch declared that " they are void Acts of Parliament to bind the king not to command the subjects, Leaflets, No. 60. 306 The Puritan Revolution Gardiner, Puritan Revolution, pp. 102-108. The new service book. Gardiner, Puritan Revolution PP 10. their persons and goods, and I say their money too, for no Acts of Parliament make any difference." It was vain to look for justice in courts guided not by the law but by the will of the king. The decision of the judges in the ship-money case showed all thinking men the peril of the situation. Never- theless action did not at once follow ; no leader had ap- peared, and in the intermission of Parliament the national temper was in doubt. But the blind self-will of the king was hastening the crisis. Quarrel with Scotland. — The signal for revolt came from Scotland. The vigorous Presbyterianism of the northern kingdom had not been able to hinder the reestablishment of Episcopacy under James, but the feeling of the people was openly hostile and suspicious. Undismayed, Charles and Laud determined to force upon the Scots a new church service, modelled upon the English prayer book. National pride as well as religious feeling was offended at this inno- vation from England. The first attempt to use the new liturgy met with an opposition which soon grew into re- bellion against the political as well as the ecclesiastical authority of the king. The Covenant of 1557 was renewed. A free Parliament, a general assembly, and the abolition of the obnoxious ecclesiastical innovations were demanded. For the moment Charles yielded, but only to gain time to gather together an army. He dared not draw back, for fear of the effect in England. In 1639 the war broke out, and the advantage was all on the side of the Covenanters. With- out the support of Parliament it was evident that Charles could not hold his own against a united, determined Scot- land. By the advice of Wentworth, who had returned from Ireland and become for the first time the chief counsellor of the king, the policy of the last eleven years was aban- doned, and a Parliament was summoned. The Short Parliament. — The Parliament called for May, 1640, met in no unreasonable temper, but it was soon plain that grievances must be redressed before aid would b< Meeting of the Long Parliament 307 granted. Charles offered to give up ship-money in return Adams, for supplies, but the Commons hesitated and showed signs Re P re ^ ta - of opposition to the war with Scotland. Money, not debate, orations, 1. was what Charles wanted, and against the advice of Went- worth, now Earl of Strafford, he dissolved Parliament after a session of little more than three weeks. During the summer the king's difficulties increased ; since he could not pay the army that he had gathered together, the soldiers mutinied and refused to fight. The Scots invaded Durham and Northum- berland. Finally, by the advice of a Council of Peers called at York, Charles entered into ne- gotiations with the Scots, and at the same time issued writs for a new Parliament. The Meeting of the Long Parliament. — In November the Long Parliament of the Re- bellion, the most famous Parliament in English history, met at West- minster. The king was at its mercy ; without money he could neither wage war Green, against the Scots nor treat with them to advantage. Sup- pp- S 21 ~5^7- ported by popular feeling and by the menace of invasion p lir j faH from Scotland, the Commons realized that their opportunity Revolution, had come, and, in the words of John Pym, they felt that pp ' IIO ~ 118 - " to remove all grievances they must pull up the causes of them by the roots." A determination to bring the king's ministers to justice became at once apparent. Strafford was the first object of John Pym After a painting by Robert Walker 308 The Puritan Revolution Impeach- ment of Strafford. Old South Leaflets, No. 61. Source-Book, 232-237. Laud imprisoned, 1640; executed, 1645. attack. Under the leadership of Pym, from the outset the ruling spirit in the Lower House, the Commons proceeded to his impeachment. Strafford was charged with having established arbitrary rule in Ireland and with attempting to overthrow the liberties of England. In March, 1641, his trial was opened in Westminster Hall. Under the exist- ing laws of treason, conviction seemed impossible, and accordingly for the impeachment was substituted a bill of attainder. Even yet Strafford might have been saved had not the discovery of a royal plot to overwhelm Parlia- ment with the army from the north convinced the peers that the man whom all regarded as the mainstay of the royal despotism could not safely be allowed to live. The attainder was carried with little opposition in either House and received the royal signature (May 10, 1641), although Charles but a few days before had assured the earl that he should not suffer in " life, honor, or fortune." Strafford paid the penalty of being behind his generation, of attempting to restore a constitution which the nation had outgrown. The attack upon Strafford was accompanied by legisla- tion limiting the royal prerogative. The courts of the Star Chamber and High Commission were abolished, ship-money was declared illegal, the power of the crown to levy tonnage and poundage or other impositions was denied, and a Triennial Act was passed requiring that Parliament should meet every three years even if not summoned by the king. At the same time Charles was forced to give his assent to a bill declaring that the present Parliament could not be dis- solved without its own consent. The Church Question. — In passing these measures Par- liament had worked with great unanimity, but when the religious question was taken up, division at once appeared. Hostility to Laud and to Laud's innovations was general, and there was a widespread desire to limit the power of the bishops, but beyond this point there was great difference of opinion. Some supported a modified Episcopacy, others wished to introduce the Presbyterian system, a few tended Insurrection of the Irish Catholics 309 to the Separatist idea of independent congregations. A compromise proposition excluding the bishops from Par- liament was passed by the Commons, but was thrown out in the House of Lords. This led at once to the introduction of a more extreme measure, called the Root and Branch Root and Bill, " for the utter abolition " of Episcopacy. Over the Branch Bm - Church question the Commons divided. There were now two parties, one upholding Episcopacy, the other bent upon such changes as would render the tyranny of the bishops impossible for the future. In September Parlia- ment adjourned. Of the measures passed, all except the compulsory clauses of the Triennial Act became a part of the permanent constitution. With this first session the work of reform was done ; henceforth Parliament was to act rather as a committee of safety than as a legislative body. The Insurrection of the Irish Catholics. — Before the adjournment of Parliament the king had set out for Scot- land, in the secret hope of obtaining an army from the Scots which he might use against his opponents. Charles still Charles in thought to preserve his prerogative undiminished. While Scotland. apparently acquiescing in the action of Parliament, he was secretly planning to undo all that had been accomplished. It was the conviction of this that instigated the extreme demands of the Commons. The great obstacle in the way of a satisfactory and conservative settlement of the govern- ment was the lack of confidence in the king's sincerity. While Charles was still in the north endeavoring to win Gardiner, over the Scots by conceding all their demands, news arrived Purttan from Ireland which greatly lessened the chance of a good pp . II9 I20 . understanding between the king and Parliament. For some months Charles had dallied with proposals of the Irish Catholic lords to send him help in return for permission to overturn the Dublin government. Nothing had been set- tled when Charles went to Scotland in August. The Irish people, maddened by the accumulated wrongs of two gen- erations, impatient of delay, and terrified at the prospect of falling into the hands of a Puritan Parliament, took mat- 3io The Puritan Revolution Old South Leaflets, No. 24. Gardiner, Puritan Revolution, p. 121. Green, PP- 527-533- Gardiner, Puritan Revolution, pp. 122-124. ters into their own hands. On the 23d of October, 1641, the natives of Ulster rose against the English and Scotch settlers. The rebellion spread to other parts of the island. It was a war of Catholic against Protestant, of Celt against Saxon, of the evicted against the usurper. Terrible atroci- ties were committed. Some thousands of the aliens were slaughtered, women and children perishing with the men. A cry for vengeance was raised in England. In the excited state of feeling there were many who accused Charles of having instigated the rising. Of this he may be acquitted, but not of the responsibility for having aroused an out- raged people whose furious vengeance he could not control. The Grand Remonstrance. — The outbreak in Ireland raised a new difficulty. An army would be necessary to put down the rebellion. Could the king be trusted with forces, which he might turn against Parliament? Pym and Hampden answered, No. Under their influence the Grand Remonstrance, a statement of grievances, a programme for the future, an appeal to the nation, was forced through Parliament. This was the critical moment. Failure to pass the Grand Remonstrance 7 .— . would have meant the aban- Osf/ly^s/ donment of the struggle by f / many patriots. " If the Re- monstrance had been re- SIGNATURE OF PYM .^^^ ^ q^ ^^^ member for Cambridge, " I would have sold all I had, and never have seen England any more." Success completed the division of the nation into two factions. Lack of confidence in the king had forced men to extreme meas- ures. The violence of the opposition now led to the formation of a royal party. This was Charles's opportunity. By allying himself frankly with the moderates, he might have won a majority in the Commons to his side. But he still hoped to avoid damaging concessions. In November, 1641, the king issued a declaration affirming his loyalty to the Church, The Civil War 311 and called Hyde and Falkland, leaders of the moderates, to his counsels, but other measures showed a determination to resort to force. Excitement was growing both in Parlia- ment and in the country. Brawls between the supporters of the king and the Parliament's men occurred daily in the streets of London. 1 The Commons pushed forward a bill to exclude the bishops and the Catholic peers from the House of Lords. Charles now determined on a bold step. Attack on He caused five of the leaders of the Commons, including the five Pym and Hampden, to be impeached on the charge of treason. That they might not escape, he resolved to have Source-Book, them arrested in their places in the House. He was urged 2 3/-24o- to this step by the queen, his faithful supporter and his evil genius. The attempt failed, but it made complete the breach between the king and Parliament. The struggle that now followed as to the command of the militia showed that both sides looked forward to a settlement by force. But Charles had already left London, not to return until brought back a prisoner. The Civil War. — The early months of 1642 were spent by both parties in making preparations for war. The queen, taking with her the crown jewels, went to Holland to raise money. Parliament voted supplies and called out the militia. Charles issued a commission of array. 2 The country ranged Gardiner, itself on one side or the other, as conviction or interest Puritan dictated. With the king were most of the great nobles, J^'S-i'k many of the gentry, and the peasants. The Catholics and 130, 131. the High Church party were also on his side. A few of the Division of nobles, the bulk of the lesser gentry, the yeomanry, Lon- the nation. don, and most of the towns, rallied to Parliament. As a whole the backward portions of the country, the north and the west, were Royalist, while the eastern counties, the most advanced part of England, were strong for Parliament. 1 It was now that the nicknames of " Roundhead " and " Cavalier " were first heard. 2 Mandates sent to trustworthy persons to raise troops in the king's name. 6 West 4 3 Longitude The Solemn League and Covenant 313 Both parties were hampered by financial difficulties, but in this respect Parliament was in a better position than the king. As nominally representative of the nation in matters of taxation it controlled the regular ways of raising money. Besides, it had the support of London and the moneyed classes generally. Charles was forced to depend upon the generosity of his followers, and their devotion was un- bounded. Plate, jewels, everything that could be turned into money, were put at the king's service by the Royalist nobles. On the 23d of August the royal standard was raised at Green, Nottingham, and the war formally opened. The Earl of PP- 533-535- Essex was put in command of the Parliamentary forces. On the Royalist side the leader was Prince Rupert, the king's nephew. The first battle of the war was fought at Edgehill, and the royal forces had the advantage. During the next •avo years there was fighting all over England, the important centres of action being in Yorkshire and the west, around Oxford, where the king made his headquarters, and Lon- lon, where the Parliament was in continued session. But the war dragged. Neither side desired too complete a victory. Many among Charles's supporters feared that he would use success to reestablish abuses that had been over- thrown. Some on the opposite side saw in the removal of all restraints danger of a Parliamentary tyranny which they dreaded as much as royal despotism. On the whole, suc- cess was with the king. He had better generals, and his cav- alry, the most important and most efficient arm of the service, was boldly if not always wisely led by Prince Rupert. The Parliamentary levies were largely composed of the rabble of the towns, and contained at best but few men of military training. The opening of the year 1644 found the king in possession of almost two-thirds of England and Wales. The Solemn League and Covenant. — Parliament began Gardiner, now to retrieve its position. In the autumn of 1643 there Puritan had been concluded an alliance with Scotland. By the ' 131-133. Solemn League and Covenant, Parliament was bound to establish Presbyterianism in England. In return the Round- 314 The Puritan Revolution Death of Pym, 1643. Green, PP. 535-540. Gardiner, Puritan Revolution, pp. 128-130, 137, I3 8 - Marston Moor, 1644. Gardiner, Puritan Revolution, pp. 134-139. Green, PP- 559-563. heads received the support of a large force of Scots led by Leslie, Earl of Leven. The treaty with Scotland was Pym's last service to the Parliamentary cause. He died before the year was out. Oliver Cromwell. — But a greater man than Pym was coming into prominence. Oliver Cromwell, member for Cambridge, was, like Pym and Eliot and Hampden, a sim- ple country gentleman of good birth and fair estate. When the civil war broke out, he was appointed captain of a troop of horse. He was a born cavalry leader and little by little became the guiding spirit in military affairs on the Parlia- mentary side. Cromwell was the first to point out the defects of the Parliamentary army and to indicate the remedy. After the battle of Edgehill he said to Hampden, " You must get men of a spirit that is likely to go as far as gentlemen will go." He would match cavalier loyalty by spiritual zeal, and he filled his troops with men who, as he said, " made some conscience of what they did." The few successes of the Roundheads were gained mainly by Cromwell. Through his efforts the Eastern Association was formed and the counties on the east were kept free from Royalist invasion. Finally, at the battle of Marston Moor (July 2, 1644), the first great battle of the war, he turned what had seemed defeat into an overwhelming victory. Rise of Independency. — Serious divisions were becoming manifest among the Parliamentarians. On one side was the Presbyterian party, in control of Parliament, intent on establishing the Scotch doctrine and discipline and disin- clined through loyalty or conservatism to push matters to an extremity with the king. On the other side were the Independents, so called because they favored the Separatist idea of independent congregations without any general ecclesiastical organization. To the Independent party be- longed many of the stronger Puritans, men who cared little for dogma and outward form and much for holiness of liv- ing. In opposition to the dogmatism of the Presbyterians, they upheld the idea of toleration. Foremost among the The Self-denying Ordinance 315 Independents was Cromwell. Church systems were to him a matter of indifference, and he had filled his own regi- ments, popularly called the Ironsides, with upholders of every variety of Puritan belief, but all good men and good soldiers. The needs of the contest as well as his own temper made Cromwell tolerant. He was bent on carrying the war through to a speedy and triumphant conclusion, and he saw that Parliament could not afford to lose the services of good fighting men simply because they were not in accord with the dominant doctrinal views. To one of the Presbyterian generals, he wrote in warning, "Take heed of being sharp, or too easily sharpened by others against those to whom you can object little but that they square not with you in every opinion concerning matters of religion." The Self-denying Ordinance. — Early in 1645 Cromwell Gardiner, and those who were bent on a more vigorous prosecution Puritan. of the war, succeeded in carrying through Parliament a pp i 39 _' I4 3. Self-denying Ordinance, by which members of either House Green, were made ineligible for command in the army. The pp " 55 6 -559- object was to get rid of Essex and Manchester, the aristo- cratic and incompetent generals who had hitherto hampered the military measures of Parliament. Cromwell resigned his seat, together with the other officers, but an exception was made in his favor. He was allowed to retain his place in the House while serving as lieutenant-general with com- mand of the cavalry. At the same time a bill was passed reorganizing the army. In the hands of Cromwell the "New Model," as the reconstituted force was called, be- The New came the most remarkable army that the world has ever Model - seen. It was not merely a perfect body of soldiers, unsur- passed in courage, training, and discipline. It was also an organized force of religious and political reformers, representing what was noblest and strongest in Puritanism. Most of the officers were Independents or belonged to some other of the new sects, and the controlling element among the soldiers was strongly Puritan. In the New Model the citizen was never lost in the soldier ; each man 3i6 The Puritan Revolution Naseby 1645. knew for what he was fighting, and, the end once attained, he was eager to return to his home and calling. Such a force led by the genius of Cromwell was irresistible. Naseby and the End of the War. — In the meantime Charles sought aid in every direction. He had hope of obtaining soldiers from France and from Lorraine. He strove to win the support of the Irish by promising to sus- pend all penal acts against the Catholics. He even agreed secretly to grant the supremacy of the Catholic Church in Ireland if aid could be obtained in no other way. He also tried to win the support of the Scotch, and his agent, Montrose, planned a diversion in the Highlands which would necessitate the recall of the Scottish army. But the energy of Cromwell left Charles little time to carry out his irreconcilable schemes. On the 14th of June, 1645, tne Royalist forces and the New Model met at Naseby. The contest was a repetition of Marston Moor, and the victory of Parliament was complete. In September, Montrose suffered a disastrous defeat at Philiphaugh. One by one, Bristol, Basing, and the other Royalist strongholds were reduced. By the summer of 1646 Charles had no longer an army in the field. Negotiation and Intrigue. — Charles was hopelessly beaten in war, but his cause was not yet lost. In the diverse opinions of his foes lay a chance of wringing victory from defeat. Parliament was in the hands of fanatical Presby- PP- 547-55 2 - terians, who feared and detested the army with its ideas of toleration. It had lost touch with the nation, but it still had the support of London, and it was the one legal and constitutional authority that remained. The army wished to restrain both king and Parliament in the interests of civil and religious liberty. Power was with the army, but as a military body it was unfit for the task of reorgan- izing the government, and it had no shadow of constitu- tional right. Charles was skilful in taking advantage of these divi- sions, and for the next two years he carried on a series of Gardiner, Puritan Revolution, pp. 144-149 Green, 4 i^ ■? i ^ $ <^ 'S o 3i' The Puritan Revolution intrigues with the different parties among his opponents, being, as he said, " not without hope that I shall be able to draw Presbyterians or Independents to side with me for extirpating one another, that I shall be really king again." The Newcastle Propositions. — After the dispersal of his forces Charles took refuge with the Scotch army at Newark. On the 17th of July proposals for peace from the Scots and Parliament were presented to Charles at Newcastle. The king was asked to accept the Covenant, to support Presby- terianism, and to give over the control of the militia to Par- Carisdrooke Castle After an original drawing by G. Holmes liament for twenty years. On Charles's refusal to agree to these terms the Scots placed him in the hands of the English commissioners, 1 and withdrew northwards. Parliament be- gan to show a willingness to lessen its demands. The truth was, it was chiefly intent on getting rid of the army, which it was now proposing to disband. The danger that men- aced Independency and religious liberty aroused the sol- diers. They organized as a body politic, and chose repre- sentatives, called Agitators, who were to consult together on all important matters. In the summer of 1647 tne Y seized the king and carried him, not unwillingly, to New- 1 In exchange for arrears due the army, amounting to ^400,000. y##^ Trial of Charles I From a Print in Nalson's Report of the Trial, 1664. The description of this print (in Nalson's Report) ends: "The pageant of this mock tribunal is thus represented to your view by an eye- and ear-witness of what he heard and saw there." A, the King B, the Lord President, Bradshaw C, John Lisle I BradsWs Assistants D, Wm. Say I E, Andrew Broughton | Clerks of the F, John Phelps f Court j The Arms of the G Oliver Cromwell ( Commonwealth H, Henry Marten \ oyer them I, Coke L, Aske ( Counsellors for the 319 320 The Puritan Revolution Gardiner, Puritan Revolution, pp. 149-153- Green, PP- 552-55=5. Pride's Purge, 1648. market. At the. same time they refused to disband until a satisfactory settlement of the kingdom had been made. The Heads of the Proposals. — During the next few months Cromwell and the leading Independents strove to come to terms with Charles. Their conditions as presented in the Heads of the Proposals were wise and moderate. They demanded electoral reform and biennial Parliaments. There was to be religious liberty for all except the Catho- lics. For ten years the crown was to give up control of the army and navy. On the king's refusal to accept these terms some of the more advanced Agitators proposed a constitution still more democratic in character, 1 and in their efforts to force it upon the generals there was danger of a contest in the army. The Second Civil War. — Charles had for some time been secretly negotiating with the Scots, and he finally entered into an engagement to establish Presbyterianism in England for three years in return for the support of a Scottish army. He was now rewarded by seeing two of his opponents come to blows. In 1648 a large force of Scots crossed the Border. The Royalists rallied again. Wales broke out in insurrection. The war was sharp and short. At Preston on the 17th of August Cromwell won a great victory over the Scottish army. The Royalist cause was lost. Trial and Execution of the King. — But the patience of the army was exhausted ; many were beginning to feel that a settlement of the country was impossible so long as Charles lived. Parliament still refused to come to an understand- ing with the Independents, and renewed negotiations with the king, who, in the meantime, had entered into an in- trigue with the Irish Catholics. On the 6th of December a detachment of soldiers, under Colonel Pride, arrested the leaders of the Presbyterian party at the doors of the House of Commons. Pride's Purge, as this act of violence was popularly called, left the Independents in control of Parliament. A High Court of Justice was appointed to 1 The Agreement of the People, Old South Leaflets, No. 26. Charles II and Scotland 321 try the king, who had been brought from Carisbrooke Castle, where he had been held a prisoner since the out- break of the Scotch war. Charles refused to acknowledge the authority of the new tribunal, but nothing could save him. He was condemned to death as a " tyrant, traitor, and murderer." On the 29th of January he was beheaded before Whitehall. He died like a saint and a hero. The Establishment of the Commonwealth. — The death of Gardiner, the king was followed by the establishment of a republic. Puritan Monarchy and the House of Lords were abolished as useless J? ^™^ and dangerous, and England was declared to be a free Com- monwealth and therefore to be governed by representatives Source-Book, of the people without any king or hereditary house. The 2 5 I - 26 °- remnant of the Long Parliament, derisively called the Rump, assumed the name of Parliament, and appointed forty-one persons to act as an Executive Council of State. Power, however, belonged to the army and to its great leader, Cromwell, and the history of the next ten years is the history of their attempt to rule England. Conquest of Ireland. — England's immediate danger was Green, from without. Foreign powers did not recognize the new pp- 574. 575. republic. Ireland was almost wholly in the hands of the 5 9 ' 59 °' Stuart party, while Scotland offered to Prince Charles the crown. The reconquest of Ireland was Cromwell's first task. He landed at Dublin in August, 1649, with a force of nine thousand men. On September nth, Drogheda was carried by storm and two thousand of the garrison were put to the sword. The fall of Wexford followed, accompanied by similar slaughter. During the next few months town after town surrendered, and when Cromwell returned to England in the spring of 1650 the reconquest was assured. Out of a population of a million and a half, almost six hundred thousand had perished in the nine years of war. The restoration of English ascendency was followed by The wholesale confiscations. Almost all the land of the Irish Cromwellian -r • tti t -l. 11 , 1 settlement. in Leinster, Ulster, and Munster, the three largest and richest provinces, was divided among the soldiers of Crom- TJie Settlement of'^the Government 323 well's army and the adventurers who had contributed money for carrying on the war. To the Irish landowners nothing was left but the rocks and bogs of Connaught. Charles II and Scotland. — In the summer- of 1650 Prince Green, Charles, convinced that there was no Alternative, accepted pp- 576-578. the Covenant, and was acknowledged king by the Scotch. The contest was immediatelyLreriewed. At the head of a large army Cromwell invaded Scotland, and on the 3d of September he won the great- victory of Dunbar. During Dunbar, the following months a large part of Scotland was con- l6 5°- quered. Finally, in a last effort to rally the English Roy- alists, Charles made a bold dash across the Border. At Worcester he was overtaken by the army of the Common- Worcester, wealth, and there, on the 3d of September, 165 1, the last l6 5 J - battle of the war was fought. Cromwell won an over- whelming victory. Charles was forced to seek safety in flight to the Continent, and the Royalists were too much broken to think of rallying again. The union of the two kingdoms followed. In sharp con- trast to the merciless treatment of Ireland, the rule of the Commonwealth in Scotland was just and wise. It was Burnet, a Scotchman and an enemy to Cromwell, who de- clared, "we always reckon these eight years of the usurpa- tion a time of great peace and prosperity." The Settlement of the Government. — From the work of subduing Ireland and Scotland Cromwell turned to the far more complicated task of restoring order to England. The difficulties in the way of a settlement seemed unsurmount- able. While the nation was still hot with the passions of civil war, with the whole local machinery disordered, a government was to be organized where there was no agree- ment as to principle. Dividing Royalists and Parliamenta- rians was the execution of the king. The question of toleration sundered Presbyterians and Independents. Even in the army Cromwell met with opposition. There was an active republican party. The disorders of the time had given rise to all kinds of extravagant opinions. The ideals 324 The Puritan Revolution Gardiner, Puritan Revolution, pp. 159, 160. End of the Long Parlia- ment, 1653. Green, pp. 561-565. Gardiner, Puritan Revolution, pp. 162, 163. Old South Leaflets, No. 28. Gardiner, Pur/tan Revolution, pp. 164-166. Green, pp. 565-567- Gardiner, Puritan Revolution, pp. 166-171. Green, PP- 567-S70. Old South Leaflets, No. 27. of Cromwell were not the ideals of the nation, and to allow the people to have their way meant to give up most of those things for which the Independents had fought. For this Cromwell was not ready. He was not, however, by nature a despot, and over and over he attempted to secure the cooperation of the people. The Long Parliament was fast becoming unpopular. The members showed little desire to bring about that speedy settlement of the country for which the army contended, and charges of corruption were freely raised against them. Almost thirteen years had elapsed since the last election. Parliament had lost over two-thirds of its membership, and nevertheless, in spite of Cromwell's repeated urging, it showed no readiness to dissolve itself. At last patience was exhausted. Cromwell rose one day in his seat in the House, crying, "I will put an end to this. It is not fit that you should sit here any longer," and he commanded his soldiers to clear the hall. Cromwell was now master of the country, but he did not wish to rule alone, and he shrank from calling for new elections. So he summoned to his aid " godly men to rule until the people were fitted to act." The new assembly was called in derision Barebone's Parliament, because a certain Praise-God Barebone sat in it. It contained many men of character and position, but unfortunately most of the members were vision- aries, who at once attempted extravagant reforms. Crom- well's strong common sense was opposed to such a course, and he induced the assembly to declare its own dissolution. The Instrument of Government and the Protectorate. — The next scheme of government had what Cromwell had always advocated, "somewhat of monarchy in it." By the Instru- ment of Government, a constitutional document drawn up by some of Cromwell's supporters, power was vested in a Protector, a Council of State, and a Parliament of a single house. There was to be a redistribution of seats in Eng- land, depriving small hamlets of the franchise while giv- ing votes to the new towns and more populous counties, The Instrument of Government 325 and representation was accorded to Ireland and Scotland. By a system of checks and constitutional limitations all danger of either executive or Parliamentary absolutism Ufizzi, Florence. Painted by Van der Plaas; generally ascribed to Sir Peter Lely was to be averted. Cromwell was named Protector, with command of the army and navy. In September, 1654, the first Parliament under the Instrument came together. It proceeded at once to question the authority of the docu- 326 The Puritan Revolution Old South Leaflets, No. 62. Green, P- 57i- Gardiner, Puritan Revolution , pp. 172, 173. Gardiner, Puritan Revolution, pp. 176-180. Green, PP- 593-597- merit under which it had been chosen, and asserted its claim to frame a new constitution. Finding that he could not control the House, Cromwell dissolved it. During the next eighteen months England was under military rule. Republican and Royalist plots to overthrow the government were discovered, and there was much oppo- sition to Cromwell's attempt to collect the taxes as author- ized by the Instrument. Heitherefore had resort to martial law, and dividing England into ten districts, placed a major-general over each, with power to maintain order and to collect the revenue. The Humble Petition and Advice. — In 1656 need of money for the war with Spain led Cromwell to make another attempt to secure the aid of Parliament in carry- ing on the government. To avoid the contest for authority which was sure to arise with a freely elected House, one hundred of the members returned most likely to oppose the Protector were excluded at the opening of the session. The remaining members showed great docility, and with a desire to strengthen Cromwell's position proceeded to amend the Instrument by drawing up the Petition and Advice. There was to be an Upper House, and the Protector was given the power of naming his successor. It was also pro- posed that he should take the title of king, but Cromwell would not agree to this, no doubt because of the opposition of the army. The Petition and Advice showed a return to the forms of the old constitution, but it brought no improve- ment in the working of the government. In January, 1658, Parliament met under the new arrangement, but the two Houses fell at once to quarrelling. After a session of two weeks Cromwell ordered a dissolution. "The Lord," he said, "judge between me and you." This was Cromwell's last attempt to establish a Parliamentary government. Foreign Relations. — The foreign policy of the Puritan government was vigorous and brilliantly successful. Crom- well's genius gained for England a greater place in Europe than that which she had secured under Elizabeth and lost Ave?ige, O Lord, thy The Navigation Act 327 under James. The close of the Thirty Years' War in 1648 marks the transition from religious to commercial and politi- cal considerations as the determining force in the inter- national politics of Europe. The Puritan Commonwealth could not fail, however, to take some account of religion in its foreign policy. Cromwell's declared object was to estab- lish a union of Protestant Europe under England's leader- See Milton's ship. A proposed alliance wit* France was delayed until the sonnet . persecution of the Vaudois ! had been stopped, and war was waged against Spain in part at least because of her tradi- slaughtered tional position as the great Catholic power of Europe ; but sainis - the chief work of the Puritan government was not concerned with religion. The most durable achievement of the Pro- tectorate was to break down the trading monopolies of the Dutch and Spanish in Europe and in America, and to lay the foundations of England's maritime supremacy. The Navigation Act. — Commercial rivalry between the Bright, 11, Dutch and the English had existed since the time of pp- 698-701. James I. In 1650 the Dutch were at the height of their power. Their merchant vessels were the best in the world, Gardiner, and they had a monopoly of the carrying trade of Europe. Puritan , , r. 1- , f lT . . . Revolution, In 1 65 1 the Long Parliament passed the Navigation Act, p l62 the first of a series of measures intended to build up Eng- lish commerce. The importation of goods into England Am. Hist. except in English vessels or in the ships of the country leaflets, which produced the goods was forbidden. The Navigation Act dealt a severe blow to the Dutch carrying trade, and led in 1652 to a war with Holland. Under the manage- Traill, IV, ment of Sir Henry Vane the English navy had been put in pp - 26 4- 2 7° fine condition, partly as a counterpoise to the army. In command of the fleet was Blake, England's greatest seaman before Nelson. Opposed to Blake was the famous Dutch admiral, Van Tromp. The two fleets were well matched, and a series of bloody fights took place during the two years of the war. In the end the States were forced to treat 1 A sect inhabiting the valleys of Piedmont and professing a Protestantism which antedates the Reformation. 328 The Puritan Revolution Green, PP- 591-593- 596. Gardiner, Puritan Revolution, pp. 174, 175, Green, PP- 572, 573- for peace. The maritime ascendency of England began with the decline of the Dutch naval power. War with Spain. — The hostility of Europe was soon converted to a desire for the friendship of the Common- wealth. When Cromwell met Parliament in 1654 he could truly say, "There is not a nation in Europe but is very willing to ask a good understanding with you." Spain and France were then at war. Cromwell first offered his sup- port to Spain in return for Dunkirk and aid in the recon- quest of Calais. In addition he demanded freedom of commerce in the West Indies and religious liberty for the English living under the Spanish government. These terms were refused, and thereupon Cromwell sent Blake to attack the Spanish West Indies, and offered England's alliance to France. This line of policy was crowned with success. Dunkirk surrendered to the French and was placed in English hands, the Spanish fleets were destroyed by Blake, Jamaica passed into the possession of England, and Spain's commer- cial monopoly was finally broken. But England's weight had been thrown on the side of France, a growing and ambitious power, destined to become a dangerous rival. England under Puritan Rule. — The triumphs of the Com- monwealth abroad filled even its opponents with pride. Nor were grounds for satisfaction entirely lacking at home. Cromwell's rule was stern, but he rarely used violence or unnecessary severity. Provided his authority was respected, there was little interference with individual rights. Order was well maintained, and all risings, whether of Royalists or Levellers, 1 were put down with a strong hand. Taxation was heavy, but industry was not unduly burdened. The Royalists were taxed at a higher rate than others, on the ground that their hostility made necessary the large and costly military establishment. By an ordinance issued in 1654, the Church was reorganized. Religious worship was to be established. Tithes were retained and the rights of patronage were respected. A board of Triers was appointed 1 A party holding extreme democratic opinions. Fall of the Commonwealth 329 to examine into the fitness of ministers presented to livings. So long as a man was of godly life it mattered not whether he was a Presbyterian or an Independent. Toleration was the principle and, with some exceptions, the practice of Cromwell's government. At first there was little interfer- ence with the Episcopalians, but after a time the Anglican worship was prohibited as tending to stir up disaffection. The prohibition was not, however, rigorously enforced, and zealous worshippers continued to meet, only more privately. Some protection was given to Catholics, and the Jews, who had been excluded from England since the time of Edward I, were permitted to return. Had Cromwell lived longer he might have effected many improvements. The reform of the courts and the equalizing of the electoral system were matters that he had at heart. But Cromwell's work was Death of done. He and his generation were hopelessly at odds. Crom well, He was as far in advance of his age as Strafford was behind it. On the 3d of September, the anniversary of Dunbar Green, p. 598, and Worcester, he died, worn out with grief and anxiety. Fall of the Commonwealth. — Richard Cromwell, Oliver's Green, eldest son, was made Protector, but he could not succeed P p- 59 8 -6oo. where his father had failed. His desire was to lean upon the new Parliament, which was convened in January, 1659, but the army forced him to order a dissolution. A month later Richard abdicated. During the next few weeks power was in the hands of the soldiers. They replaced the Rump at Westminster, but when it strove to rule they overthrew it. After a brief attempt at military government, they again restored Parliament. General Monk, who was Monk, in command of the forces in Scotland, determined to put an end to the anarchy. At the head of his army he marched to London and declared for a free Parliament. He found support on all sides. The nation was weary of martial rule, and even the Presbyterians demanded the return of the old dynasty. The army, tricked and abandoned by its leaders, could make no opposition. Negotiations were opened with Charles II, who finally signed a declaration, 330 The Puritan Revolution Recall of the Stuarts, 1660. known as the Declaration of Breda, agreeing to such a set- tlement of the country as Parliament should approve. On the 1st of May, 1660, the new Parliament 1 resolved that, " according to the ancient and fundamental laws of this Kingdom, the Government is, and ought to be, by King, Lords, and Commons." A month later Charles landed at Dover amidst rejoicing crowds. The Failure of Puritanism. — The Puritan rebellion had ended in apparent failure. In the contest against the despotism of the second Stuart, Parliament and the nation were victorious, but religious differences aroused strife among the conquerors. The cause of religious liberty triumphed with Cromwell, but the victory was based on force, and found little response in the nation, not yet ready for the ideals of the Puritan leader. The result was the reaction which we call the Restoration. The over- severity of Puritan rule led to the shamelessness of society under the third Stuart. Toleration at the point of the sword ended in the penal code against dissent. The outcome of the execution of Charles was the doc- trine of non-resistance. Nevertheless, Puritanism was far from dead. The spirit that found expres- sion in the writings of Milton and Banyan left a lasting impress on the national character. Nor Seal of the Commonwealth was the work of the Puri- tan revolution lost with the fall of the Commonwealth. A generation later it won its real triumph in the Bill of Rights and the Act of Toleration establishing the principles of constitutional rule and religious freedom. 1 Known as a Convention or Convention Parliament, because a king had not called it. Important Events 331 Important Events James I, 1603-1625. Hampton Court Conference, 1604. Founding of Jamestown, 1607. Beginning of Thirty Years 1 War, 1618. Founding of Plymouth, 1620. Impeachment of Bacon, 1621. Charles I, 1 625-1 649. Petition of Right, 1628. Assassination of Buckingham, 1628. Founding of Massachusetts Bay Colony, 1629. Personal government, 1 629-1 640. Ship-money decision, 1638. War with Scotland, 1639. Meeting of Long Parliament, 1640. Execution of Strafford, 1641. Outbreak of Civil War, 1642. Solemn League and Covenant, 1643. Naseby, 1645. Second Civil War, 1648. Pride's Purge, 1648. Execution of Charles, 1649. Commonwealth and Protectorate, i 649-1 66c, Worcester, 1651. Navigation Act, 1651. Expulsion of Rump, 1653. Establishment of a Protectorate, 1653. Jamaica conquered, 1655. Death of Cromwell, 1658. Recall of the Stuarts, 1660. CHAPTER XI THE RESTORATION AND THE REVOLUTION Books for Consultation Adams and Stephens, Henderson, Hill, as before. Pepys, Diary and Correspondence. Defoe, Journal of the Plague, 1665. Evelyn, Diary and Correspondence. Taylor, England under Charles II. Figgis, English History from Original Sources. Special Authorities Lingard, History of England. Macaulay, History of England. Hallam, Trevelyan, as before. Lodge, Political History of England, Vol. VIII. Traill, Shaftesbury, William III, Social England, IV. Macaulay, Essays on Sir William Temple, and on the Comic Dramatists of the Restoration. Scott, Prince Rupert. Imaginative Literature Scott, Old Mortality, Peveril of the Peak. Shorthouse, John Inglesant. Green, The Return of Charles II. — The recall of the Stuarts did pp. 602-605. not mean tnat the wor k of the last twenty years was to be Bright, 11, all undone. The overthrow of the Commonwealth had been 722-726. brought about by a party which desired a settlement of the government in accordance with the constitutional relations that existed at the close of the first session of the Long Par- 332 The Return of Charles II 333 liament. To the people generally the restoration of the monarchy meant a return to government by king and Parlia- ment. Charles II was shrewd enough to realize this, and the men whom he called to his council were moderate in temper, Royalists or Presbyterians. Edward Hyde, later Earl of Clarendon, was appointed chancellor. A leader of the Long Parliament during its first session, then the faithful adviser of Charles I, Clarendon now became Charles IPs chief minister. The Ship Naseby, later the Royal Charles On which Charles II returned to England government The Convention Parliament continued to sit during the Settlement year 1660. Its duty was to execute the articles of the ofthe Declaration of Breda, and to provide for the needs of the crown. An Act of Amnesty was passed, but most of the late king's judges were excepted, and in the end thirteen of the regicides, together with Sir Harry Vane, were executed. Milton barely escaped prosecution. The body of Cromwell was dragged from its tomb in Westminster Abbey, and hanged, and the bodies of Pym and Blake were dug up and thrown into a common pit. A great deal of property had changed hands during the revolution, through confiscation, or sales often more or less forced. The Church and the king 334 The Restoration and the Revolution Bright, 726. Green, pp. 619-625. Bright, II, 726-728,732. Act of Uniformity, 1662. received back their lands, but private sales were declared valid. The horror of military rule was shown by the speed with which the army of the Commonwealth was disbanded, only two regiments being retained. Feudal dues and pur- veyance were abolished, and their place was supplied by an excise. Tonnage and poundage were granted the king for life, and the whole revenue of the crown was fixed at ;£i, 200,000 a year. An attempt to settle the Church by a compromise establishing a form of government partly Epis- copal and partly Presbyterian in character was wrecked by the fear that it might open the way to toleration of Roman Catholics. This question remained undecided when the Convention was dissolved. The Cavalier Parliament. — The tide of loyalty was rising fast. The Parliament called in 1661 was fired with zeal for Church and king. It included not more than fifty Presby- terians, and its reactionary temper was at once apparent. Every member was ordered to receive the communion ac- cording to the rites of the Anglican Church, and the League and Covenant was solemnly burnt in Westminster Hall. Formal resolutions were passed declaring that there was no legislative power in Parliament without the royal sanction, that the king was the rightful commander of all forces, and that it was unlawful for either House to make war against the crown. Settlement of the Church. — The most important task of the new Parliament was the settlement of the religious ques- tion. A conference called in April at the Savoy Palace be- tween Presbyterian and Episcopalian divines showed great bitterness of feeling and failed to devise a basis of com- promise. The whole question was left to Parliament. The chief characteristics of the predominant element in the nation were devotion to the English Church and detestation of Roman Catholics and Nonconformists, and legislation reflected this temper. In 1662 an Act of Uniformity was passed requiring all clergymen and schoolmasters and fel- lows of colleges to accept unfeignedly everything contained Settlement of the C lunch 335 in the prayer book. As a result, nearly two thousand clergymen, abo"t one-fifth of the whole number, including the most learned and active men in the Church, were de- prived of their charges. They were the leaders of the party which had continued to hold to the early Puritan idea of remaining within the national Church in the hope of moulding it. They were now forced to establish com- munions outside of the Church. Together with the Inde- pendents, Baptists, Quakers, and other sects, they formed a large Nonconformist body. (the famous petition crown) The apprehension with which Dissenters ' were regarded Penal was shown in a series of penal statutes. The towns were statutes the stronghold of Presbyterianism, and in 1661 the Corpora- Dissenters, tion Act was passed, requiring all holders of municipal office to take the Sacrament in accordance with the rites of the Anglican Church, to renounce the Covenant, and to take the oath of non-resistance. 2 By the Conventicle Act of 1664, religious meetings where more than four persons in addition to the household came together were prohibited unless in accordance with the forms of the established Church. A third violation of this law was punished by 1 So the Nonconformists were now commonly called. 2 Doctrine of non-resistance as embodied in the oath of allegiance: "I, A B, do declare and believe that it is not lawful upon any pretence whatever to take up arms against the king." 336 The Restoration and the Revolution Source- Book, pp. 268-270. Bright, II, 735-737- Green, pp. 628,629, 635- transportation. Another restrictive measure was passed under circumstances of peculiar infamy. In 1665 the plague was raging in London and most of the established clergy had fled in panic. The Dissenters, a far more earnest set of men, undertook the duties so abandoned, tending the sick and holding funeral services. Parliament, at a safe distance in Oxford, where it had gone to avoid the plague, passed the Five-Mile Act, forbidding all clergymen who had not subscribed the Act of Uniformity or who would not swear to the doctrine of passive obedience and take an oath never to "endeavour any alteration of government in Church or State," to come within five miles of a town or Parliament borough. The Dutch War. — Under Charles II the old strife between England and Holland was renewed. The commercial rivalry of the two countries was growing keener and disputes oc- curred daily, but thus far the Dutch retained their superi- ority. From the outset Charles had shown genuine interest in the development of English colonies and trade, but his opposition to Holland was strengthened by personal resent- ment for insults received from the Dutch government during his exile. Quarrels between Dutch and English merchants on the coast of Guinea led to hostilities between the two countries in 1664, although there was no formal declaration of war until the year following. In England the war was popular, and Parliament voted what was then the very large grant of ^2,500,000 to carry it on. Success was at first on the side of the English. They gained possession of the Dutch colo- nies on the Hudson and in the West Indies, and in June, 1665, the fleet under the Duke of York, brother of the king, won a great victory off Lowestoft. The next year the tide turned. After a contest of two days the Dutch, commanded by De Ruyter, succeeded in defeating the English in the Downs. On the whole, England was superior in ships and gunnery, but this advantage was lost through the bad man- agement and corruption of the government. The generous Fall of Clarendon 337 grants of Parliament for carrying on the war were appropri- ated to the king's pleasure, and in 1667, in the mistaken expectation that peace was at hand, the fleet was dismantled. Source-Book The coast of England lay unprotected, and at once De Ruyter PP- 2 74. as- sailed up the Thames and burnt the shipping in the Medway. For several days London was held in a state of blockade, but the Dutch did not push their advantage, for they were desirous to bring the war to an end. Bound by treaty obliga- tions, France had joined Holland in 1666. Little aid had been given, however, and the Dutch were coming to fear the intentions of their ally. In fact, Louis XIV desired nothing so much as to see the two maritime powers destroy one another. In July, 1667, the peace of Breda was signed. Treaty of Under the treaty England was secured in her possession of Breda > l66 7- the Dutch colonies in America. Fall of Clarendon. — The conclusion of the Dutch war Bright, 11, was followed by the overthrow of Clarendon. For some 73°,73 6 -739- time dissatisfaction with the government had been growing. The Dissenters smarted under their disabilities. The fears of Churchmen were aroused by efforts of the king to obtain toleration for the Catholics. The sale of Dunkirk to France in 1662, although probably no real disadvantage to England, touched the national pride. There was general indignation over the mismanagement of the war. Just at this time too the country was passing through a period of economic de- pression. Trade was at a standstill, a sudden fall in the price of wheat forced down rents one-fourth, and London, which in 1665 had lost one-fifth of its population by the plague, was in the following year devastated by a terrible fire which broke out on the 3d of September and raged pp . 270-274. for three days. The king did not escape popular disapproval, but the attacks of Parliament were directed against Clarendon. Charles made little effort to save his minister, whose serious life he felt a constraint and whom he knew to be opposed to his plans for Catholic toleration. In the hope of win- ning popularity he dismissed Clarendon from the chan- 338 The Restoration and the Revolution cellorship. A formal impeachment by the House of Com. mons followed (1667), but the fallen minister saved himself by flight to France, where he lived in banishment until his death. Clarendon's ideal was the system of the sixteenth century, an Episcopal Church dependent upon the crown, irresponsible power wielded by an enlightened and con- scientious king. He repeated the mistake of Strafford in endeavoring to make of a Stuart a ruler after the Eliza- bethan type. The ministerial crisis of 1667 was accom- panied by a real advance in constitutional government. The right of the Commons to control taxation had been secured by the Long Parliament. The principle was now established that supplies should not be diverted from the use for which they were voted, and that the national ac- counts should be subject to parliamentary inspection. Green, Religious Policy of Charles II. — Charles II had far more pp. 629-632. tact and a 5iii t y tnan his father, but on the other hand less principle and less earnestness. Selfishness, love of pleasure, were the dominant notes in his character. At the outset of the reign he showed little ambition, but, surrounding himself with men of his own kind, led a life of dissipation which made the court a national shame. The king was avowedly a sceptic, but his sympathies were with the Catholics, and his only interference in the policy of the government had been in their behalf. In 1660 he had asked Parliament to grant general religious liberty, and in 1662 he issued a declaration in favor of toleration and strove to make arrangements with Parliament enabling him to mitigate the harshness of the Act of Uniformity under the power which he claimed of dis- pensing with the laws in particular cases. Fear of popery was the strongest feeling in the nation at this time, and the Cavalier Parliament answered the king's proposal by deny- ing that he possessed the dispensing power and by banish- ing all Roman Catholic priests. Bright, II, Clarendon's overthrow coincided with a change in the atti- 74 1 - tude of the king. C-harles had learned that dependence upon Parliament hindered his freedom to do as he liked. Charles II and Fra 339 He objected to interference in the expenditure of the court, to criticism of his manner of life. Moreover, he was sincere in his wish to relieve the Catholics from the oppression of the penal laws, and he realized that the opposition of Parlia- ment blocked the way to this. For these reasons he hence- forth definitely strove to free himself from parliamentary restraint. Charles II and France. — After the fall of Clar- endon, Charles became his own chief minister, but certain men, Lauder- dale, Ashley, Clifford, Buckingham, and Arling- ton were from time to time taken into his con- fidence, and they came to be known as the Cabal. 1 In spite of Parlia- ment's fear of a military rule, the king had al- ready succeeded in pro- viding himself with a small army. He had used the excuse of a fanatical outbreak in London (1661) to retain two regiments under arms, and he soon increased the force to five thousand men. In Scotland, now no longer united with England, Lauderdale had been active in crushing Presbyterianism, and had built up a standing army. Money, however, was necessary for the success of his plans, and for this Charles looked to France. Louis XIV met him more than half-way. Already the young French king was meditating those plans of aggression which made * At this time Cabal meant simply a body of secret advisers. The popu- lar detestation which these men inspired, coupled with the accidental fact that their names spelt Cabal, gave the word its later odious meaning. Louis XIV Bright, II, 739. 740- Green, pp. 633-637 34Q The Restoration and the Revolution Triple Alliance, 1668. Treaty of Dover, 1670. Bright, II, 74 2 -744- Green, pp. 637-639. Declaration of Indul- gence, 1672. France during the latter part of the seventeenth century a menace to the freedom of Europe. In 1667, while osten- sibly in alliance with the Dutch, he made a secret treaty with Charles, in which he promised to give no help to Hol- land, on condition of being allowed a free hand in the Spanish Netherlands. In the following year, however, Charles formed, with Holland and Sweden, the Triple Alliance, to put an end to the war between France and Spain. A strong feeling against the French was springing up in England, and the king's action was very popular. In reality, Charles was inspired chiefly by a desire to make Louis realize his power. The result of his course was the treaty of Dover in 1670. By its terms the English king was to aid Louis in making war upon the Dutch and in dismembering the Spanish empire on the death of the reigning king. He was also to acknowledge himself a Catholic. In return, Louis was to pay Charles a large pension while the war with the Dutch lasted, and to lend him the aid of French troops to suppress any opposition in England to his plan to relieve the Cath- olics. In addition, England was to receive Dutch and Spanish territories in case Louis succeeded in his plans. The treaty of Dover was kept a profound secret from every one except Clifford and Arlington. Its effects, how- ever, were at once apparent. In 1671 Charles, having obtained from the Commons a grant of ^800,000, on the plea that money was needed to enable England to hold her own against France as well as Holland, prorogued Parlia- ment. As yet Charles dared not announce himself a Catho- lic, but early in 1672, under the power which he claimed, he issued a Declaration of Indulgence, suspending the exe- cution of all penal laws in matters ecclesiastical. By this act complete religious liberty was established. Although done primarily in the interest of the Catholics, Dissenters were included in its benefits, in the hope of winning them over to support the government. The effect, however, was just the reverse. With unusual clearsightedness, the Dis- War with Holland 341 senters recognized the dangerous possibilities in allowing the crown such arbitrary power, and they joined with church- men in protesting against the measure. War with Holland. — The Declaration of Indulgence was Bright, 11, followed by a declaration of war against Holland. In the 7 43~745- contest that now broke out the Dutch held their own on Green, the sea, but on the land they were no match for the forces pp - 6 39-64*. which Louis sent against them. Holland was invaded. In the civil disorder that followed, the existing government was overthrown, and William of Orange, Charles's own nephew, was made Stadtholder at the age of twenty-two. Under his leadership the Dutch rallied to meet the in- vader in the heroic spirit which they had shown in their contest with Spain a century before. They refused to accept the terms offered them. In their desperation they cut the dikes and laid the country under water. Louis was compelled to withdraw his army, and the campaign ended in failure. Lack of money now forced Charles to summon Parlia- ment. Fears of a Catholic reaction, doubts as to the real policy of the government, were agitating the country. The session was marked by the appearance of an organized The Country opposition, the Country party, as it came to be called. Al- P art y- though sympathizing with the Dissenters, the opposition held that the first need was to put a check upon the arbi- trary tendency of the government, and opened an attack smrce-Bovk, upon the Declaration of Indulgence. A resolution was pp. 276, 277. passed declaring " that penal statutes in matters ecclesias- tical cannot be suspended but by consent of Parliament." All supplies were refused till the Declaration was recalled, and Charles was forced to give way. Parliament followed up this victory by passing a Test Act (1673) requiring all Test Act, holding civil or military office to receive the sacrament x ^ 3 " according to the forms of the Anglican Church, and to subscribe to a declaration rejecting the doctrine of tran- substantiation. The effect of the Test Act was to exclude all honest Roman Catholics from office. The resignation 342 The Restoration and the Revolution Green, pp. 642-646. Green, pp. 646-649. Bright, II, 745-750. 752- of hundreds followed. The Duke of York gave up the command of the fleet, and Clifford retired from the Treasury. The break-up of the Cabal followed. Clifford withdrew into private life. Ashley, now Earl of Shaftesbury, joined the opposition, to be followed later by Buckingham ; Ar- lington attached himself to the court ; Lauderdale alone con- tinued to hold office. Administration of the Earl of Danby. — The course of affairs during the next few years was confused and un- certain. Charles, in disgust at his failure to manage Par- liament, gave the control into the hands of the Earl of Danby, who was thought to represent the dominant senti- ment of the Commons. The domestic aims of Danby were those of Clarendon. He wished to strengthen the mon- archy and maintain the supremacy of the Church of Eng- land over the Catholics and Dissenters. In foreign politics, 'however, he leaned to an alliance with the Dutch. Both in his domestic and in his foreign policy Danby had the support of a majority in Parliament and in the nation, but he and the king were in accord only on the question of the royal prerogative. Another element in the situation was the Country party, which under Shaftesbury con- tended vigorously for toleration for all Dissenters and for war with France. Danby wished to break off the alliance with France, but Charles was bribed to maintain it. The Country party wanted war, but did not dare trust the king with an army. Louis kept Charles in his pay, but he doubted, and with reason, the good faith of his pensioner, and tried to hold him in check by intriguing with the leaders of the opposition. In 1674 a separate peace was made with Holland. The Country party, not content with breaking off the alliance with France, desired that England should join the league against Louis. The French king accordingly bribed Charles to prorogue Parliament for fifteen months. When Parlia- ment reassembled in 1677 it renewed the demand for war. The Popish Plot 343 It refused, however, to appropriate money for the purpose, and insisted that Charles should disband the army which he had collected. At this point Louis again bought the pro- rogation of Parliament. Before the subsidy had been paid, however, Danby for the moment gained the upper hand and succeeded in arranging a marriage between William, Prince Marriage of Orange, and Mary, the eldest daughter of the Duke of ^"and* York. Louis indignantly refused to pay the promised grant, William of and Charles at once retaliated by summoning Parliament. Orange, Louis now adopted new tactics. Convinced of the folly of relying upon Charles, he entered into an intrigue with some of the leaders of the Country party 4 , with the hope of neutral- izing action through party dissensions. His policy was so successful that Charles, in disgust, turned again to Louis, and in 1678, signed a private treaty with the French king, agreeing to abandon Holland in return for a bribe of six million livres. The general peace which followed rendered Louis independent of England, and he took his revenge for Charles's double dealing, by making public the whole miser- able business. Wounded national pride called for vengeance. The king could not be held responsible, and the wrath of Parliament fell upon Danby, his unwilling agent. To save his minister, Charles dissolved Parliament, which had now sat for seventeen years. The new Parliament was, however, even more determined in its assaults upon Danby. Im- Impeach- peached by the House of Commons, the minister pleaded ™ en * of „ „ t 1 • . 1 , , , • , 1 1 , Danby, 1678 the kings command and the kings pardon; the plea was set aside, and the principle was asserted that a minister might not shield himself from responsibility behind the order of the sovereign. If the king could do no wrong, then some one must be made responsible. The Popish Plot. — The attack upon Danby would per- Green, haps have been less vehement had not the disclosure of the PP- 6 49" 6 52. king's intrigues come just at a time when the country was in a panic over the discovery of the so-called Popish Plot. Bright, II, It was asserted that the Catholics had formed a conspiracy to 750-752. murder the king and to place the Duke of York on the 344 The Restoration and the Revolution Source-Book, p. 283. throne, that a French army was to invade the country, and that Protestantism was to be absolutely suppressed. The story rested on the almost unsupported statements of Titus Oates, a man of degraded character, once an Anglican clergyman, later a Jesuit priest ; but the Gunpowder Plot was fresh in popular remembrance, and the country was beside itself with fright. Men went armed, five peers, declared to be privy to the plot, were thrown into the Tower, and a number of Catholics were put to death. The Commons re- solved " that this house is of opinion that there hath been South View of Hampton Court Disabling Act, 1678. . jieen, pp 654-660. Bright, II. 752-754. 756-758. and still is a damnable and hellish plot, carried on by Papish recusants, for subverting the government and rooting out the Protestant religion." Urged on by Shaftesbury, who un- scrupulously encouraged belief in a plot, Parliament passed a Disabling Act (1678) excluding Catholic peers from the House of Lords. Contest over the Exclusion Bill. — The fears and excite- ment in Parliament increased rapidly and resulted in the proposal of the Exclusion Bill, excluding the Duke of York as a Catholic from the succession. To save his brother, Charles dissolved Parliament, although it had sat less than three months. Before its dissolution, however, Parliament Contest over the Exclusion Bill 345 succeeded in passing the great Habeas Corpus Act, by which the right of trial or of liberation was finally made secure. Henceforth no man was to be detained in prison untried. The elections of the summer of 1679 resulted in a Par- liament even more bitterly hostile to the court than the preceding, and Charles prorogued the new assembly seven times before he dared face it. In the meantime Shaftesbury and the Country party spared no effort to keep popular excitement alive. Their avowed purpose was to press & Si Riv Thames in the Ri ari.es II forward the Exclusion Bill, and to establish the succession of the Duke of Monmouth, an illegitimate son of the king. Monmouth. Monmouth's strength lay in his popular manners and a reputation for loyalty to Protestantism won by his leniency in suppressing a recent outbreak of the Covenanters in Scotland. But signs of a reaction were becoming apparent. Popish Plot trials continued, but incredulity as to the existence of a conspiracy was spreading. Petitions from the Country party urging the king to assemble Parliament were met by counter-addresses from the supporters of the divine right of hereditary succession expressing abhorrence of these petitions. Source-Book, pp. 277-282. 346 The Restoration and the Revolution Two sharply opposed parties were now apparent, known at Whigs and first as Petitioners and Abhorrers, later as Whigs and Tories. 1 Tones. j n October, 1680, Parliament was at last called together. The Exclusion Bill was at once brought in and passed by the Commons, but in the House of Lords it was thrown out through the efforts of the Earl of Halifax. A dissolution followed. Conscious that the tide was turning in his favor, Charles called a new Parliament early in 1681. He offered to agree to anything short of exclusion, the duke should be banished, a regency should be established to carry on the gov- ernment in James's name, the regent should be the Prince of Orange. Blinded by passion, Shaftesbury with his party in the Commons still urged forward the Exclusion Bill. But they had gone too far, the country was no longer with them, and they were at length forced to confess themselves beaten. In the one great struggle with Parliament which Charles Dryden, risked he gained a complete victory. His triumph was due to the fact that in the end the people were on his side. The nation's dislike to a Catholic ruler was overcome by its fear of civil war combined with its loyalty to the principle of hereditary right. Bright, 11, Reaction. — In the reaction that followed the defeat of the 75 8 . 759- Country party, Charles was strong enough to take vengeance upon his opponents. A few of the followers of Shaftesbury were put to death on testimony no better than that accepted in the Popish Plot trials. Shaftesbury himself was charged with high treason, but the grand jury of Middlesex, before which the charge was brought, was strongly Whig, and the indictment was disregarded. To bring London and the other large towns, generally Whig, to terms, their charters were confiscated on charge of some irregularities and remodelled in the Tory interest. The Rye House Plot. — Restless under defeat, the Whigs took to plotting. In 1683 some of the more unscrupulous 1 Whig: a name applied to the Covenanters of the west of Scotland, from the cry of "whiggam," used with horses by the peasants of that region. Tory : a name given to brigands in Ireland. Absalom and Achitophel. James II 347 members of the party formed a plan to murder the king and Green, his brother at a place called the Rye House. The con- p - 66x - spiracy was discovered in time, and with it was brought to light the plan of some of the Whigs to force the king to summon Parliament. The leaders were seized, and two of them, Lord Russell and Algernon Sydney, were tried on the charge of high treason, and in disregard of the law requir- ing two witnesses, were condemned to death. Death of Charles II. — The revival of loyal feeling that Bright, 1 1, followed the defeat of the Exclusion Bill had not yet spent 76 °* itself when the king died, declaring, as he had not before pp e 66i-66 + dared to do, his adhesion to the Roman Catholic Church. During the last four years of his reign, by the advice of the high Tories, he refrained from calling Parliament and relied upon aid from France. The guiding principle of Charles's policy is indicated by the remark, commonly attrib- uted to him, that whatever else might happen he would not go again upon his travels. He had the ability to see the limit beyond which resistance was unsafe, and there was never fear that he would press a matter to the point of en- dangering his crown. On the whole his reign was marked by real constitutional progress. Charles made his minis- ters responsible to himself, but he was not able to prevent their being called to account by Parliament. Moreover, the establishment of political parties was a long stride toward parliamentary rule. James II (1685-1689). — The Stuart restoration coin- Bright, II, cided with the development in the English people of in- ? 6 3- tense feeling on certain subjects. An unreasoning devo- tion to the king and the Church was matched by an equally unreasoning fear and detestation of Puritans and Roman Catholics. Should these sentiments ever come into conflict, it was a question which would gain the mastery. In the reign of James II the question was answered. As a man James was more respectable than his brother, as a king he was more dangerous. In many ways he resembled his father. He had the same lack of tact and pliability, coupled with even 348 The Restoration and the Revolution less ability. James's aims were like those of Charles II, to make himself independent of Parliament and to restore the Roman Catholic Church, but his policy was different. De- pendence on France was odious to him. If possible he would achieve his ends in some less humiliating way. If he could obtain from Parliament what he wanted, freedom to carry out his domestic policy and plenty of money, he would throw England into the scale against France. Only as a last resort would he become a pensioner of Louis. The Tory Parliament. — James met his first Parliament on the 19th of May, 1685. The Tories were in an immense majority. This was due in part to the remodelled munici- palities (p. 346), but still more to the strength of the royal feeling throughout the country. A revenue even larger than that enjoyed by the late king was granted James for life. Events that followed quickly upon the opening of the ses- sion tended to strengthen the king with Parliament and with the nation. During the preceding reign a group of Scotch and English exiles had gathered in Holland. They now planned a simultaneous invasion of Scotland and England under the leadership of the Earl of Argyle and the Duke of Monmouth. It was thought that the Presbyterian interest and Argyle's own clansmen would join him in attacking Monmouth s j ames ' s government. Monmouth's reliance was in the Dis- rebellion, J ° 1685. senters and the extreme Protestant party. Both expedi- tions ended in failure. Argyle had already met his over- throw in the Highlands when Monmouth landed in the west of England. The duke was well received by the common people, but he found little support among substantial men, and on Sedgemoor his forces were completely defeated by the royal army. Monmouth was taken prisoner and put to death. Jeffreys, one of the judges noted for his ferocity, was sent to the western counties to take revenge upon the duke's unhappy followers. His cruel circuit has received the name of the Bloody Assizes, but the king rewarded his work with the chancellorship. Despotism of James 349 Despotism of James. — The ease with which Argyle and Bright, II, Monmouth were crushed gave James confidence. He felt 768-772, that he might proceed openly with his plans. Accordingly he increased his army and appointed Roman Catholics to commands, although they could not take the oath. When Parliament reassembled in November he urged forward the repeal of the Test Act, but a strong opposition became manifest in both Houses, and James prorogued Parliament. Undeterred by his failure to obtain the support of the Tory Green, and High Church party, James went boldly on with his plans pp - 666 ~ 6 7 1 - for a Roman Catholic restoration. He made free use of the much-disputed right of dispensing with the execution of the laws in individual cases. In order to get a legal decision in his favor, he caused a suit to be brought against Sir Edmund Hales, a Catholic officer, who had refused to take the test. Hales produced a royal dispensation, and the court, which had been carefully packed, decided in sup- port of the king's claim. Strengthened by this decision, James proceeded to ap- point Catholics to high church and university offices. To enforce his will upon the clergy, he established the Ecclesi- astical Commission Court, with Jeffreys at its head. A small riot in London was made the excuse for establishing a per- manent encampment of troops on Hounslow Heath. Mean- time a struggle that had been going on among the king's supporters ended in the triumph of the Earl of Sunderland and the extreme Catholics. The Earl of Rochester, who represented the party of the Protestants and moderate Catholics, was dismissed from office because he would not change his belief. At the same time, Tyrconnel, leader of the Irish Catholics, was made lord lieutenant of Ireland, in place of Clarendon, Rochester's brother. Urged on by his new advisers, James determined on more General sweeping measures. On the 4th of April, 1687, he issued Declaration a general Declaration of Indulgence suspending all penal indulgence laws and religious tests. Self-interest, he thought, would 1687. insure the support of the Dissenters to the measure, but in 35o The Restoration and the Revolutioti Bright, II, 77\~777- Attack on the Univer- sities. this he was mistaken. The larger part of the dissenting body expressed strong disapproval of the action. The attack upon the universities became more violent. At Cambridge the vice-chancellor was dismissed from office for refusing to give the degree of Master of Arts to a Bene- dictine monk who had refused to take the test. At Oxford the Fellows of Magdalen were directed to elect to the vacant headship of the college a Catholic nominee of the St. John's College, Cambridge From an old print crown. On their refusal to do this, they were turned out of doors and their places filled with Roman Catholics. Blind to the growing discontent, James made one more attempt to procure from Parliament the repeal of the Test Act. The existing House was dissolved, and no pains were spared to pack the new one. The corporations were again remodelled so as to secure the return of Catholics and Dis- senters. The lords-lieutenant of the counties were asked to aid the king in securing the election of candidates who Negotiations with William of Orange 3 5 1 would vote for repeal. It soon became plain that neither towns nor counties could be trusted to do the king's bidding, and the design of convening Parliament was abandoned. The Trial of the Seven Bishops. — James seemed deter- Bright, 1 1, mined to alienate all his supporters. In April, 1688, he 777-779- issued a second Declaration of Indulgence, which he or- prTfo'i 672 dered to be read in all the churches. The clergy had preached the doctrine of non-resistance with great vigor, but now they hesitated to obey. When the day appointed for the reading arrived, the churches were thronged. Most of the country clergy refused to obey the king's order ; only four of the London clergy attempted to read the Declara- tion, and at the first words their congregations left the church. A few days before the appointed Sunday seven bishops, Source-Book, including the primate, presented a respectful petition to the P p - 28 4-288. king, praying that they might be freed from the necessity of breaking the law by reading an illegal declaration. James called the petition " a standard of rebellion," and caused the bishops to be brought before the King's Bench on the charge of publishing a seditious libel. The excitement was tremen- dous. The streets outside Westminster Hall, where the trial was held, were filled with anxious crowds. James felt sure of both judges and jury, but to his chagrin a verdict of not guilty was brought in. The result was received with great rejoicing : even the soldiers on Hounslow Heath shouted with the rest. Negotiations with "William of Orange. — In spite of the victory gained in the acquittal of the bishops, matters had not really taken a turn for the better. The patience which the nation had shown was chiefly due to its hope of seeing an end of its troubles, for James's only children were daugh- ters and loyal to the Protestant faith. But while the fate of the bishops was still undecided, the queen gave birth to Birth of a a son, and at once the aspect of affairs changed. So oppor- P nnce > tune for James's plans was the birth of the young prince, that 352 The Restoration and the Revolution the child was popularly, although falsely, held to be suppo- sititious. But, whatever the feeling among the people, he was presented to the country as the heir to the throne, and he was sure to be brought up a Catholic. The day of the acquittal of the bishops, a letter, signed by seven prominent Whigs and Tories, was sent to William of Orange, husband The Cittie of Limerick O'Grady, Pacata Hibernia, or A History of the Wars in Ireland Green, pp. 672-680. Bright, II, 779-782. of Princess Mary, asking him to come to the rescue of English liberty. William of Orange was the leading Protestant statesman of Europe. He had thrown himself heart and soul into the struggle against France, and was strongly desirous of securing the cooperation of England. The opportunity was tempting, but the difficulties in the way were great ; English national feeling, Dutch jealousy, the opposition of his Cath- olic allies on the Continent, were all to be met. The un- bridled ambition of Louis and the boundless stupidity of 4 Longitude East 5 from Greenwich 6 The Revolution of 1688 353 James combined to smooth his way. By attacking the trade of Holland Louis insured to William the support of the Dutch. By quarrelling with the Pope he connected for the moment the interests of the Roman Catholic Church with William's success. In England James crowned a long series of blunders and alienated the army by bringing over Irish Catholic troops. At last the king had succeeded in driving all elements of the nation into opposition. Tories and Whigs, the Church, the Dissenters, the universities, country and town, all alike now understood that political freedom, the Protestant faith, the national honor, were in danger so long as James was on the throne. The Revolution of 1688. — William no longer hesitated. Bright, II, Before setting sail he issued a manifesto which summed up 7 8 3 _ 7 8 9- James's unconstitutional acts and stated that, as the husband pp 680-685 of Princess Mary, he was coming to England with an armed force to secure a free and legal Parliament, by whose decision he would abide. James had obstinately closed his eyes to what was passing. Forced at length to see his danger, he made concessions right and left. But it was too late. On the 5th of November William landed at Torbay and proceeded slowly toward London. He was joined by one after another of the leading Source-Book statesmen and generals. Even the Princess Anne threw in PP- 288-292. her lot with the rebels. James found himself almost alone, and with the fate of his father before his eyes he fled in dis- guise to France, where he was most respectfully received by Louis. It was necessary to provide without delay for the settle- ment of the government, and election writs were issued in William's name. When the convention came together, the Commons passed a resolution declaring that " King James II, having endeavoured to subvert the Constitution of the kingdom by breaking the original contract between King and people, and, by the advice of Jesuits and other wicked people, having violated the fundamental laws, and having withdrawn himself out of the kingdom, had abdicated 2 A 354 The Restoration and the Revolution Declaration of Right, see p. 362. Bright, II, 790-804. Macaulay, Hist, of England, ch. III. Traill, IV, 472-477. the Government, and that the throne had thereby become vacant." After some debate the Lords accepted the terms of the Commons' resolution. A Declaration of Right was drawn up, reciting the misgovernment of James, and assert- ing the rights and liberties of the English people. The two Houses then joined in offering the crown to William and Mary as joint sovereigns, the actual administration of the government, however, to rest with William. England at the Close of the Seventeenth Century. — Eng- land's real religious reformation and her greatest political revolution came within a space of less than one hundred years. For almost a century the national energies had been concentrated in the two channels of politics and religion. Literature was dominated by these interests. In Bacon, Hobbes, Filmer, Locke, in Milton and Bunyan, the national earnestness found full expression. Milton, the secretary of Cromwell, the great Puritan poet serving the great Puritan statesman, typifies the close connection between the world of action and the world of letters. Social and industrial interests were forced into the back- ground by the strenuous political and religious activity. During the civil wars, the half-feudal conditions that con- trolled class relations under the early Stuarts disappeared, and by the end of the century, society had assumed a modern character. The mediaeval baron had given place to the modern nobleman. The country gentry and the rural clergy, united by many interests, formed the influen- tial class. The small freeholders were slowly losing ground, but were still an important element in the life of the country. Below them, unrepresented and ignored, were the farmers, laborers, and artisans. A counterpoise to the power of the landed interest was the commercial class rap- idly growing in wealth and political importance. One of the most important social and political features of the time was the presence of the large body of Dissenters, active and intelligent, and forced apart from the rest of the nation by the intolerant attitude of the Church. London had become Commercial Rivalry with Holland 355 to a degree before unknown the centre of political and intellectual interests. Men of prominence in all pursuits nocked thither, congregating at the coffee-houses, 1 which answered the purpose of the clubs of to-day. The industrial history of the seventeenth century offers little that is noteworthy. The disorders of the Civil War caused a rise in prices which was made good only in part by the rise in wages. On the whole, however, there was but • little economic disturbance. Agriculture showed some im- provement under the early Stuarts, due to the impetus Traill, iv given by the Tudors. The draining of the fens was the Il8_I21 - great achievement of the time. 2 During the first part of the century there was some progress in manufacturing. The woollen industry prospered. The iron mines of Sussex were worked to a considerable extent, but smelting was hampered by the increasing scarcity of wood, and as yet the use of pit coal as fuel was not generally understood. There was but little development in domestic trade, owing mainly to the few and bad roads. Foreign trade was chiefly in the hands of the Londoners. In accordance with the prevailing eco- nomic theories there was much regulation of trade, and home industries and national commerce were fostered by efforts to crush out foreign or colonial rivalry. Commercial Rivalry with Holland. — Brief though it was, the rule of Cromwell marks a turning-point in English policy. Now, for the first time, the government concerned itself with building up a commercial and colonial empire. Henceforth England's strength was on the sea, and her wars were usually naval. The rivals of England in the middle of the seventeenth century were Spain and Holland. Spain was still the first colonial power of the world, but decay had set in and Spanish greatness was waning. Holland, on the contrary, was at the height of her power, doing the carrying trade of the world, and building up her empire at the expense of 1 Coffee was introduced into England in the reign of Charles II. 2 The great fens extending into six of the eastern counties were drained and reclaimed in the reign of Charles I. 356 The Restoration and the Revolution Jamaica, 1655- Peace of Breda, 1667. Spain and Portugal. England, under Cromwell, made suc- cessful war upon both the Spanish and the Dutch. The Spanish settlements were attacked, and, although an attempt to seize San Domingo failed, Jamaica passed into the posses- sion of the English. The basis of Holland's power, her commercial supremacy, received a twofold blow in the achievements of the English navy and in the Navigation Acts of the Long Parliament. The example of the Commonwealth was followed under Charles II. Trade rivalry with Holland continued, and the Navigation Laws were renewed (1660). In 1665 war broke out. On the sea the two powers were still well matched, and England met with alternate success and defeat. By the peace of Breda which closed the war (1667), England gave up her claim to Pularoon, thus losing her hold upon the Spice Islands of the East j but in return she was secured in her possession of St. Helena, off the coast of Africa, valu- able as a calling station, and what was of greater importance, she fell heir to the Dutch colonies in America. After the founding of settlements in the Carolinas, 1663, and Pennsyl- vania, 1682, the English possessions stretched in an un- broken line for nearly a thousand miles along the Atlantic coast of North America. No other power could boast so extensive a group of colonies peopled by men of the home race. Although, in accordance with the terms of the treaty of Dover (1670), the war with Holland was renewed, the feel- ing was becoming general that it was a mistake to make war on the Dutch. Holland was a waning, England a growing power. England ceased to dread the rivalry of the Dutch, Holland needed the aid of the English. The duel between the two northern sea-powers may be said to end with the peace of 1674. Henceforth the two nations drew together, united by a common fear of the French. The Duel between England and France. — The close of the Thirty Years' War left France dominant on the Continent. Under Louis XIV France became the most powerful country The Duel between England and France 357 in Europe. Her population was almost three times that of England. Her army rose steadily from one hundred thousand in 1650 to half a million at the beginning of the next century, and her navy could hold its own against the English or the Dutch. By the centralization of the govern- ment under Richelieu, all these resources were placed at the absolute disposal of the king. Great as were the resources of Louis XIV, they were Aims of outstripped by his ambition. From the beginning of his Louls XIV - rule in 1660 till his final defeat in 1713, he was ceaselessly planning to extend his power. Schemes of continental aggrandizement were accompanied by attempts to develop the French colonial empire. The direction which Louis gave to the policy of France outlived him, and for half a century after the death of the Great Monarch the French were still struggling to attain the double goal of continental supremacy and colonial expansion. 358 Tlie Restoration and the Revolution Important Events Charles II, 1 660-1 685. The Cavalier Parliament, 1661-1679. Act of Uniformity, 1662. Conquest of New Netherlands, 1664. War with Holland, 1665-1667. Fall of Clarendon, 1667. Treaty of Dover, 1670. Declaration of Indulgence, 1672. Test Act, 1673. The Popish Plot, 1678. Habeas Corpus Act, 1679. Contest over the Exclusion Bill. 1679-1681. Founding of Pennsylvania, 1682. James II, 1685-1689. Sedgemoor, 1685. The judges declare for the king's dispensing power, i( Second Declaration of Indulgence, 1688. Birth of the son of James II, 1688. Acquittal of the seven bishops, 1688. Landing of William of Orange, 1688. The crown accepted by William and Mary, 1689. Chief Contemporaries 350 13 * 2 a" _= >> .s ^ « Q |S° g d U ffl^ .3 -d h-, u y CHAPTER XII PARTIES AND PARTY GOVERNMENT Books for Consultation Sources Adams and Stephens, Hill, Henderson, Figgis, as before. Special Authorities Hallam, Constitutional History of England. May, Constitutional History of England. Macaulay, History of England. Lecky, Histsry of England in the Eighteenth Century. Leadam, Political History of England, Vol. IX. Traill, William III. Morley, Walpole. Imaginative Literature Thackeray, Esmond. Scott, Waverley. Bright, III, Results of the Revolution of 1688. — The Revolution of 806,807. 1688 marks the overthrow of the Stuart theory of the divine right of kings, and the triumph of the Whig principle that the king rules by the will of the people. In the place of an absolute sovereign was established a supreme Parliament, the representative of the nation ; and government by pre- rogative gave way to the rule of law. The work was well done ; arbitrary taxation and arbitrary legislation could never again be attempted. Little, in fact, was left for the next century to accomplish except to adjust the machinery of government to the new controlling principles. Thor- ough as was the Revolution, it was, nevertheless, essentially 360 Parties and the Revolution 361 conservative and practical. The extravagances of the Re- bellion had made men cautious. All unnecessary change was deprecated. Nothing was attacked that could safely be retained, and there was no theorizing. In sharp con- trast with the earlier movement was the peaceful character of this revolution. Without bloodshed, with but little excite- ment, a king was deposed, and another ruler set in his place, and the whole conception of the government changed. Constitutional Work of the Eighteenth Century. — The Revolution was accomplished in the space of a few weeks. To carry into effect what had been gained was the work of the eighteenth century. The natural consequence of the supremacy of Parliament was parliamentary control of the executive, the transformation of the ministers of the king into national ministers, responsible to the people, not to the sovereign, and all-powerful if secure of popular support. This was not at first realized. Still less was the means of bringing the will of the people to bear upon the government understood. More than a century of blind, stumbling ex- periment was necessary to work out and establish in com- pleteness Cabinet government ; that is, government by a Cabinet council of ministers holding the same political opinions, act- govern- ing as a unit, in harmony with the dominant party in the House of Commons, standing or falling, not at the pleasure of the king, but in accordance with the will of the nation as expressed through its representatives. Parties and the Revolution. — Although James II was overthrown by a combination of Whigs and Tories, the Rev- olution was essentially a Whig movement. The cooperation of the Tories was accidental and temporary. Out of loyalty to one principle they did violence to another. They re- sisted the king to save the Anglican Church, but that did not mean that they had abandoned the doctrine of inde- feasible hereditary right. For a generation to come the Tory party remained Jacobite, that is to say Stuart, in sym- jacobitism. pathy. Just so long as there was a Catholic pretender in the background the contradiction between the Tory prin- William III 363 ciples would divide and weaken the party. The position of the Whigs, on the other hand, was simple. In their hands, resistance to James had been made to mean constitutional liberty and religious toleration, the cardinal points of the Whig doctrine. Accordingly their task was simply the maintenance of the Revolution settlement. In fighting strength the two parties were not unequal. On the side of the Tories were the country gentry and the Church, never since the Reformation so powerful as now. The strength of the Whigs lay in the great nobles, the Dis- senters, and the commercial classes. The Tories were more numerous, but the Whigs were strong through good leadership, fine organization, and the high intelligence of the mass of the party. William III (1689-1702) and the Revolution Settlement. Bright, in, — The establishment of the new government was attended 807,811. with many difficulties. The unanimity of the nation in pp . 688-691. support of the Revolution soon came to an end. James's repeated assaults upon the Church had led the clergy to disregard, for a moment, the doctrine of passive obedience, which, for a generation, they had vigorously preached ; but the overthrow of the house of Stuart was quickly followed by a reaction in its favor among churchmen. The require- ment that all of the clergy should take the oath of allegiance forced the growing disaffection to the Revolution into open hostility. Between three hundred and four hundred of the clergy, including the primate and six of the bishops, refused to take the oath and were deprived of their preferments. These Nonjurors, as they were called, were now to be counted as enemies to the new order. To overturn the despotism of James, Whigs and Tories Bright, ill, had joined hands, but success at once brought out the old 8o8 ^ 8l °- differences of opinion. Gratitude and self-interest bound William to the Whigs, to whose efforts he chiefly owed his crown, but he was unwilling to be a mere party leader. Moreover, although resolved to rule constitutionally, he had no mind to become simply a figure-head, and he naturally 364 Parties and Party Government The Bill of Rights, Old South Leaflets, No. 19. Toleration Act, 1689. Bright, II, 772-774; III, 812-817, 826-830. Green, pp. 664, 665, 669-671. inclined to the Tory party with its higher views of the royal prerogative. He attempted, therefore, to rule by the support of both parties, and included in his ministry both Whigs and Tories. The impracticability of this method was not at first realized, but the friction it caused soon became apparent. Parliament proceeded to pass some important measures. The Declaration of Rights was reissued as the Bill of Rights. In spite of the protest of the Church, the Dissenters were rewarded for their support of the Revolution with the Tol- eration Act, which gave liberty of worship to all except Unitarians and Roman Catholics. It was not a generous measure ; toleration, not equality, was granted, and much of the penal legislation of Charles II remained in force. In this and the following Parliament the public revenue was settled. Certain taxes were granted to the king for life for the support of the crown, 1 others for the maintenance of the government were granted for a limited time only. The separation of the grants for the royal expenditure from the appropriations for carrying on the government was of great constitutional importance. Ireland and the Revolution. — When the Revolution broke out, Ireland, as was natural, espoused the cause of James. The restoration of Charles II had brought some relief to the Irish Catholics. It is true that the Act of Settlement (1661) had confirmed most of the land grants made under Cromwell. As a result, the Protestants were left in posses- sion of almost three-fourths of the good lands in Ireland, while before 1641 about two-thirds of such lands were still in the hands of the Catholics. Nevertheless, the years that fol- lowed the return of the Stuarts were, on the whole, prosper- ous. There was religious toleration, and the measures of the government were mild. During his short reign, James had done much to restore the ascendency of the Catholics. Tyrconnel, a Romanist, was at the head of the government, the municipal charters were remodelled in the interest of the same party, and an Irish Catholic army was organized. 1 This grant formed the origin of the Civil List. Ireland and the Revolution 365 When William landed in England, the Irish at once rose in support of James. Many of the English fled from the country, those remaining threw themselves into the few strong places like Londonderry and Enniskillen. Tyrronnel and his army swept over the land, destroying the property of the Protestants. Except for Londonderry and Ennis- killen, now closely invested, all Ireland was in revolt against the English government. James took courage. Accom- panied by a few French officers he crossed over from France, and a Parliament was summoned in Dublin, which, Parliament as was to be expected, contained few but Catholics. It pro- at Dublin - ceeded at once to repeal the Act of Settlement and to pass an Act ^f Attainder including between two thousand and three thousand of the leading Englishmen in the country. On the other hand, it established perfect religious liberty. At first William III showed little energy in attempt- ing to assert his authority in Ireland. Londonderry and Enniskillen held out, but in Londonderry the popula- tion was reduced to the last straits. Finally in July, 1689, an English fleet succeeded in forcing its way up the river Foyle Relief of and Londonderry was saved, after a siege of one hundred London- and five days. Early in 1690 the king, glad to turn his back on the faction struggles of the Whigs and Tories, crossed to Ireland. In July he fought the battle of the Boyne. The Irish suffered overwhelming defeat, and James, giving up his cause for lost, fled to France. For a year longer the Irish kept up the struggle, but in October, 1691, Limerick was forced to surrender, and this brought the war to an end. By the treaty of Limerick, the Catholics Treaty of were promised such liberties as they had enjoyed under Limenck - Charles II, and amnesty was guaranteed for all who would take the oath of allegiance. To the shame of England the promise with regard to the Catholics was not kept. The Revolution in Scotland. — In Scotland, as in Ireland, Bright, in, William was forced to fight for his crown, but the opposition 817-821, which he met in the north was not national, as in Ireland. 34_ 3 ' The return of the Stuarts had been followed by the over- 366 Parties and Party Government Green, pp. 663, 664. Source- Book, 292-297. Green, pp. 662, 671- 673, 676. Bright, III, 811,831,836- 838, 846-848, 856-859. throw of the Presbyterian Church and the establishment of Episcopacy. All resistance was relentlessly crushed out. As a result the Revolution found strong support among the Scotch. A Claim of Right, similar to the English Decla- ration of Right, was adopted by the Scottish Parliament. The crown was offered to William and accepted by him. Presbyterianism was again established. The Highlands had taken little part in the overthrow of the Stuarts. The clansmen were lawless and half savage, and their politics were chiefly local. Many of the clans were at this time bitterly hostile to the great Campbell family, and the fact that Argyle, the head of the Campbells, was a Whig, was sufficient reason for championing the Stuarts. Dundee, one of James's supporters, made use of this feeling to stir up the Highlanders to resist the new government. An English army was sent against them, and the two forces met in the Pass of Killiecrankie. Dundee was killed, but his followers succeeded in defeating the Eng- lish, who were hampered in attempting to use the bayonet 1 at close quarters. Deprived of their leader, the Highlanders returned to their homes, and in 1691 the distribution of a large sum of money among the chiefs of the clans brought them one by one to submit to the new government. France and the Coalition. — William had not forgotten continental affairs. He had accepted the English crown largely that he might throw England into the scales against France. The French attack upon Ireland gave just grounds for action, and in 1689 Parliament declared war. The same step had already been taken by the Empire, Austria, Spain, Holland, and Brandenburg. At last all Europe had com- bined against Louis, whose only ally was the Turk. Never- theless for a time France held her own against the unwieldy coalition, and it was not until 1692 that her career of success was checked. In that year Louis XIV planned an invasion of England, which, if successful, would restore to James his crown and detach England from the coalition 1 A new French invt ntion. 368 Parties and Party Government La Hogue, 1692. Peace of Ryswick, 1697. Bright, III, 832, 853. Green, pp. 696-699. But the undertaking ended in failure. In the great battle of La Hogue (1692) the French fleet was completely de- stroyed by the English under Admiral Russell. On land Louis was still victorious. The rival armies fought in Spain, in Italy, along the Rhine, in the Netherlands;- and at every point the French maintained their ground. Finally in 1695 the tide began to turn. Namur fell ; for the first time in fifty-two years the French met with a reverse. France was becoming exhausted by the burden of years of war, and Louis was anxious to bring the struggle to a close. Peace negotiations were finally opened. The French king offered reasonable terms, but the coalition held off. William, how- ever, saw the wisdom and justice of treating on the con- ditions proposed, and in 1697 a general peace was signed at Ryswick. Louis acknowledged William as king, and gave back all the conquests of the war. At last a check was imposed on the aggression of the French. Jacobitism. — While carrying on the war with France, William was hampered by many difficulties at home. En- thusiasm for the Revolution soon cooled. William's cold, reserved manners and his undisguised preference for Holland made him personally unpopular. The favors showered upon the Dutch followers of the king alienated many. The war entailed heavy taxation and hampered commerce, and there was a strong feeling that England's interests were sacrificed for the sake of William's continental possessions. James's supporters, the Jacobites, were untiring in their efforts to overthrow the Revolution settlement. The government was honeycombed with intrigue and treachery. Some even of the king's ministers, including Admiral Russell and Churchill, Earl of Marlborough, entered into negotiations with James. Twice an invasion by the French cooperating with the Jacobites was attempted, and a plot to assassinate William was wellnigh successful. The Whig Ministry. — In the government there was much disorder and corruption. Parliament did nothing to better the situation, for neither party felt responsible for the admin- The Tory Reaction 369 istration. In the House of Commons there was no assured majority. One day so many Whigs would be off at tennis or a cockfight that the Tories had everything their own way, but the following day conditions might be reversed. Parlia- ment was supreme, but it was as yet unorganized. Sunder- land, once the chief counsellor of James II, suggested a remedy for these disorders. By his advice, the king gradu- Party re- ally excluded from his ministry all but Whigs, in order that, s P onslblllt y- one party alone being represented in the government, political responsibility might be fixed and a stable support secured. The Whig ministry of 1696 was the first homogeneous min- Bright, III, istry in English history. 1 Its leading members, popularly 8 4 2 - known as the Junto, were Wharton, a man of great ability The Junto, but of the worst character, Russell, the victor at La Hogue, Somers, who was prominent in the bishops' trial, and Mon- tague, distinguished in literature and finance. In spite of the factious behavior of Parliament several Bright, III, important measures were carried. 2 Through clipping, the 84 °' 843, 849- currency of the realm had fallen to but little more than half its proper weight, and in 1696, by the efforts of Montague, aided by Sir Isaac Newton, a comprehensive scheme of restoration was successfully carried out. A measure of great constitutional importance was the passage of a new Triennial Triennial Act, which limited the life of a Parliament to three years. Act> l694 " Finally, the refusal of Parliament to renew the Licensing Act in 1695 established the liberty of the press. 3 The Tory Reaction. — Supported by the Whigs, William Bright, III, 859, 860, 864. 1 It was the first recognition of the principle that the cooperation of the Commons could best be secured through a ministry acting as a unit in representing the dominant opinions of the House. 2 Through the influence of Montague a government loan was established. This is held to be the origin of the National Debt, as it was the first loan upon which the interest was steadily paid. In 1694 the Bank of England was established. The effect of these two measures was to interest the moneyed classes in the maintenance of the Revolution Settlement. 3 The newspaper dates from the reign of James I. The first daily paper appeared in 1709. During the seventeenth century licensing acts gave the government complete control of printing, and it was not until the reign of George III that public affairs and parliamentary proceedings were freely discussed by the press. 2 B 370 Parties and Party Government Bright, III, 870. Act of Settle- ment, Old South Leaflets, No. 19. Bright, III, 871. Green, pp. 701-704. carried the struggle against France through to a triumphant conclusion, but the signing of the peace was at once followed by a renewal of his difficulties with Parliament. The horror of a standing army was ingrained in Englishmen at this time, and with the aid of some malcontent Whigs the Tory party succeeded in passing an act reducing the army to seven thousand men, and requiring that these seven thousand should be English born. William felt keenly the danger of so great a reduction of the forces in the unsettled state of European politics, and he was touched to the quick by the attack upon his favorite Dutch guards. He was with difficulty prevented from abdicating. The next step of the opposition was to attack the royal ministers. The Junto was broken up, and in 1700 William was forced to form a Tory ministry. The new Parliament, elected in accordance with the Triennial Act, was strongly Tory. The government was now in the hands of the Tory party. There was no desire to undo the work of the Revolution, and in 1701 Parliament passed the Act of Settlement, giving the succession after the death of Anne, who was child- less, to the Electress of .Hanover, granddaughter of James I, and to her descendants. The choice of Sophia was deter- mined by the fact that she was the nearest Protestant heir. Additional articles of the Act of Settlement stipulated that henceforth judges should hold office, not at the king's pleasure, but during good behavior, and that the royal pardon should not bar an impeachment. The Spanish Succession. — The Tory party was committed to a peace policy, and it showed no willingness to support the king in renewing the struggle against France, and yet that now seemed necessary if William's work was not to be all undone. In 1700 Charles II of Spain died. Louis XIV had long been intriguing to secure the Spanish in- heritance for one of his family. To arrest this danger, William had endeavored to arrange a division of the Span- ish possessions among the claimants to the throne, and had concluded two partition treaties with Louis to this intent. The War of the Spanish Succession 371 By Charles's will, however, Philip of Anjou, grandson of the French king, was declared heir to the whole of the Spanish territories. In defiance of all pledges Louis accepted the inheritance for his grandson. Again France seemed to menace the freedom of Europe, but in face of the Tory opposition William was powerless to interfere. Just at this moment the French king took a step which united all England against him. In 1701 James II died, Death of and Louis at once acknowledged as king of England the J ames n » young prince, James Edward, commonly known as the Pre- tender. A storm of indignation swept over England. Wil- Bright, III, liam used the opportunity to dissolve Parliament, and the 8 73. 8 74- elections resulted in a Whig majority. An act was passed requiring all holders of office in Church and State to take an oath abjuring the house of Stuart. War was now certain. In the moment of his triumph William died. Anne (1702-1714). — Anne Stuart was a good-hearted and rather commonplace woman, passionately loyal to the Church of England and hostile to Dissenters and Papists alike. A revival of Tory prospects followed Anne's succession. Her sympathies were with the Tories, and the new ministry, Marl- under Lord Godolphin, was drawn almost entirely from that borou i h - party. During the first part of the reign Marlborough G,een - was the real ruler of England, so complete was the ascen- dency which he and his wife had acquired over the queen. g "°g ' Circumstances rather than principle determined Marlbor- ough's politics, and for the time being he became a Tory. The War of the Spanish Succession. — In the spring of Green, 1702 the war so ardently desired by William III began. PP- 682-687. France and Spain were pitted against England, Holland, 9 ' 9 °' Austria, and the Empire. The coalition was guided by the unrivalled military genius of Marlborough. The war was carried on at sea, as well as on land. There was fighting Bright, ill, in all the disputed territory, in Spain, in Italy, in Germany, 877-903. and in the Spanish Netherlands. The struggle even crossed the Atlantic and involved the French and English colonies in the New World. 372 Parties and Party Government Blenheim, 1704. Green, pp. 715, 716. Bright, III, 908-915. During the first two years of war Marlborough was occu- pied in securing the Dutch against attack by way of the Rhine or the Spanish Netherlands, while in Italy, Prince Eugene, commander of the Austrians, strove to hold back the French. The most important fighting in 1704 was on the upper Danube. Marlborough and Eugene had joined forces, and together they succeeded in inflicting an over- whelming defeat upon the French at Blenheim. The same year Gibraltar was surprised and captured by an English force. In 1 706 Marlborough won the victory of Ramillies, leaving the French scarcely a foothold in the Spanish Netherlands. At the same time, through the efforts of Prince Eugene, they were swept from Italy. During the next two years, with many alternations of success and failure, the allies slowly gained ground. France was be- coming exhausted. The defeat of Oudenarde and the fall of Lille (1708) forced Louis to sue for peace. He offered to yield every point for which the war had been fought. He agreed to withdraw aid from his grandson, to acknowledge Anne, to expel the Pretender from French territory. But when, in opposition to Marlborough's advice, the allies in- sisted that Louis should join with them in driving Philip from Spain, the great king drew back. " If I must wage war," he said, "I would rather wage it against my enemies than against my children." Marlborough and the Whigs. — Marlborough's chief in- terest in English politics was to secure support in carrying on the war. At first he had relied upon the Tories, but he was gradually forced to act with the Whigs. The extreme Tories disliked the war and were determined that England should restrict her part in it to defensive operations. More- over, their attempts to maintain the exclusive suprem- acy of the English Church weakened the government by alienating the Dissenters. In 1 703 and 1 704 the ministry was remodelled so as to include moderate men of both par- ties. Among the new Tory ministers was St. John, perhaps the ablest and most unscrupulous politician of the time. Fall of the Whigs 373 The popularity of the war and the divisions among the Tories secured a majority for the Whig party in the elections of 1705, and the election of 1708 strengthened their posi- tion. Every change in the ministry was in their interest, and finally, in 1708, an exclusively Whig cabinet under Marlborough and Godolphin was established. It was with great difficulty that the queen was brought to the point of accepting the Whig ministers. She was no longer under Marlborough's influence and she hated the Whigs as the foes of the Church and of the royal preroga- tive. Every change in the ministry which tended to in- crease their ascendency met with her bitter opposition. The Whig ministry of 1 708 was therefore a cabinet resting upon a majority in Parliament and imposing its will upon the crown. Fall of the Whigs. — The triumph of the Whigs was of brief duration. After the failure of the peace negotiations Green, of 1709, war was renewed. At Malplaquet (1709) the PP- 7*7. 718 allied forces under Marlborough and Eugene succeeded in again defeating the French, though with tremendous loss of life. But England was growing weary of the war. The rejection of the French terms of peace was unjustly attrib- uted to Marlborough's desire to continue a contest which gave him power and importance. Since the fate of the Whigs was closely bound up with the war, they began to lose ground. Their ruin was completed by the unwise measures of the ministry against Dr. Sacheverell, who, in a sermon at St. Paul's, upheld the doctrine of non-resistance and attacked toleration and the Dissenters. The Whigs desired an opportunity for formally stating their views on the Revolution principles of resistance and toleration, and Sacheverell was solemnly impeached before the House of Impeach- Lords (1710). The matter was taken up by the whole ™ ei " of V , ' r Sacheverell, country. There was a tremendous outburst of enthusiasm I7IO for the Church and the principle of legitimacy. The House of Lords declared Sacheverell guilty, but dared do no more than to prohibit him from preaching for three years and to order his sermons to be burnt. 374 Parties and Party Government Bright, III, 924-928. Green, pp. 687-689. Act of Security. Act of Union, 1707. The result of the trial was regarded as a Tory triumph. Sure of the support of the country, the queen now ventured to act in accordance with her feelings. The Whigs were dismissed from office and a purely Tory ministry under Har- ley and St. John was formed. The election of 1 710 resulted in a strong majority for the Tories, and during the remainder of Anne's reign their ascendency was unshaken. The Union of England and Scotland. — The renewal of the union of Scotland and England as established under the Commonwealth was strongly favored by the government. There were great difficulties in the way, — traditional hos- tility, religious division, commercial jealousy, the national pride of the Scotch. Scotland was held back through fear that the stronger nation would fail to respect her religious and political rights. England was unwilling to grant commercial equality to the poorer kingdom. The discussion of the terms of union aroused great bitterness. In 1 703 the Scottish Parliament passed the Act of Security, which provided that the suc- cessor to the crown of Scotland at the queen's death should not be the same person as the successor to the crown of England unless full security was given for freedom of religion and trade. The English Parliament retorted by increasing the commercial restrictions against Scotland. The advantages of union to both nations were, however, so great that the Whig ministers finally succeeded in carrying through an act of Union (1707). The terms were wise and liberal. The title of the United Kingdom was to be Great Britain. There was to be one Parliament, and Scotland received full representation in both Houses. Free trade and commercial equality were established. Security was provided for the national Church and the national law of Great Seal he Union The Tories and the Peace of U tree Jit 375 the Scotch. To both countries the union proved an un- mixed benefit. The Tories and the Peace of Utrecht. — The new Tory Bright, ill, ministry was bent on bringing the French war to a close. s^S^i- It spared no effort to throw discredit upon the upholders of the opposite policy, and in this it had now the support of Jonathan Swift, the greatest political writer of the time. In the Commons the ministerial majority was sure, but in the House of Lords, the Whigs, led by Marlborough, were strong enough to secure a condemnation of the peace policy. To overcome their opposition Harley, Earl of Oxford, induced the queen to create twelve new Tory peers, and thus bring the Upper House into harmony with the Commons. This measure was of great constitutional importance, since it indicated that hereafter when the two Houses disagreed it would be the House of Lords that must give way. The Tory victory over the Lords was followed by an attack upon Marlborough. He was re- moved from his command and declared guilty of pecu- lation by the House of Commons. Since their accession to office in 17 10 the Tory ministers had been carrying on negotiations with Louis. Finally, in 1 713, by concluding a separate truce with France, the Eng- Green, lish ministers forced all the allies except the Emperor to PP- 6 93. 6 94- agree to the treaty of Utrecht. Philip was allowed to re- Treaty of tain his kingdom, but a provision was added to the effect Utrecht, that the crowns of Spain and France should never be lyl3 ' united. England secured good terms, obtaining Minorca and Gibraltar in the Mediterranean and in America the Hudson Bay territory, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, and the French part of St. Christopher. By a special treaty with Spain, called the Assiento, English merchants were given the sole right of supplying the Spanish colonies with negro slaves x and also permission to send annually one trading ship to Panama. As an offset to these material gains England 1 From this time on the slave trade was largely in the hands of Bristol merchants. Jright, III, 922-924. 376 Parties and Party Government had lost all credit abroad by her shabby treatment of her allies. Green, The Tories and the Succession. — In 1 713 the failing health p. 694. f tne q U een brought forward the question of the succession. The position of the Tories was difficult. They had nothing to hope from the accession of the house of Hanover, there were many who desired the restoration of the old line, and St. John, Lord Bolingbroke, and some of the leaders had been long in correspondence with the Pretender. It was cer- tain, however, that the country gentry and the parish clergy, the strongest elements in the Tory party, would refuse to ac- cept a Catholic king. If James Edward had consented at this time to declare himself a Protestant, he might possibly have obtained the crown, but he loyally refused to change his faith. Bolingbroke. Bolingbroke did not give up his endeavor to secure the domination of the Tory party. In 17 14 he carried through Parliament the Schism Act, by which the whole education of the country was put under the control of the Church. Already, by the Occasional Conformity Act of 1 711, it was made practically impossible for Dissenters to hold office or sit in Parliament. But quarrels in the ministry delayed the corn- Death of pletion of Bolingbroke's schemes, and the Whigs acted with Anne, 1714. wisdom and decision. On the death of the queen in August, 1 7 14,' the Elector of Hanover 1 was at once proclaimed king. The Early Hanoverians. — The unopposed accession of George I showed that after a struggle of almost thirty years, l HOUSE OF HANOVER George I, 1714-1727 George II, 1727-1760 Frederick, Prince of Wales George III, 1760-1820 I 1 1 George IV, 1820-1830 William IV, 1830-1837 Edward, Duke I of Kent Princess Charlotte | Victoria, 1837 Fall of the Tories 377 England had finally accepted the principle of succession by parliamentary title. The people were glad to regard the question as settled and to turn to other interest?. There was nothing in the new rulers to arouse enthusiasm or to call out personal loyalty. George I was industrious and businesslike, and George II was a fair soldier; both were honest and straightforward men. They were devoted to Hanover and Hanoverian politics, and they cared little for England. They had the good sense to recognize the conditions on which alone they could hope to retain the English crown. In Hanover they were petty despots, but in England they made no attempt to tamper with a consti- tution which they did not understand, and, save where Hanoverian interests were concerned, they gave the control of affairs unreservedly into the hands of their ministers. 1 The House of Hanover and the Whigs. — The accession of Green, the house of Hanover was followed by forty-five years of P p - 721 ' 72a unbroken Whig ascendency. The first George was the king of a party. He felt that he owed his crown to the Whigs, and he had been led to regard all Tories as Jacobites. The alliance which he established with the Whigs lasted through- out his reign and that of his son, George II. During much of this time a Tory party scarcely existed. The intrigues of the leaders with the Pretender resulted in the breaking up of the party, one section going over to Jacobitism, another joining the Whigs. In the earlier Hanoverian Parliaments, the Tories in the House of Commons numbered scarcely fifty. For forty-five years the real rulers of England were the leaders of the Whig party. They had their favor of the crown, but the real basis of their power was the steady sup- port of the Dissenters and the commercial classes and the Parliamentary influence of the Whig houses. Fall of the Tories. — The Parliament which met in 1715 Bright, 111, was strongly Whig. Energetic measures were taken against 93*. 93 2 - 1 George I spoke no English, and therefore he was not present at cabinet meetings, thus establishing a precedent of great constitutional importance. 378 Parties and Party Government Attack on the Tory ministry. Green, pp. 696, 697. Jacobite rising, 17 15. Septennial Act, 1707. Bright, III, 938, 939- the defeated Tories. The negotiations of the peace of Utrecht were condemned. Impeachment was still the accepted way of calling ministers to account, and both Oxford and Boling- broke were impeached for treason. Bohngbroke fled to France and was attainted. Oxford was seized and com- mitted to the Tower for a time, when the proceedings against him were dropped. This is the last instance in English his- tory of a political impeachment. Whig persecution tended to increase the Jacobitism of the Tories. Both in Scotland and in England there were many ready to rise against the new government. In Sep- tember, 1 7 15, a Jacobite insurrection, headed by the Earl of Mar, broke out in Scotland, and a month later the Jacobites of the north of England took up arms. The rising was mismanaged from beginning to end. The Pretender did not arrive until the contest was really decided, while the Whigs acted with vigor. On November 13, the English in- surgents were defeated at Preston, and on the same day at Sheriffmuir, Argyle won a practical victory over the Scotch Jacobites. The only effect of the rising was to strengthen the Whigs by identifying the Tories more closely with Jacobitism. The Triennial Act of 1694 limited the life of a Parliament to three years, and a general election was due in 17 17. In the excited state of feeling the Whigs dared not face the country, and accordingly they passed the Septennial Act l (1716), by which the existing Parliament was prolonged four years. This action of the Whigs was undoubtedly high- handed and perhaps illegal, but the establishment of the house of Hanover as well as their own tenure of power was at stake. The Stanhope Ministry. — The position of the Whigs was now so secure that they fell to quarrelling among them- selves and they soon broke into two parties, one headed by Townshend and Walpole, the other by Sunderland and Stan- hope. In 1717a new ministry, in which Townshend and Wal- pole were not included, was organized with Stanhope as chief. 1 Under this act, which still remains in force, the duration of a Parlia- ment is limited to seven years, The Ministry of Sir Robert Walpole 379 The danger from the Jacobites as well as the industrial Green, needs of the country led the Whigs to support peace pp - 7 26 -7 28 - measures. Their foreign policy was directed to securing the maintenance of the terms of the peace of Utrecht. In 1 7 1 7 Stanhope succeeded in forming with France and Holland what is known as the Triple Alliance. It was based on an entire reversal of the policy of Louis XIV. The French government now gave its adherence to the Protestant suc- cession in England and agreed to banish the Pretender from its territories, and the complete separation of the French and Spanish crowns was conceded. In 1721 the Stanhope ministry was ruined by the South Bright, ill, Sea Bubble. The reestablishment of peace had been 94 8 ~953- followed by a great increase in trade and speculation. Many trading companies were formed. The most im- portant of these was the South Sea Company. Through South Sea the Assiento the company had prospered greatly. In Bubble - 1720, desiring to extend its financial operations, it struck a bargain with the government by which holders of the na- tional debt were allowed to transfer their loans to the South Sea Company. As exaggerated ideas prevailed with regard to the wealth of Spanish America, enormous profits were ex- pected and there was such a rush for the South Sea Company's stock that the shares soon stood at one thousand per cent. A madness of speculation surged over the country. In a fever- ish desire to ge't rich quickly, people invested their money in all kinds of worthless and bogus enterprises. In 1721 the crash came, the bubble companies failed, the South Sea shares went down rapidly. Thousands were beggared. Through its connection with the South Sea Company the ministry was held responsible for the disasters that had befallen the coun- try. It was overthrown, and Walpole, whose financial ability was well known, was called to take charge of the adminis- tration. The Ministry of Sir Robert Walpole. — In 1721 Walpole Green, became First Lord of the Treasury and Chancellor of the pp- 692,699. Exchequer, and he continued to hold these offices practi- 380 Parties and Party Government cally without a break for twenty-one years. Even the death Bright, ill, of George I (1727) did not permanently shake Walpole's 9 66 - power ; for, through the influence of Queen Caroline, a very able woman, the new king, George II (172 7-1 760), was induced to give his confidence to his father's minister. Walpole's administration forms an important period in Eng- lish history, but it is devoid of striking events. This was due mainly to the influence of the great minister. To estab- lish the Revolution settlement and to restore the commer- cial and industrial prosperity of the country were the objects of his policy. Peace abroad and contentment at home were essential to the success of his plans. It was his constant effort, therefore, to keep England out of war, and to avoid stirring up trouble among the people. He took for his motto Quieta non movere (let sleeping dogs lie). The country had just passed through eighty years of revolution. He felt that it needed repose, not reform. Green, Finance. — Walpole was one of the greatest masters of PP- 73°-73 2 - finance that England has ever had. His measures were timely. He reduced the debt and lightened the customs. Bright, ill, Some of his plans miscarried, however, through unreasoning 957. 973-975- popular opposition, skilfully played upon by his political oppo- nents. In 1730 an Englishman named Wood was granted a patent to issue a new copper coinage for Ireland. The coins were of good value, the need for them was undoubted, and no one was obliged to take them against his will. But Irish opposition to any measure of the English government was Saintsbury, ready. Dean Swift, Walpole's bitter enemy, fomented the Political dissatisfaction with the famous Drapier's Letters. Walpole would run no risk of an outbreak, and the patent was with- drawn. A far more important measure was defeated by Excise Bill, popular violence in England. The Excise Bill of 1 733 was simply a proposal to transfer wine and tobacco from the customs to the excise ; that is, to replace the duty on im- portation by a tax on home consumption. The change would put a stop to smuggling and so augment the revenue that the land tax might be reduced, to the gratification of Foreign Affairs 381 the country gentlemen, a class Walpole desired to conciliate. In addition, it would tend to make London a free port, and in consequence a more important market. But the character of the measure was misunderstood, and it was greeted with a fierce popular outcry. The opposition, aided by the Craftsman, a famous Tory paper, spared no pains to increase the agitation. Walpole's majority in the House was secure, but he refused to force his measure upon an unwilling people, and the scheme was abandoned. In the main Walpole's commercial and colonial policy was a policy of non-interference, but where he did interfere he was guided by sound principle. In the king's speech of 1 72 1 it was declared to be the purpose of the government " to make the exportation of our own manufactures, and the importation of the commodities used in the manufacturing of them, as practicable and as easy as may be." Accord- ingly export duties were removed from one hundred and six articles of British manufacture, and import duties from thirty-eight articles of raw material. Other wise measures Colonial removed some of the restrictions on the foreign trade of measures - the American and West Indian colonies. The results of Walpole's policy were shown in the increased prosperity of the colonies, and in the striking growth of England's trade with them. Foreign Affairs. — With the peace of Utrecht, opposi- tion to France, the controlling principle of European com- binations for half a century, ceased to have any force. The uncertainty of continental politics during the next genera- tion was shown in a series of alliances and counter-alliances. England's part in foreign affairs was determined by Wal- pole's desire to maintain a general peace, and to keep England out of war at all hazards. His policy, like Stan- hope's, was based on an alliance with France. Both the peace policy and the French alliance aroused bitter oppo- sition, and in 1733 it seemed certain that Walpole would have to give way on both points. France and Spain had The Family just concluded the Family Compact, binding themselves Com P act - 382 Parties and Party Government to oppose England's commercial and colonial expansion. The king and queen, a majority in the Cabinet and in the nation, were determined to force England to give up her neutrality and declare war. Still Walpole did not yield. "Madam," he said to the queen one morning in 1734, " there are fifty thousand men slain this year in Europe, and not one Englishman." Largely through his efforts a general pacification was arranged in 1735. Green, The Opposition. — But the end cf peace was at hand, pp. 702-705. -r/he pp 0s ition was growing strong. It was made up of 967^969, ' several different elements, — a little band of Tories led by 980-984. Bolingbroke, now back in England, disappointed Whigs, who called themselves the Patriots, a group of young men, the Young Patriots, who were disgusted v/ith the corruption in government, and held Walpole responsible for it all. At the head of the opposition was Frederick, Prince of Wales, a worthless young man, chiefly influenced by a desire to vex his father, with whom he had quarrelled. Difficulties with Spain soon gave a good chance for attack upon Walpole. Under the Assiento giving England the right to send annually one trading ship to Spanish America, an extensive smuggling trade had sprung up. In their efforts to check this the Spanish officials sometimes treated the English traders with great brutality. Popular feeling be- came much aroused. The opposition spared no efforts to increase the agitation. A certain Captain Jenkins was brought before a committee of the House to tell the tale of how his ear was torn off by a Spanish naval officer who War with boarded his ship in search of contraband. Walpole could Spam, 1739. not withstand the storm of indignation that swept over the country. In 1739 war was declared against Spain. Fall of Walpole. — For two years longer Walpole remained Bright, ill, m office. The war against Spain was not successful, and he 984-987. was held responsible. In 1 741 a general election reduced his majority in the Commons. Election petitions were at that time decided in the House of Commons and entirely on party grounds. On the Chippenham election petition, The Constitution under Walpolc 383 Walpole was beaten by a majority of one. Early in 1742 he resigned. His work was done. He had secured for England nearly twenty years of peace, he had established the house of Hanover firmly on the throne, he had advanced the material interests of the country. The Old House of Commons From an Old Print The Constitution under Walpole. — During Walpole's long tenure of office the cabinet system received definite shape. He was the first English minister who may rightly be called 584 Parties and Party Government Green, prime minister. He was head of the cabinet, he chose his P fi- 722, 723, colleagues in that body, the policy of the government was his policy. His ministry was practically a unit, and his power was founded directly on the support of the House of Com- mons, and he resigned when he lost that support. The House of Commons did not, however, represent the nation. Constitutional development stopped short at this point. The Revolution of 1688 secured the supremacy of Parlia- Source-Book, ment over the executive, but that did not mean government 3 °rI 3 ° 5 ' kv the people. A few great families ruled the nation in the name of a king who was a mere figure-head, and by the authority of a Parliament which they systematically corrupted. Power had been acquired without a corresponding increase of responsibility. Debates were secret, division lists 1 were never published, public opinion could exert but little in- fluence. Moreover, the electoral system was such that the House in nowise represented the nation. In the counties there had been no change in the franchise since the time of Henry VI. The manner of holding land had been modi- fied, and new forms of property had come into existence, but the electors were still the forty-shilling freeholders. The condition of the towns was far worse. Many had fallen under the control of the corporations, and the right of voting was limited to a mere handful of the inhabitants. In others, all sorts of anomalous franchises existed. In Weymouth, for example, the title to any share of certain ancient rents constituted the qualification for voting. The report of a commission of inspection showed that several electors voted by right of their claim to an undivided twentieth part of a sixpence. For generations there had been no reapportionment of seats. Population had shifted without a corresponding change of representation. Lan- cashire, with nearly one and a half million inhabitants, had fourteen representatives ; Cornwall's three hundred thousand inhabitants returned forty-four members. Great The franchise 1 It was not until 1836 that the House of Commons adopted the plan of recording and publishing day by day the votes of every member. The Religious Revival 385 cities like Birmingham and Manchester were unrepresented, while old Sarum, with but one house, and Dunwich, which had disappeared under the waves of the North Sea, still returned their two members. It was, in the words of Burke, a system of " represented ruins and unrepresented cities." Political Corruption. — Such a condition of things natu- rally invited corruption. Many of the towns were "pocket " or nomination boroughs, controlled by some neighboring noble or landowner. Others were put up publicly for sale, Sale of the customary price being about ^4000. Contested elec- seats - tions, when they occurred, involved the expenditure of im- mense sums of money. One in Yorkshire in 1807 cost nearly ^150,000. Under this condition of things, systematic bribery seemed the only means of securing party success or of giving stability to the government. Corruption began with the meanest voter and ended in the cabinet. Large sums were expended in the purchase of seats. Places and Bribery, pensions and titles were the rewards held out to the sup- porters of the administration. In the first Parliament of George I two hundred and seventy-one of the members held offices or pensions. One of the most arduous duties of the ministers was the disposal of the secret service funds. At one time an office was established at the treasury for the purchase of members, and more than ^20,000 are said to have been spent in a single day. The example of the gov- ernment was followed by all the great lords. Careful esti- mates showed that at least three-fifths of the members of the House were returned by the crown and by one hundred and sixty-two private individuals. The Religious Revival. — Under the early Hanoverians, Green, there was a marked decline in religious feeling and moral pp- 706-711. ™ , Bright, III, earnestness throughout the nation. The upper classes were IOI5 _ IOI7 . material and sceptical, the lower classes ignorant and brutal. Neither the Church nor the Dissenting bodies Source-Book, seemed able to cope with the existing evil. The Church 33 2 -335- was weakened by division. To counteract the Jacobite 386 Parties and Party Government The Methodists, tendencies of the clergy, appointments to high ecclesiastical offices, which were controlled by the crown, had been con- fined to Whigs. As a result the upper clergy were Whig and Hanoverian, while the lower clergy were Tory or Jaco- bite. The bishops reflected the tone of the fashionable world ; they were latitudinarian and unspiritual, and many of them were non-resident. The parish clergy were usually narrow and ignorant. Among the Dissenters, religious zeal had cooled, and the Roman Catholics were powerless. Here and there thinking men like Bishop Butler strove to inspire the Church with new life, but it was the Wesleys and Whitfield who took up the work of moving the masses. The Methodist movement, which started about 1730, received its name from the college nickname of the group of Oxford men who were its guiding spirits. John Wesley, an ordained clergyman of the Anglican Church, was the undisputed leader and organizer of the movement. The aim of Wesley and his associates was to make religion more heartfelt, to bring it to the masses untouched by the cold formalism of the Church. Outdoor preaching was their means of reaching the people. The results were tremendous. Immense crowds gathered wherever they went. As many as twenty thousand assem- bled at one time to hear Whitfield, the great preacher of the Methodists. At first Wesley had no thought of separating from the Church, but the narrow-minded hostility of the clergy gradually forced him to organize congregations out- side the Church. Before he died he had built up a great religious society whose influence was transforming the char- acter of the lower classes. But Methodism did more than this ; it aroused the Church from its lethargy, and the Evan- gelical movement was the result. Indirectly it stimulated Philanthropy, philanthropic interest. The labors of John Howard on be- half of the felon and the imprisoned debtor, the efforts of Clarkson and Wilberforce to put down the slave trade, can be traced to that sympathy with mankind which was the foundation of the Wesleyan propaganda. Important Events 387 Important Events William and Mary, i 689-1 702. The Bill of Rights, 1689. The Act of Toleration, 1689. War with France, 1 689-1 697. Act of Settlement, 1701. Anne, 1702-17 14. War with France, 1702-17 13. Blenheim, Gibraltar, 1704. Union with Scotland, 1707. Treaty of Utrecht, 171 3. EARLY HANOVERIANS George I, 1714-1727. George II, 1727-1760. Septennial Act, 17 16. Ministry of Walpole, 1721-742. Family Compact, 1733. 388 Parties and Party Government -i- <*> S? : ~ «= ^ £r r^^ g} -d £• . " -d ^ ^ " ~ .2 . • o o w ■a ^ ►H OS 5 z "d . ^ ^ m S 3 w '3 "3 "s* 5 £ 2 < o CHAPTER XIII THE STRUGGLE FOR EMPIRE Books for Consultation Sources Donne, Correspondence of George III ana Lord North. Chatham, Speeches and Correspondence. Adams, British Orations. Adams and Stephens, Hill, Henderson, as before. Special Authorities Blauvelt, Development of Cabinet Government. May, Constitutional History of England. Lecky, History of England in the Eighteenth Century. Hunt, Political History of England, Vol. X. Morley, IValpole, Edmund Burke. Trevelyan, Life of Charles fames Fox, The American Revolution. Macaulay, Essays on Chatham and on Clive. Goldwin Smith, Pitt (in Three English Statesmen). Seeley, Expansion of England. Cotton and Payne, Colonies and Dependencies. Lucas, Introduction to the Historical Geography of the British Colonies. Bradley, Fight with France for North America. Parkman, Montcalm and Wolfe. Mahan, Influence of Sea Power upon History. Lyall, British Dominion in India. Oman, England in the Nineteenth Century. "The Second Hundred Years' War." — Sixty-four out of the one hundred and twenty-six years that divide the Revolution from the battle of Waterloo were spent in war. From the continental point of view the occasion for these wars of the 389 390 The Struggle for Empire Seeley, eighteenth century was usually dynastic. There was the war Expansion Q f t ^ e Spanish Succession, and the war of the Austrian Sue- Lecture II. cession, and the Seven Years' War between Frederick II of Prussia and Maria Theresa. England took part in all these great contests, but her object was mainly the extension of colonial and commercial power ; her interest was determined by her rivalry with France. This is shown in the invariable accompaniment of fighting in America, in the King William's War and the Queen Anne's War and the French and Indian wars of the colonists. At the close of the seventeenth century the efforts of Colbert, the great French minister, had placed France in the foremost rank of colonial powers. She had established herself in India, in Africa, and in the West Indies. Her hold upon the American continent seemed far more assured than England's. She controlled the St. Lawrence and the Missis- sippi, the two great waterways of America, and Canada, Acadia, and Louisiana were in her possession. The English colonies were blocked by the Spanish on the south, on the north and toward the west by the French. In 1701 Philip of Anjou accepted the Spanish crown, and Louis declared with truth, " The French and Spanish nations are so united that they will henceforth be only one." To the ambition and enterprise of the French was now joined Spain's vast colonial power. England's fears were aroused at the dangers that menaced her commercial and colonial importance, and she made ready to resist the encroachments of her great rival. England in India. — Vasco da Gama's discovery of a new route to India round the Cape of Good Hope renewed the direct connection between Europe and India which had been broken since the time of Alexander the Great. The first to take advantage of Da Gama's discoveries were the Portuguese, and by the middle of the sixteenth century they had established themselves at Goa on the western coast of India, and north- ward as far as Ormuz in the Persian Gulf. Toward the end of the century the Dutch appeared, and they secured a foot- hold both on the mainland and in the Spice Islands. France in India 391 England's connection with India began with the establish- ment of the East India Company in 1600. The object of the company was to secure a share of the trade of the East. Their progress at first was slow, but before the close of the seventeenth century they had succeeded in establishing the three factories of Madras, Bombay, and Calcutta. Dutch and Portuguese rivalry was dying out, and England's mo- nopoly of the Indian trade seemed assured when a new and more dangerous competitor appeared. France in India. — Not until the reign of Louis XIV did France enter the Indian field, but the French Company, which was formed in 1684, showed great enterprise and speedily established flourishing trading-posts at Chander- nagor on the Hugh, Pondicherry, eighty miles south of Madras, and in Mauritius and the Isle de Bourbon. About the middle of the eighteenth century the English and French companies came into active competition. In 1707 the long reign of Aurung-Zeb, the greatest of the Mogul emperors, came to a close. Aurung-Zeb had succeeded in establishing the Mogul supremacy over most of the main part and peninsula of India, but upon his death his great empire began at once to break up. Power fell into the hands of nabobs or viceroys who were practically independent, although nominally owing allegiance to the court of Delhi. India sank rapidly into a state of chronic war, torn by invasions and rebellions and quarrels over dis- puted successions. The governor of the French presidency of Pondicherry was Dupleix, a man of great force and genius. With re- markable penetration Dupleix saw the possibilities of Indian politics, and the methods to be pursued, and he went to work with much patience and adroitness to build up a- French empire in India. The rivalries and quarrels of the native princes were his opportunity, but the secret of his success lay in his realization of the two facts that while the untrained native armies could not stand against European discipline, it was possible to impart that discipline and efficiency to 392 The Struggle for Empire native levies. Backed by sepoys, hired native troops led and drilled by Europeans, he proceeded to interfere in Indian affairs wherever opportunity offered, holding the balance of power, placing his claimant upon the throne, and finally securing controlling influence. So great was his success, that by 1750 he had obtained complete ascendency in the Carnatic, and was practically supreme over the whole of the Deccan. The War of the Austrian Succession. — There was some See page 383. difficulty in forming a ministry after Walpole's fall in 1742. The Tories were still too weak to obtain recognition, and the Whig factions were agreed only in opposing Walpole. A ministry was finally organized under the control of the two brothers Pelham and Newcastle, and Carteret. During the next few years domestic interests were forced into the back- ground by foreign affairs. In 1740 the War of the Austrian Green, 704, Succession broke out. In that year Maria Theresa succeeded to the possession of the Austrian territories, and was at once forced to defend her inheritance against the attacks of Prussia, France, and other European powers, most of whom had sworn to defend her rights. Walpole, true to his deter- mination to avoid war, had striven to effect a peaceable settlement of the matter. When Carteret took control of foreign affairs, a more spirited policy was adopted. An alliance was entered into with Austria, British troops were sent over to the Continent, the navy was increased, Han- overian forces were taken into English pay. In 1743 a body of Hessians and Hanoverians under George II de- feated the French at Dettingen. Gradually England's interest in the war changed. The object was no longer to defend Austria, but to crush France. In 1743 the Family Compact between France and Spain was renewed. Moreover, the commercial and colonial rivalry between the Bourbon powers and England was forced to the front. After 1744 there was fighting in India and America, as well as in Europe. Carteret, who took a continental view of the situation, wished to form a European 7*2, 715. The Jacobite Rebellion 393 combination, and to conquer the French on land. The Bright, in, English people, on the other hand, desired that England I011 - IOX2 - should concentrate her energies upon a naval struggle with France. In 1744 Carteret retired from the Cabinet, but no change of policy followed. The contest continued for four years longer, the campaigns marked throughout by inca- pacity on the part of the English, the only real success be- ing won by the colonials in the capture of Louisburg. In 1745. 1748 the war was brought to a close by the treaty of Aix-la- Treaty of Chapelle, which was, however, nothing more than a truce, Al *- ]a - Cha - for it settled none of the great issues that divided Europe. The Jacobite Rebellion of 1745. — While England was still at war with France, a Jacobite rising in Scotland proved the justice of Walpole's fear that foreign war would be the Green, 713, signal for a renewed attempt to overthrow the house of 7I 5- Hanover. In August, 1745, Prince Charles Edward, the Bright, 1 1 1. Young Pretender, landed in the western Highlands with a 999-1009. small band of followers. After a little hesitation some of the clans rallied to his standard. At this time there were few regular troops in Scotland, and the Pretender succeeded in leading his Highlanders as far south as Derby. But he was disappointed in his hopes of rallying the English to his support ; the people remained apathetic, neither supporting nor opposing his advance. At Derby, the approach of troops under the Duke of Cumberland forced him to retreat north- ward. In the following spring, his forces were completely defeated at Culloden, near Inverness, and he was forced to Culloden, flee to France. He never had much chance of success, for I746, he found no support except among the Highlanders. This was the last rising of the Jacobites. Although there was little enthusiasm for the House of Hanover, it was plain that the cause of the Stuarts was lost. 1 To prevent further diffi- culty, severe restrictions were imposed upon the High- landers ; they were forbidden to wear the tartan, and the power of the chiefs of the clans was greatly limited. A little 1 The last descendant in the male line of the house of Stuart died in 1807 a Cardinal of the Roman Catholic church. 394 The Struggle for Empire Green, 715, 716. Bright, III, 1018-1022. later several Highland regiments were raised by Pitt, thus absorbing the warlike energies of the clansmen. The Situation in India and in America. — Outside of Eu- rope the treaty of 1748 did not secure even a temporary cessation of war. In America and in India the contest for supremacy between the English and the French was becom- ing acute, and, although the two nations were still formally at peace, there was fighting both on land and on sea. In India, Dupleix continued, with splendid energy, to develop his plans for the expulsion of the English and the establishment of a great French empire. The East India Company watched anxiously Dupleix's rapid advance, but at first seemed powerless to check it. The crisis brought forward Robert Clive, a clerk in the Company's service, and his energy and skill saved English influence from extinction. He collected a small English and sepoy force, rallied some of the native princes to his side, and succeeded in inflicting several damaging defeats upon the French. This was the turning-point in the contest. Dupleix, who had received no support from the home government, was recalled in 1 754, and he had no successor capable of carrying on the work so well begun. In America the French were more successful. A determined effort on their part to secure possession of the Ohio valley aroused the fears of the English, and in 1755 a small force of British regulars and colonials under General Braddock tried to capture the French stronghold, Fort Duquesne, at the forks of the Ohio. Unfortunately the Eng- lish leaders scorned the irregular methods of fighting best adapted to frontier warfare, and they suffered complete defeat. Nor were other expeditions against the French more successful. Outbreak of the Seven Years' War. — In England the years following the treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle were quiet and uneventful. Financial and commercial interests were still dominant. Henry Pelham remained at the head of the government until his death in 1754, when he was succeeded by his brother, the Duke of Newcastle. Many signs now pointed to a speedy renewal of war. Austria was bent on SCALE OF ENGLISH MILES PORMAV 4 CO., ENSR'i Triumph of England 395 regaining Silesia, surrendered to Prussia by the treaty of Aix- la-Chapelle, and had drawn nearer France, while at the same time fear of French power was binding England and Prussia together. In 1756 a long train of negotiations ended in a new combination of the great European powers. England and Prussia were now opposed to Austria and France. The beginning of hostilities at once laid bare the inca- pacity of the Newcastle administration. The surrender of Minorca without a blow being struck in its defence raised such a popular outcry that Newcastle was forced to resign. Dur- ing the next few months a struggle went on between the ruling Whig houses supported by the crown on the one hand, and the opposition Whigs led by William Pitt and supported by the nation on the other. At last the Pitt- Newcastle ministry was formed. Pitt contributed genius, Newcastle a parliamentary majority. William Pitt. — The " Great Commoner" was one of the ablest war ministers England has ever had, and her first great popular minister. He came into prominence as leader of the Young Patriots in 1742. His integrity, his eloquence, his statesmanlike views, and the ardor of his patriotism had won him the devotion of his people. Disliked by the king and the politicians, he leaned not upon the House of Com- mons, but upon the nation, and his appointment to the con- Green, trol of affairs meant the triumph of popular will. At this 716-725- critical moment he was the one man capable of inspiring Bright, III, England with courage for the contest. " I know that I can I02 4 _I °33- save the nation, and that nobody else can," he declared. A new spirit at once became apparent in the administration. The army and navy were reorganized and supplies were raised without difficulty. Triumph of England. — By 1758 the results of Pitt's sowce-Boofc efforts became apparent in the successes of the English in 342-349- Canada and on the sea. The French ports were blockaded, the French possessions in India and Canada were attacked. Louisburg and Fort Duquesne were taken. 1759 was a year of triumphs. English supremacy on the sea was se- 396 The Struggle for Empire cured by the victory of Quiberon, and with the fall of Que- bec the northern colonies of France passed into the control of England. The outbreak of the Seven Years' War was accompanied by a renewal of the struggle in India. Now for the first time the English came into direct conflict with the native rulers. Acting under French influence, Surajah Dowlah, nawab of Bengal, attacked and captured the English settle- ment of Calcutta in 1 756. The English who were taken prisoners were thrown into a tiny cell, the " Black Hole," and kept there during the fierce heat of an Indian summer night. When morning came only twenty-three out of one hundred and forty-six were alive. The English from Madras took speedy revenge. Calcutta was recaptured, and in June, 1757, Clive, with a small force of English and sepoys, defeated Surajah Dowlah's army at Plassey. By this victory the English Company obtained supreme control over Ben- gal, a territory of some thirty million inhabitants. Two years later the French were defeated at Wandewash by Coote, one of Give's lieutenants, and with the surrender of Pondicherry in January, 1761, the power of the French in India came to an end. The causes for the defeat of France are not far to seek. The French people showed little inclination to emigrate, and the settlements in America were rather military and trading posts than true colonies. Moreover England's control of the sea gave her the final advantage everywhere. And, above all else, France was attempting too much. Not even her splendid resources were equal to the double task of building up a great state on the Continent and a great empire abroad. Whigs and Tories in 1760. — In the autumn of 1760 George II died. The accession of George III marks an epoch in the development of English parties. For more than forty years the Whigs had been in control. Long ten- ure of power had brought the usual results, corruption and neglect of public interest. Politics had come to mean little more than a greedy scramble for office. The Whigs had Fall of Pitt 397 done a great work in defending the national faith and politi- cal freedom against the house of Stuart. Under their rule persecution had stopped, justice had been administered, the supremacy of Parliament had been established ; but they had ceased to be a party of progress. Demands for reform met with no response ; the needs of the country were lost sight of in the interests of a few great Whig families. Just at the moment when the country was growing weary The new of Whig rule, the Tories, after years of political insignifi- Toryism, cance, reappeared, organized on a new basis, inspired by different principles. So long as Toryism meant Jacobitism, its revival was out of the question ; the nation was too strongly Protestant and Hanoverian to favor a Stuart restora- tion. But Jacobitism came to an end in 1745. The writ- ings of Bolingbroke, the greatest of the Tory thinkers, furnished the basis of a purified, reorganized party. Under his inspiration the Tories were brought to accept the prin- ciples of the Revolution, and to support the Hanoverian rule while holding fast to the idea of authority as opposed to the Whig principle of liberty. George III (1760-1820) and the Government. — Unlike Bright, in, his predecessors of the house of Hanover, George III was io 35. 1036. deeply attached to England and gloried in being an Eng- Green, lishman. He was honest and well-meaning and anxious to 728-730. do his duty, but he was narrow-minded and stubborn, and had been badly educated. He had been trained by his mother in the spirit of Bolingbroke's Patriot King. His ideal was a strong monarch governing by his own will, but in the inter- est of the whole nation. He came to the throne with a carefully considered plan for overthrowing the Whig clique and ruling through ministers of his own choice. Parties, he maintained, were at an end, and he purposed to act, not as a party leader, but as the head of the whole nation. In this he was likely to have the support of the people, to whom party government meant simply the domination of a few families ruling in their own interest. Fall of Pitt. — The king spent the first ten years of his 398 The Struggle for Empire Bright, ill, reign in efforts to establish this policy. By the lavish use of 1037-1041. money and favor he succeeded in forming a party, known as Green, the King's Friends, whose guiding political principle was to 73°-73 2 - vote according to the royal bidding. The first blow was struck at the war and Pitt. Pitt was bent on destroying the commercial power of France, and urged an immediate attack upon Spain, still a great colonial power and bound to France by the Family Compact. The king refused to sup- port this policy, and in 1761 Pitt resigned. Newcastle was soon driven from office, and in 1762 Lord Bute, a favorite of the king, became chief minister. Already, however, Eng- Warwith land had been forced into war with Spain. The English Spain. were everywhere successful, and obtained control of the French West Indies, and of Cuba and the Philippines, im- portant colonial possessions of Spain. But Bute was bent on ending the war as soon as possible, and in 1763 the peace of Paris was concluded. Although England did not obtain all that her successes warranted, her supremacy in America, in India, and on the sea was secured. On the other hand, Frederick of Prussia, England's ally, felt that his interests had been sacrificed, and from this time on he op- posed the English on every occasion. A few weeks after the conclusion of the peace Bute resigned, unwilling to face the general dissatisfaction with his administration. Divisions among the Whigs. — The king's success in his first conflict with the Whigs was due to divisions in the party. On the one hand was the main body of the Whigs led by the Marquis of Rockingham. They inherited the traditions and much of the parliamentary influence of the great Revolutionary families. Their sympathies were aristo- cratic and they were hostile to progress. Opposed to the official Whigs were Pitt and his following, popular in ten- dency and bent on reform. Other groups of so-called Whigs were the followers of Grenville and of Bedford. They were controlled chiefly by personal interest, and had none of the popular sympathies of Pitt's party. Before very long many of them passed over to the Tories. The New Colonial Policy 399 The strength of the opposition to Bute had shown the king Green, 732, that the Whigs were too strong to be ignored, and during 733- the next few years he endeavored to carry on the govern- ment in cooperation with one or another of the Whig fac- tions, while at the same time striving to build up his own power. Two great questions agitated the country during this period, political reform and the government of the American colonies. The Rockingham Whigs and Pitt agreed in the main on a conciliatory policy toward America, and if they could have united would have been able to con- trol the government, but Pitt feared the oligarchical ten- dencies of the other faction and steadily held aloof. In favor of a repressive policy at home and in America were the king and his following and the Grenville faction. The Grenville Ministry. — When the king, on the fall of Bute, found himself forced to choose a minister from the Bright, ill, Whigs, he turned to Grenville, who had separated from the io 43-io48. great Whig connection, and was not, like Pitt, disqualified G, ' een - by popular and reforming tendencies. Grenville's ministry lasted two years, and during that time he succeeded in em- broiling Parliament and the nation in political controversies and in alienating the American colonies. John Wilkes, a member for Aylesbury, had attacked the Bute administra- tion in No. 45 of the North Briton, a newspaper of which he was editor. Arrested on a general warrant, he was dis- charged on the ground of parliamentary privilege. The House of Commons, urged on by Grenville and the king, voted No. 45 a libel, and expelled Wilkes from the House. Source-Book, He became at once a popular hero. The cries of " Wilkes 2 ' and Liberty " which resounded through the country testified to the growing estrangement of Parliament and the people. The New Colonial Policy. — Grenville's next step was to stir up rebellion in the colonies. By statesmen of the Green, eighteenth century a colony was regarded not as an exten- 73 8 -74°- sion of national territory — an opportunity for national ex- pansion — but as a piece of property, an estate to be exploited in the interest of the country owning it. Spain, 400 The Struggle for Empire Portugal, and Holland treated their foreign possessions as mere sources of supply for gold and silver, tropical fruits, and spices. England's colonies produced none of these, but they might be made a market for home products, and a source of raw material for the rising manufactures of the mother country. " The only use of American colonies or West Indian islands," said Lord Sheffield, " is the monopoly of their consumption, and the carriage of their produce." In conformity with this doctrine, the English government imposed restrictions on colonial trade which were calculated to insure its profits to the home country. All exports must be sent to England, and all trade must be carried on in English or colonial vessels. Colonial industries were dis- couraged, the smelting of iron and the exportation of woollen goods being actually forbidden. It is true that many of these restrictions were not rigorously enforced, and a few became practically obsolete through disuse. During the Source-Book, ministry of Walpole and Newcastle, the Americans were 341, 342. j e f t ver y mucn t themselves, and had thriven under neglect. This was England's gain, for, as Walpole had contended, the prosperity of the colonies meant increased demands for English goods. But Grenville was unwilling to let well enough alone. He resolved to suppress the smuggling trade at which Walpole had connived, and he introduced into Parlia- ment measures for taxing the colonies for the support of an army which he proposed to maintain in America. There was a political side to the new policy. The great successes of the late war had stimulated imperialist feeling. People talked in a different tone about " our colonies," and many were coming to feel that the colonials were too independent, and that they ought to be held with a tighter rein. The stamp The Stamp Act was passed by Parliament almost without ct ' I? s ' debate, but in America it aroused the uncompromising resist- ance of the colonists already aggrieved at the enforcement of the commercial restrictions. They believed that the power to tax could not safely be entrusted to a Parliament over which they had no control. As for an army they saw no reason Chatham 6vZfL^ The Rule of the King and Lord North 401 why they should not care for their own defence as they had done for the most part in the past. The Rockingham Ministry. — Before the consequences of Bright, III, the Stamp Act were realized in England, however, the minis- io 5°- io 53- try had fallen. Its overthrow was due to the king's personal Green, 735, dislike for Grenville. George was now forced to fall back 73<5- on the official Whigs, and Lord Rockingham became chief minister. During the year that Rockingham was in office he strove to remedy the mistakes of his predecessor. The use of general warrants was prohibited, and the Stamp Act was repealed (1766). Rockingham had the support of Edmund Burke, the greatest political writer of the day, but he failed in his efforts to win over Pitt, and without Pitt no ministry could now hope to stand for any length of time. The king preferred even Pitt to the official Whigs, and in 1766 he dismissed Rockingham and made the Great Commoner chief minister, at the same time creating him Earl of Chatham. The Chatham-Grafton Ministry. — Before Pitt could carry Bright, III, out his plans, domestic and foreign, he became so ill that he io 53- io 59- was forced to withdraw from public life. Under Grafton, his successor, the policy of the Rockingham ministry was Townshend reversed. By the Townshend revenue duties, the effort to duties> x ? 7- tax America was renewed under another form, and the gen- eral election of 1768 brought up once more the Wilkes case. Wilkes was elected in Middlesex. The Commons, urged by the king, expelled him from the House. Again and again Middlesex returned Wilkes, and each time the Commons declared him incapable of sitting in Parliament. A great Middlesex- constitutional question was at stake, the right of constituen- ElectIon - cies to choose their own representatives. But the king had at last succeeded in establishing his control of Parliament, and the victory was his. In 1770 George felt himself strong enough to appoint as chief minister Lord North, a man after his own heart. The Rule of the King and Lord North. — During the twelve years of the North ministry, George " ruled as well 402 The Struggle for Empire Bright, III, 1059, 1060. Green, 739-744- Bright, III, 1062-1064. Source-Book. 35°-359- as reigned." The national policy was the king's policy, the ministers were his agents, Parliament was his tool. In North he had an able and docile servant, and on his side was the new Toryism with its devotion to the principle of authority. Bribery was carried to lengths unheard of hith- erto. Preferment in Church or State was made the reward of political service, and loss of office followed refusal to sup- port the royal policy. The king did not disdain to make use of his direct personal influence to gain his ends. In a letter to North he wrote in reference to a recent vote in Parliament, " I wish a list could be prepared of those that went away and those that deserted to the minority. This would be a rule for my conduct in the drawing-room to-mor- row." By these means the king commanded a steady ma- jority. Royal authority was based on a Parliament which was bought and sold. The American Question. — The immediate issue before the country was the American difficulty. The changing policy of the government, alternately coercion and concession, had naturally strengthened the colonies in their determination to yield nothing. On his side the king was eager to try con- clusions with his rebellious subjects across the water, and in this policy he had the support of the mass of the English people. Commercial interests, Tory love of authority, the spirit of imperialism, were all enlisted against the American cause. Whigs and the Colonies. — To the Opposition, however, the struggle in America appeared in a different light. Ex- clusion from power was transforming the Whigs into a party of reform. Pitt and his following had long called attention to the defects of the parliamentary and administrative system, but the great mass of the Whigs felt no need of change so long as they were in control. Now, however, they realized the evils of court influence when used against themselves. Their early sympathy with America was increased by the conviction that in the resistance of the colonists their own interests were at stake ; triumph of the royal policy in Progress of tJu War 403 America meant its firm establishment in England. Accord- ingly, under the vigorous leadership of Chatham, Burke, and Charles James Fox, they made the cause of the revolted colonies their own, at the same time giving steady support to every demand for reform. Outbreak of the War in America. — The American situation grew steadily worse. Virginia and Massachusetts, a South- ern and a Northern colony, led in resisting the royal policy. In 1774 a representative congress met in Philadelphia. Bright, in, Henceforth there would be united action. As yet, however, io 95. Ic 96, the demand was simply for redress of grievances, but it was plain that fighting could not long be deferred. The spring of ,ree ^ 739- 1775 saw the first shedding of blood at Lexington. Afewweeks later George Washington, a Virginian gentleman of some mil- itary experience, took command of the colonial forces. The American cause had now a worthy leader. At the outset England did not take the war very seriously, for she despised the colonials. British officers declared in Parliament that with one regiment they could sweep the country. As late as 1774 the army, already small, was still further reduced. The result was that the government was hard put to raise the needed troops, and sought recruits in various quarters. At length a bargain was made with German princes for the sale of their subjects, and some 20,000 Germans, many of them criminals, were shipped to America to help the king subdue his own subjects. Progress of the War. — Reconciliation was no longer possible, and in 1776 Congress issued the Declaration of Independence. During the next five years the war contin- ued with varying fortune. England was handicapped by her own unpreparedness, by her lack of good generals, and by the three thousand miles that lay between her and her rebellious subjects. But on the other hand the population of Great Britain was 8,000,000, that of the new United States less than 2,000,000, and the disparity of resources was even more marked. Moreover, although in England there was an increasingly large party opposed to the war, 404 The Struggle for Empire Bright, III, 1082, 1083, 109 1, 1092. Dunning's resolution. Source-Book, 308-313. in America at least one-third of the people were steadily loyal to the British connection. It was the hostility of Europe that turned the scale against the English. They were now paying the price of past success. Jealousy of England was one of the controlling forces in European politics after the peace of Paris. The Declaration of Independence was followed by offers of aid from France, burning to avenge her recent defeat. In 1777 the Brit- ish under General Burgoyne met with disastrous defeat at Saratoga. A few weeks later a defensive alliance was con- cluded between the French and the Americans. By 1780 Spain and Holland had also declared war, and, under the leadership of Catherine of Russia the northern nations had banded together in an armed neutrality to resist the commercial claims of the English. Great Britain's isola- tion in Europe was complete. Failure of the Royal Policy. — For a time the Whigs could make but little headway against the general approval of the war and the apathy of the masses. But failure in America and the heavy burden of taxation changed the current of feeling. Moreover, the resistance of the colo- nists had not been without effect in arousing Englishmen to the evils of their own system of government. By 1779 the reform movement had assumed formidable dimen- sions. Great meetings were held throughout the country with the intention of bringing public opinion to bear on Parliament. Petitions demanding reform in the govern- ment and signed by thousands were presented in the House. In 1780 Burke introduced a great' measure for economic reform of the administration, which was followed by bills to deprive revenue officers of their votes and to exclude contractors from the House of Commons. The Duke of Richmond brought in a motion for parliamentary reform, demanding annual Parliaments, universal suffrage, and equal electoral districts. Finally a startling resolution introduced by Dunning to the effect " that the influence of the crown was increased, is increasing, and ought to be The Coalition 405 diminished," was carried against the government by a majority of eighteen. In America matters grew steadily worse. The surrender Bright, III, of Cornwallis at Yorktown, in 1781, dealt a fatal blow to the iio 3- iio 7- royal policy. Under the combined pressure of defeat in Green - America and demand for reform at home, the king was forced to give way. Lord North resigned (1782) and the Whigs returned to power under Rockingham. Government by agents of the king came to an end, and the cabinet system was reestablished. The Whigs in Power. — The Whigs, first under Rocking- ham, and after his death under Lord Shelburne, carried through some important measures. They granted Ireland's demand for legislative independence, and under the lead- ership of Burke secured some of the economic reforms brought forward during the North administration. Govern- ment contractors were excluded from the House of Com- mons, revenue officers were disfranchised, and the secret service money and pension list were cut down. The min- istry refused, however, to take up the question of parlia- mentary reform. The object of the Whigs was in fact rather to limit the power of the crown than to make Par- liament more truly representative of the nation. The chief work of the Shelburne ministry was to conclude Treaty of the peace negotiations with America. By the treaty of Ver- VersalUes - sailles (1783), that closed the war, England was forced to recognize the independence of the American colonies. To Spain she gave back Minorca and Florida, to France most of hec settlements and colonies in India and Africa and the West Indies. The failure of the French and Spanish to capture Gibraltar and the destruction of the French fleet by Rodney off Dominica were all that saved her colonial empire from annihilation. Friends and foes alike believed with Lord Shelburne that England's sun had set. The Coalition. — In 1 783 the Shelburne ministry was overthrown by an astonishing combination of Lord North with Fox, the leader of the progressive wing of the Whigs. In Ill, "3. '34- 4°6 The Struggle for Empire spite of its great parliamentary strength, this coalition ministry lasted only a few months. Popular indignation was aroused at an alliance formed apparently for the sole purpose of securing power. The India Bill proposed by Fox for the reform of the East Indian government aroused much dis- satisfaction. The king, always hostile to Fox, and now alienated from North, led the attack upon the coalition, and, regardless of the fact that it had the support of the House of Commons, turned it out and called upon William Pitt, a son of the Great Commoner, to form a new ministry. A tremen- dous struggle ensued. It was the king, Pitt, and the nation against the coalition and Parliament. On one vote after an- other Pitt was defeated, but he maintained his place, declar- ing with truth that Parliament did not represent the nation. In March, 1784, the contest ended in the triumph of Pitt. Factious dissensions and indifference to reform had weak- ened the Whig party, the coalition ruined it. Save for a short time in 1806 the Whigs remained out of power until 1830. The Early Years of Pitt's Ministry. — William Pitt was barely twenty-five when he was called to take charge of SJ?!"." 1, the g° vernment > but he had already made his mark in the country. He had none of the fiery eloquence of his father, 1134-1139. Gre ' n ' but his tact and 753 sagacity were unerring. Although his triumph was due to the support of the king, this did not imply a return to the system that had prevailed during the North ministry. So long as Pitt remained in power, the conduct of the affairs was under his control. He was truly Prime Minister, with absolute authority over a united Cabinet. The king might chafe at his lack of power, but he knew his choice lay between Pitt and the Whig leaders, and he gave undivided support to Pitt. The young minister had entered public life a Whig, his tendencies were liberal, and he should have received the support of the progressive Whigs. Lacking this, he leaned more and more upon the new Tory party. Insensibly, his views were modified by his relations with the king and by INDIA, SHOWING ROUGHLY THE GROWTH OF THE BRITISH POWER English Possessions } .' A L T Dder English Protection 1 . . . .1 80RMAY * C0.,EN3R'S,I Growth of the Indian Dominion 407 his party associations. He still supported reform, and in 1785 proposed a reform bill, but the measure was not thoroughgoing, since it recognized the right of property in a seat in the House of Commons. It was defeated, for the demand for reform was subsiding, there was little popular interest in the movement, and the Whigs were too divided and too badly led to seize upon the only chance of revival, reorganization as a reform party. Pitt's especial ability lay in finance. He struck at smug- gling by lowering the customs. The falling off in reve- Financial nue he made good through an excise. Careful manage- reform - ment turned the deficit into a surplus which was appliedto paying off the national debt. In 1786 Pitt won a great triumph over the commercial theories and national prejudices of his generation by carrying through a commercial treaty with France which practically established free trade between the two countries. He also attempted, although without success, to give to Ireland the commercial freedom which Irish industries so much needed. Growth of the Indian Dominion.— After 1760 the power of the English in India grew rapidly at the expense Bri s ht . HI, of the native princes. There were frequent outbreaks, due II20 ~ II2 3- partly to the aggressions of the English Company, and partly to the continued intrigues of the French. England's wars in Europe and America had their invariable accompaniment of conflict in the East. In India the English were almost uniformly successful. In their dealings with the natives they were skilful and often unscrupulous, and they had the sup- port of a large sepoy force created in imitation of the policy of Dupleix. In 1 765 the Company formally took over the government of Bengal, thus becoming in name as well as in fact princes of India. Step by step the English advanced until, at the close of the Mahratta war in 1805, the Company controlled, directly or indirectly, a large part of the Indian peninsula and immense provinces in the interior. The movement, which began in 1748 with the creation of a small sepoy force to 408 The Struggle for Empire protect the trading interests of the East India Company, had resulted in the establishment of a great empire. Control by Parliament. — Already, however, many im- portant changes in the relations of India and England had taken place. The anomaly of a trading company exercising sovereign rights over extensive territories and millions of people could not fail to excite attention. Serious misman- agement of the company's affairs gave Parliament a chance to interfere. Upon the report of an investigating committee, Lord North formed the Regulating Act of 1773. The Com- pany received a loan for which it had applied, and in ad- dition the concession of exporting its bonded tea to America without paying duty. On the other hand, parlia- mentary control was increased by the appointment by Parliament of a council and governor-general to carry on the government of India. Still the old evils continued. The Company cared for dividends and was indifferent to the welfare of the subject people. Officials were poorly paid, and sought to enrich Green, 745- themselves by plundering the natives. Warren Hastings, 74 8 - 75 2 . 753' the first governor-general, was able and energetic, and he did much to strengthen the foundations of English control, but his methods were sometimes unscrupulous. In 1784 Pitt carried a bill establishing a dual system of control over India. All business and all patronage, with a few important exceptions, were left in the hands of the Company and the government was still in its name, but the whole political authority was transferred to a new ministerial department, the Board of Control. The Impeachment of Hastings. — In 17 85 Warren Hast- ings returned to England, and was at once attacked in Parliament and impeached for acts of tyranny committed in India. His trial, made famous through the eloquence of Burke and Sheridan, dragged on until 1795, and in the end Hastings was acquitted, but his policy as well as his methods had already been superseded. The government's interfer- ence in Indian affairs and the calling of Hastings to account Pitt's India Bill. The French Revolution and Political Reaction 409 testify to a growing sense of responsibility for the welfare of the subject population in India. In 1 786 Lord Cornwallis was sent out as governor-general. He remained in power until 1798, and through his efforts the administration was thoroughly reformed. The New Colonial Policy. — After the loss of the American colonies there remained to England, besides the Indian dependency, only Canada and Nova Scotia, some of the West Indies, Gibraltar, and a few places off the coast of Africa. Almost at once, however, she began to build up a new empire by planting penal settlements on the south- eastern coast of Australia, a continent as yet unclaimed by any European power. Out of these untoward beginnings developed in the next century a progressive Anglo-Saxon commonwealth. The chief lesson that England drew from the American Revolution was that too much political independence ought not to be granted to colonies, and for the next generation a tight hand was kept on the colonial governments. At the same time, however, commercial restrictions were gradually relaxed. Nor was the attempt to tax ever repeated. The French Revolution and Political Reaction. — All things pointed to a period of cautious reform, when, in 1789, the Green, country was startled by the outbreak of the French Revolu- 758-770. tion. Public opinion was at first divided. To the timid Bri s ht . in, and conservative, the rising of the French people meant the "f' "f 4, , r 1 1160-1162. complete overthrow of the established order, the beginning of anarchy; but by many progressive Englishmen it was hailed with enthusiasm. The excesses of the Reign of Terror determined the current of popular feeling. The hostility of the French was directed against the crown and the privileged classes. In England, as a result, the Tories, the party of authority, the king's party, became the cham- pions of vested interests. The clergy, the aristocracy, the wealthy middle classes rallied round the king in defence of privilege and property. Burke, once the advocate of politi- cal progress, became now the mouthpiece of reaction. His 4io The Struggle for Empire Burke and the Revo- lution. Source-Book, 363-370. Bright, III, 1177-1181. Reflections on the French Revolutioii was the manifesto of a crusade against democracy. The propagandist attitude of the French revolutionists aroused a panic of alarm in England which Pitt strove in vain to stem. At last he gave way before the demand of the king and the nation for war, and joined hands with the monarchs of Europe in an attack upon the French Republic. The French Revolution and the war that followed dealt the cause of progress a fatal blow. Pitt turned his back ' forever on his plans for financial and political reform. Henceforth all his energies were absorbed in the conflict with France. In the outset the war was a crusade against democratic opinion, and it meant the establishment of Tory ascendency. Reactionary views and arbitrary methods pre- vailed in the government. Wild fears of a revolutionary rising led to the adoption of a policy of repression. The Habeas Corpus Act was suspended from 1794 to 1801, new treasons were created, the liberty of public meeting was re- stricted, numerous prosecutions of the press were instituted, and men were found guilty of sedition and harshly punished for advocating measures which Pitt had himself proposed a few years before. A poor bill-sticker was imprisoned for six months for posting up an address asking for parliamen- tary reform, and a clergyman, named Palmer, was sentenced to seven years' transportation for circulating a paper in favor of the same measure. Break-up of the Whig Party. — In this repressive policy, the government had the steady support of Parliament and the country. Fear of revolution had brought about a revul- sion of feeling. In 1 794 the great bulk of the Whigs went over to Pitt. The Opposition, led by Fox, dwindled to a mere handful, too weak to impose any check upon the arbitrary policy of the government. It became, however, what it bad never been before, a party of popular reform. In 1792, in 1793, and again in 1797, motions for the reform of Parliament were introduced by Grey. They could scarcely obtain a hearing, and were thrown out by large 16 10 6 10 15 20 25 10 Longitude East 16 The War zvitJi France 411 majorities. The prospect of reform, so bright in 1 780, seemed, twenty years later, hopelessly deferred. More than a century had elapsed since the overthrow of the Stuart despotism, but England had apparently made no advance toward popu- lar government. In reality much had been gained. In the organization of political parties and in the development of the Cabinet, governmental forms had been established well fitted to give effect to the will of the people, and to make democracy possible. The "War with France. — The war lasted from 1793 t0 Green, 1802. In the beginning Spain, Holland, Austria, and Prussia 767-772. were united with England against France. Notwithstanding these odds, the French not only repelled invasion, but carried the war across the border into the enemy's coun- try. The Republican armies, fired with zeal and patriotism and led by Napoleon Bonaparte, the greatest military genius Bonaparte, of the age, were irresistible. On land England accomplished nothing. Her armies were badly made up and badly led, and the subsidies which she lavished on the petty German states brought little return. On the seas, however, the English were almost uniformly successful. English suprem- acy in the Mediterranean was soon established, the French Atlantic fleet was defeited by Lord Howe, and the French settlements in India and some of the West Indian islands passed into the possession of England. In 1795 tne coalition began to give way before the victo- Break-up of ries of the French. Most of the continental states con- the Coalition, eluded treaties with the Republic. England, however, still continued on the offensive. For a time (in the year 1797) her situation seemed desperate. She stood alone, threat- ened with invasion from France, menaced With rebellion in Ireland, the fleet paralyzed by a widespread mutiny. But the crisis was met with determination and success. The attempted invasion ended in failure, and before the year was out, by the destruction of the Spanish and Dutch fleets, in the battles of Cape Vincent and Camperdown, England had lessened the danger of attack. The interest of the next 412 The Struggle for Empire Battle of the Nile. The Second Coalition. Oman, England in the Nine- teenth Cen- tury, Ch. I. Green, pp. 772-776. 777-779- year centred in Egypt, whither Bonaparte had gone in the belief that the occupation of Egypt would open the way to the restoration of the French domination in India. Nelson's victory at the battle of the Nile (1798), by severing the con- nection between France and the French forces in Egypt, placed insuperable difficulties in the way of this scheme, and in 1799 it was abandoned. On land, however, Bonaparte, now at the head of the French government, swept all before him. A second coali- tion with Austria and Russia, laboriously built up by Pitt in 1799, fell to pieces within the year. Austria maintained the struggle until i8oi,when she was forced to sign the treaty of Luneville, which left France supreme on the Con- tinent. In the East and on the sea, England's success was still unbroken. Southern India fell before Wellesley, the French were defeated at Alexandria, and Nelson's victory at Copenhagen (1801) dealt a fatal blow to the alliance of Sweden, Denmark, and Russia which had threatened Eng- land's commercial supremacy. But England needed peace, she stood alone in Europe, her debt was enormous, taxation was heavy. Bonaparte was ready to come to terms, and in 1802 the peace of Amiens was concluded. " It was a peace," so Sheridan of the Opposition declared, " which everybody would be glad of, but which nobody would be proud of. " In spite of the fact that England gave back all her conquests except Ceylon and Trinidad, the peace was greeted with joy throughout the country. The Union of England and Ireland. — Before the negotia- tions for the peace of Amiens were begun, Pitt had with- drawn from the ministry because of the king's refusal to agree to the emancipation of the Irish Catholics. The surrender of Limerick in 1691 (p. 365) was followed by the establishment of Protestant ascendency in Ireland. Many of the Catholic leaders went into exile or were ruined by confiscations, and the bulk of the army entered foreign service. The fate of the Catholic people, three-fourths of the population of Ireland, was in the hands of the Irish Parlia- The Union of England and Inland 413 ment, which represented simply the small intolerant Protes- tant minority. In spite of the pledges of Limerick, crushing penal laws were enacted against the Catholics. Their worship Laws against was practically proscribed, they were disfranchised, they were tn eCathohcs. excluded from the professions, from Parliament, from munici- pal office. The law thrust itself between a Catholic father and his children, a Catholic's right to hold land was restricted, he was forbidden to own a horse worth more than ^5. The Irish Parliament made the position of the Catholics almost intolerable, the English Parliament spared neither Catholic nor Protestant. The Cromwellian Settlement had added a vigorous and intelligent element to the popula- tion, and after the Restoration there was a beginning of prosperity in Ireland. The land was chiefly pasture, and the importation of cattle into England became an important source of wealth ; but the English landowners took alarm, Destruction and laws were passed excluding from England Irish cattle ? f lTlsh and sheep, meat and butter and cheese. Ireland had certain commercial advantages in her good harbors and proximity to America, but as soon as she showed signs of turning these to profit she was cut off almost entirely from the colonial trade. As Swift said, Ireland's fine ports were of no more use to her than " a beautiful prospect to a man shut up in a dungeon." Forbidden to send their sheep to England, the Irish landowners turned to wool-growing, and the woollen manufacture began to develop; but in 1699 English manufacturers, fearing the rivalry of Ireland, induced Parliament to pass a law prohibiting the export of Irish woollens to any country whatever. The subordination of Irish to English interests was complete. Cut off in every direction, industry died out, and the energies of the Irish people were thrown back upon the land. Crushed and strangled, for over fifty years Ireland did not Bright, in, stir, but about the middle of the eighteenth century a move- io 9°- iio 5- r 1 ■ 1 • • -i 1 1 it. II06, 1136, ment for legislative independence began among the Protes- II99 _ I2I n tants. During the American Revolution, it gained such 1229. strength that under the Rockingham ministry of 1782 the 414 The Struggle for Empire Irish legis- lative inde- pendence. Act of Union, 1800. Green, 819-822. Oman, Ch. II. Bright, III, 1237-1241. independence of the Irish Parliament was secured. The result was disappointing, in part because Pitt failed in his attempt to establish complete free trade between England and Ireland, and in part because the Irish Parliament was still the Parliament of the Protestant minority. Although some relief had been given to the Catholics, there were but few Protestants as yet who agreed with Grattaii in thinking that " the Irish Protestant could never be free till the Irish Catholic had ceased to be a slave." The general discontent found expression in formidable organizations. In 1798 an insurrection broke out among the peasants of Wexford and other places. Twice the French took advantage of the pre- vailing disorder, and attempted an invasion of Ireland. At last Pitt was convinced that the safety of England required that the two countries should be united, and in 1800 the Act of Union was carried through, although opposed, in the words of Lecky, by the " whole unbribed intellect of Ireland." Free trade with England and representation in the British Parliament were secured to the Irish. An essential part of the plan was frustrated, however, by the king's refusal to grant the relief to the Catholics that Pitt had given them to understand would follow union. Napoleonic Wars. — The war with France was renewed within thirteen months after the signing of the treaty of Amiens. The grounds of contention were changed. Hence- forth England fought, not to restore the deposed Bourbons, but to check the aggressions of an upstart prince. Napoleon Bonaparte, who had negotiated the peace of 1802 as chief of the French Republic, was elected consul for life in 1802, and emperor in 1804. Europe watched his advancement with apprehension. There was reason to believe that his ambition was not limited to France, that he aimed to found an empire comparable to that of Charlemagne. Certain high-handed dealings with the Swiss and Italian states menaced the balance of power and gave umbrage to the courts of Europe. England was affronted by Napoleon's pretensions to Malta, her recent acquisition in the Mediter- The Continental System 415 ranean, and by his demand that the fugitive Bourbons be denied asylum under the British flag. Addington under- took to negotiate with the overbearing conqueror, but was forced by the rising wrath of the nation to declare war (1803). The emperor caught up the gauntlet with eager- ness and prepared for a decisive struggle with the hereditary foe of France. A great army was gathered at Boulogne, thousands of transports were provided, and everything made ready for a swift descent On England. " The Channel is but a ditch," said he; "any one can cross it who has but courage to try." He had not learned the lesson of history. For two years he watched his chance for the crossing, but the water bulwarks of the island kingdom proved an insu- perable obstacle. No such peril had threatened England since the Armada, and the best energies of the nation were rallied to the de- fence. The enlistment of three hundred and fifty thousand volunteers brought the military defence of the kingdom up to a figure never before or since attained. Watch towers were built along the southern coast, and a formidable fleet guarded the Channel. Napoleon had given orders to the French admiral to decoy Nelson's squadron to the West Indies, and then swiftly return to protect the vessels engaged in transporting the army of invasion, but Nelson was not so easily outwitted. He recrossed the Atlantic in advance of the French fleet, and in time to prevent the embarkation. Trafalgar, In the battle of Trafalgar (1805) the navy of France was l8 °5- cut to pieces, and Napoleon was obliged to abandon his cherished purpose of subjugating England. The Continental System. — Foiled in this enterprise, the emperor hit upon a new device for destroying his great Bl . icrht IITi antagonist. He had, by 1806, succeeded in reducing the 1247-1253, principal European states to the position of dependents or I26 °- I26 5- servile allies, and the coast of the Continent from the Baltic Oman, to the Adriatic was under his control. He thus had it in Ch - 1IL his power to regulate the commercial relations of all impor- Berin tant European ports. The Berlin Decree, issued in 1806, Decree, 1806. 41 6 The Struggle for Empire forbade the subjects of France or of any allied power to trade with England or with England's colonies. Thus British vessels were excluded from all the harbors of Europe except those of Sicily, Sardinia, Sweden, Portugal, and Bright, in, Turkey. The blow was cunningly aimed at the very source 1277. 1278. f E n gi an( i' s strength. Her merchants had secured the major part of the carrying trade between Europe, America, and the Orient. Her manufacturers were making goods in excess of domestic demand, and relied upon the European market to absorb the surplus. The wealth producers of the realm were threatened with ruin. Bright in The Orders in Council. — England had no recourse but 1278.1279. retaliation. The Order in Council, issued in 1807, forbade all trade with France or her subject-allies. Vessels, neutral or otherwise, entering the blockaded ports, did so at the risk of capture and confiscation. This was no empty threat, for English battleships guarded every important coast town, lying in wait for prizes. In the end the Continental System worked more harm to Napoleon than to England. British merchant vessels ran no risk of seizure, and found profitable employment in smuggling goods into the forbidden markets. The contraband imports sold at trebled prices. This was a heavy tax to pay for the imperial regime, and men protested against the meaningless sacrifice. The Continental System had much to do with the final revolt against Napoleon. The Peninsular War (1808-1814).— When, at last, Eng- land came face to face with her great antagonist, it was not on English nor yet on French soil, but in Spain. The revolt of the Spanish people against the Bonaparte king imposed upon them by Napoleon, gave England the long-sought opportunity to get a foothold on the Continent. Men and money were poured into the Peninsula, and for six years an English army under Wellington fought for the independence of Spain. The emperor recognized that the situation was critical, and devoted the best of his troops to the reconquest of the country, but to no avail. The French were expelled from Madrid (1812), and forced to retreat War 417 northward, losing fortress after fortress, until they were driven beyond the Pyrenees. In the spring of 18 14, Well- Bright, III, ington's army appeared in southern France, ready to join I28 7~ I 3 21 - the forces sent by Russia, Prussia, and Austria for the last bout with Napoleon. In the battle of Waterloo, which com- pleted the ruin of the emperor, Wellington and the veterans Waterloo, of the Peninsular War bore a leading part. l8l 5- Results of the Napoleonic Wars. — Territorially Eng- Source-Book, land gained little from this long and costly war, but her 375 ~ 379- acquisitions were such as to be of great advantage to com- merce. Malta and the Ionian Islands were strategic points in the Mediterranean. Mauritius gave a new coaling Treaty of station in the Indian Ocean, while the Dutch settlements Vienna . l8l 5 at the Cape of Good Hope and West Guiana made impor- tant additions to the list of English colonies. Far more notable than these territorial winnings was the maritime ascendency attained by England's navy and the advance in political prestige due to the important services rendered by her generals and diplomatists. The great fleet of France and Spain had been destroyed at Trafalgar, and there was no other in Europe that dared to dispute British supremacy. English merchantmen enjoyed an unquestioned monopoly of European trade. Their only rivals, the Amer- ican ship-masters, had been well-nigh ruined by the com- mercial legislation arising out of the Napoleonic wars. American War (1812-1815). — During the closing years of the great continental struggle, England was involved in a secondary war not so glorious by half. The restrictions imposed on neutral trade had worked havoc with the com- merce of the United States. The outraged Yankees imputed the whole blame to England, because American vessels were continually challenged for contravening the Orders in Coun- cil, while Napoleon had no means of enforcing his no less obnoxious decrees. A further grievance against England was her assumption of the right to impress into the king's service English seamen wherever found. Thousands of British-born sailors had made their way to America, and, 2E 41 8 The Straggle for Empire after becoming naturalized citizens of the United States, had enlisted in the navy or found employment on merchant vessels. The men were sorely needed to man English war- ships, and in accordance with the then accepted doctrine of inalienable allegiance — "Once an Englishman always an Englishman " — British naval commanders were authorized to overhaul American vessels in search of renegades. The practice was bitterly protested on this side the Atlantic, and in 1812 Congress was driven to declare war against the mother country. England was preoccupied in the contest with Napoleon, and sent an inadequate force to meet the new antagonist. The Yankees were not unworthy their inheritance, and soon proved adepts at sea-fighting. To their lasting chagrin, Englishmen saw themselves beaten on their own element. The treaty of Ghent was primarily a treaty for peace. No mention was made of the grounds of contention, the right of search and the privileges of neutral trade, but America won her point in that the prerogatives then protested have never been reasserted by the English government. Important Events in the History of the British Empire 1497-1498. Cabot voyages. 1588. Defeat of Spanish Armada. 1600. Establishment of the East India Company. 1607. Beginning of permanent settlements in America. 1620- 1640. Settlement of New England. 1 65 1. Navigation Act. 1652. -j 1665. I War with Holland. 1672. J 1657. Capture of Jamaica. 1667. Seizure of Dutch Settlements in America. 1689-1815. Contest between France and England. 1713. Peace of Utrecht. England's maritime supremacy. 1744. Rivalry of French and English in India. 1757. Plassey. England and the native power. Important Events 419 1763. Peace of Paris. Overthrow of French power in America and India. 1765. Stamp Act. 1783. Independence of American Colonies. 1784. Pitt's India Bill. 1787. Beginning of Australian Colonization. 1793. War with France. 1805. Trafalgar. 1815. Treaty of Vienna. Territorial conquests in the East and in South Africa. CHAPTER XIV THE GROWTH OF DEMOCRACY Books for Consultation Sources Smith, Life and Speeches of John Bright. Macaulay, Speeches. Gladstone, Speeches. Adams, Representative British Orations. Special Authorities McCarthy, History of Our Own Times, Sir Robert Peel. Gammage, History of the Chartist Movement. Morley, Cobden, Gladstone. May, Constitutional History of England. Political History of England, Vols. XI, XII. Whates, The Third Salisbury Administration, 1S95-1900. Dicey, England's Case against Home Rule. Dunraven, The Outlook in Ireland. Imaginative Literature Banks, The Manchester Man. Mulock, John Halifax, Gentleman. Kingsley, Alton Locke. Disraeli, Coningsby. Tennyson, Locksley Hall, Locksley Hall Seventy Years After. The Reform Movement. — The first effect produced on English thought by the French Revolution had. been a strong aversion to the political doctrine that could give birth to such horrors. A wave of reaction passed over the country, discrediting progressive statesmen and sweeping all reform projects into oblivion. But England could not long remain 420 The Reform Movement 421 ignorant of the lasting significance of that tremendous revolt against arbitrary government. France was indeed conquered in 1815 and the Bourbons restored, but the great achieve- ments of the Revolution were not undone. Just laws and a liberal constitution were secured to the French people by the very monarchs who had undertaken the crusade in behalf of Louis XVI. During the twenty years of war, the cause of English liberty had lost much and gained nothing. Absorbed in the long struggle with Napoleon, the Tory ministers had given little thought to the national well-being. Enthusiasm for the war, pride in its triumphant conclusion and in the commercial prestige acquired by England, together with the prosperity accruing to trade and manufactures from the ex- traordinary war market for iron and cloth, had blinded men's eyes to the heavy cost of the conflict. Peace once declared, the nation began to balance accounts. The national debt amounted to ^861,000,000. The financial pressure was such that the Bank of England suspended specie payment (1797), and for twenty-two years the country had to be content with a depreciating paper currency. The conse- quent rise in prices was exaggerated by the hazards of trade with the Continent and by a series of bad harvests which brought food up to famine rates. In the last years of the war, the price of wheat rose to 1715-. a quarter. Neverthe- less, the Corn Law of 1815, which prohibited the importation of grain until the price should reach 80s. a quarter, was vigorously maintained by the landlord class, who secured the lion's share of the profits of this protective legislation. The prosperity of the landlord and the farmer was not shared by the agricultural laborer, who, during these years of ex- traordinary prices, was steadily sinking into misery and want. Wages could not cover the cost of subsistence and had to be supplemented from the poor rates. Peace dealt a severe blow to the manufactures that had flourished on the war market, and operatives were thrown out of employment. Discharged soldiers to the number of two hundred and fifty Oman, England in the Nine- teenth Century, S3- 62 - 422 The Growth of Democracy Browning, The Lost Leader. thousand sought self-supporting trades. Many drifted into the ranks of the unemployed. At the moment when Eng- land attained the acme of her military renown, her laboring people were being reduced to pauperism. Reform Writers. — National glory won at such a cost was not cause for congratulation. Men were found bold enough to assert that while warring against the Continental System, England allowed more hateful impositions to pass unchallenged within her own boundaries. A revulsion of feeling characterized the second and third decades of the nineteenth century. The writers of the day were first to rec- ognize that the ideals of the French Revolution were far in advance of English conceptions of justice and right. Words- worth had greeted with rapture the birth of democracy in France, but the violence of the Jacobins filled him with such despair as to chill his faith in the ability of the people for self-government. Shelley's democratic idealism could, how- ever, ignore the ugly facts of the Revolution. Byron struck telling blows for freedom in his wild revolt against con- vention and dogma, while Burns, the Ayrshire ploughman, voiced the people's protest against class inequalities. Reform Politicians. — In 1819, the advocates of democ- racy formed the Radical party. The movement originated with Cobbett's Weekly Political Register, a twopenny sheet that had a wide circulation and enormous influence among the working-classes. The Radicals voiced the prevailing discontent and proposed legislative reforms that should give the people more influence in government. Redistribution of the representation, manhood suffrage, and annual parliaments were urged as the steps necessary to insure the expression of the popular will in order that the unrepresented people might make their purpose felt, mass meetings were held, secret associations were formed, 1 and propagandist literature was scattered far and wide. The government, abnormally suspicious of any popular movement, determined to crush the malcontents. A politi- 1 E.g. the Hampden clubs. The Reform Bill of 1832 423 Conspiracy. Oman, 72-82. cal demonstration at Spa Fields, London (1816), was broken up by the police. Three years later, a convention held in Manchester for the purpose of electing a " legislato- rial representative " for that unrepresented town, was raided by a military force, and seventy persons were injured. The Manchester Massacre, or the battle of Peterloo, 1 as it was derisively called, roused intense indignation ; but the Radicals were discredited by the attempt of a group of The fanatics to assassinate the Ministry, and Parliament passed a ^ato ^*™ e * series of laws imposing severe penalties on sedition. It was becoming every year more evident that the govern- ment was quite independent of the people, since the House of Commons represented only the landed gentry and the upper middle class. The Reform Bill of 1832. — The continental revolutions of 1830 which secured constitutional government for France, Belgium, and several of the German states, produced a marked effect in England. They seemed to prove that reforms could be accomplished without anarchy, and Eng- lishmen began to question whether, after all, their own constitution might not safely be modified to suit modern needs. The Tory party, which had enjoyed twenty-three William IV. years of unquestioned supremacy, showed signs of weakness at last. The reactionary policy of the government had driven the bulk of the middle class into the Opposition. In the elections that followed immediately upon the death of George IV (1830), the Whigs won a signal victory. The Tories lost fifty seats, and Wellington was obliged to resign. Lord Grey, who was called by William IV (1830-183 7) to take his place, had been for forty years the stanch cham- pion of parliamentary reform. A bill was framed by the Ministry and introduced in the House of Commons by Lord John Russell (March 1, 1831). It provided for the dis- enfranchisement of the rotten boroughs, the redistribution of seats among the counties and hitherto unrepresented towns, and the extension of the borough franchise to all 1 The meeting was held in St. Peter's Field. 424 The Growth of Democracy ten-pound householders. 1 The bill was received with derisive cheers from the Tory benches, and though en- dorsed by the king and maintained by all the influence the Ministry could bring to bear, it was defeated on the third reading by a majority of eight. The government determined to have recourse to the people. The dissolution of Parlia- ment was declared by the king in person on April 22, and through May and June the country rang with the excitement of the campaign. The result was even better than the Whigs had hoped. When the bill came to its third read- ing in the new House of Commons (September 21), it passed by a majority of one hundred and nine. The measure had still, however, to run the gantlet of the peers. The Upper House did not deign to admit the bill to consid- eration, but threw it out on the first reading by a majority of forty-one. The rejection, by a privileged and non-representative body, of a measure which had the enthusiastic support of the great majority of the nation roused intense indignation throughout the country. Political unions were formed with a view to bringing public opinion to bear upon the reac- tionary legislators. A reform programme was announced which went so far as to propose the abolition of all hereditary privileges and distinctions of rank. The Lords could noc but be influenced by the popular agitation, violent and ill- advised though it sometimes was, and when a third reform bill came up for its second reading in the Upper House, the Ministry succeeded in obtaining a majority of nine. A motion to postpone final action was, nevertheless, carried (May 7, 1832), and this was practical defeat. Driven to extremities, Lord Grey appealed to the king to overcome the opposing majority by the creation of new peers. This was refused, and the Ministry resigned. An attempt to form a Tory Cabinet under the Duke of Wellington failed. The popular protest was overwhelming. The Whig papers 1 I.e. to adult males renting or owning property to the annual value of ^10. Effects of Reform 425 came out in mourning, and petitions were sent up to Parlia- ment signed by thousands of the unrepresented. The agi- tators announced their determination to march to London in numbers sufficient to compel regard for the nation's will. Wellington dared not resort to force, for the military could not be trusted to fight against the people. Finally (May 15, 1832) the king recalled Lord Grey and sent a circular letter to the peers, requesting them to withdraw their opposition. The Duke of Wellington and one hundred other peers ab- stained from voting, and thus the House of Lords approved the bill (June 4, 1832). Effects of Reform. — The Reform Act was a signal triumph of the popular will over vested right and hereditary privilege. Fifty-six rotten boroughs were disenfranchised, and thirty were deprived each of one member. The one hundred and forty-three memberships so vacated were assigned to the more populous counties and thirty-nine hitherto unrepre- sented towns. Thus, after an interval of nearly two hundred years, the electoral reform proposed by Cromwell was re- sumed. Representation was not yet, however, exactly pro- portioned to population. Manhood suffrage and annual parliaments were not even broached. But the people had got a foothold in the House of Commons and might bide their time. The Reform Act of 1832 transferred the balance of power from the landed aristocracy to the manufacturers and merchants — the dominant classes of the newly en- franchised towns. Only fifty Radicals were returned to the new Parliament. The populace, though it had borne the brunt of the agitation, was not yet intrusted with the ballot. The property qualification, an annual rental of £\o in towns and ^50 in rural districts, excluded all below the rank of well-to-do artisans and tenant-farmers. The Whigs now entered upon a long lease of power. From 1830 to 1874 the Tories were in office but eight years all told. With the change in the character of representation and the consequent change of policy, new party names were adopted. The Whigs, led henceforth by the progressive 426 The Grozvtli of Democracy contingent, called themselves Liberals ; while the Tories, conceiving their function to be the preservation of a time- honored constitution, preferred to be known as Conserva- tives. Oman, Reform Legislation. — The reforms undertaken by the 84-88. fj rst Parliament elected on the new basis were directed by middle class interests, and fell far short of popular expecta- tion. An act was passed (1833) emancipating the slaves on West Indian plantations, but with heavy compensation to their owners (^£20,000,000). The poor laws were revised (1834) with a view to checking the growth of pauperism. The new act was based on the wholesome principles of the Elizabethan law. The able-bodied could get no aid from the officials outside the workhouse. Only the aged and helpless were relieved in their own homes. The measure proved to be both just and merciful, but it was bitterly resented by the classes accustomed, for a century past, to regard parish aid as the poor man's right. More popular measures, e.g. the Factory Act (1833), and the reform in municipal government (1835), were not initiated in the House of Commons, but were forced upon its notice by public discontent. A revolt in Lower Canada (1836-1837) called attention to the fact that the French population bitterly resented the English administration. A commission sent out to study the situation reported the necessity of conceding fully repre- sentative government to these growing colonies. Each of the several provinces was granted (1840) an elective assem- bly with practical control over taxation and a responsible ministry. Oman, Chartist Agitation. — Beneficent and necessary as was 9 2 -95- much of this legislation, it did not remove the sense of grievance from the minds of the common people, who had supported the Reform Act in the hope that a representative Parliament would enact more radical measures. The bulk of the Liberal party was, however, well content with the results attained. Lord John Russell declared in the first queen Victoria Chartist Agitation 427 Parliament convened after the accession of Victoria (1837) that reform could not safely be pushed further. The dis- appointment and indignation of the Radicals was intense. Convinced that the people would never get their rights till they could send spokesmen to the House of Commons, they entered with renewed zeal upon a crusade for popular repre- sentation. A conference between certain prominent Radi- cals and the working-class leaders was called in 1838, and a programme for the new campaign was agreed upon. The six points of the People's Charter were : annual Parliaments, manhood suffrage, vote by ballot, the division of the country into equal electoral districts, abolition of the property quali- fication for members of the Lower House, and salaries for the people's representatives. The Chartists, as the agita- tors called themselves, advocated parliamentary reform only as a means to an end. The exact nature of that end was as yet undefined. Socialistic, even anarchistic, schemes were in the air, and awakened consternation among the propertied and order-loving classes. Malcontents of every party were attracted to the ranks of the reformers. " Universal suf- frage," said a Radical orator, " the meaning of universal suffrage is that every working-man in the land has a right to a good coat, a good roof, a good dinner, no more work than will keep him in health, and as much wages as will keep him in plenty." No effective means of propagating the new gospel was neglected. Newspapers and Radical clubs were set on foot in every principal town, mass meetings were called at fre- quent intervals, and in 1839 the Chartists held a national convention. A huge petition was sent to the House of Commons bearing 1,200,000 signatures. The petition was contemptuously rejected, and riotous outbreaks followed in divers parts of the kingdom. A second petition was pre- sented in 1842 and met with a like fate. This time the petitioners, some three million men, demanded not only the "six points," but the repeal of all class legislation, the abolition of monopolies, and the redistribution of property. 428 The Growth of Democracy Demonstrations and riots grew so serious that thousands of middle-class voters were fairly frightened into the Conser- vative party. Sir Robert Peel and the Corn Laws. — By the elections of 1 84 1, the Conservatives secured an overwhelming majority in the House of Commons. Their leader, Sir Robert Peel, Oman, was the son of a great cotton-mill owner of Lancashire, and 97-100. hjg sympathies were enlisted with the manufacturing, as op- posed to the landed interest. He introduced measures cal- culated to better the conditions of the miners and operatives, such as the Mines Act of 184 1 and the Factory Act of 1844, and succeeded in reducing the import duties on some seven hundred and fifty articles that served as raw material for manufactures or as food for the working-classes. So far he was supported by his party, but when he proposed to reduce the duties on grain, he struck at the very foundations of the Tory aristocracy. The repeal of the Corn Law had long been advocated by enlightened Liberals who held that the interests of the great manufacturing communities ought not to be subordinated The Irish to those of the farmers and landlords. In 1845, ^ e Irish Famine. famine brought matters to a crisis. The potato crop failed, and four million people were reduced to the verge of star- vation. Food at lower prices must be had, whatever the loss to the landed interest. Early in 1846, much to the scandal of the Tories, who thought him a traitor, and of the Liberals, who accused him of stealing their thunder, Peel introduced a bill which provided for an immediate re- duction of the duties on imported grain and their abolition after 1849. Despite the protest of disappointed politicians and irate landowners, the measure passed both Houses. The loss of revenue to the government was made good by an income tax. 1 Shiploads of grain were sent over from America, the price of wheat fell to a normal level, and the poor were supplied with bread at reasonable rates. No more beneficent and far-reaching measure of reform was 1 Seven pence in the pound on all incomes of £ 150 and over. Chartist Demonstration 429 ever enacted by Parliament ; but the repeal of the Corn Law proved Peel's political ruin and produced a breach in the Conservative party that rendered it powerless for thirty years to come. Chartist Demonstration (1848). — The year 1848 wit- nessed a second epidemic of revolutions throughout the Continent. Not only France, Germany, and Italy, but Austria, the stronghold of despotism, was convulsed by the upheaval. Paris, the city of insurrections, was mastered by the combined strength of republicans and socialists, and a working-class republic was established. This signal suc- cess of their brothers across the Channel stirred the Chartists to new exertions. Under the lead of Feargus O'Connor, the democratic agitation came to a head. A national con- vention was assembled in London, April 6, 1848, and ar- rangements were made for a mighty demonstration. A monster petition, boasting five million signatures, was to be carried to Westminster on the 10th, by a body of five hundred thousand men. The government was, however, amply fore- warned. The Duke of Wellington was put in charge of the defence, and competent arrangements were made to prevent disorder. The Chartists were at odds among themselves as to whether they should or should not use force. The more timid and level-headed among them withdrew from a proj- ect which could only result in failure or defeat. Some twenty-five thousand finally gathered on Kennington Com- mon, but they were frightened by the force arrayed against them, and meekly consented to send their petition to the House of Commons in three cabs. When submitted to examination, the five million signatures dwindled to two million, many of these evidently bogus. So the most formi- dable working-class movement of the century ended in fiasco. When brought to the test, Chartism proved to be a mere wind-bag blown to portentous dimensions by dema- gogues and would-be politicians. Yet the agitation had its valuable results. The people were trained to think, to search for the causes of their 430 The Growth of Democracy misery, to look for legislative reform. The "classes" were compelled to inquire into the condition of the "masses," to recognize their own responsibility for the national well- being, and to set about measures of redress. The essential clauses of the Charter have since been attained — not by insurrections and mob violence, but by the characteristically English method of free discussion and parliamentary enact- ment. Palmerston. — The dominant figure in English politics for the next seventeen years was Lord Palmerston, the most daring diplomatist that has held office in England since the elder Pitt. Palmerston was originally a Tory, but he joined the Whigs on the parliamentary reform issue and soon be- came a trusted leader. Essentially conservative, Palmerston was content with the measure of representation accorded in 1832, and thereafter concerned himself little with domestic affairs. His brilliant talents were devoted to the prosecu- tion of a vigorous European policy. He resumed the office of foreign secretary in 1853 with the avowed purpose of pushing British interests in the East. The Eastern Question. — The trade routes to the Orient, and hence England's connections with India, lay at the mercy of the power controlling the Hellespont and the Red Sea. So long as these strategic points were in the hands of the Turk, the " sick man " 1 of Europe, the government felt secure. That security was now threatened, however, by Russia's interference in the affairs of the Sultan. Nicho- las I, " the iron Czar," had demanded that he should be accorded the right to protect Greek Christians residing in the dominions of the Porte against Mohammedan misrule, and, when his request was refused, sent troops across the Danube. It was to be feared that the Czar might utilize this opportunity to seize Constantinople and thereby secure 1 The Czar Nicholas said to an English ambassador, "We have on our hands a sick man, a very sick man ; it would be a great misfortune if, one of these days, he should slip away from us before the necessary ar- rangements have been made." The Crimean War 431 access to the Mediterranean Sea, the traditional goal of Russia's ambition. The protest of Palmerston, although coupled with that of Napoleon III, availed nothing, and war was declared in the spring of 1854. England and France sent a joint force to check the Russian advance, and, that being accomplished, moved on to attack the Czar's strong- hold on the Black Sea, the great fortress of Sebastopol. The Crimean War (1854-1856). — The government had Oman, been relying on diplomacy and was unprepared for war. I2 8-i4°- England had enjoyed a peace of forty years' duration. Not a shot had been fired by British troops on European soil since the battle of Waterloo. The army was wonted to barrack life, and the men were unprepared for active cam- paigning. Few of the officers had any experience of war, and many of them had secured their appointments by family or political influence. The commissary department proved quite inadequate to the emergency. Transportation facili- ties were lacking in the Crimea, and when winter came on the soldiers suffered for want of food, clothing, and shelter, though supplies in abundance had been shipped from Eng- land. In January, 1855, there were but eleven thousand men fit for service ; thirteen thousand lay sick in the im- provised hospitals. The death-roll from disease alone amounted in the end to nine thousand. Wellington's soldiers had died for lack of supplies in the Peninsular service, but there were no war correspondents to send home the facts. The telegraph had brought Sebastopol within hearing distance of London, and the dreadful details were printed in the daily papers. A wave of popular indig- nation swept the prime minister, Lord Aberdeen, from office, and Palmerston was called to take control of the govern- ment. Under his vigorous administration supplies were poured into the Crimea, a railway was built from the harbor to the scene of operations, medicines were provided, and an efficient force of hospital nurses sent out. 1 The allied . 1 Under the lead of Florence Nightingale, many English women went to the field. 432 The Growth of Democracy troops fought well, but the Russians made stubborn resist- ance. Sebastopol was surrendered (September 8, 1855) after a siege of eleven months, and the Russian fortifications were demolished. Results. — The victory had cost England dear. Fully twenty thousand men had fallen in battle or died in hospi- tals, while the national debt was increased by p^33,ooo,ooo. 1 The gains were but dubious. In the treaty of Paris that terminated the war, England won no permanent advantage. The reinstated Sultan promised to respect the liberties of his Christian subjects, but the pledge was not fulfilled. The stipulation that the Czar should destroy his arsenals on the Black Sea 2 checked the Russian advance toward Constanti- nople, but not for long. Palmerston saw clearly that the snake was "scotched, not killed "; but the nation was con- tent. The valor of British soldiers had made good the shortcomings of the administration. Russia was humiliated and exhausted. The Eastern question seemed settled. The East India Company Abolished. — Hardly was the Crimean War at an end when Great Britain was called upon to suppress a bloody insurrection in India. During the first half of the nineteenth century, the East India Company had pushed its conquests and annexed one after another of the native states, until the whole peninsula from the Ganges to the Indus was brought under the British crown. Railways were built connecting the ports with the interior, telegraph lines were carried through the country, and its rich resources were brought within reach of English trade. But the preju- dices of the natives were contemptuously ignored. Hindoos were forced to serve in the British army, and were even sent over-sea to fight the battles of England in Burmah and in China. The people grew restless and resentful. They cherished a tradition that the rule of the East India Com- pany would last but one hundred years, and eagerly awaited the centennial anniversary of the battle of Plassey. 1 The war expenses for the three years were estimated at ;£ 77,588,000. 2 This restriction was abandoned in 1870 after the fall of Napoleon III. Electoral Reform Again 433 The spark that set flame to this smouldering discontent was the rumor that the native troops were to be forced to Oman, accept Christianity. On May 7, 1857, the Sepoys mutinied, 2I 9-239- slew their English officers, and declared the aged Mogul prince to be emperor of India. Within a few days they got possession of Delhi, the ancient capital, and other principal towns of the interior. Many of the English residents were massacred. Not even the women and children escaped the fury of the frenzied natives. The government was taken by surprise and was utterly unable to check the revolt until reen- forcements were sent from England. Then superior dis- cipline and generalship began to tell. Delhi was taken after a three months' siege, the poor emperor of India was made prisoner, and his sons and principal adherents were shot. The exasperated English dealt out terrible punishment to the rebels. When the revolt was finally suppressed, steps were taken to reform the government. The East India Company was abolished, and the government of India was brought under the direct administration of the Crown. Electoral Reform again. — Under the leadership of Palmerston, the Liberals were essentially a middle-class party. The limitations on county suffrage gave the balance of political power to the towns, and legislation was dictated by manufacturing and mercantile interests. The men who had achieved the reform of 1832 were content with this result and deprecated any change. Oddly enough, the only notable proposition for extension of the suffrage between 1832 and 1868 came from the Conservatives. Disraeli, a brilliant and erratic member of Lord Derby's Cabinet, took advantage of their brief lease of power to introduce a bill (1859) providing for household franchise in town and country alike. The measure was intended to give more influence to agrarian interests and so to conciliate the landed aristocracy. A makeweight against democracy was proposed in the stipulation allowing additional votes to men of education and property. The defeat of the Ministry was a foregone conclusion, but the discussion served to 2 F 434 The Growth of Democracy bring the question of electoral reform again before the country. The Liberals and Extension of the Suffrage. — When the death of Palmerston (1865) left the more progressive element of the Liberal party in the ascendant, the work of reform was undertaken in earnest. Immediately upon his accession to the premiership, Lord Russell, the life-long John Bright From a photograph \ t^— > . •, 0, e f y >^J OM DU B (M A rKj E/J,V \ ^^ 10 \ LEONE/ f If | /J7 " ^ \ \ B /^~-5l * 6 i^^~^<^~~7 ill - - . .S— i EAST AFR | CA \A v - - ■ i ' i "X Lake \ / ~tA \ 10 20 O C JS A N Tropic of Capricorn J WEST I AFRICA i BRITISH IL £ S £ 20 \H \ J THE PARTITION OF |? ; : ,^.j A F R 1 C Vy RAN s- 30 AFRICA V? / VAAL , rR.J*impopo \-s I X D IAN 30 8CALE OF ENGLISH MILES V§^ 200 400 600 800 1000 1200 Y^ CAP E" col u.Bi-.r *V^2^^ O C B A N __ British Territory 40 — FreDCh " ~~ _ ~ 40 Italian « ... PAliMg"' 1 "' " , , 50 T^k- h 1 1 1 1 -1 — 60 Independent " — ,— — . n . r^ l l j i 10 West 10 Lonritude 20 from 30 Greenwich 40 East 60 A Coalition Cabinet 445 diamond fields, and promising gold deposits attracted Eng- lish immigrants and English capital, and led to the rapid extension of British control. Natal was annexed in 1843, Bechuanaland in 1867, and the Transvaal in 1877. The English advance was disputed by the native Kaffirs and by the Boers, descendants of the original Dutch colonists. The menace of Kaffir wars terminated with the subjection of the Zulus (1879), but the Boers protested the validity of the annexing proclamation, took up arms in defence of their independence, and at Majuba Hill (1880) won a signal victory. While yet in opposition Gladstone had con- demned the annexation project. In office, he refused to prosecute the war and concluded the Pretoria Convention (1881), granting the Transvaal "complete self-government subject to the suzerainty of Her Majesty." A more patent cause of grievance was the abandonment of the Soudan. Under Beaconsfield's administration Eng- land had undertaken to regulate the finances of Egypt, and Oman, thenceforth the queen's ministers became responsible for I 7 I -i72. the Khedive's government. The perplexing and uncon- genial task was assumed by the Liberal Cabinet with an ill grace. When the Mahdist revolt broke out in the Soudan, Gladstone judged the bankrupt Egyptian treasury quite in- adequate to the task of reconquest and determined to with- draw from the district. General Gordon was sent out to recover the Egyptian garrisons. Unhappily he and his little force were surrounded at Khartoum and cut to pieces. The massacre touched the martial pride of England and roused an angry protest against the milk-and-water methods of the government. A vote of censure on the Egyptian policy failed by fourteen votes, but in June of 1885 the Ministry was defeated on an amendment to the budget. A Coalition Cabinet. — Lord Salisbury was called to form a ministry, but the Conservatives were not strong enough to hold their own unaided. Lord Randolph Churchill, the leader of the "fourth party," as the progressive Tories were called, was summoned to the Cabinet. The Conservative 180-183. 446 The Groivth of Democracy party was thus committed to various projects for social and industrial improvement little akin to its former policy. Churchill, furthermore, negotiated an alliance with the Na- tionalists, who were ready to cast in their lot with any party that showed an inclination to concede home rule. Thus, by currying favor with Tory reformers and with the Irish party, the government was enabled to control a majority in the House of Commons, but little important business was put through. Both parties were making ready for a critical campaign. The Elections of 1885. — In the coming elections, the agricultural laborers were to cast their first ballots, and no man could surmise how their vote would affect the political future. The Conservatives relied on the influence of the clergy and the landed gentry to keep the rustics under party control, but the opposition candidates drew glowing pictures of the benefits to be expected of a Liberal administration. Land allotments, free schools, local self-government, dises- tablishment of the Scotch and Welsh churches, these and other legislative tidbits, Gladstone's more radical followers did not hesitate to offer. The unnatural alliance between Conservatives and home rulers was maintained throughout the campaign. Parnell instructed his party to vote for a Conservative wherever there was no Nationalist candidate. The result of the elections abundantly justified his tactics. The Liberals secured 333 seats, the Conservatives 251, but Ireland outside of Ulster went solid for home rule. Parnell could count on 86 members, and could by uniting forces with the Ministry enable them to outvote the Liberals. He had, therefore, the balance of power in his hands, and was in a position to extort concessions. Gladstone was directly converted to home rule. The result of the elections was no sooner known than he issued a manifesto favoring the Nationalist claims. The opportunity to introduce a home rule bill was soon vouchsafed him. In an amendment to the address, Salisbury's government was defeated by a vote of 329 to 258. Nationalists and Radicals voted with the Gladstone and Home Rule 447 Opposition, while the protesting Liberals went over to the Conservative benches. Gladstone and Home Rule. — The Liberal Cabinet intro- Land duced two measures calculated to meet the demand of the Purchase Act Nationalists for economic and political reform. The Land l88 ' c Purchase Act (1885) appropriated ^50,000,000 as a loan fund to enable tenants to buy their holdings. The provi- sions of this law were much more favorable to the tenant than that of 1870, and the measure went far toward the solution of the agrarian question. The Home Rule Bill provided for the establishment in Home Rule Ireland of a separate executive government, solely respon- Blll > l886 - sible to a legislature sitting in Dublin and empowered to ° man ' deal with Irish affairs so far as they did not affect imperial interests. Irish representation in the British Parliament was to be discontinued. This complete surrender to the demands of the Nationalist faction roused intense indignation throughout England. Not even such popularity as Gladstone's could survive the storm of abuse heaped upon the author of this " scheme of disintegration." The "grand old man" was denounced as a political turncoat, a traitor to his party and to his country. His change of front was no more reprehensible than Peel's desertion of the Corn Laws in 1846, but home rule was an issue even more contentious than protection, since it involved race feeling. The breach occasioned in the Liberal party was deep and irreparable. The seceders, under the lead of Lord Hartington and Mr. Goschen (Whigs), Joseph Cham- berlain and John Bright (Radicals), called themselves Liberal Unionists and joined forces with the Conservatives on the Irish question. With ranks so depleted Gladstone could not carry his The Defeat measure, and the Home Rule Bill was lost, 311 votes for to of Home 341 against. The only chance of success was an appeal to the country. In the elections of July, 1886, the Conserva- tives had an easy victory in the English constituencies, but Ireland, Scotland, and Wales stood loyally by Gladstone and 448 The Growth of Democracy home rule. 1 The Conservatives returned 316 members, the Liberal Unionists 74, the Gladstone Liberals 196, the Par- nellites 84. The defeat was so decisive that Gladstone resigned, and Salisbury was summoned to form a ministry before Parliament met. Reaction. — In the autumn of 18S6 the Conservatives entered upon a long lease of power. The six years of their administration were marked by no legislation of first impor- tance except the Local Government Act (1888). By this measure, the anti-home-rule Ministry met the demand for local self-government in England, Wales, and Scotland 2 by establishing county councils elected by the freeholders and responsible each for the affairs of its own district. The summary rejection of home rule occasioned a series of riotous outbreaks in Ireland which the government put down with a strong hand. The Irish leaders now organized the National League for the purpose of continuing the agi- tation and of affording relief to tenants who refused to pay exorbitant rents. By the "plan of campaign" evicted farmers were to be supported out of a common fund pro- vided by the League. English Discontent. — The land question was not peculiar to Ireland. A steady fall in the price of food products, consequent on increased importations of grain, had reduced the profits of agriculture and occasioned general discontent among rent-paying farmers in Scotland and England. Salis- bury's government found itself obliged to extend the pro- visions of 1885 by which the Liberals had assisted Irish tenants to purchase land, to scale down the customary rents paid by the Scotch crofters to one-half, and grudgingly to afford English farm-laborers opportunity to buy allot- ments of land. Not only from the tillers of the soil, but from the working- class element of the cities and towns came the urgent 1 The proportion voting in favor of home rule was : in Ireland, 4! to 1 ; in Scotland, 3 to I ; in Wales, 5 to 1. 2 The Local Government Act for Scotland was passed in 1889. Elections 0/1892 449 demand for redress of grievances. A convention of the un- employed was held in Trafalgar Square (November 13, 1887) to protest against the industrial order that gave them no opportunity to earn a livelihood. A great strike of the dock laborers of London and Hull brought to public attention the wretched condition of the "casual" hands at the shipping centres. John Burns, a machinist of Battersea, championed these unskilled laborers and taught them how to form an effective trade-union. A new element was coming to the front to urge social and industrial rather than political reforms. The Independ- ent Labour Party held that the State should interfere to secure a fair chance to the wage-earner. Propositions for a living wage, for an eight-hour day, for free primary educa. tion, for putting land at the disposal of the people, were brought forward by the working-class leaders, but a Con- servative government could hardly be expected to give them sympathetic treatment. The pageant of the Queen's Jubi- lee (1887), the fiftieth anniversary of Victoria's coronation, brought into marked relief the misery of the " submerged tenth " of the population. Elections of 1892. — Under the influence of the various hostile critics, the ministerial ranks thinned, until Salisbury could no longer be sure of his majority and dissolved Par- liament. The election returns of June, 1892, reversed the verdict given in 1886. Gladstonians and Nationalists com- bined could boast a majority of forty-two, 1 and the Con- servative government was readily defeated by an amendment to the address. A revised Home Rule Bill passed the House of Commons by a vote of 347 to 304, in spite of dissensions Oman, in the Nationalist ranks and the strenuous opposition of the i9 8 - I 99« majority of the English members. In the Upper House, however, it met with overwhelming defeat. Since Lord Grey forced the first reform bill through the House of Lords, that body had not ventured to reject a measure 1 Election returns, 1892: Gladstonians, 271; Nationalists, 81; Labor Party, 4 ; Conservatives, 268 ; Liberal Unionists, 46. 2G 450 The Growth of Democracy sent up from the House of Commons, and indorsed by pop- ular support. It was generally supposed that its veto power, like that of the crown, had passed out of use. To the scan- dal of all Radicals, this measure, which had been approved by a majority of 203,014 votes in the recent elections, was rejected by a body of 600 men who could lay no claim to voice the will of the nation. Unionists argued in their de- fence that this ancient prerogative might be exercised in a case where an extra-constitutional measure was in question. The Lords, it was said, would never undertake to interfere in the course of ordinary legislation. But the Upper House, led by Lord Salisbury, plucked up courage to defeat other Lib- eral projects, e.g. the Employers' Liability Bill, and that provision of the Parish Councils Bill intrusting the local authorities with power to purchase land for sale in laborers' allotments. Agitation against the House of Lords. — Radicals had for years been protesting that the House of Lords was an an- achronism — a clog on the wheels of progress ; but while that body was content to amuse itself by ratifying the bills passed in the Lower House, its abolition had never been seriously considered. Certain measures of reform, it is true, had been proposed by Liberal peers, such as the raising of the quorum 1 and the unseating of absentee members. Now obstruction of popular projects laid them open to direct attack. Mr. Labouchere, the inveterate foe of hereditary privilege, introduced into the House of Commons a reso- lution stating that " the power now enjoyed by persons who were not elected to Parliament by the usual process of franchise, yet who are able to prevent the passage of bills, shall cease." The proposition had not been foreseen, and half the members were absent. To the surprise and amuse- ment of the House, it was carried by a vote of 147 to 145. The leaders of the Liberal party had expressed the convic- tion that the House of Lords must be reformed if it was to remain a part of the English constitution, but the govern- 1 Three is the present quorum in a membership of 600. Salisbury's Domestic Policy 451 ment could hardly adopt so hasty and ill-considered a measure, and it was allowed to drop. Retirement of Gladstone. — On March 3, 1894, Gladstone resigned the premiership and retired from public life. He was eighty-five years of age, and might well plead exemp- tion from the cares of office, but it is probable that the failure of the Irish legislation on which he had set his heart determined the final withdrawal. Lord Rosebery, who suc- ceeded to the head of the government and to the leader- ship of the Liberal party, was a man of far less magnetism and force. Moreover, as a peer, he was excluded from the House of Commons and unable to take part in its debates. He was successful, however, in rallying to his support the best elements of his party. The new Liberal leader proposed a formidable list of reforms. The constitution of the House of Lords was to be revised, the Welsh Church was to be disestablished, factory laws were to be amended in the interest of sanitation and safety, the Irish land laws were to be improved, but there was no mention of home rule. An unhappy split in the Nationalist party, the death of Parnell (1891), and the retirement of Gladstone had ruined that well-fought cause. Lord Rosebery declared that so long as England, " the pre- dominant partner," was clearly opposed to home rule, that question must be relegated to the future. Antagonized by delay in Irish legislation, the Nationalists withdrew their support, lukewarm Liberals and malcontent Radicals de- serted the government. On a vote to reduce the salary of the secretary of war, Rosebery lost his majority and resigned (June, 1895). Salisbury's Domestic Policy. — Lord Salisbury undertook the premiership, but his following in the House of Com- mons was inadequate for the prosecution of business. In July, 1895, he dissolved Parliament and called for new elections. The Liberals conducted a vigorous campaign, a home rule plank was added to the Rosebery platform, and Whates, other bids for popular favor were introduced — all to no I-18- 452 The Growth of Democracy avail. The party was overwhelmingly defeated at the polls. They secured only 177 seats against 411 won by the Con- servatives. The Unionists could boast 71 members in the new House and were accorded representation in the Cabinet in the person of Joseph Chamberlain, secretary for the colonies. So supported, the government could afford to dis- pense with the Nationalist vote ; Arthur Balfour, Lord Salis- Balfour's Irish Reforms. Joseph Chamberlain bury's talented nephew, was appointed secretary for Ireland, and he undertook to "kill home rule with kindness." The Irish Land Act, intended to facilitate the purchase of farms by the peasantry, was forced through the Upper House against the bitter opposition of the Irish peers. The Local Government for Ireland Act established the county council form of self-government already in successful operation in England, Wales, and Scotland. The Irish members accepted this concession with grudging gratitude, declaring that it was not a satisfactory substitute for home rule. The Eastern Question in a New Phase 453 Their campaign pledges committed the Conservatives to a long list of social reforms, employers' liability for acci- dents, arbitration of labor disputes, old age pensions, free elementary education, etc., but once in power their reform ardor cooled. The inevitable inertia of a Parliament domi- nated by the land-owning and capitalist classes, the access of prosperity that gave employment to all at rising wages and temporarily silenced social discontent, preoccupation in unforeseen foreign and colonial difficulties, sufficiently account for the failure of Lord Salisbury's cabinet to re- deem its election pledges. Some halting measures of reform were nevertheless achieved. The Workmen's Com- Abortive pensation for Accident Act did not extend to seamen, and measures, contained a contracting-out clause that largely nullified its operation. The Coal Mines Regulation Act has proved in- adequate to guard miners against danger from fire and ex- plosions. Arbitration under the auspices of the Board of Trade was made permissible, but not compulsory. The Small Dwellings Acquisition Act was but the half-hearted beginning of an important movement toward putting the laborer in possession of his home. The Agricultural Land Rating Act reduced the government's revenue from land at the expense of urban tax-payers. The Eastern Question in a New Phase. — The year of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee found Great Britain at peace with all the world, but unforeseen events soon plunged the Min- istry into a series of foreign complications that taxed the utmost ability of its members and imposed a severe strain upon the resources of the Empire. The Armenian massacres (1 896-1897) shocked the moral whates, sense of Europe and attracted renewed attention to the Bk.i.ch. in weakness and brutality of Turkish rule. The Armenians cried out for deliverance from political and religious op- pression, but the European powers, notably Germany and Russia, were jealous of British influence in the East, and England could not act alone. A concert of the Powers was formed in the hope of compelling the Sultan to maintain 454 The Growth of Democracy order and protect his Christian subjects, but the govern- ments concerned were unable to agree upon a plan of coercion. Their evident impotence encouraged the Turks to defiance, and the massacres were renewed. The disorders Whates, spread to Crete, where Moslems and Christians were soon Bk. i,ch. IV. en g a g ec i j n a life-and-death struggle. This transference of the Eastern Question to the Mediterranean roused intense indignation in England, but diplomatic considerations for- bade Lord Salisbury to intervene. The Greek government was less cautious. Impelled by the ardent enthusiasm of the populace for the Cretan cause, the king sent a flotilla under Prince George to Candia. The expulsion of the Turks and the annexation of the island to Greece might have been accomplished but for the jealous interference of the northern powers. After two years of diplomatic hag- gling Crete was accorded independence of Turkey and prac- tical autonomy, Prince George, in spite of Russian protests, being appointed governor. Peace and prosperity were thus restored to the island, and its Greek inhabitants were secured political and religious liberty. The Armenians, on the contrary, were abandoned to the Turk. Thousands of men, women, and children fell prey to the lawless cruelty of the Kurds ; thousands more migrated to America. Salisbury's policy of non-intervention was bitterly criticised by the Liberal minority both in the House and out. Protests were raised even in Conservative ranks on the ground that his conduct of Eastern affairs had been weak and vacillating. The situation was full of difficulties, however, and a more vigorous policy might have involved Great Britain in a European war. Complications in the Far East. — England's lucrative trade relations with China were menaced by the Boxer rising Whates, (1900-1902). The European legations in Pekin were at- Bk. in, tacked, and, to effect their rescue, the allied forces of Eng- ch. IV, V. j anc j^ Germany, and the United States took possession of the city. The partition of the Chinese Empire might have followed but for the stand taken by England and the The Conquest of the Soudan 455 United States. Neither power desired any portion of Chi- The " Open nese territory, but both urged the "open door," or free- Door" to dom of trade, with all parts of the Empire. As a result t . of this policy, the empress dowager was induced to open all important ports to foreign trade, to grant extensive railway and mining concessions, and to admit European steamers to the river traffic. The Conquest of the Soudan. — The battle of Adowa (1896) in which an Italian army met with overwhelming defeat at the hands of Menelik, king of Abyssinia, reopened the question of the recovery of the Soudan to Egypt. Lord Cromer, Whates, the English governor-general, was persuaded that the security Bk - IV - of the lower Nile was menaced by the growing strength ' ' ' of the Khalifa and the fanaticism of his Dervish troops. Against the strenuous protests of the Opposition and with- out full recognition on the part of the Conservatives of its ultimate designs, the government undertook the conquest of the Soudan. In June, 1896, Sir Herbert Kitchener set out on his victorious march up the Nile. Dongola was reached in September and Abdullah's army put to rout. The de- fence of Lower Egypt was thus secured, but the advance, in spite of disclaimers on the part of Lord Salisbury, was steadily prosecuted. The extension of the railroad to Atbara brought the Anglo-Egyptian army within striking reach of Omdurman and Khartoum. The desert men fought with fanatic courage, but disciplined troops and Maxim guns gave Kitchener an easy victory. Omdurman was taken, and thus after thirteen years was Gordon avenged. This brilliant success brought England to the verge of war with France. In the name of the Khedive, the government France laid claim to the valley of the Nile and all its branches, but withdraws as Kitchener's gunboats pushed up the White Nile, they came upon a French outpost. Marchand, " an emissary of civilization," had forced his way through from Nigeria and was in quiet occupation of Fashoda. Lord Salisbury's vigo- rous protest induced the French Cabinet to withdraw the expedition, and their untenable claim to the upper Nile valley was abandoned. 456 The Growth of Democracy Whates, Bk.VI. Jameson's Raid, 1896. In Egypt as in India, the English occupation has been justified by good government. The oppressive rule of Turk and Dervish has been supplanted by an administration bent on developing the resources of the country. By compara- tively moderate taxation, Lord Cromer has succeeded in constructing roads and schools, railways and irrigation canals, that have proven of enormous benefit to the peasant popu- lation. The Boer War. — The discovery of gold in the Rand and the consequent investment of English capital in the Trans- vaal brought the question of the status of that country again to the front. The Dutch government treated the English residents as foreigners, denied them political privileges, and imposed a heavy tribute on the output of the mines. Cham- berlain, as secretary for the colonies, undertook to put an end to this situation by reasserting Britain's suzerainty over the republic. Negotiations were rendered difficult by the impatience of the Uitlanders. A conspiracy was formed by the mining interests, represented by Cecil Rhodes and Alfred Beit, to unseat the Boer government through an Uitlander insurrection. Jameson's attack on Johannesburg failed and the English authorities washed their hands of the affair, but the natural distrust engendered among the Boers prejudiced the question of the franchise. Chamberlain proved an untactful diplomatist, and acted throughout on the assump- tion that the Boers would yield to coercion without appeal to arms. In September, 1899, President Kruger submitted the Volksraad's ultimatum, the franchise to Uitlanders who could prove five years' continuous residence and ten seats in the Volksraad accorded to the Rand, on condition that there should be no farther interference in the affairs of the Trans- vaal and that the question of suzerainty be submitted to arbitration. The rejection of these terms was answered by the declaration of war. In the melancholy conflict that ensued, the resources of the British Empire were pitted against the Boer Republic. Troops to the number of three hundred and fifty-seven thousand were sent to South Africa Endorsement of tJic War 457 to conquer the territory defended by seventy-five thousand men. The cost ' in money and in human life was twice that of the Crimean War, and the revelations of incapacity and maladministration were no less humiliating. Englishmen found a solace to wounded imperial pride in the outburst of enthusiastic loyalty on the part of the colonies. Canada, Australia, and New Zealand sent volunteer troops to South Africa to aid the mother-country in her extremity. The death of Queen Victoria and the accession of Edward VII, Edward VII took place at the darkest period of the war. 1901. The king was determined that peace should be declared before the coronation ceremony, but the negotiations failed. Endorsement of the War. — Criticisms of the govern- ment's policy grew so insistent that, in 1901, Salisbury dis- solved Parliament and appealed to the country for a judgment. The returns were highly encouraging. The Conservatives carried 334 seats and the Unionists 68. The Opposition forces secured but 268 seats, 82 of which belonged to the Nationalists. The Liberal party was divided between dis- approval of the war and desire to stand by England in her heavy task ; but the Irish party was hampered by no such scruples. They made the cause of the Boers their own, and under the vigorous leadership of John Redmond were able once more to rally their full fighting strength in the House of Commons. Reassured as to parliamentary support, the Ministry forced the South African War to a finish. Lord Kitchener was sent to direct the campaign, and his remorseless methods soon reduced the Boer commanders to mere guerilla warfare. Non-combatants were concentrated in refugee camps, and prisoners of war to the number of forty-two thousand were transported to Ceylon, St. Helena, and Jamaica ; but yet the Boer leaders would not acknowledge that their cause was lost. Salisbury insisted on unconditional surrender, while 1 The South African War cost ^206,224,000. Twenty-two thousand Brit- ish officers god men were killed, seventy-five thousand invalided were sent home, 458 The Growth of Democracy Terms of Peace. Whates," Bk. VII. the representatives of the Transvaal would accept British suzerainty only in case the government should agree to repatriate the exiled Boers and restore the confiscated lands, make full compensation for property destroyed by British troops, impose no reprisals on their allies in Cape Colony, and grant to the Transvaal and the Orange Free State local autonomy comparable to that accorded to Canada and the Australian colonies. These terms Lord Salisbury's ministry was forced to grant in order to bring the war to a close. The House of Commons voted a generous loan in aid of the widows and orphans and for the rehabilitation of the devastated farms of the Velt. Unrestricted self-government, however, the Conservative cabinet could not be induced to approve, believing that the interests of British residents could not be intrusted to a legislature in which the majority would inevitably be Dutchmen. In response to the demand for hands to work the mines of the Rand, the government arranged a labor contract under which Chinese coolies were admitted to the Transvaal. An Imperial Customs Union Proposed. — The extraordi- nary war expenditure necessitated increased taxation. The income tax was raised from eight pence to one shilling, to fourteen pence, and again to fifteen pence in the pound. An import duty of a halfpenny per pound was laid on sugar, and an export duty of a shilling per ton on coal. Even a bread tax was proposed in the shape of a duty on imported grain and flour. This suggestion was welcomed by the agricul- tural interests ; but, though it involved only a slight increase of price, the impost was strenuously denounced in manufac- turing centres, and the government was obliged to abandon the project. Chamberlain, as colonial secretary, then proposed a system of preferential tariffs between Great Britain and her colonies, with a view to " securing as large a share as possible of the mutual trade of the United Kingdom and the colonies for British producers and manufactures, whether located in the colonies or in the United Kingdom." The scheme involved The Conservatives lose Control 459 a reciprocity agreement with each of the self-governing colonies under which import duties were to be lowered or removed in respect of British-made goods. A compensat- ing advantage was promised in the way of preferential treat- ment of colonial products at all British ports. Canada, Australia, and New Zealand adopted measures looking toward such a customs union ; but the House of Commons could not be induced to impose discriminating duties on foreign imports, since such protection was protested by both the manufacturing and the commercial interests of England. The Land Purchase Act. — Substantial justice was at last accorded to the Irish peasantry in the Land Purchase Act of 1903. The imperial exchequer was pledged to furnish advances of money to peasant purchasers to the amount of ^£100,000,000. The sums so borrowed are to be refunded by means of an annual interest charge of 3^ per cent. By this arrangement a farmer who keeps up his payments is assured clear title to his land at the end of sixty-eight years. An inducement to sell is offered to the Irish landlord in the shape of a money bonus amounting to from 5 percent to 15 per cent on the purchase price. It was estimated that the resulting charge of some ^12,000,000 on the exchequer would be fully offset by the reduction in the cost of maintain- ing land courts and police force, made possible by the re- moval of the agrarian grievances of Ireland. This measure was cordially endorsed by the National League and went far to propitiate the Nationalist party. The Conservatives lose Control. — Assured of its majority in the House of Commons and backed by a Tory House of Lords, the Conservative party carried through a measure extending grants in aid of public education to the voluntary schools hitherto maintained in part and controlled in full by the churches. Since the great majority of such schools were, in England of the Anglican, and in Ireland of the Roman Catholic faith, the law was bitterly opposed, not only by Liberals and Radicals, but by all Dissenters. School rates for the support of denominational religious instruction Dunraven, The Outlook in Ire/and. Education Act, 1902. 460 The Growth of Democracy Balfour's Cabinet. Liberal Victory, 1906. were protested as unjust and illegal. Members of the Pas- sive Resistance League refused to pay the tax, and when prosecuted went cheerfully to jail as martyrs to a just cause. The long and bitter controversy waged over the Education Act absorbed the attention of the Ministry at the expense of other legislation deemed far more important by Liberal Unionists, and this contingent of Lord Salisbury's support grew lukewarm and unreliable. Lord Salisbury himself re- signed the premiership in July, 1902. He was an old man and weary of the heavy responsibility. Disheartened by the failure of his protective policy, Chamberlain withdrew from the Colonial Office in the year following. Balfour was appointed prime minister. His great ability in parliamentary debate and his skill in the administration of Ireland had indicated his fitness for this high office, but he made an ineffective party leader. His cabinet was composed of friends and relatives, unprogressive men, and notably lack- ing in statesmanship. Would-be reformers, such men as Win- ston Churchill, dropped away one by one, and by-elections went against the Conservatives. Their enormous majority dwindled until Balfour was constrained to resign, and the king asked Campbell-Bannerman to reorganize the government. In the elections of January, 1906, the Liberals secured 375 seats and the Conservatives and Unionists combined but 158. The Nationalists carried an additional Irish district, so that John Redmond could count on a stanch following of 83 members ; but the Labour party scored the most brilliant victory. Their leader, Keir Hardie, rallied 53 votes, of which some 23 were avowedly Socialist. The effect of the advent of this strong body of men pledged to Radical reforms marks as great a change in the character of the House of Commons as that brought about by the Reform Act of 1832. Both Nationalists and Labour men indicate their independence of the party in power by sitting on the Opposition side of the House. They vote with the Liberals only so far as they find themselves in accord with the ministerial policy. Campbell- Bannerman, dreading their defection, undertook to conciliate Home Rule Measures 461 these factious adherents by appointing John Burns, the ablest member of the Labour party, president of the Local Govern- ment Board, and James Bryce, the consistent friend of home rule, chief secretary for Ireland. Backed by this rather unwieldy majority, the Campbell- Campbell- Bannerman Ministry set out to fulfil its extensive reform pro- Banner- gramme. The demands of the Labour party have been met ™nciiiatorv in a series of important measures. The Trade Union Dis- policy, putes Act declares the accumulated funds of a labour union not liable to be drawn upon to meet penalties imposed by the courts upon its officers. The Workmen's Compensation Act was extended to include seamen and domestic servants. The Eight Hours' Day for Miners Bill was espoused by the Ministry, but, because of differences of opinion in the trades concerned, was referred to a royal commission of inquiry. An act empowering school boards to feed needy scholars passed both Houses, though an amendment excepting Scot- land was achieved by a Scotch peer. Other socialistic prop- ositions, such as old age pensions, systematic relief of the unemployed, compulsory land purchase, the nationalization of railroads, and the furtherance of municipal ownership, have been urged on the attention of the Ministry, but have not as yet been incorporated in the Liberal programme. Home Rule Measures. — In August, 1906, Winston Churchill, under-secretary for the colonies, brought forward and carried by a large majority a bill conceding to the Transvaal full representative government. Political suffrage is accorded to Responsible every man of European descent who has resided six months in the country. Of the sixty- nine members of the legislative assembly, thirty-two represent the Rand, an arrangement intended to give the balance of power to the English pop- ulation. Either Dutch or English may be used in official business, but Dutch is the language of the public schools. The importation of Chinese laborers is forbidden. The re- cent elections turned, however, not on race antagonism, but on the question whether the people or the mining companies should control the Transvaal. The English Nationalists and Government for South Africa. The Growth of Democracy Transvaal Elections, 1907. Irish Council Bill, 1907. Abolition or Reorganiza- tion of the House of Lords ? the Dutch Het Volk united in resistance to the selfish policy of the mining syndicates. The result was a signal victory for the people. General Botha, the first premier of the new colony, declares that " British supremacy will be safer in the hands of the Boers than in those of cosmopolitan capitalists." The persistent demand for home rule for Ireland has been recognized in the proposal for a central Irish Council, in part elected and in part appointed by the crown, which is to be responsible for the administration of such purely Irish affairs as do not bring in question imperial interests. The scheme has not found favor with the Irish people, who cling to their purpose of securing unqualified home rule. The Education Bill of 1906. — Augustine Birrell, president of the national Board of Education, was responsible for a measure intended to supersede the Education Act of 1902. It proposed to withdraw rate aid from church schools and to provide no denominational instruction at public cost, no religious test was to be applied to teachers, and no child should be required to attend such religious instruction as might be voluntarily provided. The bill passed the House of Commons by a majority of 192, but it was defeated in the Upper House by wholesale amendments in the interest of denominational instruction. This defiance of the popular will definitely expressed in a recent election has raised anew the question whether to "end or mend" the House of Lords. With a body of six hundred members, nine-tenths of whom vote Conservative, it is quite impracticable to swamp a majority by the creation of new peers. Various propositions have been brought forward, such as to withhold the writ of summons from habitual absen- tees, to raise the quorum to a fair proportion, or to reduce the number of hereditary peers and substitute a considerable number of elected peers, who shall sit for life as do the Scotch and Irish peers and the law lords and bishops. The Labour party brought in a proposition to abolish the Upper House, but their bill was not supported by the Min- istry. Campbell-Bannerman's resolution looking toward Important Events 463 the curtailment of its powers secured a majority of 285 in the House of Commons, but the peers cannot be expected to cooperate in this movement. Lord Newton has sub- mitted to the Upper House a plan limiting its membership to three classes of peers — those who have rendered dis- tinguished public service, appointees of the crown, and representatives elected by the whole peerage. A more radical measure is not likely to be adopted. Most English- men regard the House of Lords as an integral part of the British Constitution and an important make-weight against hasty and ill-considered action by the more popular House. It is proposed that in case of hopeless disagreement be- tween the two Houses, the question in dispute be submitted to direct vote of the people, the ultimate authority in a con- stitutional government. Important Events George III, 1760-1820. Peace of Amiens, 1802. Renewal of war with France, 1803. Battle of Trafalgar, 1805. The Orders in Council, 1807. The Peninsular War, 1808-1814. The American War, 1812-1814. The Congress of Vienna, 1815. The Manchester Massacre, 1819. George IV, 1820-1830. Catholic Emancipation, 1829. William IV, 1830-1837. Electoral reform, 1832. Abolition of slavery in the colonies, 1833. Factory Act for protection of children, 1833. The new Poor Law, 1834. Municipal reform, 1835. 464 The Growth of Democracy Victoria, 1 837-1901. Repeal of the Corn Laws. 1846. The Chartist demonstration, 1848. The Crimean War, 1 854-1856. Electoral reform, 1867. Disestablishment of the Irish Church, 1869. Reform of the Irish land laws, 1870. Elementary education, 1870. The Berlin Congress, 1878. The Irish Land Act, 1881. Electoral reform, 1884 and 1885. Irish Land Purchase Act, 1885. Scotch Crofters Act, 1886. Small Agricultural Holdings Act, 1890. Failure of the Home Rule Bills, 1886 and 1894. The Queen's Jubilees, 1887, 1897. Local Government for Ireland Act, 1898. The Boer War, 1 898-1 902. Edward VII, 1901-. Education Act, 1902. Irish Land Purchase Act, 1903. Agricultural Holdings Act, 1906. Representative Government for the Transvaal, 1906. 5=2 ^ 1-1 CO 3- s •! -] a, S B .EQ S — -o S °co g ON 0*3 466 Chief Contemporaries w 55 -HSS8 « 8 g .§ a Am o ??Uh1 pl. m Q e> m 5 5 -d S g * o & £ Ai o i-i ~ „ ,_r 1 £S| I 8 III g < £ £ £ o « U £ a •3 cd ft »3 00 & £ A e» ^2 ^ 5 M _ "J 1 <3\ 13 -J "O ^ " fj >">;-> 4J u a .2" -s 5 Georg Willia Victor Edwai rig. 5Z1 OS CHAPTER XV THE INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION Books for Consultation Special References Toynbee, Industrial Revolution. Ward, Reign of Queen Victoria. Taylor, Modern Factory System. Smiles, Life of George Stephenson. Muirhead, Life of James Watt. Smiles, Life of Bolton and Watt. Warwick, Life of Joseph Arch. Charles Booth, Life and I^abor of the People. General Booth, Ln Darkest England. Bowley, A. L., National Progress since 1882. Illustrative Readings Bronte, Shirley. Kingsley, Alton Locke. Disraeli, Sybil. Besant, The Children of Gibeon ; All Sorts and Conditions of Men. Ward, Marcclla. Carlyle, Sartor Resartus. Ruskin, Unto This Last. Domestic Manufacturer. — The first half of the eighteenth century was a period of marked prosperity for the working- class population of England. The arable land was still for the most part tilled by peasants in small holdings. Under the influence of the bounty on exports (1689), the price of grain was such as to insure a steady profit to the producer. The farmer's income was further enhanced by certain by- industries. The exclusive policy of the gilds had driven cloth manufacturers who were not of the favored companies 467 468 The Industrial Revolution Defoe, Tour through Great Britain. Vol. I, Letter I, 92-94. Vol. Ill, Letter I, 99-102, 116-121. Traill, V, 305-310. Cunning- ham, pp. 219, 220. Traill, V, 468-474. Traill, VI, 69-74. into the rural districts, and the woollen industry was largely transferred from the city to the farm. Carding, spinning, weaving, and dyeing were carried on with good success in thousands of cottage homes. The homespun broadcloths and serges found a ready market in the neighboring towns and brought in a welcome addition to the yeoman's income. Introduction of Textile Machinery. — Until 1 700, the im- plements employed in cloth manufacture were nearly as simple as those of India. The distaff and spindle had been displaced by the spinning-wheel in the fifteenth century, but the loom contained as yet no essential improvement on that used by the Anglo-Saxons. In 1738 one John Kay in- vented the fly-shuttle, which enabled one man to tend the loom that had heretofore required two. At the same time, the productive power was doubled. The fly-shuttle came rapidly into general use, and, since the efficiency of the weaver was quadrupled, the looms soon outstripped the spinning-wheels. It was difficult to provide yarn for all the weavers. In 1767 Hargreaves stumbled upon an inven- tion that restored proportion. Upsetting a spinning-wheel and observing it still moving, he caught the idea of an auto- matic arrangement of several spindles set in motion by one wheel. The spinning-jenny, as his machine was called, carried at first eight threads, then sixteen, twenty, one hun- dred and twenty, etc. At about the same time, Richard Arkwright secured a patent for a spinning-machine (the throstle) constructed on a different principle and spinning a harder, firmer thread than the jenny. The best features of the two machines were combined in the mule-jenny, pat- ented by Samuel Crompton in 1779. The new spinner has been improved till it now carries two thousand spindles and requires so little attention that the machines can be tended by children. These inventions gave a marvellous im- pulse to textile industry. The new machinery was used to great advantage in making up not only silk, wool, and flax, but the far more difficult fibre cotton. The manufacture of cotton had been regarded as impracticable in England, and Introduction of Textile Machinery 469 the importation of cotton cloth from the East was prohibited lest it should come into injurious competition with the native woollen goods. But Hargreaves's jenny spun a fine, strong thread that could be woven into the best cambric. Business enterprise caught at this new opportunity. Mills were built and machinery perfected, vast quantities of raw material ' were imported, and cotton cloth became one of the Arkwright's Spinning Machine of 1769 From the original specification drawing. — Ure, Cotton Manufacture principal products of English industry. The zealous manu- facturers soon cast aside hand power as quite too slow for their purpose. Horse power and water power were utilized in turn. Einally Watt's steam engine furnished a motor, at Watt's once the most convenient and the most efficient. Cart- steam wright's 2 power- loom was invented in 1787 and was imme- 1 The invention of the cotton-gin (1793) greatly reduced the cost of preparing the raw material. - These inventors were, with few exceptions, men of humble birth. Har- greaves was an ignorant weaver; Crompton, a spinner and a farmer's son ; Arkwright was a poor wig-maker ; Cartwright alone of the great inventors was a gentleman born. 470 The Industrial Revolution Cunning- ham, Cunning- ham, pp. 225, 226. In the manufac- held their own. Traill, V, 604. Traill, V, 591-598. Traill, VI, 589-598. diately adopted in the cotton factories, ture of silk and wool the hand-looms however, for fifty years to come. The modern factory was the direct result of these inven- tions. The several processes, carding, spinning, weaving etc., could not long be carried on in scattered cottages, but must be brought together under one roof in order that the machinery might be run by the central motive power, whether steam or water. Great mills were built and the operatives were obliged to live in the immediate vicinity. Men gladly availed themselves of this new opportunity to earn a living. Evicted peasants from Ireland, English farm laborers deprived of work by improved methods of tillage, flocked to the factory centres in search of employment. People began to migrate from the country to the city, from the agricultural regions of the south to Yorkshire and Lanca- shire, where water power was abundant and stores of coal furnished an inexhaustible fuel. Great manufacturing towns grew up in districts sparsely inhabited hitherto, and the agri- cultural England of the Middle Ages was transformed into the manufacturing and mercantile England of the present day. The urban population increased from eighteen and a half per cent of the total in 181 1 to forty per cent in 1861 and thirty-one per cent in 1901. Textile inventions gave Great Britain an immense supe- riority over her rivals in the cloth industry, and that advan- tage was jealously guarded. Severe penalties were imposed on the exportation of machinery. Even skilled operatives were forbidden to leave the kingdom, lest they carry abroad the knowledge of the new models and betray the secrets of the trade. For fifty years {circa 17 75-1 825) English manu- facturers enjoyed a practical monopoly of European and American markets and amassed wealth apace. Antagonism between Capital and Labor. — With the intro- duction of costly machinery, capital acquired an entirely new significance in industry. Labor had heretofore been the all-important element in production, but from the time Antagonism between Capital and Labor 471 that money was required to build and furnish a mill, capital has played the principal part. The man who can bring to bear upon the new industrial opportunity not only a consid- erable fortune, but business ability and organizing genius, is easily master of the situation. 1 He directs the forces at his disposal as dexterously as a general manoeuvres his regiments and artillery. The laborer, on the other hand, has de- Sir Richard Arkwright scended to the position of a hired dependant. Working on materials and with machinery that belong to another, retain- ing no share in the product beyond his wages, he has no per- sonal concern for his work. The interests of employer and employed being diverse, have come frequently into direct conflict. Misunderstanding and distrust have grown into 1 Early " captains of industry " were Sir Richard Arkwright, Sir Robert Peel, Robert Owen. 472 The Industrial Revolution Cunning- ham, pp. 226-230. Cunning- ham, pp. 214-219. a well-defined hostility. With the factory organization of industry began the modern antagonism between capital and labor. Displacement of Craftsmen. — The condition of the oper- atives in the first five decades of the factory system went far to justify this hostility. Machinery had rendered muscle and skill unnecessary. In the factory operative, who had but to overlook a self-impelled mechanism, the essential quality was patient, unremitting attention. Endurance was more important than strength or ingenuity. The craftsman suddenly found his labor a drug in the market, for unskilled laborers, women, the very children, could do the work re- quired as well as he. Women and children 1 were even preferred because they were more dexterous and docile. The effect was to reverse the relations of the home. Wives and children became the bread-winners, while grown men vainly sought employment or degenerated into contented idleness. It is true that new industries were being developed by the requirements of the factory. Machinery was to be constructed and mills built. Coal and iron must be sup- plied in increasing quantities. Railroads and steamship lines were needed to carry the products of English looms to distant markets. The factory era witnessed a marvel- lous expansion in all departments of industry j but the new opportunities fell to the succeeding generation. The spinners and weavers thrown out of work by inventions could not immediately secure employment as miners and machin- ists. The enlarged demand for labor might ultimately ab- sorb the whole labor supply, but it could not avert temporary distress. Deterioration of the Laborer. — Quite as serious as the displacement of skilled laborers was the effect of the inferior conditions of employment on the operatives. Machinery knows no fatigue. In order to get as much as possible out 1 Of the 1,084,631 operatives in the textile factories (1890), 410,608 were women, 86,499 were children. Deterioration of the Laborer 473 of his investment, the master .was tempted to work his em- ployees as long and hard as was humanly possible. Hours varied with the policy of the individual employer, but a fifteen-hour day was not thought excessive, and cases are recorded where operatives were regularly kept at work for eighteen hours out of the twenty-four. Motives of economy dictated that the mills should be cheaply built. Poor light, bad ventilation, defective drainage, were the rule. Conditions outside the factory were even more deplorable. People crowded into the factory towns far in excess of house accommodations. Huddled together in attics and cellars 1 and hastily built tenements, they were forced to live under conditions that bred disease. The physique of the factory operative rapidly degenerated, while the death rate, markedly higher in manufacturing towns than elsewhere, told a sad tale of misery. In the first stages of this transformation, the suffering of the laboring classes was hardly noted. All energies were engaged in the accumulation of wealth, all attention was fixed upon the marvellous inventions by which production was multiplied a hundred-fold. Enormous fortunes were amassed in manufactures and trade, and the national wealth aug- mented by leaps and bounds. 2 The increase of population, then regarded as a sure index of prosperity, was not less marked. The population of Great Britain has been quin- 1 In Manchester, one-tenth of the population lived in cellars. Vealth of G reat Britain in Million Pounds. 1774 £l,IOO 1800 I.740 1812 2,190 1822 2,600 1833 3.7SO 1840 4,100 1865 6,113 1875 8,584 1885 10,037 1903 15,000 Popi llation. 1780 8,080,000 1801 15,717,287 1811 17,926,580 1821 20,893,684 1831 26,028,584 1841 26,709,456 1851 27.368,736 1861 28,974,362 1871 31,513,442 1881 35,241,482 1891 37.796,390 1901 41,605,323 474 The Industrial Revolution Traill, V, 601-604. The Luddites. Cunning- tupled and her wealth multiplied by ten since the introduc- tion of textile machinery. Revolt of Labor. — The laborers, however, were not con- soled by the ultimate advantages of the use of machinery. They saw plainly enough that the immediate results were disastrous, and blindly thought to set the matter right by destroying their dangerous rival. Kay's fly-shuttle was so resented that the inventor was forced to flee the kingdom. Hargreaves's house was broken open and his spinning-jenny smashed in pieces. Arkwright's mill was wrecked by an infuriated mob, and Peel's factory at Altham suffered a simi- lar fate. Serious riots broke out among the silk-weavers at Spitalfields and Blackburn. In 181 1, a formidable insurrec- tion was set on foot by the hosiers of Nottingham. Form- ing themselves into secret associations, the mutinous laborers attacked the houses of the manufacturers and destroyed the dreaded knitting-frames. Such outbreaks of popular feeling were summarily suppressed as offences against public tran- quillity. The strike was a more rational method of resistance. ham, pp. 105, This, however, involved concerted action on the part of the laborers, and was hardly less incriminating than open vio- lence. Coalition Act, 1800. The manufacturers readily secured assistance from Parliament. The Coalition Act of 1800 reasserted the old- time prohibition against " covin and conspiracy." Any persons combining to advance the rate of wages, reduce the hours of labor, or in any manner coerce the masters of a trade, were condemned to jail and hard labor. Repressive legislation was, however, found to be of no avail. Secret as- sociations existed wherever laborers were congregated in the factory towns, and their methods were the more desperate because illegal. The policy of repression was, neverthe- less, maintained for twenty-five years. In 1824, Parliament appointed a commission to inquire into the effect of the Coalition Act. It was reported that " those laws had not only not been efficient to prevent combinations either of masters or workmen, but, on the contrary, had, in the opin- Revolt of Labor 475 ion of many of both parties, a tendency to produce ^mutual irritation and distrust, and to give a violent character to he combinations, and to render them highly dangerous : to the peace of the community." The statute was therefore re- pealed. A sudden and marked increase m the number of R«P^ Likes induced this employers' Parliament to impose certain Act , l824 . r es,raints on trade societies in the following year, .tat £»• lute prohibitions never again attempted In the Trades Union \cts of 1S71 and 1876, such associations were given ^1 For the pas', fifty years the nnions have had B^UV, a marked influence. They have accomplished a con- 4o6 6 . Iferable advance of wages/ and they have worked to 5,3,5,6.573. bring about a legal limitation on the hours of labor and a 574- prohibition of siich conditions in mine and workshop as militate against the well-being of the laborer. Factory Legislation.- The trades unions have not been alle in Iheir'endeavorto secure for the operates igher wa»es, shorter hours, and better conditions of labor. Throughout the nineteenth century the cause of the wort i„ g classes has been championed by P^*"* 1 ^ statesmen, who have thought it w.ser to protect the laborer tlst degrading conditions than to build hospitals and hnshouses B for th°e victims of the new order Fust to pro test against the injurious efforts of factory labor was Sir Robert Peel, who as prime minister called attenrionto the misery of the so-called apprentices - the children sent from the parish poor houses to be bound out to the maun- fTcturer, 1 The Act of ,8o 2 applied only to apprent.ed ^ children working in cotton and woollen mills. »"¥»£ that they should have suitable lodging, clothing, and in true ton • their working day was limited to twelve hours, between six in the morning and nine at night ; and the factory where they were employed was .0 be "lime-washed twice a year, and duly ventilated." The law was evaded by unscrupulous manufacturers, who 1 Giffen estimates the average rise of wages ^^5 -ofS at 7 ° % " From 1882 to 1902 the gain has been 15%, accordmg to Bowley. 476 The Industrial Revolution had no difficulty in hiring free children from their needy parents and guardians. Owen and Peel pressed for farther legislation that should protect these no less unfortunate victims of machinery. A series of abortive measures pre- pared the way for the searching investigation conducted by the Factory Commission of 1833. The report revealed a state of things that roused the country to horrified protest. Children of tender years were employed for long hours and upon tasks beyond their strength. Robbed of sleep and healthful recreation, these toiling little ones fell an easy prey to diseases and deformities incident to the nature of their work. Deprived of opportunity for education, sub- jected to demoralizing influences, they rapidly degenerated into weakness, brutality, vice. England stood aghast at the evident degradation of her working classes. A vigorous effort was made in the interests of industrial freedom to prevent remedial legislation ; but the economists were over- borne by the weight of evidence against the " let alone " policy, and the eager advocates of national aggrandizement were silenced. The Act of 1833 forbade the employment in factories of children under nine years. Children between nine and thirteen years of age might be employed but eight hours a day, while no person under twenty-one years, and no woman, might be employed at night. Subsequent legislation provided schooling for factory children on the " half-time " system, 1 and provided that women and children might not be employed at the mines underground. In 1847, after a battle royal between the champions of protection and the advocates of free contract, the Ten Hours Act was passed, reducing to ten the number of hours in the working day for women and children. This practically meant a ten-hour day for all factory employees, since the men could not profitably be kept at work after their nimble assistants were withdrawn. The factory legis- lation of the last few years has extended the blessings of protection to every factory and workshop where women 1 Children required to be in school on alternate days or half-days. Transportation 477 and children are employed. Safe and wholesome condi- tions of work are secured by minute requirements as to ventilation and drainage, and the guarding of machinery. Recent legislation renders the employer liable to damage in case of accident for which he can reasonably be held responsible. Municipalities have undertaken the condem- nation of unsanitary dwellings, and the building of model dwellings and tenements in the working-class quarters. Thus England has led the way, not only in the invention of machinery and in the production of goods for the world's markets, but in legislation designed to secure to the laborer fair living and working conditions. Transportation. — The marvellous industrial development Traill, V, of Great Britain has been greatly furthered by improvement 3 22 -3 20 - in the means of transportation. Much had been done for Forbes and trade in the eighteenth century by the bettering of post- our Water- roads and the building of canals, but the introduction of ways, Ch. steam as a motor was reserved to the present era. One vu > VIIL William Symington, a Scotch engineer, adapted Watt's in- vention to the turning of paddle-wheels, and patented a steamboat in 1801. His model, the Charlotte Dundas, made a trial trip on the Forth and Clyde Canal, but was abandoned as impractical. The Comet, the first passenger steamer built in Europe, was launched on the Clyde in 181 2, five years after Fulton's Clermont made her way up the Hudson. The first sea-going steamer sailed from Glas- Traill, vi, gow to Belfast in 18 18. The Great Western crossed the 392-404- Atlantic in 1838, and the Cunard line was established in 1840. The Peninsular and Oriental Company sent steamers to India in the same year. Steamships cost more than sailing-vessels, but they have many times the carrying capacity and are so much swifter and surer that they have well-nigh monopolized the great trade routes. Thus New York was brought within two weeks of Liver- pool, Calcutta within six weeks of London, and English goods were carried to these ports at half the former rates. 478 The Industrial Revolution The enterprise of English shipbuilders and merchants has secured the lion's share of the world's commerce. In 1892 more than half (56%) the carrying trade of civilized nations was in British vessels. The steam-engine was not successfully used in land trans- portation until 1825, when Stephenson's first locomotive, the Rocket, made her trial trip on the Stockton and Dar- Trent and Mersey Canal, in the Potteries lington Railway. The transcendent importance of this in- vention was not recognized until ten years later, and then a mania for railroad building set in. Every manufacturing centre was soon connected with its nearest port, while the Scotch Highlands and the Welsh mountains were brought within reach of the pleasure-seeking world. Great Britain now boasts a higher railway mileage, 1 in proportion to area, than any country on the globe. l There were 22,435 miles of railway in the British Isles in 1903. Two- thirds of this was in England. 48o The Industrial Revolution The advantages of the improved means of locomotion were soon apparent in the development of trade. Railway freight- age has increased fifty-fold in the past forty years. The self- supporting village community is not to be found in nineteenth- century England. All producers send their goods to the The Rocket From Smiles, Life of George Stefh general markets, from which they are supplied in turn with the commodities that they cannot produce so cheaply. The amount of travel has increased ten- fold. 1 The chance to see the world, limited to the wealthy few in the days of the stage- coach, is now within the reach of day laborers. By stage, a man travelled nine miles an hour at a cost of ten cents a 1 The average Englishman travelled thirteen miles in 1836, one hundred and fifty miles in 1886. Mining 48 1 mile. By train, he accomplishes forty miles an hour at one- fifth the cost. Mining. — Railways and steamships have meant an enor- mous increase in the demand for iron and coal. From the Traill, V, sixteenth century, iron had been smelted in Sussex and the ^ II ~S I 7- Forest of Dean, but the industry languished for lack of fuel. 1 The inventive genius of England was brought to bear upon this problem. Abraham Darby showed the smelters how Traill, v, to fire their furnaces with pit-coal, Watt's steam engine 459-468. was utilized to drive the machinery, and a hundred other inventions brought the modern rolling-mill to perfection. The subterranean riches of the midland counties were then speedily opened up. Wealth and population have gravitated to this new industrial opportunity, transforming South Wales and the " black country " into the richest and the ugliest districts in the United Kingdom. Great Britain now produces more than one-third the world's supply of coal and nearly one-fifth its iron. 2 This great success has not been achieved without some Traill, VI, loss. The conditions of mining, in the coal mines espe- 3 6 7-377- daily, must always be difficult and dangerous. During the period when more attention was given to profits than to Mines Act, human welfare, women and children were employed in the l843 * mines at tasks ruinous to health and morals. Parliamentary investigation brought facts to light that induced legislation prohibiting the employment of women and children below the surface. Later legislation has required safety lamps, ventilat- ing apparatus, and all reasonable precaution against danger, but human foresight cannot prevent frightful accidents. The Miners' Federation has fought successfully for a shorter working day and a " living wage." The great strike of 1893 was occasioned by a proposed reduction of 25% in 1 Production fell to 17,350 tons in 1740. 2 Production of coal in 1904 : Great Britain, 236,247,000 tons ; United States, 318,275,000 tons; all countries, 866,104,000 tons. Production of pig-iron, 1904: Great Britain, 8,699,000 tons; United States, 16,760,000 tons; all countries, 46,058,000 tons. 2 I 482 The Industrial Revolution Traill, V, 301-305. Traill, V, 452-459- the rate determined by the settlement of five years previous. Some three hundred thousand coal miners struck work in July, 1893, and held to their purpose until the mine-owners were ready to make concessions. The dispute was finally arbitrated under government auspices, and the men secured a restoration of the established rate. The eight-hour day is the rule in several mining districts, and the proposition for a legal limitation is likely soon to become law. Agricultural Revolution. — The development of manu- factures, mining, and commerce has been accompanied by a decline in agriculture. During the eighteenth century and the first half of the nineteenth, legislation had tended to foster the interests of the great landowners who con- trolled both Houses of Parliament, at the expense of the small proprietors and the community at large. The Corn Laws, vigorously maintained from 1689 to 1846, imposed heavy duties on imported grains, and gave the English pro- ducers practical monopoly of the home market. At the same time, a series of enclosure acts facilitated the transfer of the coveted privilege of land-ownership from the small holders to a few wealthy men. A movement toward enclosure, such as had transformed the face of Tudor England, characterized the Georgian period. This second great onslaught on peasant holdings was due, not to the demand for pasture land, but to improved methods of tillage. Scientific agricul- ture, eloquently advocated by such men as Arthur Young, had become the fashion among English landlords. Assidu- ous attention was given to stock-raising. Clover and rich grasses were introduced and better breeds of cattle. To the arable land, marl and other manures were applied, while methods of cultivation were carefully studied. The open field system, with its numerous proprietors and cum- bersome regulations, was generally abandoned. The land was redistributed in such fashion that each man who could justify his title received his share in a single plot which could be cultivated to much better advantage than the scattered holdings of the old-time tenure. The common Agricultural Revolution 483 land was usually appropriated by the landlord. These and other improvements so increased the productive power of the soil that wheat lands began to yield twenty and thirty bushels to the acre, four times the thirteenth-century average. The weight of sheep and cattle was raised in the same proportion. The progress of enclosure was accelerated by a new demand for land. Merchants, grown suddenly rich in the East India trade, and clothiers, who had amassed fortunes The nabobs in manufacture, were eager to buy country estates and to secure a place among the landed gentry. Under the spur of rising prices the zeal for enclosing overcame all obstacles. Between 1710 and 1760, 334,974 acres were enclosed, while the land so redistributed from 1760 to 1830 amounted Traill, VI, to nearly seven million acres. 1 The enclosure acts were 75- 8 3- framed by a Parliament made up of landowners who gave but slight consideration to the rights of tenants and free- holders. Unable to defend themselves against their power- ful neighbors, small proprietors yielded, not without protest, to unjust encroachment, or finding that they could not compete in the same market with the new cultivators, sold their little holdings and dropped to the rank of the farm laborer. Wheat was produced at less cost on the large estates, but England lost much in the process. Even Arthur Young Disappear- laments the disappearance of the freeholders. The stal- ance of the , , , , . . _ .. yeoman, wart yeomen who had been the main support of Cromwell and the Puritan Revolution were hardly to be found in England at the close of the eighteenth century. They had been driven from the land to make room for improved agriculture under the tenant-farmer. Here, too, invention played its part in furthering an in- dustrial transformation. The introduction of agricultural 1 In the second period, four thousand enclosure acts were passed affect- ing four thousand out of the ten thousand parishes in England. The trans- formation was most complete in the southern and eastern counties. In Cumberland and the West Riding of Yorkshire, in Scotland, Wales, and Ireland, the small holdings still persist. 4 8 4 The Industrial Revolution Cunning- ham, pp. 185-193. Cunning- ham, pp. 195-197- Traill, VI, 211-216. Traill, VI, 404-420. Traill, VI, 599-606. Cunning- ham, pp. 231-233. machinery gave the wealthy landowner an advantage in production comparable to that of the capitalist manufac- turer. Science, machinery, and the tendency to great estates combined to bring about the agricultural revolution. Decline of Agriculture. — The repeal of the Corn Law (1846) was carried through against the protest of the landed aristocracy, who dreaded the reduction in rents that must follow the fall in the price of grain. The disaster did not arrive so soon as anticipated. After the tariff was removed the English farmer had still the advantage of being near his customer, while his competitors in Russia, America, and Aus- tralia must send their products over-sea. With 1874, how- ever, a series of bad seasons set in, when corn rotted in the furrow and cattle perished of disease. At the same time, improved facilities for ocean carriage brought grain and refrigerated beef to the English markets at a fraction of former rates. This meant cheap and abundant food, but it rendered agriculture unprofitable on all but the richest lands. In the poorer districts, proprietors were obliged to reduce their rents by half. Even so, many farmers abandoned the attempt to make two ends meet, fields were converted into pasture, 1 and laborers were thrown out of employment. 2 It is not strange that to-day the agricultural interest clamors for the revival of protection. The Farm Laborers. — Work in the fields does not stand in such need of protective legislation as factory labor. The hours are long during the summer season, and the tasks often severe, but there is plenty of fresh air and wholesome exercise. Women and children at work in the fields suffer under no such physical disadvantages as the factory opera- tive, but the engrossing nature of the employment leaves little time for schooling or for home life. Exhaustive in- quiries have made evident that the ignorance and brutality 1 Three million acres were converted to pasture in the two decades from 1867 to 1887. 2 Number of farm laborers in England and Wales : 1871, 996,642; 1881. 890,174; 1891, 798,912. The Agricultural Union 485 of the rural population are in large part due to the condi- Report of tions of agricultural labor. Parliamen- Parliament has done something toward meeting this de- ^iJ si0 n™of mand. In 1867, a law was passed regulating the employment 1843 and of women and children in gangs. Every gang-master must l8 73- be licensed, no child under eight years may be hired, women are not allowed to go to the field in the same gangs with men, and the distance the laborers may be obliged to walk is limited. The Agricultural Children's Act, 1873, was repealed almost as soon as passed, but the requirement of school attendance to the age of thirteen insures a primary educa- tion to the children, and various efforts in the direction of sanitary dwellings have rendered living conditions more tolerable. The Agricultural Union. — The greatest obstacle to the advancement of the agricultural labor, viz. inadequate earn- ings, might not be so easily overcome. Able-bodied men were customarily paid seven, nine, and eleven shillings a week, a sum that left little opportunity for saving after living expenses were paid. Among men so scat- tered and so ignorant, cooperative effort was difficult, but a trade union of agricultural laborers was attempted. In 1872, Joseph Arch, a hedger of Warwickshire, set on Joseph foot a movement to demand shorter hours and better pay. Arcn - The farm laborers of Suffolk struck for higher wages in the summer of that year, and though they did not obtain all they asked, they succeeded in impressing the farmers with the wisdom of avoiding another such demonstration by timely concessions. The wages paid for field work are still lower than in any other employment, and the more ambitious men go to the towns in search of higher earnings. The rural population soon found champions among the Liberal leaders. The extension of the ,£10 householder suffrage to the rural districts (1884) gave the agricultural laborer his first opportunity to influence legislation. The additional vote (870,000) was twice that of the landlords 1892. 486 The Industrial Revolution and farmers combined. Joseph Arch was sent to the House of Commons, and strong pressure was brought to bear upon that body by the newly enfranchised. Sir Charles Dilke and Small Hold- Jesse Collings urged that every laborer be put in possession ings Act, Q f ] anc j enoU gh to provide his family with food. The Small Agricultural Holdings Act (1892) enabled laborers to pur- chase plots of land large enough for market gardening or small farming. The county councils were empowered to buy estates and divide them into small tracts for sale or rent and to loan capital at low rates of interest to enable men to build on their land. The law was revised in 1906 in the direction of affording more generous terms to would-be pur- chasers. The Campbell-Bannerman Ministry has offered a thousand-acre tract of crown land to actual cultivators in small allotments. If this policy is consistently pursued, England may once more become a country of peasant proprietors. Pauperism. — Any review of the social and industrial con- ditions of modern England would be incomplete without some notice of the growth of pauperism and the efforts made to check this menace to the nation's health. The industrial upheaval of the past hundred years has been attended by results both good and bad. An immense gain in material wealth has been achieved at the expense of the well-being of the laborers immediately concerned. Improved farming, no less than machinery, has deprived thousands of the means of self-support and driven them to seek aid at the hands of parish officers or private almsgivers. 1 From 1750 to 1820, the years in which the factory system was becoming estab- lished and enclosures were being made, the growth of pauperism was appalling. The poor-rate augmented till it 1 Poor-rate per head of population : — 1818 . . . 13.J. 4d. 1820 . . . I2J. 2d. 1830 ... gs. gd. ****** 1S90 . . 5 s. gd. 1750 2J. 2d. 1760 3*- 1770 3*. 6d. 1780 4s. 5* 1790 5 s - in/. 1800 8s. 5* 1810 IOS. 3d. Pauperism 487 reached the alarming proportions of one-fourth the national revenue, and the burden on the taxpayer was intolerable. The phenomenal increase in the number of paupers was due in part to unwise methods of relief, in part to the disturbing effects of the Napoleonic wars, in part to the mischievous corn laws that not infrequently raised the price of bread to famine rates ; but the main cause was the indus- trial change that rendered opportunity for employment un- certain and left laborers dependent on precarious wages. Parliament undertook to reduce poverty by the regulation of Poor Law of out-door relief, and the enforcement of the work-test for the l834< able-bodied. The burden of the poor-rate is now but one- third of what it was in 1834, and the number of paupers has been greatly reduced, but there is still the problem of the unemployed. In the winters of 1904 and 1905, London wit- nessed such monster demonstrations as had occurred in 1848 and in 1887, and the government could offer no solution. The unemployed problem is not peculiar to England, but the chronic difficulty has been aggravated there by general industrial depression. The cotton famines of 1863 and 1902, the loss of foreign markets consequent on American and German competition, burdensome taxation entailed by the Boer war and other minor causes have checked business enterprises along many lines and thrown thousands of men and women out of work. The number of bona fide laborers now unemployed is estimated at four per cent of the total industrial army. The figure seems insignificant, but the proportion has steadily increased since 1900, and one twenty-fifth of the would-be wage-earners is never a negligible quantity. Tramps infest the rural districts and in the towns pauperism * is everywhere on the increase. There is no single solution of the problem. Compara- tively few of the unemployed could work land to advantage even if put in full possession. The Salvation Army on its farm colonies is endeavoring to fit men for agriculture and l The sum annually expended in poor relief (^15,256,000) is greater than that spent for primary schools (^13,351,000). 488 The Industrial Revolution sends 30,000 emigrants to Canada each year. The Bureau of Emigration is assisting unemployed artisans to remove to Canada, South Africa, and other British colonies where there is dearth of laborers. The Liberal ministry may adopt John Burns's suggestion and undertake extensive gov- ernment works for the sake of furnishing employment to superfluous wage-earners. Mother England seems unable to provide for all her children and is fain to send them abroad in search of bread. INDEX Aberdeen, 431. Aborigines, 11. Acadia, settlement of, 278. Act, Agricultural Children's, 1873, 485; Agricultural Holdings, 443; Agricultural Land Rating, 453; Coalition, 1783, 405; 1800, 474; Coal Mines Regulation, 453; Conventicle, 335; Corporation, 334; Elementary Education, 435; Enclosure, 482 ; Factory, 426, 476; Five Mile, 336; Irish Land, 430, 444; Labourers' Dwellings, 443; Land Purchase, 447; Licensing, 1695,369; Local Government for Ireland, 447, 451; Navigation, 327, 356; Occasional Conformity, 326; Reform, 1832, 423, 424; Reform, 1867, 435; Reform, 1884, 444; Regulating, 408; Schism, 376; Septennial, 37S; Small Agricultural Holdings, 486; Small Dwellings Acquisition, 453 ; Stamp, 401; Ten Hours, 476; Test, 152, 256, 289; Test, 1673, 341, 349, 35°. 444', Trades Union, 475; Triennial, 309, 370, 378; Workmen's Compensation for Accident, 453. Act of, Amnesty, 233'j Attainder, 365; Habeas Corpus, 345, 410; Security, 374; Settlement, 364, 365, 370; Succession, 233; Su- premacy, 230, 233, 248, 279, 290; the Six Articles, 234, 237; Tol- eration, 329, 364; Uniformity, the, 248, 256, 334, 338; Union, 374, 4i4, 437- Addington, 415. /Ella and Cissa, 30. Africa, 405, 409, 441. Agincourt, battle of, 193. Agricola, 21. Agricultural Children's Act, 1873, 485- Agricultural Holdings Act, 443; Small, 486. Agricultural Land Rating Act, 453. Aix-la-Chapelle, treaty of, 393, 394. Alexandria, battle of, 412. Alfred, 40; work of, for govern- ment, 44, 45; for literature, 45- 47; for industry, 47. Ameiica, 269, 2S0, 327, 336-337; 37 1 . 392, 394, 39 8 ; alienation of colonies, 399, 402; review of colo- nial affairs, 390; right of taxa-% tion, 400; independence, 403; effect of Napoleonic wars, 417; War of 1 81 2, 417; Irish party in, 438. Amiens, peace of, 412, 414. Angles, 28. Anglo-Saxon civilization, 50-53 ; ag- riculture, 50; manufactures, 51; trade, 52 ; political organization, S3- Anne Boleyn, 225, 232, 233. Anne of Cleves, 235. Anne, Queen, 371, 376. Antigua, acquisition of, 295. Arch, Joseph, 485. Architecture, under Normans, 84; to death of Edward I, 145; in sixteenth century, 281. Argyle, Earl of, 348. Arkwright, Richard, 467, 471, 474- Armada, the, 260. Armenia, 453, 454. 489 490 Index Army, Folk-moot, ■$$; Alfred's, 41; William ll's, 76; progression of, 106; petition of right. 299; Crom- well's, 314; "New Model," 315, 318, 321; military rule, 326; counterpoised by navy, 327; cost, 328; in power, 328; disband- ment, 334; under Charles II, 339; Test Act, 341, 349; Irish army, 364, 412; use of bayonet, 366; reduction, 370; Hanoverians in army, 392; Highland regiment, 393; reorganized by Pitt, 395; against Napoleon, 412; volun- teers, 415; condition in Crimean War, 431; abclition of bought commissions, 440. Arthur, 30. Ashley. See Shaftesbury, 339, 342. Aske, Robert, 234. Assiento Grant, the, 375, 379, 382. Assingdun, battle of, 63. Assize of Clarendon, 98. Atbara, battle of, 455. Augustine in Britain, 33. Australia, 409, 459. Austrian Succession, war of, 392, 394, 395- Babington's plot, 259. Bacon, Lord, 295, 354. Bacon, Roger, 126, 284. Balfour, 452, 460. Balliol, John, 139. Bank of England, 369 n., 421. Bannockburn, battle of, 153. Baptists, 335. Barbadoes, acquisition of, 295. Barbaric invasions, 26 Barnet, battle of, 201. Barons, War, the, 126, 130; revolt of, 103 Beaconsfield. See Disraeli. Beaufort, Bishop, 194. Bechuanaland, 445. Becket, Thomas a, 97, 99, 101, 232 n. Bedford, dukes of, 194, 398. Beit, Alfred, 256. Berlin Decree, 415; Congress, 441. Bible, translated by Wiclif, 175; by Coverdale, 232; King James', 3°3 n - Bill of Attainder, 235 n., 308. Bill of Rights, 329, 364. Bishops, Trial of the Seven, 351. Black Death, the, 159, 180, 204. "Black Hole" of Calcutta, 396. Black Prince, the, 160. Blake, Admiral, 327, 328. ^^^. Blenheim, battle of, 372. Bloody Assizes, 348. Board of Control, 408. Boers, 445. Boer War, 456. Bolingbroke, Henry, Duke of Here- ford, 166. Bolingbroke, Lord, 376, 378, 382; his Patriot King, 397. Bonner, Bishop, 238. Bosworth Field, battle of, 203, 213. Botha, General, 462. Bothwell, Earl of, 252. Bouvines, battle of, 121. Boxer Rising, 454. Boyne, battle of the, 365. Breda, Declaration of, 330, ^^'t peace of, 337, 356. Bretigny, peace of, 160. Bretwalda, 37. Bright, John, 434, 447. British Columbia, 487. British Isles, the, area and popula- tion of, 1 ; relation to Europe of, 2 ; commercial advantages of, 3 ; navi- gable rivers of, 3; climate of, 4; industrial wealth of, 4; physical endowment of, 4; political divi- sions of, 5; relation of industrial opportunity to population in, 10; Aborigines of, 11, 12; first inter- course between the continent and, 16; Roman conquest of, 19; ex- tent of the Roman province in, 21 ; character of Roman rule in, 22; Barbarian invasions of, 26; Saxon conquest of, and its effects, 28-32. See England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales. Bruce, Robert, 144, 153. Inde 49 1 Buckingham, George Villiers, Duke of, 291, 295, 296, 299. Bulgaria, 441, 442. Bunyan, 330, 354. Burgh, Hubert de, 123, 127, 129. Burke, Edmund, 385, 401, 404, 408, 409; his Reflections on the French Revolution, 410. Burleigh, William Cecil, Lord, 248, 256. Burns, 422. Burns, John, 449. Bute, Lord, 398, 399. Butler, Bishop, 386. Butt, Isaac, 443. Byron, 422. Cabal, the, 339, 342. Cabots, the, 276, 27S. Cade, Jack, 198. Calvin, John, 244. ' Campbell-Bannerman, 460, 461, 463, 486. Camperdown, battle of, 411. Canada, 278, 395, 409, 459, 488. Canals, 477. Canute, 62, 63. Cape Colony, 444. Cape of Good Hope, 390, 444, 417. Cape Vincent, battle of, 411. Carolinas settled, 356. Carteret, 392. Cartwright, 469. Catharine of Aragon, 224, 230, 233, 242. Cavaliers, 310. Caxton, William, 209. Cecil, Robert, 291. Celts, the, 13; first settlements, 17; conquered, 49. Cerdic, 30, 44. Chamberlain, Joseph, 447, 452, 458. Charles I, 292, 295, 320. Charles II, 321, 329, 332, 347. Charles Edward, Prince, 393. Charter, the Great, 109, 117, 121, 123, 128; renewal of, 142. Charters, confirmation of, 142, 15T, 298. Chartists, 426, 429, 444. Chatham, Earl of. See Pitt. Chatham-Grafton Ministry, the, 401. Chaucer, Gecffrey, 167. Christian Brethren, 228. Christianity, introduction of, in Eng- land, 33 . Church, in Great Britain, first tri- umph of the Christian, ^^; of the Saxon kingdoms, organized, 35, 36; conversion of the Danes, 59, 60; relation to the state under the Norman kings, 83-86; quarrel with Henry II, 98-101; quarrel with John, 11S-120; the Friar Movement, 124-127; Edward I and the, 142; wealth and corrup- tion of, fourteenth century, 170- 172 ; Wiclif and the reform move- ment, 173-175; Lollardism, 176; the corruption of, in the fifteenth century, 204; Protestant reforma- tion, 226-228; attack on the monasteries, 230; Act of Suprem- acy, 230; progress in doctrinal re- form, 232; Forty-two Articles, 239 ; persecution of the Protes- tant, 243; Test Act, 256; eccle- siastical policy of Elizabeth, 248, 254, 256, 263; independent sect in, 264; James I and the, 287; Hampton Court Conference, 288, 303; Commons and, 299; Laud, 302; the question in 1641, 308; the Covenant, 313; Charles and, 334; trial of the seven bishops, 351; William III and the revolu- tion settlement, 363; the Metho- dist revival, 385; political in- fluence on preferment, 402; the Irish, 412, 446. Churchill, Duke of Marlborough, 368, 371, 372, 373. Churchill, Lord Randolph, 445. Churchill, Winston, 461. Cinque Ports, 274. Civil war, 155, 311; second civil war, 320. Claim of Right, the, 366. Clarendon, Constitutions of, 100. Clarendon, Edward Hyde, Earl of, 333, 337- 492 Index Clarence, Duke of, ig8. Claudius, invasion under, 19. Clive, Robert, 396, 420. Coalition Act, 474. Coalition, the, of 1783, 405; of 1800, 474- Coalition Cabinet, 445. Coal Mines Regulation Act, 453. Cobbett, 422; his Weekly Political Register, 422. Colonial enterprises, 2Q5; their early character, 296; rivalry with Spain and Holland, 355; policy of the eighteenth century, 399, 400; new policy of, 409 ; rivals in, 355-357- Colonies, 278, 336, 371, 375, 379; Ceylon and Trinidad retained, 412; acquisitions from Napo- leonic wars, 417; India, 442; Australia, 459; Africa, 441; im- perial federation, 458. Commerce, advantages of England for, 3-4; principal harbors for, 3; Phoenician trading, 16: Saxon, 52; Norman revival of, 80; Angevin expansion of, 94, in, 113; inter- ference of war with, 209; Tudor supremacy in, 268; Tudor explo- ration and, 276; Navigation Act, 327; depression of, under Charles II, 337; review, 354-355"- uni on with Scotland, 374: South Sea Bubble, 379; colonial expansion, 381 ; free trade with France, 407; with Ireland, 414; Berlin decree, 415; benefit from Napoleonic wars, 417; fictitious prosperity, 421; free trade, 458; transpor- tation, 477; imperial policy and "the open door," 495. Commonwealth, the, 321, 329. Conservative party, 426. Constantine, 26. Conventicle Act, 335. Coote, 396. Copenhagen, battle of, 412. Corn laws, 421; repealed, 428; ef- fects of, 437, 484, 485. Cornwallis, Lord, 409. Corporation Act, 334, 335, 350. Council of Trent, 245. "Count of the Saxon Shore," 26. Counter-Reformation, the, 246. Court of Common Pleas, 133. Court of High Commission, 263, 304, 308. Courtenay, Bishop, 174. Covenanters, 250, 306, 345. Cranmer, Archbishop, 230, 238, 239, 241, 243- Crecy, battle of, 157, 193. Crete, 454. Crimean War, 431. Cromer, Lord, 455, 457. Crompton, Samuel, 46S. Cromwell, Oliver, 310, 314, 321, 328, 333. 35 6 - Cromwell, Richard, 329. Cromwell, Thomas, 229, 233, 235. Crusades, 3, 107. Cuba, 398. Culloden, battle of, 390. Cumberland, Duke of, 393. Curia Regis, 73, 97, 100. Customs duties, 25, 151, 291, 299, 380, 407, 428, 484; free trade, 458. Cymric, 30. Cyprus, acquisition of, 442. Danby, Earl of, 342. Danegeld, 62, 74. Danelagh, 41, 69. Danes, the, or Northmen, 37, 41; migrations of, 56; settlements of, in Normandy, 57 ; in England, 60- 63. 7°- Darby, Abraham, 481. Darnley, Lord Henry, 252. David, 136. Declaration of Indulgence, 340-341, 349, 351- Declaration of Rights, 354, 364. Derby, Lord, 435. Dettingen, battle of, 392. Diarmit, King, 102. Disabling Act, 344. Disraeli, 433, 435, 438, 441, 442. Domesday Survey, 73, 86, 89, 90. Dominica, battle off, 405. Dover, treaty of, 340, 356. Index 493 Downs, battle of the, 336. Drake, Sir Francis, 278. "Duke of the Britons," 26. Dunbar, battles of, 140, 323. Dunning's Resolution, 404. Dunstan, Archbishop, 49. Ealdormen, 60. East India Company, 277, 391, 432. Ecclesiastical Unity, attainment of, 35- Edgar, 49. Edgehill, battle of, 313. Edinburgh, treaty of, 251. Edmund Ironside, 63. Edric, 63. Education, Alfred's schools, 46; intellectual advances, 82; uni- versities, no; friars, 126; Eng- lish used in schools, 167; Eton founded, 209; the new learning of the Tudors, 283; founding of grammar schools, 283; Act of Uniformity, 334; Schism Act, 376; board schools, 435; reli- gious tests abolished in universi- ties, 439; for factory children, 476. Edward the Confessor, 64. Edward the Elder, 47, 49. Edward I, 132, 144. Edward II, 152 ; civil war and abdi- cation, 155. Edward III, 156; French wars, 156. Edward IV, 201, 209. Edward VI, 236. Edward VII, 457. Edwin, 23- Egypt, 412; Egyptian Question, 445. 45 6 - Election petitions, 382. Elector Palatine, 292, 294. Eliot, Sir John, 291, 297, 300. Elizabeth, Queen, 240, 242, 244, 265. Enclosure, 482. England, facilities for commerce, 3 ; industrial divisions of, 6; early inhabitants, n-18; Roman rule of, 19-26; Saxon conquest and its effects on, 28-35; Danish rule in, 60-63; Norman conquest of, 67; results of, 82; development of, under the early Angevins, 94-1 1 1 ; organization of the judiciary. 132 ; intellectual revival during the four- teenth century in, 166; industrial progress, 176; wages, 181, 207; the people, 206; - intellectual de- cadence in the fifteenth century, 209; age of transition, 213; finan- cial measures, 217; foreign policy under Henry VII, 218; arbiter of Europe, 224; position at time of Elizabeth, 246; foreign affairs under Elizabeth, 253 ; transforma- tion of England under the Tudors, 268; agricultural revolution, 271; decay of towns, 272; growth of manufactures, 273; Tudor explo- ration and commerce, 276; change in order of society, 279; social habits, 281 ; beginning of maritime supremacy, 327; union with Scot- land, 374; union with Ireland, 412; Colonial undertakings, 399; Imperial policy, 409; Eastern Question, 430; local government, 447; Socialism, 457; canals, 477; transportation, 477; agricultural rev< lution,482. See British Isles, Scotland, Ireland. Essex, earls of, 263, 313, 315. Etheln«da, 47, 49. Ethelred the Unready, 60. Ethelwulf, 40. Europe, relation of British Isles to, 2. Evesham, battle of, 132. Exchequer, the, 133. Exclusion Bill, 344, 346. Factory Acts, 426, 476. Falkirk, battle of, 144. Falkland, 311. Fashoda, 445, 455. Fawkes, Guy, 289. Fenians, 438. Feudal system inaugurated, 72; ap- plied to the church, 85 ; last feudal rising, 104; destroyed as a system of government, 106; killed by statute of Quia Emptores, 133; 494 Index reversion to, 206, 292; dues abol- ished, 334. Field of the Cloth of Gold, 223. Filmer, 354. Finance: Industrial Wealth, 4; Coinage, 81 ; The Domesday Sur- vey. 73. 86 > 8 9> 9°; Measures, Policies, or Conditions of, during successive reigns: — Henry II, 104; Richard I, 109; John, 122; Henry III, 127; Edward I, 133, 149; Edward II, 153, 159; Richard II, 164, 172, 181; Henry IV, 188; Edward IV, 202; Henry VII, 218-220; Henry VIII, 226, 239; Elizabeth, 264, 279-281 ; James I, 290, 292, 294; Charles I, 296, 300, 303, 311; Cromwell, 325; Charles II, 334; William III, 363; George I, 379; George III, 392, 399, 403; French pension, 340, 342, 348; National Debt, 369; South Sea Bubble, 379; Walpole, 380; Pitt the younger, 407; peace of Amiens, 412; Napoleonic War Debt, 421; the Crimean War, 431; Home Rule, 447. Fisher, Bishop of Rochester, 233. Fitz-Peter, Geoffrey, 108, 120. Five-Mile Act, 336. Flanders, loss of, 164; artisans from, 177. Flodden, battle of, 224. Forty-two Articles, 239. Fox, Chas. James, 403, 405, 406. France, war with, 117, 139, 156, 191, 35 6 > 37°- 4"- Frederick of Prussia, 300, 398. Free Trade, 428, 458.' French Possessions, loss of, 195. French Revolution, the, 409; effect in England, 421, 422, 423; in 1848, 429. Friar Movement, the, 124. Frobisher, 278. Fulton, 477. Gardiner, Bishop, 238, 240. Gaveston, Piers, 152. George I, 376-379- George II, 377, 380, 396. George III, 397, 398, 402. George IV, 423. Ghent, treaty of, 418. Gibraltar captured, 372, 405, 409. Gilbert, 279. Gilds, Merchants', 112; Craftgilds, 179,181; decay of, 273; effect of, 468. Gladstone, 434, 438, 439, 443, 444, 447. 45 r » 45 2 - Glendower, Owen, 190. Gloucester, Duke of, 165, 194, 202. Godolphin, Lord, 371. Godwin, Earl of Wessex, 64. Gordon, General, 445. Goschen, 447. Goths, 28. Grafton, 401. Grand Assize, 98. Grand Remonstrance, the, 310. "Great Intercourse, the " (treaty), 276. Great Schism, the, 172. Grenville, 398, 399, 400. Grey, Lady Jane, 240, 242. Grey, Lord, 410, 423, 424, 425, 449. Grosseteste, Bishop, 128, 129. Gunpowder Plot, 289. Habeas Corpus Act, 345, 410- Hadrian, 24. Hales, Sir Edmund, 349. Hampden, 311. Hampden Clubs, 422. Hardie, Keir, 460. Hargreaves, 468, 474. Harley, Earl of Oxford, 375. Harold, 63. Hartington, Lord, 447. Hastings, the Dane, raid of, 41-44- Hastings, battle of, 67. Hastings, Warren, 408. Hawkins, 278. Heads of the Proposals, 320. Hengist and Horsa, 30. Henry I, 76. Henry II, 03; condition of England, 94; position on the continent, 95; pacification of England, 95. Henry III, the minority of, 123; rule of, 127. Index 495 Henry IV, 188. Henry V, 191; war with France, 191-194. Henry VI, 194-200, 201. Henry VII, 213. Henry VIII, 219, 220. Heptarchy, 36. Hereford, Henry Bolingbroke, Duke of, 166. Hereward the Wake, 70. Hertford, Earl of, 237. Hobbes, 354. Holland, maritime growth of, 304; war with, 341, 401; commercial rivalry with, 355, 356; decline of, 356- Home Rule Bill, 447. Honorius, 2S. Hooker, 284. Hotspur, 190. Howard, John, 386. Howe, Lord, 411. Hudson's Bay, acquisition of, 405. Hyde, 311. See Clarendon. Iberians, the, 12. Imperial Customs Union, 458. Important events, lists of, 54, 91, 114, 146, 185, 210, 265, 331, 358, 387, 418, 464. Independents, 314. India, 390, 392, 395, 398, 412; sketch of history, 39 1 ; Eastern Question, 430, 441; Sepoy Mu- tiny, 433 5 review, 442. India Bill, 406. Industry, industrial wealth, 4; early industry: 12; Roman, 23; Saxon, 47,50; Norman, 89; progression, 176, 268-274, 302, 327, 354, 379; Irish industry throttled, 412; im- portation of raw material from col- onies, 400; Berlin Decree, 415; fictitious prosperity, 421 ; Factory Act, 426; industrial revolution, 467; inventions, 468, 469; capital •and labor, revolt of labor, 474; factory legislation, 475 ; factory commission, 476; Ten Hours Act, 476; transportation, 477; ship-building, 477; mining, 481; agricultural revolution, 482. See Gilds, Wages, Finance, Com- merce. Instrument of government, 324. Inventions, 46S-470, 473, 476, 480. Ionian Isles, 417. Ireland, industrial and physical fea- tures, 9; early affairs, 101 ; con- quest of, in the time of Henry II, 102; under English rule, 103; under the Tudors, 260 ; revolt, 309; conquest of, 321; repre- sentation accorded in Parliament, 325; revolution against William III, 363; legislative independence granted, 405; attempt at com- mercial freedom, 407; union with England, 412-414; laws against Catholics in, 413; destruc- tion of industries in, 413; inde- pendent Irish parliament, 413, 414; famines, 428, 437; review of affairs in, 436; Catholic eman- cipation, 444; disestablishment of Church, 438, 443, 447; 448; the Nationalists, 443 ; Land Act, 444; National League, 448; Local Government Act, 452. Irish, 101, 103, 119, 215, 260, 302, 3° 8 > 3°9, 3 3I > 353. ^t,, 380, 412, 437- Irish Land Act, 439, 444. Ironsides, 315. Jacobites, 361, 368, 377, 393, 397. Jamaica, acquisition of, 356. James I, 286. James II, 347, 353. 3 62 > 365. 369. 37i- Jameson, 456. Jeffreys, Judge, 348. Jesuits, 246, 257, 353. Jews, under royal protection, 81; banished by Edward I, 134; re- turn of, 329. Joan of Arc, 195. Johannesburg, 456. John, revolt of, against Henry II, 106; against Richard I, 108; ac- cession, 116; revolt of barons against, 120, 121; death, 123. 496 Index John of Gaunt, Duke of Lancaster, 164, 173. 183. Julius Cffisar, 19. Junto, the, 369, 370. Jury system, 98. Jutes, 28. Kaffir War, 445. Kay, John, 468, 474. Ket the tanner, 239. Khartoum, 445, 455. Killiecrankie, battle of, 366. King William's War, 368. King's Bench, 133. Kingsley, 485. Kitchener, Sir Herbert, 455, 457. Knox, John, 251. Kruger, Paul, 456. Labor, revolt of, 474. See Com- merce, Industry, Finance. Labouchere, 450. Labourers' Dwellings Act, 443. La Hogue, battle of, 368. Lancaster, Duke of. See John of Gaunt. Lancaster, Thomas, Earl of, 152, 164, 202. Land Act, 439; Irish, 444. Land Purchase Act, 459. Lanfranc, Archbishop of Canter- bury, 85. Langland, William, 168, 169. Langton, Stephen, 120, 122, 123; death of, 128. Latimer, Bishop, 207, 227, 241, 2 43- Laud, Bishop, 300, 302, 308. Law, in England, under the Romans, 21-23; under the Anglo-Saxons, 33, 44,45; Edgar's, 53, 54, 63, 72; under William I, 72, 73; under William Rufus, 74, 76; under Henry I, 76; reforms of the, under Henry of Anjou, 97, 98; the Great Charter, 121; develop- ment of, under Edward I, 132; the Ordinances of the time of Ed- ward II, 153-155; regulation of wages and labor by, 180-182, 217; strengthened by Henry VII, 217; the new order under Elizabeth, 279-282; religious issues under James, 287; Charles, 306-310; the Commonwealth, 321 ; Charles II, 333-336; the Revolution cf 1688, 353; its results, 360-363; William III, 363-365; corrup- tion of the times of George I, 3^5 ; refcrm movement of 1770-1784, 402; of 1815, 421-429; of 1832, 432; more recent important changes in, 442-448; in church matters, 172, 189, 227, 230, 232, 237. 2 43. 248, 256, 290, 298, 300, 3° 6 - 3° 8 , 3 1 3> 328, 324, 338, 340, 35 r . 3 6l -3 6 5. 43 6 -438- See also Act, Statute, etc. Leicester, Earl of, 254, 259. See Montfort. Levellers, the, 328. Lewes, battle of, 131. Liberal party, 426. Licensing Act, 369. Limerick, treaty of, 365, 412. Lincoln, battle of, 79. Literature, under Alfred, 45; under Henry I, So, 109; thirteenth century, 144; revival, 166-171; printing, 209; renaissance, 2S3; at close of seventeent'i century, 354; liberty of the press, 369; Swift, 380. See Bi' le. Llewelyn, 136. Local Government Act, 448; Irish, 447. 45 1 - Locke, 354. Lollards, the, 176, 182, 189, 204. London, 18; charter granted, 91; fire of, 337; charter confiscated, 346. Longchamp, William, Bishop, 107. Lord Marchers, the, 69, 190. Lords Appellant, 165, 188, 202. Lords of the Congregation, 250. Lords Ordainers, the, 153. Lowe, Robert, 435. Lowestoft, battle of, 336. Lud, god of commerce, iS. Luddites, the, 474. Luneville, treaty of, 412. Luther, Martin, 226, 229, Index 497 Mahdist Revolt, 445. Mahratta War, 407. Malcolm of Scotland, 70. Malmesbury, William of, no. Malplaquet battle of, 373. Malta, 414, 417. Manchester Massacre, 423. Manwaring, 300. Mar, Earl of, 378. Marchand, 455. Margaret of Anjou, 196-200. Maria Theresa, 392. Marlborough. See Churchill. Marston Moor, battle of, 314. Mary Stuart, 233, 237, 249, 251, 256, 259, 260. Mary, Queen, 239, 240. Matilda, 76, Mauritius. 417. Mercenaries, 63, 79, 95, 104, 121, 122, 392. Millenary Petition, 288. Milton, 329, 354. Miners' Federation, 481. Minorca, acquisition of, 375; ces- sion of, 405. Mise of Amiens, 131. Monasteries, suppression of, 230. Monk, General, 329. Monmouth, Duke of, 345, 348. Montague, 300, 369. Montfort, Simon de, 129, 132, 202. Montrose, 316. Montserrat, acquisition of, 295. More, Sir Thomas, 233. Mortimer, Roger, 155. Mortimer. See Cade, Jack. Napoleon Bonaparte, 411, 412, 414; Berlin Decree, 415; Peninsular War, 416. Naseby, battle of, 316. Natal, 445. Nationalists, 443, 446, 449, 451. National League, 448. Navigation Act, 327, 356. Navy, 43, 209, 260, 270, 274, 304, 320, 326, 336, 355, 395, 412; after Trafalgar, 417; War cf 1 8 1 2 , 4 1 7 ; demonstration at Constantinople, 44i. Nelson, Lord, 327, 403, 415. Neville, George, Archbishop, 204. Newcastle, Duke of, 392, 394, 400. Newcastle Propositions, the, 318. Newfoundland, 405. Newspapers, 369. Newton, Sir Isaac, 369. New Zealand, 459. Nile, battle of, 412. Nonjurors, 363. Non-resistance, doctrine of, 335, 351, 3Q 2 - Norfolk, Duke of, 256. Norman Conquest, 67; social result of, 79; intellectual results, 82; life of people under, 86; administra- tion of local government, 89. Normandy, 57; less cf, 117, 196. North, Lord, 401, 405, 406. 408. Northampton, battle of, 200. North Briton, the, 399. Northmen, 56-57, 102. Northumberland, the dukes of, 239 256. Nova Scotia, 375, 405, 409 Oates, Titus, 344. Occasional Conformity Act, 376. O'Connell, Daniel, 436. O'Connor, Feargus, 429. Odo, Bishop, 75. Omdurman, battle of, 455. O'Neill, Shane, 262. "Open door," the, to Chinese Empire, 455- Orders in Council, the, 416, 417. Ordinances, the, 153; repealed, 155. Oudenarde, battle of, 372. Owen, Robert, 476. Paleolithic Man, n. Palmerston, Lord, 430, 431, 432. Pandulf, 120. Paris, peace of, 398; treaty of, 432. Parliament, first use of the name of, 129; of Oxford, or the Mad Par- liament, 130; cf 1265, 131; Model Parliament, T42; organization of, Houses of Lords and Commons, 162; Good Parliament, 163, 172; the Merciless Parliament, 165; 498 Index first use of English in, 167; Long Parliament, 229; under Eliza- beth, 264; Addled Parliament, 291; Short Parliament, 306; Long Parliament, 307, 324, 326, 338; Rump Parliament, 321, 328; Barebones' Parliament, 324; re- distribution of seats, 324; Con- vention Parliament, 2>1>7> > Cava- lier Parliament, 334, 338; Tory Parliament, 348; Disabling Act, 344; under William III, 360; Dublin Parliament, 365; Whig ministry, 368; Tory ministry, 370; union with Scotland, 374; review to fall of Walpole, 382; political corruption, 385, 402 ; reform, 402, 405, 406, 410, 420; jurisdiction over India, 396; the Radical Party, 422; Reform Bill, 423 ; its effect, 425 ; reform under Disraeli, 433, 435; extension of suffrage, 435, 444, 486; Catholic emancipation, 436; secret ballot, 439; closure adopted, 433. See Witan and Curia Regis. Parnell, Charles Stewart, 443, 446, 45i- Patrick, St., 53, 53. Pauperism and its relief, 280, 426, 486; poor law, 426, 486. Peel, Sir Robert, 428, 437, 447, 471, 474, 475- Pelham, Henry, 392, 394. Pembroke, William Marshall, Earl of, 123. Penda, 33 . Peninsular War, 416. Pennsylvania settled, 356. People's Charter, 427, 430. Perrers, Alice, 163. Petition and Advice, the, 326. Petition of Right, 298, 301. Philip of Spain, 242. Philiphaugh, battle of, 316. Philippines, 398. Phoenicians, 16. Picts, 21, 26. Pilgrimage of Grace, the, 234. Pinkie, battle of, 237. Pitt, William, 394, 395, 39S, 402. | Pitt, William, the younger, son of above, 406, 407, 408, 410, 412, 414, 43 6 - Plague, the, 336-337. "Plan of Campaign," 448. Plassey, battle of, 396. Plautius, 19, 20. Poitiers, battle of, 160. Pondicherry, surrender of, 396. Poor Law, 426, 487. See Pauper- ism. Popes : Gregory VII, 85 ; Innocent III, 118; England and the Pope, 128; Innocent IV, 128, 130; re- volt of Europe against, 213. Popish Plot, 343. Porte, 442. Poyning, Sir Edward, 260. Prehistoric inhabitants, n. Presbyterianism, 257. Preston, battles of, 320, 378. Pretenders, the: James Edward, 371, 372, 376, 378; Charles Ed- ward, 393. Pride's Purge, 320. Prime Minister, first, 383. Prison reform, 386, 409. Privateering, 278. Protector, the, 324. Provisions of Oxford, 131. Pularoon relinquished, 356. Puritans, 256, 263, 287, 288, 301, 3°3< 3 T 4, 3 2S > 347- Pym, John, 291, 307, 310, 314, 333 . Quakers, 335. Quebec, fall of, 390, 396. "Queen Anne's War," 390. Quiberon, battle of, 396. Radical party, the, 422. Railroads, 472, 478. Raleigh, Sir Walter, 278, 279, 294. Ramillics, battle of, 372. Rand, 456, 458. Ranulf, the justiciar, 74-76. Redmond, John, 457, 460. Reform Bill, of 1832, 423, 424, 425; Act of, 1867, 435; of 1884, 444; movement, 1779, 420, 444. Reformation, the Protestant, 3, 226. Index 499 Regulating Act, 408. Reign of Terror in France, 400. Renaissance, the English, 3, 283. Restoration of the Stuarts, 329. Revolt of the barons, 103; peasants, 175-181; under Glendower, 190; under Oldcastle, 191; Cade's, 198; the Pilgrimage of Grace, 234; under Ket, 239; Wyatt's, 242; Irish peasants, 413; Chart- ist, 429; Fenian, 438; the Lud- dites, 474. Revolution, French, 3, 409. Rhodes, Cecil, 456. Rich, Edmund, 129. Richard de Clare, Strongbow, 102. Richard I, 107; a crusader, 107, 108; influence in England of, 108, 109. Richard II, 164. Richard III, 202. Richmond, Duke of, 404. Richmond, Henry Tudor, Earl of, 203. Ridley, Bishop, 243. Ridolfi plot, the, 256. Rizzio, 252. Robert, Duke of Normandy, 74-77. Robin of Redesdale, 201. Roches, Peter des, B'shop, 127. Rochester, Earl of, 349. Rockingham, Lord, 398-401, 405, 4i3- Rockingham Ministry, the, 401, 405. Rodney, 405. Rollo the Ganger, 59, 63. Romans, the, conquest of Britain by, 19, 21 ; the gains of Britain under the rule of, 23 ; losses, 25 ; colonies of, 20; colonial life of, 23; roads of, 23. Rosebery, Lord, 451. Roundheads, 310, 311. Rupert, Prince, 313. Russell, Admiral, 368, 369. Russell, Lord, 347, 423, 426, 434. Rye House plot, 346. Ryswick, peace of, 368. Sacheverell, Doctor, 373. St. Albans, battle of, 198. St. Helena, 356. St. John, Henry, 372, 376. Salic law, 156. Salisbury, Lord, 445, 446, 448, 451, 4S 2 - 455. 457. 45 8 . 460. Salisbury oath, the, 73, 74. Saxons, the invasion of Britain by, 26; conquest, the, 28; effects of conquest by, 32. Schism Act, 376. Scotland, industrial and physical features, 8; conquered by William I, 70; revolt against Edward I, 139; conquest of, 140-144; loss of, 153; revolt against Henry IV, 190; defeat at Solway Mess, 235; at Pinkie, 237; revolt against France, 250; against Charles I, 306; royalist invasion, 320; in- vasion of, 323; representation ac- corded in Parliament, 325; revo- lution against William III, 365; union with England, 374; Jaco- bite insurrection, 378; second Jacobite insurrection, 393; Local Government Act, 448, 452; Croft- ers' agitation, 448. Scots, 8, 21, 26, 69, 97, 104, 119, 137, 143. 153, l8 9. 216, 224, 235, 237, 249, 3° 6 > 3U, 3 l6 > 320, 348, 365. Scrope, Archbishop of York, 190. Scutage, 104. Sebastopol, fall of, 432. Second Hundred Years' War, 389. Sedgemoor, battle of, 348. Self-denying ordinance, 315. Sepoys, 394, 396, 407. Septennial Act, 378. Serfs, 34, 50, 86, 88, 90, 180-184. See Villeins. Seven Years' War, 390, 394, 396. Shaftesbury, Earl of, 342, 345. Shakespeare, 284. Shelburne, Lord, 405. Shelley, 422. Sheridan, 408; 412. Sheriff muir, battle of, 378. Simnel, Lambert, 215. Slave trade, 53, 89, 375, 386, 426. Small Dwellings Acquisition Act, 453- 500 Index Society of Jesus, 246. Solemn League and Covenant, 313. Solway Moss, battle of, 235. Somers, 369. Somerset, dukes of, 197, 198, 237, 238. Somerset, Earl of, 291. Sophia, Electress cf Hanover, 370. Soudan insurrection, 445, 455. "South Sea Bubble," 379. Spenser, 284. Stamford Bridge, battle of, 67. Stamp Act, 400; repealed, 401. Stanhope, 378, 381. Star Chamber, Court cf, 216, 292, 3 OI > 3°3> 3° 8 - Statutes of, Mortmain, 133; Quia Emptores, 133; Winchester, 133 Wales, 136; Praemunire, 172 Provisors, 172; of Labourers, 181 against Heretics, 189-191; Main- tenance and Livery, 206, 21S. Steamboats, 472, 477, 478. Stephen, 77. Stephenson, George, 478. Stoke, battle of, 215. Stourbridge Fair, 113. Strafford, Earl cf. See Wentworth. Sunderland, Earl of, 349, 378. Swift, Jonathan, 375, 380. Sydney, Algernon, 347. Symington, William, 477. Taxation, the right of, 149; first regular levy on personal property, 109. See Finance. Ten Articles, 232. Ten Hours Act, 476. Test Act, the, 256, 2S9, 341, 349, 35°. 444- Teutons, 28. Tewkesbury, battle of, 201. Thegns, 33, 52, 205. Theodore of Tarsus, Archbishop, 36. Thirty-nine Articles, 256, 2 394- War of the Spanish Succession, 371, 39°- Warbeck, Perkin, 215. Wars of the Rcses, 198; political re- volts, 202 ; resultant state of coun- try, 203. Warwick, earls of, 198, 200, 201, 204, 239. Wat Tyler, 182. Waterloo, battle of, 417. Watt, James, 469, 477, 481. Wedmore, Treaty of, 41. Wellesley. See Wellington. Wellington, Duke of, 412, 416, 423, 425, 429, 437. Welsh, 31, 34, 37- 6 9» 97. 102 > IX 9> 134, 139. !43» IQ °. 3 20 - Wentworth, Sir Thomas, 291, 298, 301, 305, 306, 307. Wesley, John, 386. Westminster Abbey, 69. Westmoreland, Earl of, 256. Wharton, 369. Whigs, 346, 361. Whitfield, 386. Whittington, Sir Richard, 209. Wiclif, John, 173. Wilkes, John, 394, 399- William I, 69. William II, 74. William of Orange, 341, 343. 35 1 . 353. 37i- William IV, 423- Winchester, Statute of, 133. Witan or Witenagemot, 62, 66, 72, Wolsey, Thomas, Cardinal, 222, 226, 227, 229. Woodstock, Council of, 99. Worcester, battle of, 323. Wordsworth, 422. Workmen's Compensation for Ac- cident Act, 453. Wyatt, Sir Thomas, 242. York, dukes of, 197, 198, 200, 342- 343- Yorktown, surrender of, 405. Young, Arthur, 483. Young Patriots, 382, 395. n F bJJCP Hi LIBRARY OF CONGRESS | 021 953 616 1 IBs ■■P IIIHil enfi ■1 lilll ■■ur hiiIhHHHi oh iin